This week we focus on the Lenten theme of waiting and trusting.
Words of Reflection
In our waiting we ask a lot of questions, but one is central:
Where are you, Lord?
When answers don’t come, when the way forward isn’t clear, and when the circumstances that have us filled with worry and fear don’t change, we cry out for God to reveal himself. It’s a very human response, and one we see echoed throughout the pages of Scripture. The people of God have often found themselves in the in-between spaces—no longer where they were, but not yet where they should be. It’s not an easy place to exist, and when we find ourselves there we want guidance, we desire clarification…but more than anything we simply need a revelation of God.
Where are you, Lord?
Sometimes in these spaces, though, there is a danger. Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that the answers we seek and the encounter with God we desire are bound up together—that we will only see God once we receive the guidance we desire. The unfortunate truth is that sometimes answers become an idol that can blind us to the fact that even in those in-between spaces…God is with us already.
In Psalm 23 we find the psalmist declaring that there is no step of his journey where God is not present, even in the most difficult and dangerous moments. God is alongside him in the darkest valley, and even when he finds himself at a banquet table seated among the people who despise him, God is there. Not only is God there, God is blessing him there.
In our waiting seasons we need to remember that even when the answers elude us, even when the path seems uncertain, God is there. The same God who provided an angel to minister to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43) will meet us and minister to us in our darkest moments.
He is there in the waiting.
Scripture for Meditation:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
—Psalm 23 (NRSV)
Song: In The Waiting
I cultivate a quiet place
Within this life of mine
I come to wait before the One
Who knows my heart's desire
In the stillness I have come
To wait before You GodAnd I find You in the waiting
And I find You in the waiting
You remind me in the stillness
To know You are GodYou heard my cry so long before
I ever spoke a word
You knew my name so long before
The heavens touched the earth
In the stillness I have come
To wait before You GodAnd I find You in the waiting
And I find You in the waiting
You remind me in the stillness
To know You are God
Matt Redman | Todd Proctor
© 2002 Thankyou Music; Deeper Music
A quick note about today’s song—it is a very rare bonus track from a special version of this CD that is no longer in print. As a result, it is not available on Spotify and unfortunately can’t be included in the Lenten Song Reflections playlist.
Questions for Contemplation:
How might God be inviting you to seek him in seasons of waiting, apart from specific answers or guidance? What would it look like for you to simply rest in his presence even before those come?
Psalm 23 is such a well-known passage of Scripture that we can sometimes miss new ways God might speak through it to us. What does this psalm speak to you about seasons of waiting and trusting?
Today’s song contains the lyrics, “I cultivate a quiet space within this life of mine.” What does that look like for you? Spend some time in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to lead you into those quiet spaces where you can meet with God.