Wait for the Lord

"Is anyone feeling less than okay emotionally?" asked the leader of the meeting. Though a few people responded, and though I should have raised my hand, I remained silent. But because I believe in prayer, and honestly thought it would help me and others, I decided to pray, and to pray out loud, with the words I chose to use applying to me and the humble few in the center of the group. What I asked for was what I needed most of all: solidity and steadiness, and a reminder that the Lord's love is steadfast; he is our Rock and Refuge.

After praying I opened up to Psalm 27 because it's awesome. The last verse resonated within me:

"Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage,
wait for the Lord!"

I think that "Wait for the Lord," can be about two things. First, it is the daily waiting to hear God: spending time in his presence, devoting life to him, balancing our wobbly selves on him, who is the steady, unwavering One. "Wait for the Lord" is also about waiting for Jesus to return.  Because return he will. And when he does, we will wonder why we didn't trust him absolutely before our eyes beheld his power and majesty. No guilt here, I only mean that maybe our picture of Jesus prevents us from really, truly trusting him and throwing ourselves on him when our desperation culminates. And when we see him, we will understand why we were called to wait for him, to cast our cares on him, and to call him the loving Lord of our lives. (I am struck by the lack of a weakling Jesus here - a soft-spoken man holds no place in this passage. That too may be why we don't trust him enough).

"14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades."

Alive forevermore! This has become more than just a personal encouragement to have more quiet times, more devotions. For me, this passage is the reason I even try. Because there are flaming eyes that look at me and love me, and there is someone who is stronger, holding stars and capturing the very light of the sun in his face - declaring that he is not just in control of my life, but the universe - and there is someone with a voice like the roar of many waters who invites me into an intimacy incomparable.

Does this inspire you to wait for the Lord? To be strong and let your heart take courage? Will you wait for the Lord and listen to what he might say?