Psalm 103:1-5

At least twice in the last couple of days I have been prompted to encourage a friend with this passage of scripture. I have it memorized in a paraphrase version so that the pronouns are more personal.

Praise the Lord, o my soul, all my inmost being praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
For He forgives all my sin, and He heals all my diseases,
He redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion.
He satisfies all my desires with all good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's.

This is my go-to passage for waiting on God. It's one of the hardest things in life to do, wait for God to do something you want to run ahead and do for yourself. When times like that come up, and they come up so often, it's important to remember that God's solution to whatever is going on is way better than anything you could come up with for yourself.

This passage has a very important progression which can help us when we have to wait on God. First, it starts with praising God for who He is. "His HOLY NAME." God's essence is in His name. He has so many names, so many attributes for which we can praise Him. It's always a good place to start.

Then next it goes on to praise God for what He has done. "He forgives my sins and He heals my diseases." That's all good, but "He redeems my life from the pit." That reminds us who we are without Him. Without His redemption, we are lower than low. So low, in fact, that we're in a hole with no way out but His redeeming love. And when He redeems us, "He crowns me with love and compassion." He has elevated us beyond what we deserve. We, in our sin, really deserve that pit, and He gives us a crown. Praise the Lord, indeed!

Finally this passage goes on to praise God for what He has yet to do. "He satisfies all my desires with all good things." HE satisfies... Every time I try to satisfy myself, I come up empty. Thirsty. Unsatisfied in the end. Real satisfaction comes from God. Whatever it is I'm waiting for, God's answer to the question is so much better than I could imagine for myself. God is not Lucy setting up Charlie Brown's football again and again. He places desires in us that He longs to fulfill in the very best possible way. Even though things may not make sense to us with what we can see from our vantage point (remember, sometimes we're looking at things from the PIT!), God sees the end from the beginning and it will all make sense in time. There is trust in a loving Father to be built in these times. A safe thing to ask God in times of waiting on Him is either for Him to satisfy whatever that desire may be, or else change the desire. Since God is not all about frustrating us, He will answer that sincere prayer in the way that is best.

I have had many opportunities to practice this "waiting on God" stuff, and each time it seems I can get out of the pit of despair a little quicker than the last time. I definitely don't have this mastered yet. It's still a work in progress. I just thought I'd share it, since it seems to be coming up so much lately.

May the God who makes us holy make you worthy of His call, fulfilling His great purpose with the power to save us all. May the fire of His spirit make you faithful, strong and true, and the name of Christ, our savior, may be glorified in you.