Today’s lesson from “The Sling for God”, King David himself, comes from Psalms 33. The entire Psalm is wonderful, and I encourage you to read it in its entirety: Psalm33:1-11. Today, however, I want to focus on just three verses from this Psalm:

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” (Psalms 33:20-22 NIV)

Why is it so hard to wait?

Is it because we live in an “immediate gratification” society? We want information, we bring it up no matter where we are on our smart phones. We need something from the store but can’t go out. We order it on Amazon Prime, and in some cases, it is delivered same day to our doorstep. We don’t like to wait in long lines at Disney World, so we buy “front of the line” passes.

Yes, society has groomed us to expect everything instantly, but I suspect it is also deep within the hearts of mankind to be impatient. After all, isn’t this, at least in part, the reason behind Eve’s deception? Didn’t she know that all she needed to do was ask God, and He would help her understand the difference between good and evil? But the serpent was offering it to her… Now! (See Gen. 3)

How often don’t we fall into the same trap? We ask God for something, and we expect it … Now!

I was not immune to this. As I have told in past devotionals, I was not allowed to speak about God in the schools I taught at. In one school, God opened the door for a Bible club that the students could attend outside of school hours; but this privilege was taken away when I transferred to a new school, and I was left feeling lost. How was I supposed to witness to my students and fellow teachers when I wasn’t allowed to even have a Bible club?

In the years I spent at this school, I would learn that there was a secret to waiting, a secret so beautifully outlined in Psalms 33: “We wait in hope for the Lord…” (vs. 20 NIV, emphasis added). I would come to understand that no work done for the Lord was of any value unless He ordained it: “Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?” (Lam. 3:37 NIV). Therefore I put my hope in the fact that God would open the doors and push me through them, when He decreed it!

And He did just that. As I have told before in previous devotionals, God gave me healing ministry at this school. I would walk into a room and there would be someone waiting for me, asking for prayer. My job was simply to be in the right place at the right time, and then to reach out in obedience and pray. By His power and grace, they were all healed, His name was glorified, and the recipients of the healing would grow in their faith.

Hallelujah Jesus!

David tells us that when we wait in hope for the Lord, “… He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” (Psalms 33:20b-22 NIV, emphasis given). For when we put our hope in the Lord, His unfailing love is with us: “May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” (Psalms 33:22 NIV)

Are you feeling a bit impatient? Have you asked God for something and He doesn’t seem to be coming through? Remember to wait in hope. For when we do, God’s unfailing love is with us. He makes our hearts rejoice. He becomes our help and our shield!

In His love,
Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “The Sling for God” devotional series, please click here.)