It's been a month since I've blogged, but the waiting has been longer.
I was stuck in the silence of a prayer that wasn't being answered; I was stuck in the first 4 verses of Psalm 13.
I had prayed. I had asked. I had humbled myself in front of others, getting on my knees and saying the words out loud, "God, I know that You can do this. I know that You are able". But the trusting that the Psalmist claimed to have in his God was missing from my heart.
In verses 5-6, David chose to rejoice in God's salvation; he chose to trust in God's lovingkindness; he chose to sing, but my voice was muffled by worry, fear, and doubt.
Would He indeed deal bountifully with me?
Would He enlighten my eyes?
Would He consider me and answer me?
Would He?
Then today, there was an answer to all of those prayers. The lovingkindness spoken of in the Psalm was visible, and my response was nothing short of rejoicing, salvation, and singing.
Because in the midst of all of these weeks, there was a God Who showed me that He had been waiting, too. He wasn't in a hurry, and He was certain His answer would come in His time.
The walk with God is sometimes like this bridge in the jungles of Ecuador. You can't be in a hurry to get to the other side, because the running might cause the bridge to shake and totter (and what you can't see in this picture are the rapids beneath the hurried feet of fear). The water below is thick with rocks and currents (and a whole lot of snakes!). You don't know if the bridge that man has made will hold you all the way to other side, so you just have to trust what you can and cannot see, and you have to take one wobbly step at a time.
I think our walk with God looks a lot like this as we wait for His answer to our prayer.
So here's my advice: if you're stuck in the first 4 verses, I encourage you to read on. Trust in what you have always known to be certain: God is good. God is love. God is your salvation. And God will deal with you in all of His bounty.
Take your wobbly legs and step into verses 5 and 6.
And then, sing with me.
