Oh God, I want to run away!

The movie playing on my TV was tense; a true story of four American soldiers in Afghanistan. pinned down by the Taliban, taking fire from every direction.  Rocket propelled grenades exploded, spraying the men with shrapnel. Bullets whined passing by. Men shouted.  Then, I hit ‘pause.’  All was still.  The action was suspended!  Wouldn’t it be great if life had a ‘pause’ button, a way to stop the noise for a day or two?

We cannot stop the earth from turning, causing day to flow into night and back to day again. The stream of time is unstoppable but . . .  we can ‘wait upon the Lord.’   We can pause and place ourselves before God, choosing quietness even while we look expectantly for Him to come to us.  David was a hard place.  To all appearances God had abandoned him. He felt alone and afraid.  He paused and waited! 
"The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord protects me from danger— so why should I tremble?" (Psalm 27:1, NLT) "The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple." (Psalm 27:4, NLT) "Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close." (Psalm 27:10, NLT)  "Yet I am confident that I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord." (Psalm 27:13-14, NLT)

The one thing many of us find most difficult is to stop, to wait.  We want answers, results, to make things happen.  When the war rages around us the last thing we would think to do is to pause.  Yet it is one of the most important choices we make.

David did not run off to some far distant place, nor did he slip into a cave and try to sleep!  He waited - focused and expectant.

1.       He reminds himself of what he knows of the Lord. “He is my Light and my Salvation.”

2.       He reminds himself of the desire that shapes his life. “The thing I seek most – to live in God’s Presence.”

3.       He reminds himself that true security is in God’s love. “Even if my parents abandon me, the Lord will hold me.”

4.       So, he speaks to himself – “Wait patiently for the Lord!”

Waiting on the Lord takes many forms.  Sometimes it is just taking a break for a few moments to refocus, to sing a song, to read a favorite Bible passage of promise. Sometimes waiting requires carving a day out of a full schedule for quiet reflection and prayer.  Sometimes waiting is an inner choice to go forward in life, expectant, though for reasons you cannot understand God’s voice and Presence has disappeared for you.  When you are surrounded by enemies, facing something that looks impossible, uncertain about the future, tested to the limits; wait on the Lord!  Refuse panic. Do not seek soul solace in things, pleasures, or diversions.  Take this word from the Word and live in it, by choice.

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; … 
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning." (Psalm 130:1, 5-6, NIV)

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalm 23:5-6, NIV)

___________

The song of my soul,
Since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus who'll save
Whosoever will have
A home in the "Haven of Rest."

O come to the Savior,
He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul
In the "Haven of Rest,"
And say, My Beloved is mine."

I've anchored my soul
In the "Haven of Rest,"
I'll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep,
O'er the wild stormy deep;
In Jesus I'm safe evermore.

The Haven Of Rest
Gilmour, Henry L. / Moore, George D.
© Public Domain