I wait quietly before God, for my salvation comes from him. - Psalm 62:1
When men go shopping, they usually know what they want, they pick it up, they take it to the checkout counter, they pay for it, and they leave. Mission accomplished. When women go shopping. they are not necessarily looking for something specific. They enjoy seeing what’s available, trying it on, comparing it, buying it, taking it home, trying it on again, and then returning it. No doubt there are exceptions to these stereotypes, but not many!
Should a man find himself going shopping with his wife, he will have plenty of time to contemplate his fate as he waits for what seems an endless amount of time. But it will seem to be only a few minutes to his wife! In such scenarios, men are usually impatient. Should another hapless male come by in a similar situation, they will share their pain and commiserate with each other. Men are not very good at waiting!
But David was good at waiting. He said, “I waited quietly before God, for my salvation comes from him” (Ps. 62:1). The difference is striking. On the one hand, a man waits impatiently for his wife to do something in which he has no interest. In fact, he may even actively disapprove. On the other hand, a man waits before God to intervene in affairs that are vitally important to him.
Waiting “before God” suggests waiting in a particular place in a particular posture. It is waiting in an attitude of worship and dependence rather than hanging around hoping something will happen. Waiting before God involves actively focusing upon who he is and what he is doing in the world while waiting for his answers to arrive.
Those men who are used to being in control of their own lives, and the lives of others, find waiting before God particularly difficult. They will tell you that “time is money,” and while they are supposed to be waiting they expect answers to be forthcoming. But David had come to the point of admitting that he could not fix his problem—“so many enemies against one man” (62:3). He knew that his only hope was in the Lord’s intervention.
God works at his own pace and in his own way. No amount of impatience will alter the speed or the manner in which God will work out his purposes. So when the only direction you can turn is to the Lord, and the only way to look is up, remember to wait before him as you wait for him. He will act. And don’t be impatient, because his clock keeps perfect time.
For Further Study: Psalm 62
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Men, Copyright ©2000 by Stuart Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Stuart Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
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