Day 13: The Waiting

“For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that WAIT upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.” Psalm 37:9

Is it not interesting how two completely different words, even down to their spelling, can be pronounced the very same way? How do we distinguish or tell them apart? By their surroundings … by the sentence that they are in, correct? If someone were to ask me what weight meant, I would not know which weight/wait that they were referring to until they told me a sentence with it in it. Then I can picture the whole scene in my mind with the correct spelling and meaning.

David starts this verse out by telling us the “evildoers shall be cut off.” If you remember, we had an entire devotional on evildoers back on day 3. We learned that day that evil is wrong, even in the shape of a three-letter word. David also     reminded us in that devotional that we are not to fret over those who seem to be prospering (flourishing; getting away with things) in their evildoings because their days are numbered. They may seem to be getting ahead of us in line for an inheritance (blessing from God), but instead, they are on their way to disinheritance. David does not leave us hanging here though. He wants us to have the full, complete picture. The one whose meaning is crystal clear.

David then shares who will have an eternal inheritance (blessing) from God. It is those who patiently “wait upon the Lord.” As a noun, to wait refers to a period of time. As a verb, it is to stay where one is or to delay action until something happens. It is like the commander in the military who tells his soldiers to wait … to stand still … to delay action … to not rush ahead … until further notice.

I do not know what situation you are facing in your life right now. It may be one where someone else has wronged you. It may be one where someone else has not shown respect to you. It may be one where someone has purposely told lies about you and slandered your name and reputation. It may be one where someone has falsely accused you. It may be one where someone has cut you out of their life. God sees and God knows. God is also keeping a record and one day the    evildoer will be no more. God will very purposely cut them off.

So, instead of fretting and worrying over that evildoer, my friend. Let us instead wait patiently. Waiting is not wasting. So many times we want to rush ahead … I know because I have also been there. I want to step in and correct that person. I want that person to feel what I am feeling. But, that is not God’s plan. He wants to give us an inheritance and that inheritance comes from waiting.

In years gone by, it was a popular thing to take time each evening to sit on the porch patiently waiting for bedtime to come. Nowadays, we do not take the time … nor make the time … to do that. It is a shame because many a thing can be resolved by waiting. I read a plaque just the other day that read, “Welcome to the porch where wasting time is considered time well wasted!” I know we feel that waiting is wasting time, but it is literally the opposite. How is your porch swing these days? Is it a little rusty and weathered? Maybe it is time to bring out the oil and the sandpaper and touch it up a bit.