OUR DAILY BREAD : THE DISCIPLINE OF WAITING

[cimi]

January 26
Sunday


THE DISCIPLINE
OF WAITING

I waited patiently
for the LORD; and He
inclined to me, and
heard my cry.
__Psalm 40:1
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Waiting is hard. We wait in grocery lines, in traffic, in the doctor's office. We twiddle our thumbs, stifle our yawns, and fret inwardly in frustration. On another level, we wait for a letter that doesn't come, for a prodigal child to return, or for a spouse to change. We wait for a child we can hold in our arms. We wait for our heart's desire.

In Psalm 40, David says, "I waited patiently for the LORD." The original language here suggests that David "waited and waited and waited and waited" for God to answer his prayer. Yet as he looks back at this time of delay, he praises God. As a result, David says, God "put a new song...a hymn of praise" in his heart (40:3 NIV).

"What a chapter can be written of God's delays!" said F. B. Meyer. "It is the mystery of educating human spirits to the finest temper of which they are capable." Through the discipline of waiting, we can develop the quieter virtues__ submission, humility, patience, joyful endurance, persistence in well__doing__virtues that take the longest to learn.

What do we do when God seems to withhold our heart's desire? He is able to help us to love and trust Him enough to accept the delay with joy and to see it as an opportunity to develop these virtues__and to praise Him. __David Roper

```````````````````Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!``````````````````````
``````````````````````````Thou are the Potter, I am the clay;````````````````````````````
`````````````````````````Mold me and make me after Thy will,``````````````````````````
````````````````````````While I am waiting, yielded and still.``````````````````````````
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Waiting for God is never a waste of time.

************************Today's Bible Reading __ Psalm 40:1-3**************************

1 I waited patiently for the
LORD; and He inclined to
me, and heard my cry. 2 He
also brought me up out of a
horrible pit, out of the miry
clay, and set my feet upon a
rock, and established my
steps. 3 He has put a new
song in my mouth__praise
to our God; many will see it
and fear, and will trust in
the LORD.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

When David wrote this psalm, he had been through some pretty
tough times that were brought about by both his own sins and by
the actions of his enemies (vv.2,12,14). David wrote of how he
struggled to trust God (vv.11-17), even as he persisted in prayer
for God's help and waited patiently for God's deliverance (vv.1-
5). Despite the prolonged and uncertain waiting (vv.13,17), David
testified that God hears and answers prayers and is worthy of our
trust (vv.1-4) and called on the congregation to join him in praising
God (vv.5,9-10). Perseverance in prayer, patient waiting, and
unwavering trust is the consistent call and exhortation of the
psalmists (Pss. 25:1-2; 27:13-14; 33:20; 37:7; 62:1).