What am I going to do? This is often our cry of despair. The storms of life can come without let up and seem endless as it crashes against us until we feel we can take no more.

David had to learn to wait upon the Lord. As his enemy, King Saul, hunted him down, David waited for the better part of 15 years while hiding out in caves and living in the wilderness. Yet he penned Psalm 62 amid his troubles, and God has preserved it as wonderful instruction for us today. Psalm 62 offers three valuable lessons.

1 – We must learn how to wait

It’s understandable that we want answers and relief according to our timetable but God acts in His own perfect time.

• Waiting necessitates the passage of time – See Psalm 130:5-6. The psalmist was comparing waiting expectantly on the Lord to the night guards of the city who watched the passage of time in anticipation of the coming dawn when they would be released from duty. The coming of the dawn was certain, but not without the passage of time. In our “I want it now generation”, we must understanding and accept the fact that waiting on the Lord always involves the passage of time just as it does when we are waiting for the news, a special TV program, for a plane to arrive, or for retirement. Waiting on the Lord inevitably means enduring the passage of time, but it means more, much more.
• Waiting means confident expectation – When we, like the guards of the city, wait for the morning, we are waiting for more than simply time to pass. We are waiting for the sun to rise and day to break, for the light to replace the darkness, and the cold to be replaced with the warmth of the sun. Waiting involves an expectation of something special. Waiting means anticipation, expectation, and confident hope in something that will take place. Ultimately, waiting on the Lord is like waiting on the sun to rise—waiting expectantly for the Lord’s answers to human needs as the sun brings the warmth of the day.
• Waiting involves an expectation based on knowledge and trust – Without knowledge and trust; we simply won’t wait—at least not without a great deal of anxiety—and usually not without taking matters into our own hands. As the watchman waits for the sun because he knows it is reliable, so the Psalmist waits for the Lord even more because he knows the Lord is more reliable than the rising of the sun. In other words, waiting is fundamentally wrapped up with knowing, trusting, and believing in the Lord and His person (His character) and in His promises. The ability to wait on the Lord stems from being confident and focused on who God is and in what God is doing. It means confidence in God’s person: confidence in His wisdom, love, timing, and understanding of our situation and that of the world. It means knowing and trusting in God’s principles, promises, purposes, and powers.

2 – We must wait and not react quickly

We need to wait silently. This quiets our minds and tongues and gives God an opportunity to speak His words of hope and direction to our hearts. It is important to show patience, trust, courage and assurance that God will keep His promise.

Occasional anger also can signify lack of faith. Even Moses, the most humble of men (Numbers 12:3), when pressed by the quarrelling multitude, reacted with rash words and struck the rock to which the Lord had commanded him to speak to bring forth the waters of Meribah. Because Moses did not trust enough in the Lord to honour his holiness, saying, “must we bring you water out of this rock?” he incurred the high cost of not entering into the promised land (Numbers 20:7-12).

It is impossible simultaneously to embrace anger and fellowship with God, to wear the mask of anger and see the face of God, to shake one’s fists in anger and fold one’s hands in prayer, to shout in anger and hear God, to pursue vengeance and receive mercy.

3 – We must keep our focus on God

We are not to focus on our troubles and other people but rather on Almighty God. Don’t ask “What am I going to do?” but rather “What is God going to do?” He is doing something in your storm.

God Himself was the object of David’s faith. He looked to God and to God alone for his safety. In their history the Jews had often relied on their military prowess or turned to more powerful nations to save them from destruction at the hands of the ascendant power. This was one of the faults the prophet Isaiah was to condemn – looking only to other earthly powers for help: “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help….. but do not look to the Holy One of Israel!” (Isaiah 31:1)

Sadly, that’s what many do today. They look no further than their family and friends for help – or turning to professional counsellors for help (good and useful though their advice and support may be) instead of turning to God Himself.

The problem with us is that we so often only look to God, seek God or call on God as a last resort. But God should be the Christian’s first resort. How stupid we are because how slow we have been to turn to Him in our troubles!! Too often we say we believe but act as though we simply don’t!

David speaks about God as His refuge and fortress and a mighty rock – as though God is like an impregnable wall which surrounds Him so that no arrow fired by an enemy bow can strike him. No dart can wound him. In the stormy times of life when wave upon wave of adversity sweeps over us and our trials multiply – there’s a right time to run for shelter. And there’s nothing to be ashamed of in running into God’s arms.

Categories: Psalms