"I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning." (Psalms 130:5–6)
When I served in the infantry on field training exercises, one of our tasks was on keep watch over the battlefield from our trenches, taking shifts through the night. Some undertook this responsibility rather lightly while others recognized the gravity of this task. Those who took it lightly often fell asleep on their watch, while the rest of us fought hard to stay awake and vigilant. Our "whole being" waited and watched in case the enemy took advance of the cover of darkness to mount an attack. Now the thing about keeping watch at night is that you can become too attentive. I remember many occasions where I managed to convince myself that there was trouble lurking in the bushes within my arcs of fire. The more I looked the more I became convinced there must be someone there until, I realized there wasn't. A drink of water, a self-inflicted slap on the face would wake me from my delusions as I realized that, maybe, I had been too attentive to the potential dangers.
While waiting with a zealous passion may be admirable and praiseworthy, it can also lead to tunnel vision, deluding us into seeing what we want to see. Expecting success at every turn can lead us to see success where failure lurks, and likewise expecting the worst can lead us to see problems where there are none.
The psalmist invites us to wait with hope - a hope which is to be found not in the strategies of worldly success, but rather in wholeheartedly waiting upon the Lord with God's word and voice to guide us.
Oh LORD, teach me the skill of diligent, mindful, hopeful waiting upon you. Amen.
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