As a single person, I never assumed that I would one day get married. I wanted to be married and have a family, but I was insecure about my chances. I wasn’t sure that I would ever meet someone that would want to spend the rest of her life with me. In fact, if I’m honest, there were times when I was convinced that I would never meet such a person.

It was tough waiting.

But eventually, after way too many Friday nights alone, I did meet that someone. And looking back, she was entirely worth the wait. I’m glad now that I didn’t rush the process, but at times it was tempting.

I have come to the conclusion that one of the most difficult things in life is waiting. When you have a sense of urgency and expectation for something, but you are not in a position to just make it happen on your own, your only good option is to wait for it.

And waiting is hard. Really hard.

Whether you are waiting for those test results, for that new job to open up, or waiting to meet that special someone, waiting will test your mettle like nothing else.

It isn’t clear what was going on in the background for David when he wrote Psalm 70, but it is clear that he was not enjoying his wait. He was in a hurry to get some help, as in right now. Notice the anxious tone of his prayer:

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me! -Psalm 70:1

But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay! -Psalm 70:5

David was like the guy out in the driveway waiting in the car, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, looking at the clock and laying on the horn as if to say, “Let’s go!”

I’ve been that guy honking. I have even honked at God. It didn’t work.

One of the things I love about the psalms of David is that they show David’s humanness in relationship to God’s otherness. David was a person just like you and me – with needs and issues – but he was rooted deeply in God’s steadfast love. No matter what was breaking loose in his life, David was convinced that God loved him and would see him through the situation.

So, did it make a difference when David asked God to hurry it up? Did God jump at David’s request? Did it speed things up when he honked? Not likely. God has his own timeframe. What we see as pointless delays, He sees as windows of opportunity.

“Whether you are waiting for those test results, for that new job to open up, or waiting to meet that special someone, waiting will test your mettle like nothing else.”

Though it sounds like the waiting game was killing David in Psalm 70, we do have proof that he survived. How so? Because Psalm 70 wasn’t his last chapter. There was another chapter by David that followed (Psalm 86), and several more after that.

If you are in waiting mode, this might feel like the chapter of your life that just won’t end. But it will. There’s another chapter coming soon enough. In the meantime, may the Lord give you the grace to trust Him and to worship while you wait.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.