I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning –
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
(Psalm 130:5,6)
OUR LONGING FOR THE LORD OUGHT TO BE NO LESS FERVENT THAN THE EAGERNESS OF THE WATCHMAN FOR THE MORNING. Those whose job it is to stay up and guard or wait while others are asleep have a job that is not easy. Especially during the last few hours before dawn, time slows to an agonizing crawl, and the watchman longs for that first hint of light in the east, a sign that the sun is coming up. But it is not only the watchman who waits for the morning. There are others who wait through the long night hours, hoping for the relief which comes from the rising of the sun.
Sickness. There is nothing longer than a night of physical pain and fever. We toss miserably in our comfortless beds, and the hands of the clock do not seem to move at all. But when the rosy glow of dawn begins to brighten our sickroom, the suffering seems to ease up a bit. With the coming of the morning, there is hope.
Sorrow. When we’ve lost something or someone who was dear to us, our hearts are racked with the emotion that we call “grief.” The sense of loss can be almost unendurable, and it is especially so at night. Darkness seems to intensify the sorrow, making the nighttime dreadful. In our grief, we wait for the morning to come.
Distress. Even if we don’t “worry” in the worldly sense of that term, we certainly do suffer distress. Even the Lord did. Speaking of His crucifixion, He said, “But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50). In distress, the night is long and the morning is welcome.
Even if we aren’t suffering sickness, sorrow, or distress, however, we should still be able to say what the Psalmist said: “My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning — yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” There ought not to be a “night” of any kind in which we do not desperately yearn for the coming of the sun. Nay, the coming of the Son.
“In life troubles will come which seem as if they will never pass away. The night and storm look as if they would last forever; but the calm and the morning cannot be stayed . . .” (George MacDonald).
Gary Henry — WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
