Read Psalm 119:145-152.
In the heat of the moment, it’s very easy to be impulsive. Advertisers are skilled at manipulating mood and creating urgency within us: that ‘must have’ item which will be gone if we don’t purchase it right now! When I was a child, I used to want something ‘immediately, if not sooner!’ Apart from clearly failing to understand the meaning of the word ‘immediately’ (or maybe feeling it didn’t have the urgency I desired!), that attitude never allows for the patience of God.
The psalmist learned long ago ‘from Your statutes that You established them to last forever.’ (Ps 119:152) There is a permanence to God which will not be hurried: ‘from everlasting to everlasting You are God.’ (Ps 90:2) The psalmist knows all about longing and desperation, rising before dawn and staying up through the night in prayer. (Ps 119:147-148). He cries out to God for help and protection. (Ps 119:145-146) The psalmist needs the assurance of God’s presence with him. (Ps 119:151)
One of the names proclaimed by the angels as they announced the coming of Jesus is ‘Immanuel – God with us.’ (Matt 1:23) God’s presence with us makes all the difference. If we are accompanied daily the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:9), we need not be in such a hurry. We can afford to ‘wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.’ (Ps 27:14)
