Pains in the Waiting || Psalm 27:14 || Manna for the Mind #125

Welcome to Day 125 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is Psalm 27:14, where we’ll discuss what it means to wait for God.

Psalm 27:14

Before I discuss the meat of this verse, let’s define “brave” and “courage.”

Brave is the Hebrew verb chazaq (khaw-zak’), meaning to strengthen. This verse uses it to refer to being courageous and confident. Courage is the Hebrew verb amets (aw-mats’), meaning stout, strong, bold, and alert. I’ll come back to these definitions in a minute. Let’s look at what David was talking about.

David knew from experience what it meant to wait for God. He was anointed king at age 16 but only became king at age 30. During his waiting period, jealous King Saul chased him through the wilderness. David had to wait on God to fulfill his promise that David would reign. After becoming king, he was later chased by his rebellious son Absalom.

Waiting for God is difficult, but it’s crucial to our spiritual growth. Patience is often described as a willing endurance, a willingness to endure the discomfort or pain until it’s over. It can feel like God is ignoring us during these times, leading to the belief that God is not in control or fair. Yet God is worth waiting for. In the waiting, we learn about ourselves. We find ways to refresh our souls, rebuild our strength, and teach us new ways to handle our situations. It’s where the bravery and courage comes in. It’s easy to want to give us and surrender to the chaos and pain, but we must be patient and believe that God will see us through to the other side. It’s getting up each day with a new sense of bravery and courage to see what we can learn and how we can take care of ourselves until victory is obtained.

Scripture is our guide in understanding God’s timing. To wait and hope in the Lord is a call that Jeremiah shares with us in Lamentation 3:24-26, which I will leave you with:

Lamentations 3:24-26

24         I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

25         The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.

26         So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.