Psalm 69:16-19 English Standard Version (ESV)
16 Answer me, O Lord,
for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Hide not your
face from your servant,
for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to
my soul, redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know
my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
I had a friend who would say to me, “God isn’t answering my prayers.”
My answer to him sounds appropriate for today. “Maybe God is more concerned with what is going on inside you than what is going on outside you.”
Verse 17 rings so true for answers to our concerns, “make haste”. We want instant answers. What if the problem that God is working on is lack of character on our part? Character is developmental and takes time. Patience is developmental.
James 1:3 English Standard Version (ESV) for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
We can say we trust God but do the words of our mouth and our actions properly reflect trust? What is trust without patience?
I am reminded of my dog’s behavior while I am fixing breakfast. She does this impatient dance with her nails clicking on the floor. She is excited with anticipation for something she is not going to get. It does not stop her from begging and being hopeful.
When we eat our breakfast, she mopes. She looks so pathetic. Is that how we look when we are being impatient? Does our continence drop?
Psalm 43:5 English Standard Version (ESV) Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Mood affects worship. We tend to be less enthusiastic in worship when we are disappointed. Disappointment comes from unrealistic expectations. Thy will be done slides back to the end of our prayers in favor of “give me”.