Keith Battle - It's Gonna Be Worth The Wait

I want to go back to the first nine verses of verse one, where it says, «I waited patiently for the Lord to help me.» «I waited patiently for the Lord to help me.» «I waited, I waited patiently…» Some of you have been waiting so long that you aren’t on a clock or watch anymore; you’re on a calendar now. «I waited patiently for the Lord to help me.» When I received this word, I envisioned the old AOL notification that says, «You’ve got mail.» I have mail for someone here today, and it’s going to come up on the screen: «To whom it may concern, it’s going to be worth the wait.» You may be seated. Waiting on the Lord is more than a song; it requires so much faith to wait on God. I am going to make four observations in this passage. The first one is about the predicament that the person who wrote this was in. Then I will discuss the posture he took as a result of being in his predicament. Next, I will talk about the provision he received while in this predicament, and finally, I will address the purpose of God in all of it. Then, we will go home and watch the Commanders go six and two—that’s what we’re here for.

It is essential to discuss why David, who wrote this, was waiting. What was he going through? If you look at verse two that I just read, he says, «I am plunged into a pit of despair.» I want you to picture that for a second: «I am in a pit of despair.» He’s not in a physical pit; understand something. In the poetical books of the Bible—like Psalms, Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes—much imagery is used metaphorically and not literally. So he’s not in a pit, but he’s saying that’s the best way he can describe it. He describes this pit as a pit of despair, comparing it to mud and mire. Mud and mire refer to swampy areas. Does anybody know what a swamp is? What he is saying is not only is this situation a mess, but it isn’t stable either. It’s one thing to be in something bad, but he is describing something that is bad and getting worse.

In the medical world, if you’re in serious or critical condition, that means you’re in bad shape and significant intervention is needed. If they add in the medical diagnosis that you’re also in critical but stable condition, that gives you hope—like, well, at least the vital signs are stable, and the intervention is holding things together. We are now poised to move in a better direction. But what is it like to be in something that’s bad and unstable? Does anyone know what it’s like to be in something that’s bad, and every time you touch it, it gets worse? I mean, it is that sensitive. You try to discuss it, and it gets worse. You try to jump in and fix it, and it gets worse. When it’s like that, God is saying you’ve got to wait on Him.

Am I talking to anybody already? I don’t know who you are or where you are, but this is what I know: you are in something, and you’re trying to get out of it. Your relief is, «Let me get out,» and God doesn’t always work that way. God is trying to work something in the situation. So, this is the predicament he’s in, and it’s a terrible predicament. But here’s his posture in this predicament: he says, «You know what I did? I waited.» That’s one of the hardest things for us to do. Think about the word «wait.» The word «wait» by itself seems restrictive; it almost seems controlling. «Wait, you have to come in and wait.» That seems like, «Who are you talking to?» We live in a society that amplifies our impatience. This world has sped up because we just don’t like waiting for anything. The internet speed isn’t fast enough; the traffic isn’t moving fast enough; and the line isn’t moving quickly enough. You don’t have the patience in here! Everything, from food coming out to catching fish, just isn’t moving fast enough.

You ever call one of those customer service lines? What I don’t understand is how, when I call customer service, the people answering the phone don’t speak good English. How are we going to have an interaction? «Hey! Hey, man!» «Whoa! Who are you?» «I’m in America! Go get your manager!» «Manager? Are you the manager? Jess? Who oversees you? Where are y’all?» Our impatience is rampant. Pastor Larry preached the other day, a few weeks ago, about how when you have a light and it turns green, if you don’t move, people behind you blow the horn. This is a very impatient world!

So, waiting is not something we are comfortable doing. Even waiting on the Lord takes a whole lot of trust. Waiting on God requires immense trust because God is powerful but doesn’t move fast. God isn’t on our time schedule. When we wait on the Lord, we typically get frustrated, especially when waiting on people. But you have to understand…