Today, Tuesday March 14
“LORD, What Am I Waiting For?”
Psalm 39:4-7
"LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah
Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.
"And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
In this Psalm we find David somewhat despondent. He was dealing with the consequences of some sin in his life. Some commentators think maybe he had a stroke of some sort. He speaks of it in verses 9-11; “…Because it was You who did it. Remove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand. When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth…”
David also had to face the criticism of those who wanted him to be defeated. Others were gossiping and slandering him. He was paralyzed with anger, fear and worry and couldn’t even speak. It is possible that the stroke had taken away his ability to talk. David is at a low point in his life but by God’s grace he knows the best thing to do! He turns to the LORD!
We find this in verse 7: "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. This is the central verse in the Psalm and the turning point in David's experience. "If life is short and goes past so swiftly," asks David, "what am I waiting for”? Then he answers his own question and basically says, “If the world is nothing but a shadow image, let me give myself to the Lord, who is the foundation of all that is real and lasting."
Today we might ask, “What on earth am I here for?” What is my purpose in life? So many of us are “wandering” through life without a purpose. Someone said: “Nothing matters more than knowing God‘s purposes for your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them — not success, wealth, fame, or pleasure. Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless.” “The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.”
“Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, or other externals — hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. You think, maybe this time it will be different, but it doesn’t solve your real problem — a lack of focus and purpose.”
“Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which you base decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources. You will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures, and your mood at that moment. People who don’t know their purpose try to do too much — and that causes stress, fatigue, and conflict.”
“Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.”
The main concern is not how long we live but how we live. Life is measured not by how rich we are in material wealth, but whether we have values that last. Are we living with eternity's values in view? 1 John 2:17 reminds us that, "He who does the will of God abides forever". When David by faith turned to the Lord, he moved from hopelessness to hope and from paralysis to action. “My hope is in You!
The Puritan fathers in the Westminster Catechism said it this way: “What is the chief purpose for which man is made? The chief purpose for which man is made is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”
What are you waiting for? The best time to turn from the temporal to the eternal is right now! The only place to find real life and hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone can restore you to a relationship with God who is waiting for you to come to Him! “…the Father is seeking such to worship Him…” (John 4:23-24).
God bless!