Just Wait

Lamentations 3:25-27

We continue to look at the hope Jeremiah had in this article as we focus on the next few verses. To recap, Jeremiah found his hope in God, specifically in His mercy, grace, and compassion. His mindset went from alone and depressed to hopeful and comforted by a faithful God.

In verse 25 Jeremiah tells us that those who wait on God, and seek Him while they are waiting, will be rewarded. Waiting on God sounds easy, but I think most of you would agree with me when I say that waiting on God can be some of the most difficult and strenuous times of life. I like to be in control. I like to know what is coming up. When I hand over control I feel more stressed and anxious. It takes more work for me to have faith.

God brings those times into our lives for a reason. He wants us to wait on Him so that we may grow closer to Him. If we faithfully wait on Him and seek Him we will grow in our trust, faith, patience, and more. He makes it as easy for us as He can by giving us promises to cling to when we are faithfully waiting but still feeling alone (Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5). These are the promises we need to cling to when we are struggling and when the devil is trying to make us doubt.

In verse 26 Jeremiah says it is good for us to hope and wait quietly for God. This does not mean we keep our mouth shut; we wouldn’t be able to deal with it waiting if we did not pray. It means we need to trust Him, not complain or tell God He is being unfaithful. We need to cling to the promises He has given us, and we need to remember His faithfulness that we can see in Scripture and that we have seen in our own lives. Verse 27 actually speaks to this as well. The reason Jeremiah says that it is good for us to bear waiting on God in our youth is because we can always look back at the faithfulness of God when we waited on Him in the past.

For those of us who have to go through a long waiting period, if we were faithful, we look back at those times and cherish them. At one point in my life I had to wait for an unknown period of time. I thought it would be maybe one or two months, but that turned into four months and then six months. The first couple of months were difficult, but doable. I would walk around a neighborhood every night and pray. I would share how I was feeling with God, asking for His help and wisdom and strength, and trying to be faithful (though I certainly had my fair share of failures).

After another couple months I thought my waiting was almost over. It had become very strenuous and difficult to deal with, and I was relieved that it was almost over, but God told me to keep waiting. That was one of the most painful and frustrating moments of my life, but God had a reason. I recall going and talking to my brother about it and then walking and praying again. I poured out my frustrations to Him, thankfully not in a way that was sinful, but I just wanted to share with Him how I was feeling. His reaction was to give me overwhelming peace and an eye opening awe of His glory and goodness. I have still yet to feel as close to God as I did then and still remember it very well even though it happened years ago.

The goodness and faithfulness of God is an awesome experience and waiting on Him is what provided this experience for me. Anyone who has experienced this will agree that waiting is undeniably worth it. And it is now an experience that can be recalled anytime there is another period of waiting. As Jeremiah said, bearing this yoke is difficult, but it is good to bear it in your youth.

If you are going through a period of waiting on God, remain faithful. There is hope. There is a light at the end of a tunnel. There is a closeness to God you will experience that is unmatched. But you must remain faithful and hope and wait on Him. If you don’t then your waiting will not be worth it. If you do, it will be an experience you will look back on for the rest of your life with great fondness. He is faithful and He has a purpose behind His calling on us to wait. As we saw last week, Jeremiah found his hope in a merciful and gracious God, and you will too. Seek a friend who has remained faithful during a time of waiting, pray to God and be open and honest with Him, and remain faithful!

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