Waiting on God is not empty time. It is hope with its eyes open.
“I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.”Psalm 130:5 (KJV)
What does “Waiting” mean in Psalm 130:5?
The Hebrew word for wait is qavah, which means to wait with expectation. The psalmist uses it twice in one verse and joins it to hope in God's word.
Going deeper
Psalm 130 begins in the depths, with a cry to God out of trouble. By verse five the writer has settled into waiting, and he describes it as something his whole self does: my soul doth wait. This is not passive. A few verses later he compares it to watchmen waiting for the morning, people who stay awake because they are sure the morning will come.
Advent invites us into that kind of waiting. It is easy to hurry past it and jump ahead to celebration. But the people who waited for the first Christmas lived most of their lives inside this verse. Their hope was placed in what God had said, not in what they could see. You may be waiting for something right now, such as an answer, a change, or the mending of a relationship. Place your hope where the psalmist placed his, in God's word, and let the waiting become part of your worship.
Reflect
What are you waiting for right now, and how can you make that waiting a form of worship?
Pray
Lord, teach me to wait for You with an open heart. Anchor my hope in Your word when the waiting feels long. In Jesus' name, amen.
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