Believing and Waiting

I certainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait for theLord;
Bes trong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:13-14 (NASB)

In this psalm we have spent time meditating upon the confidence of the believer (verses 1-6), and on the prayers of the believer (verses 7-12). The order of confidence preceding the prayers is important; what would be the point of petitioning a God in whom we have no confidence? In the final two verses (13-14) we come to the decision of the believer, which has the same order found in the previous verses – believing in God (confidence) and waiting for God (praying).

The verse begins in the past tense (believed), which suggests an older David sharing his testimony with others personally or who read it later. David expected to be blessed by God’s goodness in his lifetime as well as in eternity. This tells us that God blesses us in this life and in the one to come too; He does not withhold His goodness (tûb in Hebrew = the best, beauty, welfare, gladness) from His children.

How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of men!

Psalm 31:19

The final verse is the sum of all that has been said in the other thirteen verses; it is the cherry on the top of the cake. These final words are the instructions of an older man to younger people; to be strengthened in the confidence of God our Father. These words are as applicable today as they were in David’s day, for both men and women of God.

Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 40:31

Dear Reader, the message of this psalm is the confidence of the believer in God his Father – it is Him on whom we must wait for answered prayers and deliverance. He is an all together loving Father who knows what we need, and when we need it. As we prayerfully consider this rich psalm may we rejoice in the proclamation of Isaiah 25:9: “…Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us, this is the LORD for whom we have waited; let’s rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Devotional Treasures

About the Author

Devotional Treasures is a daily source of Biblical posts on various sources; they are free to all. These are written by me, Alan Kearns, and are inspired by my own private reading/study of God's Word.

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