By Lynda Smethurst
When our four kids were between the ages of eight and sixteen, we took a long-awaited family trip out West. Excitement was high as we flew to Denver, CO and then piled into our rental minivan to begin the 4000-mile loop that took us to the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Hoover Dam, Hollywood, the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Mount Rushmore, and so much more! Imagine with me now… these were pre-GPS days, so we had our colorful, fold-out roadmap, with our route highlighted boldly in fluorescent yellow. We had music, snacks, some car games, books, and each other. My husband was the driver, I was the navigator, and the kids kept things lively with their sibling antics and commentary.
Each morning we would hit the road with another “big” destination on the agenda, and as you might expect, the anticipation prompted more than a few “Are we there YET?” moments. Expectations were palpable. Legs were cramped. And tummies were rumbling. “Just…uh…three more hours!” I would cheerily say, studying the map. Another round of the License Plate Game, and the question would come again.
Today, you and I find ourselves on a long trip that was neither planned nor anticipated. As we navigate our way along this COVID-19 highway, a long and winding road that we’ve never traveled before, the question gnaws at us, “Are we there YET?” We wonder when we can get out of this “car” we find ourselves in, with all its limitations and restrictions, and finally soak in a beautiful destination. Pandemic trip completed. Done. Over.
But what is our destination? The prospect of this being “over” looks about as clear as morning fog on the horizon. Unlike most trips we have ever embarked upon, this one has no defined conclusion, and that feels at best unsettling and at worst scary. The boundaries of our situation keep shifting. Speculation has replaced our certainty; surrender has replaced our sense of control.
In our culture, there’s a premium placed on things happening pronto. Waiting even a few extra seconds for an internet connection or a traffic signal to change can cause blood pressures to rise. Our impatience in everyday life can carry over into a lack of willingness to trust the Lord and rest in him in the midst of circumstances that feel stalled. We are people who lean on certain outcomes, strategic plans, and ten-day forecasts. Waiting and especially “not knowing” doesn’t fit the narrative we have written for ourselves.
As a follower of Jesus, I find great hope in knowing that on this pandemic journey I am neither the driver nor the navigator! Indeed, “my times are in [his] hands” (Psalm 31:15). But this can be especially trying for us as moms! The problem is, as moms, we keep so many plates spinning and are, in a sense, accustomed to being BOTH the driver and the navigator; the question marks swirling around us and within us can be hard to take. It’s that control thing.
Psalm 130 is a beautiful passage of Scripture that I’ve always enjoyed, but these days it echoes the cry of my heart more than ever. The psalmist is in a place of despair, which he calls “the depths” (v. 1), and he laments his own sin: “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (v. 3). For me, the pandemic “new normal” has particularly revealed my sin of wanting—no, needing– to be in control. When will this end? What are the implications for our summer ahead? How will our economy recover? Will the virus subside and then resurge? These and many other concerns pummel my heart and mind. But the psalmist goes on to turn his face toward God and declare, “With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared” (v. 4).
After confessing (again) my trust issues evoked by the pandemic, I praise him for his forgiveness. But then what? I wonder how to please God along this bumpy ride.
The psalmist points the way for me in verses 5-6:
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
When the psalmist speaks of waiting for the Lord, I believe he refers to waiting for all the ways of the Lord, the will of the Lord, the gracious forgiveness of the Lord, and the Lord himself. He says “my soul waits,” which indicates that he is waiting with his whole being. Oh, to be this hungry and thirsty for our God! And I’m especially encouraged that the psalmist reminds us that hope has an address: it lives in the Word of God. We will find the hope that we need to wait well as we look to his Word, where we find all His promises fulfilled in Jesus and encounter the powerful revelation of who God is.
And lastly, there’s a depth of intensity with which we must wait: more than the guard on duty all night waits for the dawn. What a vivid picture of expectant, purposeful waiting. Each day on our family road trip, I remember how we would eventually arrive at our glorious destination for the day, and our “oooh’s and aaah’s” reflected our great satisfaction that the wait was indeed worth it!
What a comfort it is that over and over again in his Word God has spoken to us about waiting. And most often the waiting we find in Scripture serves the distinct purpose of cultivating deeper roots of trust in our good God. He knew we would need a great deal of encouragement to galvanize us toward a place of trust in times like these.
So, “are we there yet?” Of course, we are not yet at our final destination, the amazing future hope of eternity with the Lord.
But on one important level, we’re actually already there. Right where God wants us to be, because the proverbial “there” in life is wherever we currently are. Are you in a place of waiting? In his sovereign plan, he has placed us smack-dab in the exact circumstance that he has determined will bring about our growth and his glory.
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Additional verses to encourage us as we await the unfolding of God’s plans:
And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. (Psalm39:7)
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14)
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:30-31)
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