Mighty King
Strength is in Your Name
Mighty King
You are Lord of all
Each Sunday of Advent, Patti and I add characters to our manger scene at home. We start with the animals, then the shepherds, next the angel, followed by Mary and Joseph. And finally on Christmas Day, we add the Christ child! But, mixed in with our love for building the manger scene is a small twinge of disappointment because as we mark off each Sunday, we are also reminded about how long we have to wait for Christmas!
Waiting is hard to do and becomes even more difficult when it involves pain. Maybe you’ve had to wait for test results to come back, or maybe you’ve had to wait for a loved one to return and a relationship to be restored. Isaiah 9:6 reminds us that one who is coming to deliver us is a MIGHTY GOD.
I have a daily practice of praying a portion of Psalm 27. King David talks about waiting in Psalm 27. In this Psalm, he is in some difficult circumstances, and he is waiting on God in prayer. But, as David finds out, God’s response is not always immediate. So then, what are we to do in the mean time? Wait. Here are a couple of things to meditate on while waiting on the Lord.
1. Remember that God is a MIGHTY GOD.
In the opening verses of Psalm 27, King David reminds himself that God is stronger than anything that might be threatening him or causing him pain. No matter what he’s facing, David gains confidence during his time of waiting by remembering that God can deliver him, no matter the circumstances (Psalm 27:3). When we find ourselves waiting for God to respond to our pain, we should remember that God is powerful enough to deliver us from whatever we’re facing.
2. Seek his face.
God tells King David to “seek my face” while he’s waiting (Psalm 27:8). In other words, God is telling David to seek out His presence, to be aware of His presence. The point that God is making to David is that there is value in being intentional in formational worship while we wait for God. There is value in disciplining ourselves to seek God’s face while we wait in formational practices like giving, the study of scripture, singing and prayer. We are vulnerable when we are suffering or going through difficult times. The same is true for King David, so he asks God, “Teach me your way, O Lord” during his time of waiting (Psalm27:11). David says that he is tempted to leave the “level path” of the ways of God because of his enemies. David desires to practice God’s ways while he is in his time of suffering and waiting.
Advent teaches us to wait for the Christ (King) Jesus to come again. We may see God’s deliverance “in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13), or we may see it in the age to come. Either way, we are to wait…and trust a MIGHTY GOD.
Weekly Advent Readings: Psalm 24:7-10; Exodus 15:2-3; Matthew 28:17; Ephesians 1:19-23