Cry, Wait & Hope

Psalm 130 & 131

　
　

"Wait, Israel (or Joe), for God. Wait with hope."

We live in a very impatient society. I want what I want when I want it. Right now! I get impatient when my computer takes too long to respond. I get frustrated when the car in front of me at the McDonalds drive through is slow. I get angry when someone cuts in front of me on the highway.

What does Psalm 130 tell us about patience?

"Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

Lord, hear my voice."

This is not your typical sanitized prayer that you might hear on a Sunday morning or at a polite Bible study. This comes from the depths of pain and despair straight to the heart of God. Think of Jesus sweating drops of blood in Gethsemane. The Message says it like this:

"Help God - the bottom has fallen out of my life"!

How well do you handle waiting? I can wait for someone on the outside and yet be very impatient on the inside.

"I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

and in His Word I put my hope."

This verse puts your heart, soul and body into waiting for the Lord. As sinful people, we crave control of our lives. But where does that leave the Lord?

"Put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption."

What things do you hope for? A sunny, warm day? A big sale to come through at work? Your kids to get all A’s? How much more will the Lord’s unfailing love and full redemption change your life?

Crying, waiting and hoping are all based on how we relate to the Living, Personal God of the Bible. Together, let us cry to the Lord, wait for the Lord and hope in the Lord and see what He does in our lives.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20130-131&version=NIV;MSG
http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Ps.130-Ps.131

Waiting For Hope Micah 5:1-5

Have you ever waited for news? This past week my family has been waiting for some news. Every day, every quiet hour seemed an eternity. When we finally got the news we were waiting for, it included a glimmer of hope. My whole attitude that day changed. I hadn’t realized how hopeless things had seemed until I receive hope.

Israel is in need of some hope. Chapter two of Micah talks about the doom of Israel because of its disobedience. Israel is going to go through some rough times, they are going to feel as if God has abandoned them, so God gives them some hope in Chapter five.

“ But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel, …
He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth. “

This passage is a prophecy concerning the coming Messiah. The hope of Israel.  I love this passage because it is so specific concerning where Christ will be born.  Bethlehem was a tiny town. Yet it is named specifically in scripture as the birthplace for the Messiah.

God has not left his people without hope. If you are going through a rough time, ask God for some hope. We didn’t get the answer we were praying for, but God gave us hope, hope that He is still God, hope that He loves us, hope that things might work out the way we want.

Even if things don’t go my way, I am grateful for the hope I have today. It reminds me that God is in control.

Read today's passage at Bibegateway Micah 5:1-5