Word for Today - 24 June 2025
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“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1 NKJV
The waiting strategy
When you’re up against a problem that seems too big for you or feel like you are “in over your head” and you don’t know what to do or which way to go, use the waiting strategy. That’s the one David the psalmist used. And it worked for him: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth–praise to our God…Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust…My ears You have opened” (vv. 1-4, 6 NKJV). Waiting is hard to do when you are anxious. And waiting patiently is even harder. Stop and think who you are waiting for: the Lord. He is Lord of every situation, including yours. Perhaps this illustration will help you. Arthur McKinsey writes: “If you think of a…problem as being like a medieval walled city, then a lot of people will attack it head on, like a battering ram. They will storm the gates and try to smash through the defences with sheer intellectual power and brilliance… just camp outside the city. I wait. And I think. Until one day—maybe after I’ve turned to a completely different problem—the drawbridge comes down and the defenders say, ‘We surrender.’ The answer to the problem comes all at once.” Waiting for God to work is that way. While you are waiting, He is working on your behalf.
The waiting strategy
When you’re up against a problem that seems too big for you or feel like you are “in over your head” and you don’t know what to do or which way to go, use the waiting strategy. That’s the one David the psalmist used. And it worked for him: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth–praise to our God…Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust…My ears You have opened” (vv. 1-4, 6 NKJV). Waiting is hard to do when you are anxious. And waiting patiently is even harder. Stop and think who you are waiting for: the Lord. He is Lord of every situation, including yours. Perhaps this illustration will help you. Arthur McKinsey writes: “If you think of a…problem as being like a medieval walled city, then a lot of people will attack it head on, like a battering ram. They will storm the gates and try to smash through the defences with sheer intellectual power and brilliance… just camp outside the city. I wait. And I think. Until one day—maybe after I’ve turned to a completely different problem—the drawbridge comes down and the defenders say, ‘We surrender.’ The answer to the problem comes all at once.” Waiting for God to work is that way. While you are waiting, He is working on your behalf.
