Waiting for Daybreak

*Psalm 130  (A song for worship.) From a sea of troubles I call out to you, LORD. 
Won't you please listen as I beg for mercy?  If you kept record of our sins, no 
one could last long.  But you forgive us, and so we will worship you.  With all 
my heart, I am waiting, LORD, for you! I trust your promises.  I wait for you 
more eagerly than a soldier on guard duty waits for the dawn. Yes, I wait more 
eagerly than a soldier on guard duty waits for the dawn.  Israel, trust the LORD! 
He is always merciful, and he has the power to save you.  Israel, the LORD will 
save you from all of your sins.

Psalm 30:5 Your anger, O Lord, lasts a little while, but your kindness lasts for 
a lifetime. At night we may cry, but when morning comes we will celebrate.

Many years ago a prominent Christian evangelist preached a sermon entitled "It's Friday, but Sunday's Coming!" His sermon encourages Christians to be strong in the face of adversity, the dark night of their cross, and be patient because Sunday (the day of resurrection) is coming! You remember Jesus' terrible death on Friday when it seemed that all was lost. Everything He lived for seemed to cave in, His teachings were a blur, and His followers were filled with dread. There was no silver lining; that was what they thought. Then Sunday morning came and the first blush of light streaked across a Jerusalem sky. Women went to the tomb to mourn and what they found was joy, inexpressible joy! They would never have thought that possible; joy was the furthest thing from their minds. They knew about Friday but they never anticipated Sunday!

It was a long time, hours seeming like years, between the beginning of Passover on Friday and a small group of despondent women making their way to the cemetery early Sunday. Dread has a way of doing that, doesn't it? Time seems to stand still and overwhelming events seem to take on a life of their own. It is like being in a small yard with a very high fence and no gate. It is like being trapped, smothering in anxiety, and no one to rescue you. No one seems to understand and the pain is beyond endurance. You are caught in a time-warp of nothing but trouble. That was what the writer of Psalm 130 thought, that he was caught in a "sea of troubles." To top it off, the writer was sure that his sins contributed to his dilemma...so he begs God for mercy...and waits for an answer.

I wait for you more eagerly than a soldier on guard duty waits for the dawn. 
Yes, I wait more eagerly than a soldier on guard duty waits for the dawn.  

Why did Israel include this psalm in its songbook? I think it did for several reasons. In the first place, we can often identify with the poet's sense of having failed God. And when you have a whole congregation singing this song, it reflects the feeling of the whole group, "all have sinned." Sometimes we fail God as a group as well as a person. When this happens we need to admit our failure and turn to God. A second reason Israel sang this song was that it honestly reflected the helplessness we feel when events in our lives are very bad. This is a song for hard times! Someone just telling us that we should "keep our chin up" isn't enough! In fact, we rebel against people taking our situation so lightly. This song accurately reflects our desperation and it can become our prayer when we cannot think clearly enough to pray for ourselves. A third reason this hymn was sung is that it tells us God is a God of mercy and is open to our cry. God does not turn us aside! We wait for God because we know "Sunday's coming." God has promised to lead us like a shepherd to inner peace and strength of character. We can face ourselves and what beats us down. God is here to help us! And sometimes He helps us through others. Finally, I think it is important to know that problems can be solved-or perhaps better, resolved-by maintaining confidence in God. Like the psalmist we know that at night we may cry, but when morning comes we will celebrate.

Your morning will come, although you may not think so now. It is not trite to say that "Its Friday, but Sunday's Coming." Jesus brings hope to our ragged lives, the kind of hope that can help us see more clearly than we thought we could the reality of a day of peace, kindness, and grace ahead of us. And we pray that God will give us a taste of that right now, an insight into the fact that God cares about us and is working on our behalf.

Do you need encouragement today? I do...and I mean that! As I write this, I am living in Saturday...but I have been a Christian long enough to know that Sunday is coming. I believe that, and that kind of confidence helps me keep steady when it would be so easy to be knocked down...and stay down. So I wait for the Lord, knowing He will come. When and how is not my concern. I know God will come to us, to you and me. You can do the same. Yes, you can.

Prayer: Gracious Lord, we are deflated because of what has happened in our lives recently. In spite of all this pressure we continue to believe You know all about our situation and that You care about our need for strength and calm. Help us to expect Your "morning" in our lives. Give us the strength to trust You and to carry on and know happiness once again. Thank You for those You put in our lives to help us. Thank You for your mercy through Jesus, Your Son. It is in His Name and through His Spirit that we make our prayer to You, Father Almighty. Amen.

Jerry L. Mercer

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*Contemporary English Version