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Jan 27, 2024 06:00am

How Much Longer

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I love my three children, I really do, but I am so thankful they have aged and matured enough to understand road trips. Not so many years ago, we would pack up the car and load up the littles and if driving to anywhere beyond twenty minutes, they would start asking, “how much longer?”

Children don’t have the patience, or perspective, of adults. Because they don’t know the route they can’t stand the wait.

In our spiritual lives, we are often like children. God is taking us on a journey, and while we surrender to the reality of His control, our impatience builds when we don’t know where He is taking us, how we are going to get there, or when.

We too, yearnfully ask, “how much longer, Lord?”

And our asking is nothing new.

Maybe you’ve heard of an ancient King named David? David is most famously known from Scripture as “a man after God’s own heart.” He ruled in covenant with God over Israel and his kingdom was incredibly prosperous. David was truly one of the “greats” and an example of faith we should follow. His resume is impressive. He defeated armies and wrote beautiful songs. He transformed from a lowly shepherd boy to a giant slayer to a powerful king with victories recorded forever.

Yet, woven throughout his success story is a thread of suffering. David’s life was awesome, but it was nowhere near easy. Like most people, David suffered tremendous heartache. He was betrayed and rejected by those who should have loved and supported him. He was hunted like a wild animal. Forced out. On the run. Homeless and often feeling helpless. He lost family. He watched as his men, his loyal warriors, grieved the loss of their homes and families for his sake. He fought external battles to the point of exhaustion and inward battles to harness his anger. At the rise of his kingdom, he lost his battle with lust. He sinned against God and then he sinned some more. He suffered unbearable consequences for his choices — the holy principle of reaping what is sown on full display. And David knew enough of God to understand.

David’s accomplishments and power did not provide sufficient strength to endure or overcome his pain. His journey was long. His journey was hard and he often wrote about his sorrow and despair.

As a child of God, he asked, “how much longer, Lord?”

Psalm 13,

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Can you hear his desperation? Can you relate? If you, too, are asking, “how much longer?” lean in today and learn from David. His story was not over and neither is yours.

Though generations have passed, our humanity remains.

Heartache still feels like heartache.
Grief still stings the soul.
Rejection still breeds anger.
People still suffer.
Depression — “sorrow in my heart all the day” — is still real and our question is the same; “how long, O Lord?”

When waiting has become unbearable and you are ready to abandon the trip all together, hear the words and wisdom of God written from the pen of David. He continues:
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Friends, God has written through the pen of David the way through the wait!
Here are five choices we can make while we wait:
1. Go to God. David begins by calling on God’s attention and God’s intervention. David recognized his need for God. He was desperate for God and fully dependent on Him for help. So, he started praying.

2. Trust in God’s steadfast love. Do you believe He loves you? David had settled in his heart and mind that no matter what, God loved him unconditionally and His love was trustworthy.

3. Rejoice in God’s salvation. Do you remember when you accepted God’s free gift of salvation? Can you go back to a time when the grace of God swept over your soul and you surrendered to Christ, receiving forgiveness? Then, RE-joice, choose joy again, in your day of rescue. Don’t ever get over being saved. Don’t undervalue the gospel of Jesus Christ and the salvation of God. If He never does another thing for you, dying to cover the debt of your sin and making a way for you to have a relationship with the Father was enough. Full stop. So, choose to rejoice.

4. Sing to the LORD. David knew the power of music and song. He understood the great fact of humanity; we were CREATED FOR WORSHIP. Worship heals the soul. Worship turns our focus from ourselves to our sustainer. The LORD is worthy and the way through the waiting is paved with the sounds of worship. Turn the music up. Open your mouth. Sing to the LORD.

5. Know He has dealt bountifully with you. Despite the incredible hardships David faced, he consistently expressed gratitude. David was thankful for the goodness of God. When was the last time you counted your blessings? Get out a piece of paper and write them down. If you are waiting on God, this practice will give you something to do and will shift your mind from all you’ve lost to all His hand has given.

No doubt all of us face seasons of waiting on God to move, to help, to change circumstances or to transform hearts. But the difference in the journey will be in how we choose to wait. We can act like children and whine and wish we were already there or we can choose something more.
When we don’t know the route and we can’t stand the wait, we need to act. We need to follow the example of David and trust that the author of our story is still writing.
Just like a road trip, the wait is always worth it when we finally reach our destination. The same is true in our relationship with God. If you are asking, “how much longer, Lord?” do what David did and your wait will become worth your while.