Psalm 119:74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me,
for I have put my hope in your word.

This should be the prayer of every Christian. All of us should live so that our lives would be an encouragement to other believers. The Japanese expresses it as more of an accomplished thing – they will rejoice – rather than as a hope. In either case, it is because the speaker waits expectantly for God’s Word. The Old Testament says that sort of thing many times, probably most famously in Isaiah 40:31, but English lacks a standard expression for it. I don’t know why the translators mostly say either “wait” or “hope,” but don’t combine the two into “wait expectantly.” That actually is a standard expression in Japanese, and to me it adds a great deal to all such passages. Some people wait on God by default, simply because they can’t do anything themselves, and some people hope God is going to come through while they are doing all sorts of stuff in their own strength. Neither path is the way to seeing God’s power manifested! We need to wait on God with the assurance that He is going to come through, doing what He directs rather than trying to figure out how we might “hurry Him along.” From our perspective it does seem sometimes like He’s really taking His time, but His timing is always best, whatever it looks like to our eyes. The story of Lazarus’ resurrection comes to mind here. If Jesus had been “on time,” the resurrection wouldn’t have happened! We need individually to wait expectantly on God, and also encourage one another to do so. If we will do that, we will all rejoice together.

Once again, this applies to me as much as it does to anyone. I’ve had my times of not wanting to wait on God, and of waiting on Him out of resignation. Neither is much fun, or profitable. It is when I wait expectantly, seeking what He would have me do but not cooking up schemes on my own, that I do see Him work, and I have peace and joy in the process. This is something I try to communicate to the believers in the church, but most of them are almost as hard-headed as I am! I didn’t learn this lesson easily, and I’m still learning it, so I need to have patience and compassion toward others who are struggling with it.

Father, thank You for Your patience with me, and thank You for Your perfect timing. Thank You for the various things I’ve seen unfolding recently, and for the expectation of seeing much more. I do continue to pray for an outpouring of Your Spirit on this nation, for repentance and salvation, and I trust You for Your right timing. May I be fully useful to You in Your plan, whether I see the fruition with my physical eyes or not, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!