Saturday, August 6-guest post by Pamela

Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is Psalm 130-132, 1 Corinthians 1

The first thing that stuck out for me was verses 5 & 6 from Psalm 130:

⁵ I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
⁶ I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning

We wait for many things. We wait for things to come in the mail, we wait for special events to come up on the calendar, we wait for people at the airport, we wait in line, we wait for the phone to ring, and we wait and we wait and we wait.

What does wait really mean?

From dictionary.com:

wait

   [weyt] Show IPA

verb (used without object)

1.

to remain inactive, as until something expected happens: wait for the bus to arrive.

2.

(of things) to be available or in readiness: A letter is waiting for you.

3.

to remain neglected for a time: a matter that can wait.

4.

to postpone or delay something: Your vacation will have to wait until next month.

5.

to look forward to eagerly: I'm just waiting for the day somebody knocks him down.

Perhaps that last example is not the best one for that definition but I think that's the way we need to "wait" for the Lord. We need to "look forward to eagerly" with "our whole being". We shouldn't just be "inactive" or "available" or "neglect for a time" or "delay" we should be actively and impatiently longing for God.

I LOVE this song by John Waller and the lyrics are so powerful.

I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

Even while we wait, we need to be focused on Him. Serving, loving, praising and moving closer to God while we wait for Him to reveal the plans for our lives and for Him to call us home.

However, the wait is long and our human nature can get off track while we wait. Our ability to "look forward eagerly" can start to fade. Old habits can surface too easily and such was the case with Corinth.

From the Parallel Study Bible:

"The people of Corinth had a reputation in the ancient world as an unruly, hard-drinking, sexually promiscuous bunch of people. When Paul arrived with the gospel message and many of them became believers in Jesus, they brought their reputations with them right into church.

Paul spent a year and a half with them as their pastor...and then went on his way to other towns and churches.

Sometime later, Paul received a report from one of the Corinthian families that in his absence things had more or less fallen apart...Factions had developed, morals were in despair, and worship had degenerated.

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is a classic of pastoral response: affectionate, firm, clear, and unswerving in the conviction that God among them, revealed in Jesus and present in the Holy Spirit, continues to be the central issue of their lives, regardless of how much of a mess they make of things. [Paul] takes them by the hand and goes over all the old ground work again, directing them in how to work all the glorious details of God's saving grace into their love for one another."

The people of Corinth were waiting. Somewhere in their wait they changed from active to neglected and they needed a reminder to focus on God and not on each other. Paul's letter helps them to do this. I think we too need to be reminded about how we are waiting. We need to be

wait[ing] for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning

Tomorrow's passage: Psalm 133-135 - 1 Corinthians 2