“I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning…” — Psalm 130:6
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Have you ever noticed in life that often the answers to your prayers, the solutions to your problems, or the relief from your pain comes in the perfect nick of time? Have you seen that things usually have a way of working themselves out just when you most need them to or just when you thought the resolution might not happen at all?
Olympian Nick Baumgartner sure learned that the crazy way at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. After representing his country at multiple Olympic Games, and then not performing in his individual events as he’d hoped this go-around, Nick was disappointed in himself after finishing what he thought was his final event and shot at a medal. Cameras captured his emotions as he resigned himself to a less-than-satisfactory performance.
However, much to his surprise, he and veteran snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis, a victim of unfortunate Olympic circumstances in the past herself, were chosen to represent the United States in a new team event where the combined results of both men and women would determine the winners. In shocking fashion, the veteran U.S. team beat the field and managed to walk away with gold in the mixed snowboard cross event — tears of sadness now turned to tears of joy. Days before, Nick thought his Olympic story was over. How quickly things had changed!
This is such a beautiful reminder of how sometimes our lowest moments precede our best ones. As the cycle of life unfolds, we notice that seasons of blessing and prosperity often follow ones of suffering or lack. Our darkest days eventually give way to the dawn, allowing us to once more be reminded that the sun will rise again and this difficulty will pass in time. But the challenging part seems to be trusting God until that happens. It’s tough to keep waiting in the hard times when it appears like your prayers or desires aren’t being answered in the time or way you want.
David wrote in Psalm 130:6 (above) that his soul waited for God “more than the watchmen wait for the morning.” If you’ve ever seen a security guard pulling an all-night shift somewhere, or even had trouble sleeping yourself, you know how those night hours can drag on for forever. You glance at the clock, only to see that it’s been a mere couple of minutes from when you last looked. Being patient until morning comes is hard. Yet David says here that even more than that, he longs for and waits for God.
That should be our posture in the tough seasons. We need to trust that better days are around the corner, even if we need to wait a while before they come. God’s timing isn’t ours and He knows the perfect moment to resolve things. He is never not on the way or engaged in our story. Just like it’s always darkest before dawn, things will often look the bleakest just before they turn around.
So keep waiting, and stay expectant. Don’t lose hope in the One who is working all things out for your good (Romans 8:28). As He told His disciples, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20, ESV).
— Katherine Singer
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