It's good to think more deeply about the mercies of God in times of crisis. To help guide us in this effort, we'll consider Paul David Tripp's collection of meditations from Psalm 27 called "A Shelter in the Time of Storm." You can get your own copy on Amazon here.

Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

Psalm 27:14

That we live in a time of waiting is spiritual obvious to every believer. Things are not as they ought to be. The world is broken, sin has corrupted everything, even we in Christ are still not as we ought to be.

The tension in which we live is what theologians call "the already and not yet." Jesus' promises have been made (already) and they have been secured (already). The outcome is certain. Yet the fulfillment of many of these promises is "not yet." And so we wait.

God is working out his certain plan - in the world he's made and in every one of us. "He will not turn from his work until every one of his children has been totally transformed." Yet we still sin - his work in us isn't complete. 

So how do we handle this waiting? In the 20th century, a branch of Judaism called "Zionism" got tired of waiting for the messiah and decided to take matters into their own hands. Many self-professed Christians have walked away from Jesus, tired of waiting. (Think of the parable of the sower and those seeds scattered on the rocky ground and among the thorns. Mark 4)

Tripp gives a counter example to this possibility: Abraham. Romans 4 tells us that

"In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, 'So shall your offspring be.' He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead...or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised."

Abraham's faith grew stronger, not weaker, as he waited on God. How? By not focusing on the circumstances, the surroundings, or even the details of the promise for which he waited. Instead, he focused his attention on the God who made the promise. If that's all we'll consider, if that's what we'll focus on, we too can live "fully convinced that God [is] able to do what he [has] promised."

Questions to Consider

The questions are Tripp's. I included my answers in case they're helpful to read.

1. Where, right now, are you finding it hard to wait?

- Hah! I want my life back! I want my work, my freedom, my routines all to return to "normal." I want this COVID19 event to be over. 

2. What would it look like for you to "snack throughout the day [on the power and presence of God]" in order for the difficulty of waiting to become an occasion of strength?

- It would be good to take stock of all the good things God is doing in the lives of those around me. It would be good to consider the lessons God wants me to learn in this event. Perhaps if I focused on those things I wouldn't be so fixated on when it will end.