Land of the Living, Part 2

13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD

 in the land of the living! 

14 Wait for the LORD; be strong,

and let your heart take courage;

wait for the LORD!

-       Psalm 27:13-14

It’s been a rocky road finding my way back to the Land of the Living.

In Part 1 of this Land of the Living post, I wrote of God beautifully bringing me to the hope-infused verses of Psalm 27:13-14. Smack dab in the messy middle of grief, He reminded me that there is goodness to be seen this side of Heaven. I shared the meanings behind the words in verse 13, so I’ll focus here on verse 14. May these words encourage you today.

Wait for

: to look for, hope, expect; to look eagerly for, to lie in wait for, to linger for.

While you and I will have weeks like my last one where the heartbreaking hits kept coming, God has promised us a more and better life than we ever dreamed of. Psalm 27:14 reminds me that life isn’t going to be all bad from here to Heaven. Some days, I need to hang around and look for the sights and sounds of His presence a little harder. I need to look and listen with the eager expectation due Him.

The LORD

: Jehovah = "the existing One"; the proper name of the one true God.

We’re not to wait because it’s nicer than throwing a fit. We’re to wait because He is the One True God. He really and truly is! The sights and sounds of His presence are worth waiting on. The LORD is with us in every situation of our lives. We are never alone. Somehow, someway, He will make Himself apparent.

Be strong

: to strengthen, prevail, become strong, be firm, grow firm, be resolute; to make strong, restore to strength, to strengthen oneself.

We’re not just told to be strong, but to grow in this area. We’re to actively strengthen ourselves and become stronger. The best way I’ve found to do that is to do what I’m doing here: run to God’s Word for truth, take it apart for understanding, claim it, and hang onto it for dear life!

Let your heart

Heart: inner man; as seat of appetites, emotions, passions, and courage.

We must do all that it takes to feed our heart – our appetites, emotions, and courage – with God’s truth. Among other reasons, we must do this to fight the thoughts and emotions that want to take us down a deep dark hopeless hole. I know that hole and trust me, you do not want to go there.

Take courage

Take: be determined, persist in.

Courage: to be strong, brave, bold, solid; assure; to exhibit strength.

Don’t give up or in, these words admonish us. We’re to stand firm when all around us is shaking.

Wait for the LORD

Again with the waiting for the LORD! Apparently God thought we needed to hear this twice. Surely that means it’s extra important that we do. So…that’s where you find me now…

Still waiting.

With eager expectation.

For the One Existing LORD.

Letting my heart take courage.

Yeah…waiting.

Join me, won’t you?

Really Relating

What helps you to wait on God? Favorite verse or activity???

Do you have a verse that you hang onto when life gets tough?