Read the Psalm 

On the heels of the intense cries against those who brough affliction, Psalm 130 is an expression of the transformation that comes in prayer. The center of this prayer is waiting. Waiting on the Lord’s intervention … waiting on justice … waiting on mercy. Rather than take vengeance into one’s own hands, waiting is a response of grace.

The soul waits. One’s soul is the totality of who they are: body, mind, heart, emotions. The soul is one’s life. Dallas Willard even included one’s relationships as a part of the soul. The response after pouring out one’s heart in pain (Psalm 129 as well as verse 1 of Psalm 130) is to slow down and wait with hope. When suffering, our bodies, minds, and emotions often get revved up. Our blood pressure frequently rises. Thoughts can swirl, seemingly out of control. Our emotions may flash light warning signs of danger below the surface of our awareness. When we wait, we pay attention to what our soul (all of who we are) is telling us and we slow down. Taking a deep breath, we pray: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits.” As we repeat the words, our minds start to notice a different path. Our emotions are affected by a hope in there being more than the darkness we’ve experienced.

Watchman would wait through the darkness of the night at posts around the city, looking out to see where danger or threats might come under the veil of darkness. They also waited, knowing that morning would come. The darkness would lift, and the sunrise meant an end to the vigilance. Our souls may feel vigilant, and the psalmist prays that the waiting and watching would be with hope, trusting and knowing that things won’t always be hard with the threat of danger. As we learn to wait with hope, our souls find stability and calm.

In the midst of our journey, the practice and habit of waiting … slowing to notice what is unfolding … is vital. Waiting allows us to connect with the heart of God, whereas frantic, panicked reactions frequently leave us with regrets and messes to clean up. As we connect with the heart of God, we counsel with the Holy Spirit and seek to listen for wisdom and discernment.

Theresa of Avila, the 16^th century reformer of the Catholic church in Spain, wrote:

“Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.”

Do you feel the rootedness in her words? Patience (or, waiting) comes as we slow down and put our hope in the One who alone suffices. God is enough for us. It is His forgiveness and grace that roots us in a place of humility. “But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.” (vs. 4) And, it is His love that gives hope (vs. 7). 

Experiencing God’s love on the journey means that we are learning to slow down. We may want to go fast and get where we think we are going, but our souls (all of who we are) become anchored in God’s presence and grace as we trust that God holds the timing, the pace, and the destination.

Priest, author, scientist, theologian, and teacher Teilhard de Chardin, SJ shared the following regarding this invitation to patience and waiting:

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.

Reflection questions: in what ways do you find yourself impatient on this pilgrimage? Have you seen a lack of patience create messes in the past? What will it look like for you to embrace a waiting posture in your life right now?

Prayer: Lord, I wait for You, my soul waits, and in Your word I hope. My soul waits for You more than watchman for the morning. Amen.