“In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Psalm 5:3 (NIV)
Terry thought he knew about waiting, especially toward the end of the month. He waited in lines at the grocery, the bank, and the grill. Yes, he knew about waiting. He didn’t like waiting. It was a necessary evil of society.
He sat in the hospital waiting for the doctor to bring him the news. He had been waiting so long. For the last two weeks, he had called his wife every day. He had kept his cell phone charged and on. He had arranged his schedule and workload so that others could deal with any issue there. For two weeks he had been on ready just so he could come here and wait. He now waited with anticipation greater than he could ever remember. What was taking so long?
Dr. Kaye came into the room and smiled at Terry. “Tired of waiting, huh? Well, the waiting is over. You have a beautiful, healthy girl. Both mother and baby are fine.”
Emotion flooded over Terry. He followed the nurse to Cheryl’s room and remembered how they had prayed for a child. He and Cheryl had tried for so long to have a baby. They had prayed and expected that God would give them a child. But still they had waited. Believing that God answers prayer, they had placed their request before him. Then with great expectation, they waited. Sure, at times they were impatient, but they continued to wait on his response. As Cheryl smiled up at him and he held his daughter in his arms, Terry decided she was well worth the wait.
British film director, Alfred Hitchcock said, “there is no terror in a bang, only the anticipation of it.” It is the fear of what is coming or what we anticipate might come. Hitchcock was a master at creating anticipation, but anticipation isn’t all fear and terror. An unknown author wrote, “The pleasure is in anticipation.” But there is also power in anticipation. Author Claude Bristol wrote, “We usually get what we anticipate.”
The Psalmist has the right method: wake up in the morning; talk to God; anticipate His response and blessings. God is going to respond to our requests. We have the confidence of knowing that He responds to our requests when we ask according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). Our waiting will be rewarded! So anticipate the joy, the love, the triumph.
Dear Father, thank you for the struggles of waiting in anticipation. Thank you for hearing our requests. Thank you for answering our prayer. We wait, with great anticipation, the coming of our Lord and King. Empower us to live so that we may welcome him with shouts of praise and joy. In the name of Jesus I pray. AMEN
Be encouraged today with anticipation of God’s blessings,