So I’m working through Bible verses about patience and here I am at day 4 still not understanding all the good, bad and ugly things about patience; maybe I never will. My hope is each day I spend reading and meditating on patience scriptures, each day I’ll understand a little more. Today is Psalm 130:5, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;” I find it interesting that so often in the scriptures, it seems “wait” and “hope” are found together. You know me well enough to know I headed to my Thesaurus and found a synonym for “wait” is “expect” and a synonym for “expect” is “hope.” So do patience, waiting and hope all go together?
Can you imagine the Psalmist saying this to someone? I can. The way it’s worded, I can totally see him saying, “I wait for the Lord, I mean, I really wait–with my whole self, everything about me, including my soul, waits for the Lord.” I’ve said before when we used to meet on Periscope and I’m sure I’ll say it now that we meet on Facebook, words aren’t repeated or phrased a certain way because the physical authors of the Bible had a limited or unimaginative vocabulary. So when the Psalmist explains, “my soul waits” he’s letting us know he is waiting on the Lord with his whole, entire, every-part-of-his-being, self.
Sometimes my body is waiting, but my mind is r-a-c-i-n-g! Sometimes my mind is kind-of-sort-of-waiting, but my heart is moving. Is waiting with hope the key? And not just any old hope but “Hope in His Word” hope; is that the difference between waiting things out and waiting with my soul?
We’ve talked about this too, how do I know what His Word is, does or says? I read it. I simply pick up my Bible and read His Word. I don’t have to dissect it or even understand it necessarily. I believe when God has something to say to me through His Word, he makes me understand it. And if I don’t understand it right off–He leads me along the way of understanding. He is a master communicator and won’t leave me waiting because I don’t understand a Biblical word or meaning. He’ll provide the resources–I may come across a lovely quote from one of the saints speaking about the very idea I’m struggling with. I may hear a great homily or read a little further on in the text of the Bible and suddenly…Bam! I have a little better sense of what God is speaking to me. And if I still have this sense that God is wanting me to understand and I’m just not getting it–spiritual direction is a perfect solution.
Is there something God is calling you to be patient about? If you are struggling with patiently waiting, ask yourself, “Am I waiting with my soul? Am I waiting in His Word?”
Carmel says
“Waiting with my soul…” Hmmm…I love certain catch-phrases and I think I will add this one to my arsenal. I heard somewhere that the human soul is comprised of the intellect, the will, and the emotions. I am not certain if this is a Catholic teaching or not (even after looking in the CCC, New Advent.org, and the Catholic Dictionary at catholicculture.org). But assuming it is, these are the three areas of myself that I actually have control over. So in saying I am waiting with my soul, I am waiting for the Lord as best as I can, with all I can. It also sort of reminds me of the greatest commandment — You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” To give it all I’ve got!
Jenny says
I know, I thought the same thing Carmel 🙂