Wait in Silence

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 1, 2018

By Tripp Prince

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. Psalm 62:5 (ESV)

Psalm 62 is written by someone who feels like they keep getting kicked when they are already down for the count. If we’re honest, I think this is something to which we can all relate. We have all found ourselves in seasons where we feel like the entire deck is stacked against us, where confusion and pain seems to await us around every corner and in every situation. If you aren’t there now, you’ve likely been there, and I would guess you have someone in your life that you know and love who finds themselves in that place today. It is through this lens that we’re meant to read this wonderful psalm.

Verse 5 of this Psalm is the cry of someone desperate for hope, desperate for peace. It’s someone who is at the end of their rope, having run out of just about every reason to hope for refuge and safety. In fact, I think it is why this verse reads as a command. The psalmist is talking to himself, telling his soul what he knows to be true, even though he doesn’t feel it and certainly struggles to see it in his immediate circumstances. In this sense, talking to yourself is a vital spiritual habit! “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”

Like the psalmist of old, you and I must constantly preach the truth of the gospel to ourselves. We must say, “I know everything is upside down right now, but if God is who he says he is, if he is truly a mighty rock, a fortress, and a refuge, then I am going to ignore every impulse inside me and I am going to choose to let go of control and be still.” Following Jesus is a process of learning to be still in the midst of chaos.

This call to stillness and silence assumes a degree of unrest and conflict in your life, and acknowledging this is the first step to finding true peace in any circumstance. The psalmist isn’t saying that you should try and be still and silent on a day when everything feels right in the world and you’re already lighthearted and carefree. That’s easy to do! No, the challenge to us is this: when you’re overworked, underpaid, in a fight with your spouse that has lasted for weeks, when you’re failing as a parent, when you’re facing a life threatening illness, or when you doubt the goodness or nearness of God in your life, these are the moments when we must be still and wait in silence.  It is in these places of pain that God asks us to wait on him, trusting that he enters into the chaos of our lives and speaks order, hope, and peace.

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