For God alone my soul in silence waits

AM Psalm 61, 62 • PM Psalm 68:1-20(21-23)24-36
Gen. 21:1-21 • Heb. 11:13-22 • John 6:41-51

Eve of the Presentation
Psalm 113, 122 • 1 Samuel 1:20-28a • Romans 8:14-21

As Psalm 62, our morning psalm, states, “For God alone my soul in silence waits.” Well, maybe not in total silence! Like Hagar, I too call to God when the silence of waiting becomes overpowering. Hagar, in the desert and out of water, is in utter despair for her own life and for the life of her son Ishmael. She “lifted up her voice and wept”. God heard Hagar and her son, Ishmael (whose name means “God hears”). An angel of God calls to Hagar and tells her “Do not to be afraid.” They are saved by the angel showing Hagar a well of water. But the clincher in the story is— “God was with the boy.”

God was with the boy! God is with us even when we cry out from our own deserts. In those times, of which I have had many, I work to remember the words of Psalm 62. I hold onto them.

“For God alone my soul in silence waits, from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, a stronghold, so that I shall not be greatly shaken.”

“For God alone my soul in silence waits; truly, my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken. In God is my safety and my honor; God is my strong rock and my refuge.”

“Put you trust in him always, O people, pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.”

While I might be praying out loud, begging for God’s help, it is the soul within me that waits in silence. That silence comes from a faith, knowledge, and trust that my rock, my stronghold, my hope, my safety, my refuge is truly God alone! In times of distress that might be hard to hold onto. Maybe that is why “for God alone my soul in silence waits” is repeated in this psalm. To knock us in the head and tell us to trust in our waiting because it is God alone that can rescue us.

It is in these times that I also remember two other verses. Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord, with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” And Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.” Trusting, leaning on God, and being still is probably the hardest thing we will ever do. But we hold on through the silent waiting to hear the voice of God, for we will not be greatly shaken, for we will not be afraid because we trust in him always and pour our hearts out to Him knowing the God is with us.

Written by Chris Schaefer

I pour out my heart to Him and trust!