
The rule of waiting time is stated as follows.
If you have time to wait, the wait time will be relatively short.
However, if you are pressed for time and have other demands on your schedule, then the wait time expands exponentially.
If you are hungry or thirsty, the wait time intensity increases.
If you, as the waiter, notice others come and go, time spent waiting seems even more unreasonable.
If you complain about the wait time, feeling sure that will help, it does not.
In our fast-paced, instant-solution culture, we don’t know much about waiting, pausing, or spiritual restoration.
Overall, Psalm 43 calls for restoration.
1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! (Psalm 43:1 ESV)
The psalmist begs God to defend him and then go a step further and vindicate him. He wants his reputation restored, and his name cleared.
Refuge and Rejection
2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? (Psalm 43:2 ESV)
Every human craves love and acceptance. I feel weighed down and oppressed when rejection overwhelms me.
How do I counter feelings of rejection?
Truth and Light
3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! (Psalm 43:3 ESV)
The world’s version of truth and light is available 24/7. It is easy to reach for a kind of truth and light offered by the hand-held electronic devices we all hold in our hands or pockets most of the time. In times when I am tired or overwhelmed, it is all too easy to settle for a counterfeit truth and light.
However, God’s truth and light provide powerful guidance, clarification, and authentic restoration. Ultimately, the psalmist points out, this truth and light will direct believers to God’s holy hill and dwelling place.
Joy
4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. (Psalm 43:4 ESV)
In verse 4, joy finally breaks through, and heart restoration takes hold. When believers go to the altar at the church and encounter God, praise pours forth. Believers are designed for in-person corporate worship and must attend church to experience that.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:5 ESV)
At first, Verse 5 appears to be out of order here. Praising and worshipping one moment and the next, cast down and back in turmoil. However, this so accurately reflects the human condition. Our daily lives take a toll. Friends and family disappoint us, accusations come our way, and we fail far too often. At any moment, something can throw me back into turmoil. So how will I respond? How do I access restoration?
In the second half of verse 5, believers are challenged to activate hope in God.
Hope
How do we activate hope?
- Praise Him, even when it is the last thing you feel like doing.
- Ask a friend to pray for you. Cultivate a prayer partnership where you pray for one another regularly.
- Read God’s word and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.
- Give thanks for salvation. This is a gift each of us received, and it should never be taken for granted.
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for the restoration you provide. When I feel rejected, you provide refuge. When I am lost, you provide truth and light to guide me. Help me to hold fast to hope and actively seek You every day. Thank you for the joy of my salvation. In Jesus’s name, amen.