Day 19: Cathy Roser
Psalm 27:13-14 “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
This past year, a couple of the things we’ve been praying for have started to happen. Things that we have been praying about for over 20 years. As I reflected on that, it got me thinking – how do we keep believing when prayer goes unanswered for a long time? How do we continue to hope against all hope when our hearts are broken and all we see is the “hope deferred” that “makes the heart sick” (Prov 13:12)?
I’ve always loved this passage about Abraham because it is so honest about his situation:
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.” (Ro 4:18-21) (emphasis mine)
How did Abraham get to the place where he was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised”? Not all at once – he too had to learn to trust. Abraham had tried God over and over and had found Him always to be true to whatever He said. God’s word was of value to him because he combined it with faith (Heb 4:2).
No wonder Abraham is called the Father of Faith – he believed that God was who He said He was, that he himself was who God said he was, and that God had power to do what He had promised. Abraham took God at His word.
In Psalm 130, the psalmist came to the same conclusion:
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in His word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning…
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love,
and with Him is full redemption.” (Ps 130:5-7) (emphasis mine)
As Eugene Peterson put it: “The psalmist’s waiting and watching – i.e., hoping – is based on the conviction that God is actively involved in His creation and vigorously at work in redemption.”
While God is vigorously at work, we too are called to be active in our waiting/hoping: “But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Ro 8:25, NKJV)
So what do we do while we’re waiting?
First, we eagerly wait with perseverance. Hope plays the long game. We want what we want when we want it, and we want it now, but that is clearly not always the way of the kingdom of God. My soul learns to wait actively for the Lord – He is at work and His timing is always right.
The second thing to do while we’re waiting is make sure that our eyes are working properly. Do we see the problem or obstacle as bigger than God? This is putting our eyes in the wrong place. I love that centurion in Mt 8:8 who says to Jesus, “Just say the word and my servant will be healed” – he saw the power inherent in Jesus’ word – and could see the answer even before it happened! Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.
The third thing to do while we’re waiting is to renew our minds in the Word – “…in His word I put my hope”. Because God says “…so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Is 55:11)
Fourth, we praise and worship God while we wait. This not only reminds us of who He is and what He has done for us in the past (our testimonies to His faithfulness), but also (and I say this with the utmost reverence knowing that I serve God, not the other way around) praise and worship “activate” His power on my behalf. Praise Him in the battle and see what He does! Think about this passage:
“Every stroke the Lord lays on them [our enemies] with His punishing rod will be to the music of tambourines and harps [worship], as He fights them in battle with the blows of His arm.” (Is 30:32) Wow!
Finally, find someone or a few people to pray with, and pray together in the Name of Jesus. (See Matt 18:19-20 and Acts 3:6.)
The result of this in my life has been what I would like to call a defiant faith – I will believe the Lord and His Word and not the lies of the enemy, no matter what it looks like. Although this defiant faith is definitely still a work in progress, this is my boast in the Lord:
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Ps 27:13-14)
Prayer:
Father God, how we praise and thank You for sending Your Word, Jesus Himself, into the world for us while we were yet sinners to live, die and be resurrected, to buy us back from the enemy, to enable us to have a relationship with You and to put Your very Life into us.
Thank you for Your written Word – help us to take You at Your Word like Abraham, being fully persuaded that You are who You say You are, we are who You say we are, and that You have power to do what you have promised. We put our hope in You, Lord, for with You is unfailing love and full redemption - of us and every situation in our lives. We pray in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!
This past year, a couple of the things we’ve been praying for have started to happen. Things that we have been praying about for over 20 years. As I reflected on that, it got me thinking – how do we keep believing when prayer goes unanswered for a long time? How do we continue to hope against all hope when our hearts are broken and all we see is the “hope deferred” that “makes the heart sick” (Prov 13:12)?
I’ve always loved this passage about Abraham because it is so honest about his situation:
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.” (Ro 4:18-21) (emphasis mine)
How did Abraham get to the place where he was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised”? Not all at once – he too had to learn to trust. Abraham had tried God over and over and had found Him always to be true to whatever He said. God’s word was of value to him because he combined it with faith (Heb 4:2).
No wonder Abraham is called the Father of Faith – he believed that God was who He said He was, that he himself was who God said he was, and that God had power to do what He had promised. Abraham took God at His word.
In Psalm 130, the psalmist came to the same conclusion:
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in His word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning…
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love,
and with Him is full redemption.” (Ps 130:5-7) (emphasis mine)
As Eugene Peterson put it: “The psalmist’s waiting and watching – i.e., hoping – is based on the conviction that God is actively involved in His creation and vigorously at work in redemption.”
While God is vigorously at work, we too are called to be active in our waiting/hoping: “But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Ro 8:25, NKJV)
So what do we do while we’re waiting?
First, we eagerly wait with perseverance. Hope plays the long game. We want what we want when we want it, and we want it now, but that is clearly not always the way of the kingdom of God. My soul learns to wait actively for the Lord – He is at work and His timing is always right.
The second thing to do while we’re waiting is make sure that our eyes are working properly. Do we see the problem or obstacle as bigger than God? This is putting our eyes in the wrong place. I love that centurion in Mt 8:8 who says to Jesus, “Just say the word and my servant will be healed” – he saw the power inherent in Jesus’ word – and could see the answer even before it happened! Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.
The third thing to do while we’re waiting is to renew our minds in the Word – “…in His word I put my hope”. Because God says “…so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Is 55:11)
Fourth, we praise and worship God while we wait. This not only reminds us of who He is and what He has done for us in the past (our testimonies to His faithfulness), but also (and I say this with the utmost reverence knowing that I serve God, not the other way around) praise and worship “activate” His power on my behalf. Praise Him in the battle and see what He does! Think about this passage:
“Every stroke the Lord lays on them [our enemies] with His punishing rod will be to the music of tambourines and harps [worship], as He fights them in battle with the blows of His arm.” (Is 30:32) Wow!
Finally, find someone or a few people to pray with, and pray together in the Name of Jesus. (See Matt 18:19-20 and Acts 3:6.)
The result of this in my life has been what I would like to call a defiant faith – I will believe the Lord and His Word and not the lies of the enemy, no matter what it looks like. Although this defiant faith is definitely still a work in progress, this is my boast in the Lord:
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Ps 27:13-14)
Prayer:
Father God, how we praise and thank You for sending Your Word, Jesus Himself, into the world for us while we were yet sinners to live, die and be resurrected, to buy us back from the enemy, to enable us to have a relationship with You and to put Your very Life into us.
Thank you for Your written Word – help us to take You at Your Word like Abraham, being fully persuaded that You are who You say You are, we are who You say we are, and that You have power to do what you have promised. We put our hope in You, Lord, for with You is unfailing love and full redemption - of us and every situation in our lives. We pray in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!
Posted in Boast in the Lord 2026
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