A Different Kind of Waiting

Noelle Martin, TBS Dual Degree Completion student

My pastor once spoke about different concepts of sacrifice. While some associate waiting with statically “letting time pass,” there is a contrasting concept of “a living sacrifice” that implies that, well, there’s living to be done!  

Consider Psalm 27:13-14, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Repeating “wait for the Lord” helps drive the point home, but also notice the reference to living in the waiting. This kind of waiting requires strength and courage, like warriors ready for battle. 

Remember Gideon in Judges 6-8? His family boasted no privilege or great family name. In fact, when God called, Gideon protested that he was the smallest of the small; neither he nor his family retained much importance in a nation whose significance was dwindling so rapidly that they were scrounging out a living in caves and cliffs. Constantly harassed, every time they planted a crop, Midianite raiders rode in and trashed any bounty prior to harvest. Life was hard. 

In His grace, the Lord calls Gideon to first, go burn his father’s idolatrous tools, and then go fight for Israel. Yet, Gideon is afraid. Though he doesn’t initially seem to reflect the moniker “mighty warrior” (6:12), he does eventually rise to his calling and face the enemy.  

Gideon begins with 32,000 men (nearly twice the seating capacity of Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion), but the Lord sifts them. “You have too many warriors for Me to allow you to defeat the Midianites. As it is now, the people of Israel would just deny Me the credit and claim they had won the victory on their own” (Judges 7:2). He directs Gideon to allow any who are fearful to go home, at which point 22,000 depart the ranks.  

God sifts the remaining 10,000 by observing their drinking habits. He keeps those who stand to drink with cupped hands and releases everyone who kneels to drink. Isn’t that the image of a watchful soldier? Drinking in a ready position while looking out, rather than to surrender watching to become totally immersed in satisfying thirst? 

Gideon ultimately ends up with 300 men. With his soldiers positioned in the hills surrounding the enemy camp, God drives the Midianites to destroy themselves in a desperate free-for-all that drastically decreases their numbers and sends the rest fleeing. 

But here’s the deal: God asked Gideon to completely destroy the Midianites. So, Gideon goes after the stragglers. In an exhausting journey, their tiny army passes through two towns who refuse to provide aid, yet they trudge on and eventually completely defeat the 15,000 remaining Midianites in keeping with the Lord’s command.  

Gideon’s waiting was anything but passive. His was taut, bowstring-ready-to-fling-a-deadly-arrow kind of waiting. So, while Gideon waited for the Lord to bring mercy to Israel, God worked in the hearts of the Israelites. In light of this, the call for courage in Psalm 27:13-14 makes a lot more sense.  

Remember Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator (2000)? The movie begins amidst the final battle of Caesar Marcus Aurelius. Although successful, the music cues in this bloody, brutal battle indicate that the General, framed center screen, is terribly tired of the business of war. 

Following the battle, this sentiment becomes clear. When Caesar asks how he can reward Rome’s greatest General, Maximus plaintively requests leave to return home. 

“Ah, home,” echoes Caesar. It is not an answer.  

Fast forward in the movie: the General becomes a slave, then a gladiator, and pretty much behaves like a General again while leading gladiators in a staged Battle of Carthage in the Roman arena.  

Before the mock battle begins, the General directs the gladiators to behave like soldiers who want to survive. They stand tightly together, knotted in the center of the arena with shields out as chariots armed with deadly spikes race in ever-tightening circles about them and quickly kill any stragglers. All the while, the General is yelling, “Hold! Stand as one – HOLD!”  

The waiting is intense. A dangerous enemy with real weapons aims to hurt; aims to destroy peace, security, and a sense of purpose; and ultimately aims to destroy LIFE from the living. 

Similarly, in times of intense waiting for the Lord, be strong, let your heart take courage, and wait for the Lord! Stand tightly with the Psalmist who shouts from the center, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.” (Psalm 13: 5-6) Even as forces come against us, at the appropriate time, and with the power of divine armies, our God who calls us will not disappoint. 

Originally published in The Sentinel, Summer 2024, pp. 3-5.

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