How Long?
What a question to put to the Lord of the universe: “How long?” Yet it’s a question posed again and again in scripture. It expresses complaint and lament . . . but it ultimately expresses trust and hope in the God who is moving all things toward a grand future, toward a restoration of all things.
My soul is in deep anguish,
How long, Lord, how long?
- Psalm 6
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow my my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
- Psalm 13
How long will the enemy mock you, god?
Will the foe revile your name forever?
- Psalm 74
How long, Lord, will the wicked,
how long will the wicked be jubilant?
- Psalm 94
How long must your servant wait?
- Psalm 139
How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
- Habakkuk 1
They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
- Revelation 6
I’ve been asking the same question for some time, with no answers rising.
“How long? Not long. He’s sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat.” ~ Martin Luther King
Will be worth the wait. ~ Mel
***Battle Hymn of the Republic, Written By: Julia Ward Howe
Music By: William Steffe***
Long, I think. Because if God is merciful, God will wait patiently for the eternity in every life that we have to turn away from our self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
We think because we have seen so much and know so much suffering secondhand that it has been long enough. But wasn’t it long enough when the first family experienced the first death?
Hard as it is to say, it’s not about us. It’s not about whether we’ve suffered long enough or waited long enough in our personal pains — and believe me, I don’t practice this bit particularly well because I don’t want to; I want it to have been enough the first time I experienced a soul-rending pain.
I’m not sure there’s any sort of end to the natural world necessary to fulfill God’s eschatology. Each life ends in its own apocalypse, its own revelation. And God waits whole lives for people to find him.
As long as there are lives, I think God will wait.
It will be quite long, I’m afraid — but I’m also thankful.
That’s great! I made a very similar comparison to Pslams 6 and this–my favorite–MLKJr speech on my blog, when I was attempting to blog the bible every day: http://www.blogtestament.com/2010/04/day-109-how-long-o-lord/