Wait Silently, Find Rest
During my 'devo' (devotional time) last week, I was reading Psalm 62 (in the NKJV) and felt I should check it out in the NIV as well. When I put the two version together, I could see how our Sovereign God in His graciousness has given us such a WEALTH by intention in the different translations...look at what I found:
NKJV: 'My soul, wait silently, for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.'
NIV: 'Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.'
How cool is that? ...I could type out a whole Lau-very-excited explanation, but to save confusing you, I think I'll just type out what I wrote in my journal...
'I find it very interesting that what one translation renders 'wait silently' another translation renders 'find rest'. There is something to be said for the way in which these versions equate silence with rest...Are you burdened and weary? Is your heart, your soul, longing for rest? Wait silently on [and with] God alone and you SHALL find rest. And why is it that we must wait 'for God alone'? v.5b 'for [= because] my expectation is from Him' or 'my hope comes from Him.' Are you aware of the deep, aching longing of your inmost heart? (I do not say, 'do you have' such a longing, because I know we all do - cf. Life-Gate notes, Lesson 14 p2, 'Deep within our hearts we have a longing for intimacy, beauty and adventure.')
That longing for deep intimacy, for love and romance and adventure, is a 'hope' and indeed, an 'expectation' of our inmost hearts, of the deepest recesses of our souls, that was placed there by God: 'for my expectation is from you'. And BECAUSE that expectation and hope is from God, He alone is able to satisfy it with Himself (with intimacy and adventure with Him) This is the reason our souls are called to wait silently and find rest 'in God alone'.
I have been KEENLY aware of that longing in recent weeks, feeling deep loneliness and a desire for intimacy, but instead of recognising its souce ('from God') and therefore its satisfication ('in God alone'), I have believed the lie that the solution, or appeasement, of this DEEP, aching longing, will be found in a life partner or a pet (I have really been wishing for a puppy lately as a source of companionship and adventure). God has enabled me to become aware of the deep void, not so I will attempt to fill it with pseudo-replacements, but so I will come to Him and wait SILENTLY for Him!
"Draw near to God and He WILL draw near to you.''
NKJV: 'My soul, wait silently, for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.'
NIV: 'Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.'
How cool is that? ...I could type out a whole Lau-very-excited explanation, but to save confusing you, I think I'll just type out what I wrote in my journal...
'I find it very interesting that what one translation renders 'wait silently' another translation renders 'find rest'. There is something to be said for the way in which these versions equate silence with rest...Are you burdened and weary? Is your heart, your soul, longing for rest? Wait silently on [and with] God alone and you SHALL find rest. And why is it that we must wait 'for God alone'? v.5b 'for [= because] my expectation is from Him' or 'my hope comes from Him.' Are you aware of the deep, aching longing of your inmost heart? (I do not say, 'do you have' such a longing, because I know we all do - cf. Life-Gate notes, Lesson 14 p2, 'Deep within our hearts we have a longing for intimacy, beauty and adventure.')
That longing for deep intimacy, for love and romance and adventure, is a 'hope' and indeed, an 'expectation' of our inmost hearts, of the deepest recesses of our souls, that was placed there by God: 'for my expectation is from you'. And BECAUSE that expectation and hope is from God, He alone is able to satisfy it with Himself (with intimacy and adventure with Him) This is the reason our souls are called to wait silently and find rest 'in God alone'.
I have been KEENLY aware of that longing in recent weeks, feeling deep loneliness and a desire for intimacy, but instead of recognising its souce ('from God') and therefore its satisfication ('in God alone'), I have believed the lie that the solution, or appeasement, of this DEEP, aching longing, will be found in a life partner or a pet (I have really been wishing for a puppy lately as a source of companionship and adventure). God has enabled me to become aware of the deep void, not so I will attempt to fill it with pseudo-replacements, but so I will come to Him and wait SILENTLY for Him!
"Draw near to God and He WILL draw near to you.''
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