Dearly Beloved,
WAIT, AND MURMUR NOT
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for
the Lord" (Psalm 27:14 NIV).
Little is known historically about the hymn "WAIT, AND
MURMUR NOT" and its writer, W.H. Bellamy. However, the hymn is one of the
comforting hymns for anyone who is passing through a difficult time. The writer
referred to such a person as the "troubled heart" and reminded him
that there is a home beyond the reach of toil and care where changes never
come. Apostle Paul explained further about this home as "a building from
God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" which is devoid
of any groan (2 Corinthians 5:1ff NIV). The home is an "an inheritance
that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter
1:4 NIV). Who would not want to go and rest there? Therefore, the trouble heart
should wait and murmur not!
Even though God may allow one to be bowed down beneath the
earthly load, because "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly
we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are
achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our
eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV). Therefore, one
should still look up to the blessings above and meekly wait and murmur not.
One may have some worldly thorns in one's path like Paul who had
an undisclosed "thorn in his flesh" (see 2 Corinthians 12:7). This
should remind one of Jesus Christ who bore thorns on His brow. Even if your
heart is full of grief, Remember that Jesus Christ was described as "a man
of sorrows, and familiar with suffering" (Isaiah 53:3 NIV), and He did
suffer when He was on earth, but He triumphed over His grief and suffering (see
Revelation 5:5).
Are you a "troubled heart"? What are you passing
through that is making you to lose hope? I join W.H. Bellamy as he concluded
his hymn by encouraging you that you should toil on without thinking that your
sigh is unheard or your prayers are forgotten, because the day of rest will
dawn for us. The psalmist declared, "I am still confident of this: I will
see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13 NIV).
So, "Wait, meekly wait, and murmur not."
In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).