Wait for the Lord (ELW 262)
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near.
Wait for the Lord: be strong, take heart!
Devotion
Our readings and reflections this week near the end of the church year have invited consideration of end times, the role we imagine God plays in our lives, and how we shall think and act in the face of the limited days of human life.
Through the simplicity, brevity, and repetition typical of hymns from the Taizé community, this hymn focuses and guides our reflection. First of all, it reminds us as we ponder the “Day of the Lord” that we locate ourselves as always waiting at the end of time “when the Lord’s day is near.” But secondly, its important concluding phrase affirms that this reflection is not an occasion for fear or despair, but one in which the encouraging word in which and by which we live is to “be strong, take heart.” This is true for us because as the doubled refrain finally reminds us, in whatever we do or think, we live each day resting and “waiting” in the hands of the Lord.
Prayer
Lord of our waiting, encourage us to be strong and take heart, knowing with the psalmist that we live in the hope, because with every generation of your children you have been our dwelling place. Amen.