I remind you of the search shared in Blog 184, “Lord is Good:”
Using one of the tools we have shared before, the Sesame Street jingle “🎶One of these things is not like the others🎵,” which one would you indicate is a bit different from the other six? This is one of those “guess what I am thinking” questions, but hopefully it is apparent to you. To me each one could be seen as a “universal statement,” but for one that seems to be “conditional.” Look at Lamentations 3:25, in its wording “… to those who wait for him… “
⦁ Lamentations 3:25-27
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
⦁ 1 Kings 19:11-13 (NKJV – God’s Revelation to Elijah)
11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- See how “and after” is the idea of “waiting.” We may not recognize the love and the goodness of the LORD at the time of the earthquake, the wind, or the fire, BUT in the silence, the quiet, of the aftermath is when we recognize him, “and after.” It is then when he is revealed to us, shown to us. And I also point out the “and behold.” First we wait, and the we are to pay attention. It is in the waiting and paying attention that we hear the still, silent voice.
- There is great power in wind, earthquake and fire, even in manmade weapons of destruction. But, it is in the silence following that we can really hear his communication of we pay attention. How many of you noticed a “different feel” to life in the few weeks after 9/11? But it didn’t take us long to listen instead to our own heads.
① waiting
⦁ Psalms 106:13
13 They soon forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel,
⦁ Psalms 106:13
13 מִֽ֭הֲרוּ שָׁכְח֣וּ מַעֲשָׂ֑יו לֹֽא־חִ֝כּ֗וּ לַעֲצָתֹֽו׃
② lying in ambush
⦁ Hosea 6:9
9 As bands of robbers lie in wait for a man,
So the company of priests murder on the way to Shechem;
Surely they commit lewdness.
⦁ Hosea 6:9
9 וּכְחַכֵּ֨י אִ֜ישׁ גְּדוּדִ֗ים חֶ֚בֶר כֹּֽהֲנִ֔ים דֶּ֖רֶךְ יְרַצְּחוּ־שֶׁ֑כְמָה כִּ֥י זִמָּ֖ה עָשֽׂוּ׃
In common חכ wait cognate permutations (move ahead/hold back)
Blessings
PG
Ⓒ Copyright Philip E. Gates; LogAndSpeck.com November 2025. Please cite if you use this material.