2 Samuel 18:23-27: a reflection

23“But come what may,” he said, “I will run.” He said to him, “Run!” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite. 24Now David was sitting between the two gates; and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, a man running alone. 25The watchman shouted and told the king. The king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” He came closer and closer. 26The watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “Behold, a man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.” 27The watchman said, “I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good news.”

King David sits between the gates of the city, waiting for news from the battle that will decide his kingdom, and above all, waiting to hear whether his son Absalom is safe. A watchman on the wall sees a runner approaching, then another; and the king waits, hoping for good news, straining to know the outcome he cannot control. It is a scene of anxious waiting, a father and king suspended between hope and dread, awaiting word of what has already happened far away.

Notice the anxious waiting in this scene. David could do nothing now to change the outcome; the battle was over, the news was on its way, and all he could do was wait, hope, and dread. He sat between the gates, watching for the runner, longing to hear that all was well, unable to hasten or alter what was coming. It is a picture of the hard experience of waiting for news of something we cannot control.

That experience of anxious waiting is one we all know: waiting for a diagnosis, a decision, an outcome that is out of our hands, suspended between hope and dread. Like David, we can do nothing to change what is coming; we can only wait. But we are not left, as David seemed to be, to wait alone and helpless; we can bring our anxious waiting to God, in whose hands the outcome lies. When you are waiting for news you cannot control, suspended between hope and dread, do not simply sit alone with your anxiety. Bring your waiting to God; entrust the outcome, already determined and out of your hands, to him. You cannot control what is coming, but you can trust it to the God who holds it; wait, not in helpless dread, but in the presence of the God to whom you can commit what you await.

Lord, David sat between the gates, waiting anxiously for news of the battle and of his son, hoping for good tidings, unable to hasten or alter what was coming; it is a picture of the hard experience of waiting for news of something we cannot control. I know that experience of anxious waiting: waiting for a diagnosis, a decision, an outcome out of my hands, suspended between hope and dread. Like David, I can do nothing to change what is coming; I can only wait. But I am not left to wait alone and helpless; I can bring my anxious waiting to you, in whose hands the outcome lies. When I am waiting for news I cannot control, keep me from simply sitting alone with my anxiety. Help me bring my waiting to you, and entrust the outcome, already determined and out of my hands, to you. I cannot control what is coming, but I can trust it to you who hold it. Help me wait, not in helpless dread, but in your presence, committing to you what I await.