Answer Me Quickly

When I am stressed about something, I usually want an answer right away. I do not particularly enjoy waiting, especially when the thing I am waiting on has the potential to change my plans, my peace, or my understanding of what comes next.

Recently, I found myself waiting on some lab results related to a health concern. I knew the results would take some time, but apparently, my mind did not get the memo. Before the results could come back, I started doing what so many of us do when we are anxious: I started Googling. I searched for every possible explanation for what might be going on. I read about symptoms, conditions, possibilities, and worst case scenarios. I was looking for an answer that would give me some peace while I waited. Instead, I found about a hundred more reasons to worry.

Sometimes our desire for an immediate answer does not actually calm our anxiety. It feeds it. That is part of what I hear in Psalm 143. The psalmist cries out, “Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails.” There is urgency in those words. The writer is not casually asking God for an update. He is desperate for God to respond. He wants God to act, and he wants God to act now.

I understand that prayer. There are moments when we find ourselves saying, “God, just tell me what is going to happen.” We want the diagnosis. We want the decision. We want the phone call. We want to know how the situation is going to work out. We want God to calm the storm, preferably before the storm gets any worse.

In Mark 4, the disciples find themselves in the middle of a literal storm. The waves are crashing against the boat, and Jesus is asleep. The disciples wake Him with a question that sounds almost like an accusation: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” They wanted an answer and wanted Jesus to do something and do it now. Jesus gets up and calms the storm, but then He asks them a question: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

I don't think Jesus was criticizing them simply because they were afraid of the storm. They were human beings in a dangerous situation. I think He was inviting them to recognize something deeper: His presence with them mattered even before the storm was quiet. That is difficult for me to remember.

Sometimes I think I need an answer before I can have peace. But Scripture reminds me that peace does not always come from knowing what is going to happen. Sometimes peace comes from knowing who is with me while I wait. That was something I had to remind myself of while waiting for those lab results. Googling every possible diagnosis could not give me the answer I wanted. In fact, it only created more questions and more fear. Eventually, I had to step away from the search and simply wait. And perhaps that is a spiritual discipline we all need to practice.

Waiting does not mean God is absent. The disciples had Jesus in the boat even while the storm was raging. The psalmist could cry out, “Answer me quickly,” because he already knew where to turn. And we can bring our fears, questions, frustrations, and uncertainty to God because we know that we are not facing them alone. Maybe today you are waiting for an answer. Maybe you are waiting for a medical report, a phone call, a decision, a financial breakthrough, a relationship to change, or some indication of what comes next. It is okay to pray, “Answer me quickly, Lord.”

God can handle our urgency, our fear, and our questions, but while we wait for the answer, perhaps the invitation is to stop searching for certainty in every possible outcome and start looking for the presence of God right where we are. The storm may not be over yet. The answer may not have arrived yet. But Jesus is still in the boat. And sometimes, that is the answer we need most.

In God's grip,

Pastor Chuck Church