I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.
- Psalm 27:13-14
 
The goodness of the Lord isn’t just waiting for us in the afterlife. That isn’t how we navigate a world filled with troubles. Instead, we have confidence that the Lord is at work here, now, in our midst, for the sake of goodness.
 
To rest and wait patiently for the Lord is not to despairingly throw up our hands and cede this present lifetime to trouble, hardship, and evil. Waiting requires hope and trust and is anything but passive.
 
David knows all this. He closes the psalm with this message to himself (and to us): “Wait for the Lord.” In times of restlessness, the knowledge that the Lord is real and really loves us changes everything. So, we wait. But waiting requires something of us.
 
David writes “be strong and take heart.” This phrase draws from a deep well of poetic memory. Five times the Lord repeated this phrase to Joshua, who knew well what it looked like to wait for the Lord (40 years in the desert when the 10 spies filled Israel’s heart with fear). David knew his waiting would require strength and courage.
 
And so will ours.
 
Don’t mistake your waiting for weakness.
Don’t mistake your calm for cowardice.
Rest in the Lord with all your might and all your heart.
We will see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
We will.