Psalm 33:18-22 - How God waits

Psalm 33:20 says,
"Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield [and PPE!]." (New American Standard, 1995)

The New Living Translation puts it this way:
"We put our hope in the Lord..."

We're not waiting for a passive, inept god; too preoccupied to pay any notice of us.

That kind of god is described by the prophet Elijah:
1 Kings 18:27 (NLT) — 27 About noontime Elijah began mocking [the prophets of Baal], “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”

To better understand Psalm 33:20, look at the preceding verses:
Psalm 33:18–20 (NASB95) — 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, 19 To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine [or pandemic!] 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

On the one hand, we keep waiting and looking for God to help us.
On the other hand, He keeps an eye on us.
Guess who blinks first!

So what is God waiting for?
In His wise sovereignty, He's waiting to do just the right thing for us at just the right time.

2 Chronicles 16:9 puts it even more strongly:
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His...”

Eternal God, in You our hearts rejoice, for we trust in Your holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. Amen
(taken from Psalm 33:21-22, NLT)