WAIT

Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14

There are times in our walk with the Lord where everything seems quiet and still – nothing is moving, we have prayed, fasted and believed but nothing is happening.  We ask the Lord to reveal Himself in our situation but He remains silent and this causes us not only anxiety but also confusion.  These are times when one is tempted to listen to others for advice and even contemplate that the reason God is silent is because of sin in our lives.  I struggle with such times and my logical mind is always ready to give me a quick suggestion on what could be happening.  I admit that during these times, I am tempted to listen to my mind and imagine it is the voice of God even when I have no explicit conviction that God has spoken as such.  This is a dangerous time in a believer’s life but also a wonderful time to grow our spiritual muscle waiting on God.  We do not like waiting, and so somehow, it has to be forced on us.

Waiting moments are what I like referring to as “a holding position”.  I like the idea of holding – it suggests someone else is holding me up and I submit to us brethren, that the Lord is holding us up lest during these times.  Throughout the bible we find references to waiting on God, which invariably tells us that it is important to God that we learn to wait on Him.  Galatians 5:5 “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness”.  The Spirit of God helps us to wait, when we try to do it by our own strength, we fail and become discouraged. 

We do not just wait without purpose, it is true that in our waiting there is a hope we are reaching for and we need to keep our eyes on what we are hoping for - whether it is a spiritual awakening or a physical need, our God is our only hope. Genesis 49:18 “For Your salvation I wait, O Lord”;  Psalm 39:7 Änd now, Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in You”; Psalm 145: 15 – 16 “the eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time.  You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing”.  There are many other verses that refer to what we wait for, and regardless of what it is we are expecting from God, we know He is able to meet it and so we continue to hope in Him alone.

Brethren, I have some waiting to do and possibly you are also waiting on God for something.  Let us keep our eyes on the expected hope that He holds for us, may we not grow weary of waiting on the Lord for He promises in His word that those who hope in Him will not be ashamed Isaiah 29: 23 “…… For they shall not be ashamed who wait for me”.  That is a promise we can hold on to when the wait gets long, knowing full well that we will not be ashamed.  We are also encouraged that as we wait, He will renew our strength Isaiah 40:31 “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength…”

My brothers and sisters, let us encourage ourselves through the waiting, knowing that He who has promised us is faithful.  I am the first to admit that it is a struggle to wait, but when Jehovah shows up and meets our expectation, then we know it was worth the wait.  I encourage us to hope in the Lord for He alone is our strength.  Let us declare with David:  Psalm 62:5 – 7 “My soul wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. 

Help us Holy Spirit to wait, and while we are at time, to enjoy your presence.  May our waiting on God be a testimony to the world of our dependent faith in a mighty and loving God, who rejoices in meeting us where we are.  May the Lord help us to genuinely wait on God, so that we move only at His command, knowing full well that He is never late and our expectation will not be disappointed.

Thoughts:

What are you waiting on God for?

What is your waiting attitude/disposition?

What are you telling God as you wait?

What are you learning as you wait?