Waiting on The Lord

Have you been waiting for God to work, act, guide, lead? I think we all have been in waiting modes often. Perhaps the most frequently quoted scripture on waiting is Isaiah 40:31 “Those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with winds like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint.” The previous verse tells us that God gives power to the weak and that we all get tired, but those who wait on the Lord have a promise, one of almost 7500 Biblical promises that if we wait we will have our strength renewed.  What else does God promise for waiting? The Psalms have much counsel on waiting. Starting with Ps 5:3,12 as “in the morning we lay our requests before you and wait in expectation…you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”  Psalm 37:7,34 says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land.” Similarly Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a new song in my mouth.” What a promise as we wait. He wants to deliver us from evil and bring us to safety. In my book, Great is God’s Faithfulness I have images of huge rocks that represent the Lord and his unmovable presence.

How do we wait? The Psalmist in 130 tells us, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than a watchman waits for the morning.” As we put our hope and wait actively for the morning or our deliverance, we receive it.  Isaiah 31:8 tells us that we are blessed if we wait. The disciples waited in the upper room for Jesus’ promised gift of the Holy Spirit to empower them. We are waiting for the blessed hope of our faith, the return of Christ.  His timing and ways are not ours, so we need patience to wait.

I have waited for healing, for prodigal sons to return home, for work and many other things. I suspect you have too. Keep waiting for he who promises is faithful. He will make all things full and ripe in due