Wait For The Lord

Psalm 27:14 (NIV)

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Are you going through a time of indecision … feeling uncertain or unsure? Have you been praying about the matter and pouring your heart out before God in the secret place? Do you feel like your faith is weak? You are not alone. We have all been there; and maybe, some of us are in this experience at the current moment. It was a place that King David found himself at times. And I am glad that he “journaled” his experiences and the meditations of his heart for our encouragement today. We see how David turned to God in times of distress. We sense his confidence in the care and compassion of God. He affords us a glimpse of how God worked in his life and blessed him with inner peace and assurance. And so David reminds us to seek the face of God; to rest in His omniscient wisdom and judgment; and to wait on His will and purposes to prevail in and through our lives.

Psalm 27 (NIV)

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation—    whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—    of whom shall I be afraid? ² When the wicked advance against me to devour (slander) me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. ³ Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. ⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. ⁵ For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sanctuary and set me high upon a rock. ⁶ Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; in His sanctuary I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. ⁷ Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. ⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek His face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. ⁹ Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. ¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. ¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. ¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. ¹³I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

This is a recurrent theme in the writings of David, so I want us to be captured by it and let the concept of “waiting” inspire our faith as well:

Psalm 33:10-22 (NIV)

¹⁰ The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. ¹¹ But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. ¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance. ¹³ From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; ¹⁴ from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth— ¹⁵ He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. ¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. ¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. ¹⁸ But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, ¹⁹ to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. ²⁰ We wait in hope for the Lord;  He is our help and our shield. ²¹ In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. ²² May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 37:1-9 (NIV)

¹ Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; ² for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. ³ Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. ⁴ Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: ⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. ⁷ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. ⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. ⁹ For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who wait on the Lord will inherit the land.

Psalm 130:1-8 (NIV)

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; ² Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. ³ If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? ⁴ But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. ⁵ I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope. ⁶ I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. ⁷ Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption. ⁸ He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

It really does not matter what is bothering or troubling us. God is fully aware of our situations and circumstances. What He truly desires is for you and I to seek Him … because we do not have His knowledge or understanding. It is His wisdom and counsel we want to access – because we believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Cf. Hebrews 11:6)   I think waiting for the answer and the direction to come from God is what stretches and grows our faith the most. We need to be patient with God just as He is with us. It is about our relationship with Him – first and foremost! It is about our trust in His love, goodness, and justice. And so, here are a few more passages to assure us that waiting on God is the right decision at any given moment:

Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong! Wait for the Lord, and He will avenge you. (Proverbs 20:22)

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! (Isaiah 30:18)

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” ²⁵ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; ²⁶ it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:22-26)

So what is the application for us?  Well, I have concluded that watching in hope and waiting in patience are the genetic material of faith. I believe they are the spiritual molecular processes through which a mustard seed of faith can sprout and grow into the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade. (Cf. Matthew 13:32; Mark 4:31; Luke 13:19) Indeed, I pray that we will let our faith grow to become the Kingdom of God within us; because through the maturation of our faith, we will see His Kingdom come and His Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2) Jesus said, “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:31) And, “The Kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you.” (Cf. Luke 17:20-21) So, perhaps, we should begin to see how our faith in God can grow into His Kingdom within us. Yes I pray that faith will begin to “rule” in our hearts … which will influence our decisions … which will impact our relationships … which will improve our effectiveness as the Body of Christ to establish the will of God on earth as it is in heaven.  Those are my thoughts….  

So Now You Know….

Have a Blessed Day!

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength. They will soar on with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)