WAITING ON THE LORD
“Therefore, the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him” (Isaiah 30:18).
Waiting on the Lord is a measure of your trust in Him. You wait on people you trust because you know their character, they are faithful, and they keep their word. People who know their God wait on Him. God, who is flawless in character, unswerving in faithfulness, awesome in holiness, and limitless in power, has said, “Wait on Me and I will strengthen your heart” (Psalm 27:14). The Prophet Isaiah puts it this way: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
When we wait on the Lord, we must of course be patient. By our nature, we hardly want to wait. When you go to a restaurant, you do not want the waitress to keep you waiting, and when you go to the post office, you do not want to see a lengthy line. Our culture has grown to expect things instantly. However, waiting on God means you trust Him, no matter how long it takes. The Psalmist said, “Because of his strength will I wait upon thee” (Psalm 59:9). You do not hasten God even when you feel He is slow. He planned our lives and ordered our steps—wait on Him!
While Waiting: While you are waiting, whether you are in prayer for healing, for a rebellious child to come back to God, or for a business, keep trusting and be patient and never be discouraged. This is the period when the enemy will want to speak into your heart, telling you it will not come to pass. If in business, for example: (1) Don’t be idle. This is the time when you want to be doing something, even if you must take on odd jobs until the door opens. (2) Don’t set a time for God. If you have been with God for some time now, you know He is usually not in a hurry, but delay is not denial. (3) Don’t try to devise your own way or method but follow what He has put in your heart. At times God waits because He wants to be gracious to you.
Be Patient: Sometimes people try to come up with a way to help God, but this often backfires, and you may miss His ultimate plan for you. Remember, for many of those who tried to do things in their own way after waiting for some time, the end did not turn out to be God’s best. Abraham, our father in faith, tried to help God after many years of waiting for the promised child; he got Ishmael, but that wasn’t the child God promised. Saul, the first king of Israel, could no longer wait for the priest and performed the sacrifice, and that was the beginning of his fall as a king (1 Samuel 13). No matter how long the waiting, God’s way is still the best, and waiting is a measure of your trust in Him. “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry… He has put a new song in my mouth — Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear and will trust in the LORD” (Psalm 40:1,3).
Praise Him while Waiting: One important thing to do while waiting is to keep praying and giving thanks to God. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. While Paul and Silas were beaten and bound in prison instead of complaining, they prayed and thanked God, and the Lord sent an earthquake, and all the prisoners’ chains were broken (Acts 16:19-25).
I pray you will be able to join Nathaniel Bassey in singing, “See what the Lord has done, what we waited for has come to pass.” Amen!