Last week, I promised that I would take you on a journey with me as we pursue how to wait well. The Psalmist has something to say about waiting:
Psalm 5:3, "In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly."
Psalm 27:14, "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord."
To take heart means to have courage. Don't be afraid as you wait. But that can be easier said than done because often, the time we spend waiting for an answer erodes our courage. It's hard to be strong when we are waiting for
• That treatment plan from the doctor. The diagnosis stole most of our strength and resolve. We're still waiting, and it's hard to stay courageous. Right?
• Waiting for that kid to get out of college. He's changed his major for the third time. Each time, that adds another year, and you're footing the bill.
• Waiting for your daughter to leave home and go to college since she has now become an expert on everything, and you are so lame. (Unless lame is not what's used now, and I am soooo lame for saying it.)
• And maybe you are just waiting to see if the youngest can make it out of the 3rd grade!
• You could be waiting in this turbulent economy to see if you can ever get a house big enough for all of you—if you can ever own your own home.
• Waiting to see if you can afford to retire with the cost of living escalating like the number of people moving out of California!
• Maybe you are waiting for a life partner and you are tired of being a 3rd wheel in a culture that seems to favor couples. You have prayed and stayed, tried and cried, wished and wanted, and now you are so weary of waiting.
There are ways we can wait, choices that make life healthier, less angst-filled, and more worthwhile as we wait on the Lord for the answers we need.
The first healthy choice we can make is to consult God's WORD as we look for clues about who God is and how He feels about me and about you. It's there we learn about His character and nature. He is not a distant God playing chess with the universe. He is a personal God who knows what you are waiting for, and He hasn't forgotten you.
In Scripture, David is called a man after God's own heart. It couldn't be because he was perfect. His sins could make a convict blush. But what we find in David is THAT HE NEVER GAVE UP. Instead, when he screwed up, he picked himself up and let the Lord lift Him up.
Hear his honest lament as he waited on God for answers:
Psalm 22:1-5, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
David turns scripture where God's deliverance of his people is documented. David reflects his trust in God. In the end, God's faithfulness to Israel inspires David to believe that God will prove faithful to him as well.
We can learn from him. David felt his feelings. He didn't deny his doubt and discouragement. He owned it, but he didn't set up camp there.
Many of us are pretty familiar with this verse.
Isaiah 40:31 in the NASB reads, “…those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.”
Let’s back up couple of verses:
Isaiah 40: 28-31, “Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to the one who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
In the NIV the word wait is translated into the word HOPE because that is how we wait—we wait in
Hope and not hurt
Faith not fear in
Strength not sadness
In peace and not panic.
If we look to Him in his Word instead of looking at our own agenda for how we think things should be, we will see that he loves us with a love that will get us through anything.
When you think that he has forgotten you;
That everyone’s problem is more important than yours;
Or that He wants to hurt you because He can—after all that is what the powerful people in your life have done;
And you’re tempted to give up on God all together—waiting on Him is just taking too long…
Read this verse from Gods Word and hear how He feels about you:
Zephaniah 3:17, NIV, “For the Lord your God living among you. He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
This should dispel any doubts that God is working something good for us even as we are still waiting for answers.
Besides looking to the Word when we are Waiting, there's more. Stay tuned.