Article: Learn to wait on the Lord, just a little longer | Jacob Varghese

Have you ever waited for stuff like waiting at the doctor’s clinic, in the line for groceries, waiting on a queue for payment of any bills, or to book a ticket or even waiting for a new job, waiting for a life partner? There is nothing more painful and irritating than the waiting period in one’s life. I don’t know about you but when I think about waiting like that, can really drain me. A lot of that is quiet unproductive time. But for this meditation please turn your attention with me to Isaiah 40:30&31.There it is written “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but those who 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.

I am pretty sure most Christians have said some time or other in their life, “Oh, I am just waiting on the Lord. But what does it mean to wait on the Lord? What to do while waiting on God? Let us look into the Bible and see what it means to wait on the Lord? The couple Abraham and Sarah waited for nearly twenty five years to see the birth of their son Isaac. Joseph was seventeen years old when he first had a dream that he would be the leader and his brothers would bow down before him. But only when he was thirty years old he became the ruler in Egypt and his dream came true. Long thirteen years of waiting. Hannah was childless. She went to the temple of the Lord year after year and cried to the Lord. But only after many years at His appointed time the Lord gave her Samuel. Similarly Zechariah and Elizabeth had to wait for long years to get their child John. All these persons were righteous before God; yet, fulfillment of God’s promises was delayed in their lives. Why? What to do while waiting on God? Is He calling us to casually and carelessly wait? No, God is saying is that waiting on Him does the absolute opposite. It actually renews your strength. We also see this word used in Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Waiting is a very active part of living. Waiting on God, if we do it correctly, works its way out in very deliberate actions, very intentionally searching the Scriptures and praying, intense moments of humility, and self-realization of our limits and limitations. With the waiting comes learning. I don’t know anyone who likes to wait. Do you? I didn’t think so. Waiting is hard work and at times, can even test our faith. It is especially difficult when there are no guarantees that our waiting will ever end in this lifetime. Desires we long for, prayers we have been praying for, yes, waiting can tempt us to be impatient, discouraged, to worry, and even to wonder if God cares. Perhaps this is why the Bible talks so much about waiting. God wants us to know that waiting is far from a passive activity in which we do nothing. In fact, Scripture teaches us that God wants us to actively participate in the work he desires to accomplish. Waiting strategically can cultivate good fruit in our lives such as faith, patience, courage, perseverance, determination, strength and endurance. In fact these are the requirements for waiting upon the Lord. It also draws us closer to our Savior and points us to the gospel. Waiting up on the Lord means to trust in the Lord, hope in the Lord, expect and look for the Lord. There are few requirements from us as we wait on the Lord.

1. Believe that the God who saved you hears your cries: Micah 7:7 says “but as for me, I wait in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me”. Have you ever felt like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling? Perhaps you might have prayed for years about a concern, but God has seemed silent. That is where God demonstrated his love and mercy towards us when we were still his enemies. The cross is our guarantee that God is for us and is committed to give us everything we would ask for if we trust Him. We have to trust in the Lord. If we are going to wait up on God, we have to trust Him because our waiting is saying we trust you God that your timing is better than ours. You know what I do not know, your time is always right so I am going to trust you, and I am going to wait till you give me answer to my prayer. We can be content with that and wait patiently for his answers.

2. Wait with expectancy, but be prepared for unexpected answers: Psalm 5:3 says “in the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly”. While God has been faithful to answer many of my prayers, it is often been in far different ways than I would have anticipated! It is not that God has delayed the promise of anything. He only wants what is best for us. So take faith and grow in humility. It means pride has to be done away with. Learning to love like Jesus requires us to say no to our constant demand for selfish ambition, wanting our own way, and putting ourselves first. Growing in patience inevitably involves some form of waiting, whether in a long line at the grocery store or a lifetime for a loved one to come to Christ. When we lay our requests before him, it is by faith that we wait and watch in anticipation of God’s good work in us and others. This means we are willing to trust God for His timing before we make a decision. God is willing to show you the truth if you are willing to ask Him. Now if you are living in sin and disobedience to God, you probably not going to hear Him because you cannot hear as you do not want to hear.

3 . Put your hope in his Word: Psalm 130: 5&6 say “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning”. We can be tempted to put our hope in the things of the world that may disappoint us in the end. We can hope a doctor will heal us, a teacher will pass us, a spouse will love us, our employer will reward us, or a friend will help us. But it is only when we put our hope in Christ that we can wait with confidence and know we will not be put to shame. It seems that God allows us to experience disappointments in life to teach us that nothing else will truly satisfy or provide us with a firm foundation to stand upon. God’s word alone is unshakable. We can wait for the Lord knowing that, no matter how dark the night is, His light will break through in our lives, bringing abundant joy through a more intimate relationship with Christ. So would you say that you have the faith to wait up on God when you come to a decision in your life putting your hope in God’s word? Is there anything too hard for the Lord? No, our every circumstance is in God’s control. If God tells you to wait be sure nothing is going to slip out from God’s care.

4 . Trust in the Lord, not in your own understanding: Proverbs 3:5&6 say “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”. Why is it so tempting for us to depend on our own wisdom rather than the wisdom of our all wise God? What makes us think that we know better than He does what is best for us? Scripture speaks clearly about how to live life abundantly forever with Christ; yet, all too easily, we justify our sin, declare unpleasant commands as irrelevant, and do what is right in our own eyes. Seasons of waiting reveal where we are placing our trust. If we will stop and think of the power of God, the wisdom of God, the love of God, the knowledge of God then we are not going to miss anything we ought to have but waiting up on God. If God does not provide something that you have asked for and you trust Him, it is because you either don’t need it because it is not good for you or it is not the right timing for you. The right question is this do I trust Him or not?

5. Resist fretting, refrain from anger, be still, and choose patience: Psalm 37:7& 8 say “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. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil”. It is easy to say we trust God, but our response to delays, frustrations, and difficult situations exposes where we are actually placing our hope. Are we convinced God is listening? Do we believe He is good? Do we accept that our circumstances are divinely ordained? Do we doubt He really cares about us? When we choose to wait quietly and trustingly, we not only honor God but encourage others to put their hope in him as well. Do not allow yourself get anxious about something when you can trust God about it. If you believe that God is who He says He is, you can believe that God will show you the right time to do anything and everything. God’s timing is always perfect and He has our best interest at heart. You never waste time waiting on God. Never, you will always find out that his timing is always the right time.

6. Be strong and take courage: Psalm 27:13&14 say “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”. I have found that one of my biggest battles in long seasons of waiting is fighting fear and anxiety, nervousness, and worry. A voice in my head asks what if this happens or what if God doesn’t answer my prayers. It is the gospel that has taught me that enduring strength and courage will never be found in myself but in Christ. Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” He is Immanuel, God with us. That is a promise that will sustain us while we wait for answers to prayer, but even more, as we wait for his triumphant return! It takes faith, it takes, patience and it courage to wait up on God. Joshua chapter1 verse 9 says “have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

7. See it as an opportunity to experience God’s goodness: Lamentations 3:25 says “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.” When my focus is on my problems and what God has or has not given me, I am prone to grumbling, complaining, discontentment, bitterness, and selfishness. When I define goodness by what brings me the most comfort, happiness, and gratification in this life, then anything that threatens these things will tempt me to question God’s love and goodness. God demonstrated his goodness when Christ absorbed the wrath of God that we deserved, making a way for us to be set free from the power of sin and our enemy Satan, who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy our eternal joy and peace. For those who have eyes to see, seasons of waiting offer countless opportunities to witness God at work in and through us for our eternal good and His glory. When God tells us not to do something, we need to know, He means exactly what He says.

8. Wait for God’s promise instead of going your own way: Let’s look at Acts 1:4 where Jesus tells his disciples to wait for the promise. “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about”. Scripture offers plenty of examples of saints who got weary of waiting for God and chose to do things their way. God’s goodness is promised for those who wait patiently for him! No matter how long, regardless of how hopeless things appear to us, it takes determination to wait up on God. Even when it seems to cost us everything, “God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to his power at work within us”. When we wait for him, we will never be disappointed. So let us have the determination to wait up on the Lord and His promises instead of going on our own way.

9. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful with thanksgiving: Colossians 4:2 says “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful”. Another temptation we face when God does not seem to be answering our prayers is to stop praying, stop expecting him to act, while giving way to a spirit of cynicism, rather than thanking God for who he is and all he has done for us. While God may not answer in our timing or in the way we expect, he will accomplish his good purposes in our lives when we wait for him and persevere in prayer. It takes strength to wait upon the Lord. Not moving until God says to move, not making a choice until God says to make a choice. It takes strength, yes, so who is the source of our strength. Let Almighty God be our strength while we wait upon.

10. Remember the blessings yet to come: Isaiah 30:18 says “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!” As long as our hope is set on this life and things that gratify our flesh, we will likely to feel frustrated, discouraged, and even hopeless. Jesus Christ came to offer us eternal joy and freedom from sin and, although we have been set free from sin’s power, sin’s presence is still at work in and around us. Thankfully, the gospel assures us, as believers that God is for us and works all things together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. So it takes endurance to wait up on God. You just have to hang in there. I remember of a story of two friends, after finishing college education, were hunting for jobs. They wanted to be achievers. So they decided to approach their dream company for a job. After they took their initial test, they were asked to WAIT! After few hours, they were called for a group discussion. When that was also over, they were asked to WAIT again! After few more hours the HR executive appeared and asked them to wait for the company MD. Even after a long time of waiting, the MD did not turn up. One of the friends lost patience and left the premises with anger. The other was determined to endure the waiting for the Boss. No sooner he came, the job was offered to the guy who waited patiently. The Boss was already there but was only testing their patience level. Similarly, David was willing to wait on the Lord. In Psalm 62:5 we read “my soul wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him”. It is difficult for anyone to wait for long, but when we wait on the Lord in faith, in patience, with courage, determination, strength and endurance we do not feel frustration as God Himself gives us good courage and strength to wait patiently.
During the long or even short seasons of waiting, the devil may bring doubts on and off, the people around us may mock and ridicule us for our steadfast faith, but like David, when we trust in God at all times, God will surely grant our requests that our hearts will be encouraged to remember that the best is yet to come! One day sin will be no more! We will be free from our selfish demands and temptations and experience everlasting joy. So, set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land; But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.” Yes, Christ is the answer! He is our rest and the treasure we seek. Let us wait for the Lord just a little longer.

JACOB VARGHESE

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