Waiting on the Lord

Over and over, a theme appears throughout Scripture: wait on the Lord.

Abraham had to wait on the Lord for a child in his old age. Hannah had to wait for a child as well, as we see in 1 Samuel. David had to wait years between being anointed king and actually becoming king. The Israelites had to wait on the Lord to deliver them from slavery. The world had to wait from Genesis 3 until the opening verses of Matthew for the Messiah to come. And we now must wait for the Lord to return.

As we wait for that day, we're told to wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14) even in our everyday lives.

I have to be honest; waiting on the Lord is one of the hardest parts of the Christian life. It's a constant struggle for me.

Sometimes the waiting isn't as long. Earlier in the year, I had a rough time finding a car after I hit a deer with my previous vehicle. It took longer than I hoped, but I had to trust God to provide a vehicle, and thankfully, He did.

Other times it's a long process. I have dealt with certain issues and weaknesses in my life for decades, longing for the day that God would remove them. Of course, I can blame myself for much of it. Even so, the waiting is hard.

Yet we are relentlessly told to wait and trust in God.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us, more or less, that instead of worrying about our needs, we should trust in God. We wait on Him.

Trusting and waiting go hand in hand, at least for me.

But how do we do that? I wish I could say I knew in totality. I think a major part is recognizing our need.

When a man is dying of thirst, and someone offers him water, it is unlikely he asks too many questions about where the water came from. He knows his need.

When we see the influence of our sin, the weakness of our flesh, and the futility of our efforts, where else can we go but to the Lord?

Peter said, in John 6, as many turned away from Jesus:

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." - John 6:68b-69

Peter and the disciples knew there was nowhere else they could go; more than that, why would they? They had come to know that Jesus is the Christ.

When we're tempted to trust in ourselves, others, or things above God, may we remember that: "He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD favors those who fear Him, those who wait for His lovingkindness." - Psalm 147:10-11 (Emphasis added).

Let us remember that He has the words of life.