To face these days without fear we must learn to wait on the Lord…
Studies show we spend 6 months of our lives waiting in a queue, 2 days a year waiting at red traffic lights and 32 hours a year in traffic jams. Waiting is a part of our physical life. But it is also a part of our spiritual lives. To ‘wait’ is mentioned 71 times in the Bible (see the full references in the downloads section ’Waiting for God’). The headings come under a ‘waiting on’: God, for Salvation, for Divine instruction, for a change to come, for wisdom, for a vision to happen, for the fulfilment of prophecy, for the promise of the Holy Spirit, for redemption, for the revealing of Jesus, for the hope of righteousness and for the appropriate time; Even the whole of creation eagerly awaits; Jesus is waiting! God is waiting for us and we are all waiting for the New Jerusalem.
Isaiah 40:31 is a familiar verse to many, ‘But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.’
Henry says – ‘He {Isaiah} resolved to wait upon the Lord and to look for him; to attend his motions even while he hid his face, and to expect with a humble assurance his returns in a way of mercy. Those that wait upon God by faith and prayer may look for him with hope and joy. When we have not sensible comforts we must still keep up our observance of God and obedience to him, and then wait awhile; at evening time it shall be light.’
Adapted from Matthew Henry Commentary
The Wait
Waiting can be difficult, infuriating and even impossible for some. But for those who are willing to be trained by it, true wisdom comes. The saying ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’, which was first mentioned by a 12th-century cleric, helps us remember that a final result is often born out of a slow process. Whilst we live in a quick-fix society with everything at our fingertips, we are all a work-in-progress and learning to wait is one of our best schoolings.
To ‘wait’ in this verse is described in Strong’s concordance as ‘to hope, expect, look eagerly for’ – it is an expectant wait not a resignation to a poor outcome, but looking eagerly for the Lord to meet our needs. Let’s be expectant today.
Peace Following Surrender Here comes my betrayer “Not my will but Yours be done”. Is peace absent from your heard Or are you truly in tune with the Son? Have you entered into the Peace of Surrender Or does the battle still rage within you? Only when the battle has ceased Can the blessings commence and flow on through. By just a few hours Gethsemane And the cross were separated. To each other they were however Very closely related. The issue of the Cross was settled in the garden. The battle ended, the blessing began. Will you not go a little further? In His love you surely can. To the place of surrender Will you go? To find the Peace of Surrender; Love’s overflow. By the late Andrew Feakin (passed away 16th March 2019)
Prayer: Father, forgive me for being a poor student in the school of waiting. Help me realise that much of life is a process and You are working Your purposes out. Forgive me for trying to fix things on my own when my patience dries up. Teach me Your ways and show me Your paths. I will wait on You expectant that You will fulfil Your promises. And Lord when things don’t happen as I hoped, help me trust You still. In Jesus name. Amen.