Wait on the Lord

Waiting on Him
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"Wait" is the answer I got when I prayed about something.So wait I will try and do.But what exactly is 'waiting'? What does it mean when we wait for something? I thought I would look up a bunch of verses about waiting and see what I could learn,and this is the result:

Isaiah 40:31 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.

He promises that if we wait upon Him He will give us strength.We as humans have limited strength, we run down, run out, and get weary.But He,as the everlasting God, faints not nor is weary (vs. 28),there is no limit to His power and strength.If we wait upon and trust in Him we receive His strength.

Psalm 25:5 Lead me in thy truth,and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation;on thee do I wait all the day.

Here David is praying and asking God to teach him and lead him.David is waiting patiently upon God for His help. He knows that as God is His Saviour and Creator, he should come to the Lord for help and guidance.He realizes that without God's direction to the truth he as a human could easily be lead astray.

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage,and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait,I say, on the Lord.

This verse tells us in no uncertain terms that we need to wait on God.Instead of fretting and worrying and trying to solve everything ourselves, we need to learn to relax and trust in Him.What does that mean exactly?How does a person trust in God? I think one could do a long study just about that, but I believe it means to believe in His promises and His character.Trust means having faith in someone to do what they have said they would.When I trust in God, I stop trying to figure out everything myself, I stop trying to solve all my problems with my human intellect.Instead, I turn to Him and admit I can't do this on my own - that I need His help.I claim His promises to lead,guide,and strengthen me...and then I set myself to being humble and in submission to Him and His leading. So I think the waiting commanded here is largely made up of trusting.

Psalm 62:5 My soul,wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

That's a pretty powerful statement - only wait on God.Verse 6 tells us why: "He only is my rock and my salvation : he is my defence; I shall not be moved." Basically, we should only trust and wait on God,because of Who He is.I should not trust in anything else but Him.I think also, hope is in the context of this verse. David's expectation, his hope, is from God.Why would I want to wait on or trust anyone else but God? Who else is like Him?

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord,my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

Again in this verse hope and waiting are connected.If I trust in God, I will wait on Him,and if I wait on Him I will hope in Him.I will have faith that He will fulfill His promise to strengthen and guide me.My hope and faith is sure, because it is built upon the trueness and stability of God's character itself.

Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him,to the soul that seeketh him.

Here we see the blessings of waiting on God.Yet another promise of something He will do.God delights when we put our faith and trust in Him.It is pleasing to Him when we learn to depend on Him.I believe one reason for that is,because of Who He is,He should have our focus, our respect, our faith. When we don't trust in or respect Him we are saying by our actions that we will not honour Him the way He as God should be honoured and revered.He delights when we wait on Him for it is then that we are giving Him the honour He is due.

Psalm 40:1- 4 I waited patiently for the Lord;and he inclined unto me,and heard my cry.He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,out of the miry clay,and set my feet upon a rock,and established my goings.And he hath put a new song in my mouth,even praise unto our God: many shall see it,and fear,and shall trust in the Lord.Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust,and respecteth not the proud,nor such as turn aside to lies.

Yes,God does answer our prayers,and fulfills all His promises.Let us be like David and praise Him for Who He is and what He has done.