WAITING ON THE LORD

 WAITING  ON THE LORD 

Waiting on the Lord may be one of the most difficult aspects of the Christian life. The concept of "waiting" in Christian life is found various forms in the Bible -- to wait up on, to wait on, to wait at, to wait for, to wait patiently, await etc.   The most important and frequent use of the word is to define the attitude of a soul towards God. The waiting implies, of course, the expectant attitude of faith, a listening ear, a heart responding to the calling of God. It describes an eager anticipation and yearning for the revelation of truth and love as it is in God. Waiting on God reminds us that God is in control of our lives. 

We come accross the expression frequently in the Old Testament:

Psalms 69:3 I am exhausted from crying for help ... waiting for my God to help me.

Psalms 33:20 Our soul has waited for the Lord; 

Psalms 27:4 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!  The idea of waiting occurs 22 times in Psalms alone and numerous other places as well in the Old Testament. For example:

Proverb 20:22 Wait for the LORD, and He will avenge you.  

Isaiah 40:31  But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. 

Let us look at some examples in the New Testament :

Romans 8:19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.

Romans 8:23 Not only so, but we ... groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

Galatians 5:5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.

In Luke 2:25 we see Simeon, who met Mary and Joseph when they brought the infant Jesus to the temple, had been "waiting for the consolation of Israel". 

Again, after our Lord's crucifixion, when Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus, we are told that he was one of those that "waited for the kingdom of God".

The Bible contains an amazing varieties of circumstances under which we are commanded to wait up on the Lord, in different styles. We are also told what to wait for. I have given below a dozen examples, drawn from both Old and New Testaments:

Psalms 62: 1, 5 tells us that when we wait quietly before Him hope and victory comes; our soul finds rest in Him.  

Psalms 130:5 implores us to wait for the LORD, with our whole being putting our hope in His word.

Psalms 37:7 tells us to wait patiently for God and not to fret when wicked people succeed in their ways.

Psalms 27:14 asks us to wait for the LORD and be strong.

Psalms 59:9 asserts that the Lord is our strength and fortress and comes to our rescue.

Romans 8:23 is self explanatory: 

"And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us".

Romans 15:4 says that the Scriptures that were written long ago to teach us give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

1 Corinthians 1:6-8 asserts our testimony about Christ was confirmed in us. Therefore we do not lack any spiritual gift as we eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will sustain us to the end, so that we will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:5 explains that through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.

James 5:7 says that we do not lack any spiritual gift as we eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

Jude 1 : 21 commands us to  live in such a way that God's love can bless us as we wait for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in His mercy is going to give us.

Waiting is not just something we have to do while we get what we want. Waiting is the process of becoming what God wants us to be. What God does in us while we wait is as important as what it is we are waiting for. Waiting, biblical waiting, is not a passive waiting around for something to happen that will allow us to escape our troubles. Waiting does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It is not a way to evade unpleasant reality.

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