2. Path of Spiritual Decline
• We focus on what we might do.
• We do not think we can carry out God's
design.
• We lower our standards to accommodate our
abilities.
• We then set goals we can reach.
• We accomplish these goals and are proud of
our accomplishments.
• We encourage others to do the same.
3. Is waiting on God biblical?
• There are many things people waited for
on God in the Scriptures e.g. for answers to
prayer, breakthroughs, the Holy Spirit at
the time of Pentecost.
• We are focusing only on those verses that
instruct us by example or precept that we
ought to wait upon the Lord.
• We will look at a few of the forty plus times
the words 'waiting' upon God in the Bible.
4. Is waiting on God biblical?
• The Psalms use it about 25 times while
Isaiah 11 times.
• David discovered that he could wait upon
God for help.
• This is not to say Abraham didn't wait for a
son or Moses for help for his people.
• The Psalms enable us to look at a person's
inner life before God.
5. Wait on God
• Other instances show that people were waiting
upon the Lord for something: e.g. to save, for
counsel, His ordinances, His Word, His Salvation etc.
• Belief speaks about trust in.
• Waiting, however, usually focuses on some one to do
something.
• Waiting upon God is not only biblical but a necessary
part of the Christian life for the growing Christian.
• "WAIT FOR" IS AN ACTIVE DISPLAY OF FAITH IN
GOD DURING IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS.
6. Is waiting on God biblical?
Four major Hebrew words for
'waiting for.' Let's look at the ways
the scriptures describe how God's
people waited upon their Creator.
7. Wait on God means…
• Wait for YOU (personally, God, Lord).
– Ps 25:3 Indeed, none of those who wait for YOU will be ashamed; Ps 25:5 …
For YOU I wait all the day.
• Wait for the LORD (Sovereign, Yahweh).
– Ps 27:14 Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes,
wait for the LORD. Ps 37:9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait
for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
• Wait on His Name (Character)
– Ps 52:9 …. I will wait on Your name, for it is good
• New Testament: Return of Christ (Revelation of
Christ)
– 1Th 1:10* and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the
dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
8. How long do you wait?
• Pentecost – Specific place, specific time:
until they received the Holy Spirit.
• Hezekiah – Spread out – Is.37:14-15 - READ
• David – Anointed but not yet appointed - 2
Sam 12:18
• Simeon/Anna – Till they saw – Lk.2:29-
32/Lk.2:38
• Till He comes – 2 Cor.1:14
9. How do you wait?
• All the day: (Ps.25:5) Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are
the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.
• Patiently: (Ps.37:7) Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him…
• Keeping His way: (Ps.37:34) Wait on the LORD, and keep His way, … and
He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you
shall see it.
• Hope: (Ps.39:7) "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
(Ps.130:5) I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His Word I do hope.
• His Name: (Ps.52:9) …. I will wait on Your name, for it is good.
• Alone: (Ps.62:5) My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation
is from Him.
• Physical effort: (Ps.69:3) I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My
eyes fail while I wait for my God.
• As a testimony: (Ps.69:6) Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of
hosts, be ashamed because of me…
10. Some steps to Waiting on God
• Three important principles to waiting upon the
Lord from the life of Hezekiah (Is.38).
– Trust – Unbelief leads to despair, self-help books
(own resources) or bitterness. Hezekiah turned to
God rather than away from Him.
– Reject - We must consciously turn away from using
other resources that we could turn to. We need to
reject paths without God.
– Pray - Stop talking to people and set aside time to
speak to and wait on God. Take time to pray and
pause your own reasoning, planning and talking.
11. Failing to wait
• Abraham stopped waiting. He had a
son by another woman.
• Saul stopped waiting on command of
the Lord and went ahead with the
offering.
13. Rewards for waiting on God
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.
• Wait here comes from a primitive root word meaning:
– to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect; (figurative) to expect:
– gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon). We are to be
twisted or bound together with our expectation on God.
• Renew – means to cut off, to spring up, to change, to go
on forward.
– Renewal of strength is rooted in the personality of God. ENCOUNTER
CHANGES YOU! E.g. rechargeable batteries. If dead it can no longer give
power to anything. It is still a battery. It still has potential to deliver power
but the power within is gone.
AT THE CORE OF WAITING ON THE LORD IS OBEDIENCE. THE ROOT
IDEA OF WAITING IS NOT DEVOTION, IT IS OBEDIENCE. WE WAIT ON
GOD WHEN WE SAY, “NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS BE DONE LORD.”
14. Rewards for waiting on God
I. Waiting on the Lord uplifts.
II. Waiting on the Lord brings endurance.
III. Waiting on the Lord strengthens.
IV. Conclusion: The secret to keep going, the secret to
renewed strength, and being able to soar and run and
walk without fainting or crashing or burning out, is to
wait on the Lord.
“Burnout is not from doing too much, it’s
from receiving too little.” It is imperative
that we make the time to wait on the Lord.
15. Waiting for ministry
• What God could have done for David.
– God could have held off anointing David.
– God could have shortened Saul's life.
– Saul's pursuit of David took place over a number of years.
David literally ran as a refuge from city to city.
• What David learned whilst waiting
– David proved his loyalty to King Saul and ultimately to the
Lord.
– David learned to trust God in troublesome circumstances.
– David had MERCY.
– David deepened his reliance upon God.
Notes taken/adapted/added from various sources:
Paul J. Bucknell By Rev. David Koch
Personal study
In Christian living, we try hard to please the Lord. We end up falling into some regular sin such as gazing at pornography, indulging our appetites, or being worried. We change the standard to accommodate our abilities. We then set goals that we can reach. We are proud of the things we have accomplished. As a result of this, we hear catch phrases that seem to justify our sins. "Everyone does it." "What is wrong with that?!" Instead of scrutinizing the scriptures for standards as the Bereans, we just go full steam ahead in our self-confidence. Behind all of this is our desire to live in a world in which we can control things. The world does this because they don't believe there is anything else to trust in or live for. The church does it because of that reason as well as because of imitation. They don't know anything better.
The church might seek for power, but it is not in godly living. Godly living, however, is what enables us to draw close to the Lord. Godly people live by God's standards in God's power for God's glory. They are preoccupied with God and His purposes and ways rather than man's.
________________
"May those who wait for Thee not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; May those who seek Thee not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel" (Psalm 69:6 ).
We have forgotten what it means to wait upon God. Those that wait upon God hold to His standards. They know that they can not accomplish what God wants without God's extraordinary grace. Because of this, they seek His face. They confess their sins. They call upon the Name of the Lord. Worldliness has a specific term right now called pragmatism. We need to repent from this and wait upon God!
Purpose
A careful study on what the Bible says about the theme 'waiting on God' or 'waiting upon God.'
What does the Bible say about waiting on God?
There are many things people waited for in the scriptures e.g. for some person or for the salvation of God.
In this section, however, we are focusing only on those verses that instruct us by example or precept that we ought to wait upon the Lord. Let's look at forty plus times the words 'waiting' upon God is used. The total list is at the bottom. 1. Waiting upon God was new from David's time onward. The Psalms use it about 25 times while Isaiah 11 times. The other prophets scarcely used it. The NT follows that trend by rarely using the phrase 'wait upon.'
2. The phrase seems to have originated with David. He not only experienced great difficulty in his life but discovered that he could wait upon God for help. This is not to say Abraham didn't wait for a son or Moses for help for his people, but the thought wasn't so fully developed. Besides this, a depth of spiritual life could be expressed in the Psalms. They enable us to look at a person's inner life.
3. The historical biblical books just didn't describe this inner life experience with such detail as in the Book of Psalms. They looked at outward events rather than inward thoughts. The prophets at times did focus on the turmoil of the person, especially Isaiah and so we see this phrase scattered through these books. 4. The NT only uses the phrase referring to the second coming of Jesus. However, the phrase 'believe in' is very common, such as 'believe in the Lord.' But the meaning and emphasis of 'believe in' is quite different than 'waiting upon.' Believe and trust emphasize the confidence and faith in an object.
5. 'Waiting for' definitely exudes this sense of confidence, but it is more than this. 'Waiting for' focuses on the sense of expectation one has on the object. When one 'waits on the Lord,' a person is dependent upon that person or something that the person will do. Below are the four major Hebrew words for 'waiting for.' Let's look at the ways the scriptures describe how God's people waited upon their Creator.
When we wait upon the Lord, we find ourselves looking to Him to help for some specific need. There is a conscious expectation that He will help us out in that special need. We do not have control over the circumstances and therefore are looking to His provisions, His protection, etc. In each case, though, it is good to notice our special need, recognize that He can help us in that area and then cast our hope in Him. Waiting upon God is not only biblical but a necessary part of the Christian life for the growing Christian.
"WAIT FOR" IS AN ACTIVE DISPLAY OF FAITH IN GOD DURING IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS.
Wait for Thee (Thee refers to God, Lord).
Ps 25:3 Indeed, none of those who wait for Thee will be ashamed; Ps 25:5 Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation; For Thee I wait all the day. Ps 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for Thee.
Wait for the LORD ( refers to Yahweh).
Ps 27:14 Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. Ps 33:20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. Ps 37:7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Ps 37:9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. Ps 37:34 Wait for the LORD, and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. Pr 20:22 Do not say, "I will repay evil"; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you. Isa 8:17 And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him. Isa 40:31 Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
Wait ... (for Thy Name, God, Him, etc.)
Ps 52:9 I will give Thee thanks forever, because Thou hast done it, And I will wait on Thy name, for it is good, in the presence of Thy godly ones. Isa 49:23 And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame. Isa 64:4 For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, Neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him. La 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. Ho 12:6 Therefore, return to your God, Observe kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually. Mic 7:7 But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Zep 3:8 "Therefore, wait for Me," declares the LORD, "For the day when I rise up to the prey...
New Testament and Waiting upon the Lord
Php 3:20* For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 1Th 1:10* and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Steps to Waiting on God
Isaiah 38
Purpose
Steps to Waiting on God uses the story of King Hezekiah in Isaiah 38 who all of a sudden heard about his oncoming death. We find three key principles to shape our own decision making. Part of the Waiting On God series.
We have often heard the phrase 'waiting on God.' We know it is important but are not sure how it fits into our Christian lives. Sometimes the actual word 'waiting' or the phrase 'waiting on God' or 'waiting upon God' is used in a scriptural passage.
At other times, however the teaching is present without the express words 'to wait upon the Lord.' This slice into Hezekiah's life is like that. It gives us practical steps to waiting on God.
HEZEKIAH A CRISIS FOR TESTING
Hezekiah gives us an example of waiting on God. He just heard some shocking news.
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, "Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' " (Isaiah 38:1).
Hezekiah heard that he was going to die. This left him desperate just like it would leave you or me - absolutely shaken. The time frame for waiting here compared to Abraham is much shorter. We are talking about days rather than decades with Abraham. The training is different. But Hezekiah's matter was urgent. How would Hezekiah respond? We should note that God left no other door open for Hezekiah than absolute rejection of God. God simply announced through His prophet that he was going to die. There was no offer of promise that if he did this or that, then God would heal him.
We often read this story as if God had given him a promise. But this is not the case here. So how did Hezekiah respond? How would you have responded?
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD, and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech Thee, how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Thy sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. (Isaiah 38:2,3, NASB).
This announcement brought Hezekiah down on his knees to wait upon the Lord. He desperately prayed. Although his circumstances would be much different than ours, I believe we can see three important principles to waiting upon the Lord.
Trust If we do not trust God, then we will get bitter. We will believe His love or doubt it. This is the ultimate test. The testing forces us to make an important decision on how we will relate to the Lord. If we believe the Lord doesn't care for us, then we will turn to despair (I am doomed), self-help books (own resources) or bitterness. Previous trust is important to establish a trust decision during a crisis. Hezekiah made this trust decision. He turned to God rather than away from Him. If we can't clearly think at such a time, just remember to turn toward the Lord.
Reject We must consciously turn away from using other resources that we could turn to. We need to reject paths without God. The text is silent about this. But from this silence, we see that Hezekiah did not pull our his kingly reserves and see what could be done. This is because he believed God's message. Hezekiah would die. This was the end of his life. He realized that he had nothing else to trust in. He could have tested God's Word by seeking medical help or the sage of philosophers, but he didn't. If we are a bit confused as to what the next step is, remember that we are not to first look at our resources. We need to reject them, even consciously if needed. We need to trust in the Lord for His methods.
Pray My advice to people seeking God's will is to pray and stop thinking; pray and stop planning; pray and stop talking. Did you ever talk with someone who was willing to talk to everyone but God about His problems?! Prayer is prayer. We are called to talk to God about our problems so we can sense what we should do. To be true, prayer does take on many forms and means, but essentially it is talking to God about your circumstances. We need to seek the Lord in prayer.
"Failing to Wait"
1Ch 10:13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.
1Ch 10:14 But he did not inquire of the LORD (WAIT/ASK FOR); therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
Genesis 16, 17, 22
Purpose
Genesis 16,17, 22 teaches the consequences of failing to wait for God's plan through Abraham's example.
"And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!" But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him." (Genesis 17.16-19).
If you are sensitive to the word 'failure,' more than likely you have faced a lot of criticism in your life. Failure is one word these people stay far away from. They often are perfectionists.
They don't dare to fail. Some of it is that they don't want to face criticism but more of it might come from the sense of need to prove how good they are. "I'll show them how good I can be." But not everyone can always succeed. Sometimes even the perfectionists fail. If their pride is burst, then they can feel totally worthless. We often think God treats us in ways that we have been treated by our parents. How fortunate we have in Abraham's life how God deals with failure in our lives. Abraham failed to wait upon God, a mess developed, and yet God helped him back up again to keep waiting until the promise was fulfilled.
ABRAHAM CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT WAITING
Abraham stopped waiting. He had a son by another woman. The reasons for this were many. Abraham had waited a long time for the fulfillment of God's promise to him. Years and years went by as people laughed behind his back about God's promised son to him. And even when he did take that bold step of going into his wife's handmaid, his wife encouraged him to do it. (1)
So Sarai said to Abram, "Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children through her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16.2)
Abraham and Sarah were past time to bear children and had given up waiting upon God. But once they took the matter into their own hands, they actually failed God. This not only brought a lot of extra turmoil into his marriage but brought long lasting consequences. Ishmael was born and from him arose Israel's permanent enemy right up to this day. (2)
ABRAHAM WAITING FOR TRAINING
God didn't leave Abraham in his failure. After he failed God, the Lord in His goodness clarified matters. Even after a good while, Abraham still saw the fulfillment of the promise in Ishmael. But God rejected Abraham's assertion and instead reinstituted and clarified the promise.
"Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!" But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him..." (Genesis 17:19).
They again were positioned to wait for God's timing of fulfillment. We can see through this that God was training Abraham and Sarah in faith. They of course thought God's promise would have been fulfilled long ago. But God knew even when He gave the original promise that it would be many years later before it was fulfilled.
However, He put no time clause in it. He never told Abraham. God was more interested in developing Abraham's faith rather than protecting him from scoffing. When the real test came to offer up Isaac, Abraham passed with flying colors. God brought a host of blessings into this world through that faith of Abraham.
Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. "And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (Genesis 22:15-18).
God was looking for that faith and found it. We can further learn from this that even if we have failed to wait as God wanted, we should get up, pick up the pieces, and by God's grace He will give us another try at it. He is our Father and is training us. But oh, may we live and not fail. We have enough bad consequences surrounding our lives that we need not any more!
REWARDS of waiting on the Lord
Introduction:
Waiting is not something most of us enjoy doing in life. We often wait because we have no other choice. If you
were supposed to meet someone at a particular place and time, and you get there and that person is not there, you
begin to wonder if one of you got something wrong as to the time or place you were to meet. The longer you wait,
the deeper you wonder.
When we talk about waiting on God we are talking about binding ourselves to God.
If you think of the strength of a rope and how it only gets stronger as other strands are twisted together, that is how
it is when we wait on God and allow ourselves to become intimately connected to Him. Suddenly there is unlimited
power and strength from Him that comes into our life. We as the weaker strand are made strong by His strength.
Our strength is renewed as we wait on the Lord. What does that really mean to wait on the Lord? Waiting on the
Lord is something that will bring these results: strength, renewal to change, ability to produce fruit, recovery, endurance
and energy.
In our natural world, to wait for someone often means we are idle. This is not so when we are waiting on the Lord.
As we wait for God, we are eager, alert, and attentive.
In a battle, one of the hardest things to do is to wait. The hardest thing in a battle is not the final push. The hardest
thing is to stand quiet, and wait while the enemy’s fire whistles around us. To wait in the fire and the darkness, the
face of death tries the heart and tests the nerves.
The Scriptures contain many exhortations to wait on the Lord. David commanded his soul to wait on the Lord as he
sought to realize the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 27:14). Solomon counseled those who had
been slighted by evildoers not to take their own revenge, but to wait on the Lord to deliver them (Prov. 20:22).
Isaiah preached that waiting on the Lord was the way to renewed strength (Is. 40:31). Jeremiah asserted that God is
good to those who wait on Him and seek Him in their souls (Lam. 3:25). God counseled Habakkuk to wait for the
Lord to reveal His plans for the deliverance of Israel (Hab. 2:3). Jesus commanded His disciples to wait for the
promise of the Father (Acts 1:4). Paul equated waiting for the promises of God with hoping earnestly to receive
them (Rom. 8:25). And Abraham patiently waited for the Lord to bring the promises to fruition in his life.
Clearly, God intends His people to wait on Him. Whatever He has called us to do, he promises to give us success in
it if we will wait on Him. This also applies to the work of Biblical worldview. Unless we cultivate the discipline of
waiting on the Lord in this area, all our labors will surely come to naught.
At the core of waiting on the Lord is obedience. The root idea of waiting is not devotion, it is obedience. We wait
on God when we say, “not my will but yours be done Lord.”
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.
Wait here comes from a primitive root word that
means; to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e.
collect; (figurative) to expect: - gather (together),
look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon).
How do we wait upon God? Looking at the meaning
of this word, it means we are to be twisted or bound
together. Our expectation is on God, and we are to
tarry or wait on Him. Expecting Him to strengthen, to
move, to uplift, happens as we pray and as we seek
for Him in the word. We also seek Him through the
ordinances of baptism and communion where we
identify publicly with His grace and saving power
from sin. We wait on God by listening and obeying
what He speaks to our hearts.
Renew – means to cut off, to spring up, to change, to
go on forward.
Renewal of strength is rooted in the personality of
God.
Have you ever been sick and a friend came into your
room to visit you? When that friend leaves, everything
seems different. We feel different. It’s not what
was said, it’s the mystery of personality, and the interaction
between you that gives you strength and
makes a difference.
We have some rechargeable batteries at my home.
They can be useful again and again in that they can
be recharged. If the energy stored in a renewable
battery is used up, that battery goes dead. It can no
longer give power to anything. It is still a battery. It
still has potential to deliver power but the power
within is gone. So those batteries are put in a charger
to renew the energy within. That battery has to come
in contact with a power source so it can become useful
once again.
The very same truth exists in my life and yours. We
get worn down, we get chewed up, and all of a sudden
we think – I’m not going to make it. My energy
is gone, my life is weak. That is when we must take
the time to wait on the Lord for renewal. We must
have contact with the source of spiritual power.
When God’s presence is realized, there comes a renewal
of our strength. To wait on God is not to ask
for benefits, it is to maintain the consciousness that
He is here. Waiting is the avenue to knowing and
pleasing God, and to those who wait on God, He will
reveal Himself to them.
The Lord shall renew their strength, their ability,
their might, their force, their ability to produce fruit.
How does this renewed strength reveal itself?
I. Waiting on the Lord uplifts
They shall rise above or mount up like an eagle. The
eagle goes above the pollution, gains height so it can
see from a perspective that is above. All too often we
get bogged down in our perspective. If we wait on the
Lord our sight and vision are lifted so we can see
things properly in relation to everything else.
They shall mount up – ascend, arise, spring up, dawn,
and recover.
Things that look so huge to us become small and not
as significant in relation to the whole environment.
We need to see things from God’s perspective. That
only happens as we wait on the Lord.
II. Waiting on the Lord brings endurance
They shall run and not be weary or exhausted. To run
is exhilarating, but running can also leave one exhausted
or weary. One gets tired from the hurry,
scurry, and rat race of life. Demands on one’s time
can cause one to be weary. Just trying to keep up a
hectic pace can bring exhaustion.
The strength and renewal to keep running the race of
life comes from relationship. The spiritual energy
that is needed to persevere in the race that is set before
us comes from waiting on the Lord and from
looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
III. Waiting on the Lord strengthens
When the soaring and running are over and the times
of vision past, a man can still walk along without wavering,
or halting. Step after step, day after day.
Lets be honest, walking is where the majority of our
spiritual life and existence happens. We live where
things are routine, mundane, and sometimes dull and
boring.
From time to time we have tremendous experiences
with Christ, but generally the journey of faith that we
take is a daily walk, step by step and it is not for the
faint of heart. In following Christ, there are many
places that walk will take us. We will walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, through the valley
of discouragement, the valley of defeat, the valley of
disappointment. Our journey will also take us
through valleys of accomplishment, and achievement
as well.
Waiting on the Lord helps keep us in balance. It is a
time of coming back to the source of our strength, the
source of our ability and might.
Exodus 33:14-15
The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you,
and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him,
“If your Presence does not go with us, do not send
us up from here.”
Moses learned how to wait on the Lord through his
lifetime. We see that early on he wanted to help God
by delivering the people of Israel from the slavery of
the Egyptians. After he fled Egypt for several years,
one day on the back side of the desert with only some
sheep to tend to, God showed up. As Moses matured,
he realized more and more that he had to wait on the
Lord to get direction, to gain strength, to act courageously,
to move with God. He was convinced that
the only way he wanted to act and move was if God’s
presence was with him. He was willing to wait on the
Lord. In fact, if God’s presence did not go with them,
Moses was staying put.
If you are like me, there are days you get tired of
plodding on this earth. We need to soar and get above
things. If you are like me there are days you get tired
of running and feeling like you cannot keep up because
of the demands that you face. If you are like
me there are days that the walk of faith is wonderful
but going through some of those valleys is tough.
Conclusion:
The secret to keep going, the secret to renewed strength, and being able to soar and run and walk without fainting or
crashing and burning is to wait on the Lord. Next week we will look at receiving an inheritance because of waiting
on the Lord.
“Burnout is not from doing too much, it’s from receiving too little.” Maybe that is where you are or where you have
been. You are burned out, and you thought it was from doing too much, when really what has happened is you have
depleted your energy like that battery but you need to get back to the source of power and strength and that happens
as we wait on the Lord. It wasn’t that you did too much; it was that you received too little. It is imperative that we
make the time to wait on the Lord.
”Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. (Jeremiah 3:15).
Waiting for Ministry Let's think how God could have made life easier for David.
God could have held off anointing David until later. Anointing David as king got his expectations up real high.
God could have shortened Saul's life. In goes the good king David.
God could have held back the anointing of the Spirit for a longer time so that others and he would not have so readily seen him as a good potential for kingship.
Saul's pursuit of David took place over a number of years. David literally ran as a refuge from city to city seeking to save his life. No one including David could figure why this time and kind of training was important. It was not an hapless period. As we look back, we see there are a number of important lessons for David.
David proved his loyalty to King Saul and ultimately to the Lord. Would David kill Saul or spare him? He decided to recognize Saul as God's anointed? He didn't at all hurt him even though he had numerous chances. These opportunities/testings are provided for us in I Samuel. One example is found in 1 Samuel 23-24 where he only cuts a small part of his robe off to prove he could have taken Saul's life if desired.
David learned to trust God in troublesome circumstances. David's Psalms often were spoken from circumstances of being hunted down and mocked. David was anointed and yet was mocked by others that rejected his position. But instead of attacking present authorities, he submitted to them waiting for God's timing and purpose. Christ so suffered for us. What a demonstration of waiting upon God!
David had mercy. We see that David learned all about graciousness. He gathered the rough and stubborn runaways and trained them into his disciplined men. He also learned to extend special kindness to those who were down and out such as Miphosheth and others. He was a man after God's own heart. Someone could look to David and find graciousness. They would see God. Power did not go to his head.
David deepened his reliance upon God. David learned how to depend upon God. We hear more than 70 times the phrases describing God as his Rock, fortress or strength. He depended upon God. He knew he had no real strength on his own.
(A Psalm of David.) To Thee, O LORD, I call; My rock, do not be deaf to me, Lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. (Psalms 28:1). Summary Waiting for ministry is hard. We don't know how long we will be put out to pasture, seemingly being irrelevant as a bee among the flowers. But in those very circumstances we will find plenty of occasions for service. These will be our proving times. Let's purpose our hearts to pass them that our time in training might not be lengthened and our hearts are fully prepared for the tasks that lie ahead of us.
