Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Psalms 27:14 NIV
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Another version of the Bible puts it this way:
Psalms 27:13-14 (The Message)
Stay with GOD! Take heart. Don’t quit. I’ll say it again: Stay with GOD.
To become mature believers, we will need to learn the art of waiting upon the Lord. So much of our life as followers of Jesus, is walked out, not by sight, but by faith. God is a mystery. It is not that He hides from us, it is that our minds are not like his. His thoughts and His ways are far above our own. We cannot perceive the benefits of the waiting we are all called upon to undertake, unless we have practiced this skill.
Mothers and fathers wait nine long months to meet the child they can see growing in the mother’s womb. We cannot meet our child until birth. We must wait.
Seeds are planted and we will not see a sprout growing for several days, or even longer. Then we must wait for the plant to mature and produce fruit. This takes time and is a process.
Our stories are written in God’s book slowly. They take a lifetime to play out and we do not know the end until it is all finished.
Learning to sit back and simply relax as God works will help you experience a deep security and strength. We can be anxious and fretful as our problems come and go. We can worry and stress and be overcome by negative emotions. Or, we can choose to wait upon the Lord. This is the same kind of waiting a parent or farmer does. Not fretting away each day that doesn’t bring a solution. We must wait while the Lord does the work of growing a child or a plant. Trusting Him, hoping in Him. The lives of people are extremely complex. Our God has a separate and perfect plan for each of us that will take time to unfold.
As we learn to wait, we can become expectant and hopeful. Like a child, waiting to see what gifts we have at Christmas time. Knowing that God is working things out for our good. We learn patience, hope, endurance. We gain strength and are not fragile and easily broken. We become strong, resilient and unshakeable. These are traits that cannot be stolen or undone by the work of the enemy. Once we learn to wait, we have learned to be true children of God. Leaving the timing to His hands, leaving the answers to His way. Trusting in His love for us, even when we are perplexed and frightened. We can go back to our faith by waiting. Just waiting, not allowing our hearts to be troubled.
Father God, you know our ways. We are still learning yours. When we are perplexed by life, help us remember that it is very possible that we are not doing anything wrong. We are just in the waiting room, waiting on you. We can rest, put our head on your shoulder and just say Lord, I’m waiting for you. I’m not able to fix, think or work my way out of this. I’m just waiting on you. You are faithful, you are true. I will trust my life to your work. Your word says: Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. I know that you can renew my strength, that will be enough for me today, Lord and I will wait on you.
In my precious Savior’s name I pray,
Amen
Song: Rest, TobyMac/Terrian
