“I don’t have time to wait!!!” Can you please hurry up GOD? I know you can answer my prayer, but I needed this yesterday!”
Wow! Can you relate? Nobody likes to wait. Waiting can sometimes be stressful, especially when we are anticipating something. When we go to the LORD in prayer, we expect HIM to answer us right then and there. But a lot of times we have to wait. If we don’t see something happen in the amount of time we think it should, we get discouraged in the waiting. We might even lose faith. Waiting should not be torturous. It could even be a good thing. Let’s look at how waiting on the LORD might change our perspective.
First off, let’s define the word wait.
1a. to remain stationary in expectation
b. to pause for another to catch up
2a. to look forward expectantly
b. to hold back expectantly (we might want to run ahead of GOD and do our own thing)
3. to serve at meals
4a. to be ready and available
b. to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized
Simply put, to wait means to stay in place in expectation of; to delay serving; to serve.
So what does it mean to wait on or wait upon?
1a. to attend to as a servant
b. to supply the wants of
2. to make a formal call on
3. to wait for
Waiting is something we must do. It helps us grow.
Isaiah 40:31—They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength. They will mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.
When you break this verse apart it might go something like this:
They that wait upon the LORD:
Renew their strength – rest – remain stationary in expectation of; to delay serving; be ready and available
Mount up with wings as eagles- soar – to look forward to expectantly
Run and not be weary – to attend to as a servant
Walk and not faint – to serve; to hold back expectantly (to meet needs and see what GOD does, knowing that HE is in control)
When we see the needs of others and wait upon those needs, we are also waiting upon GOD. We are HIS servants doing what needs to be done to glorify HIM.
Good things happen when we wait on the LORD.
1. Our strength is restored.
2. We can serve and love on those whom JESUS loves.
3. The world around us notices. Psalm 37:9 says, “For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the LORD they shall inherit the earth.”
4. We will not be ashamed. (Psalm 25:3a – Indeed, let no one who waits on YOU be ashamed.)
Read Psalm 40:1-3:
“I waited patiently for the LORD and HE inclined to me, and HE heard my cry. He also brought me up out of horrible pit, out of the mire clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our GOD; many will see it and fear and will trust in the LORD.”
As we wait on the LORD, HE draws closer to us; HE hears us when we are in trouble. Because of HIS love for us, HE pulls us up out of the mess we are in, gives us a firm foundation to stand on, and helps us to move forward. As we begin to praise the LORD and share what HE has done for us, people see it, and want what we have, all because we waited on the LORD.
WAIT! Just see what the LORD can do!