The Waiting Walk

Waiting.

Not something most of us get really excited about doing.  Me least of all.  So when I see verse after verse after verse in the Bible that talk about waiting, I wonder how that is actually supposed to look in my life.  I mean, it’s not something I am good at or really enjoy, so how do I wait?  Specifically, how do I wait on God?

One of my favorite chapters is Psalm 27.  It is a powerful chapter that includes feeling safe and protected in God while still struggling with doubts about God’s presence.  It talks about the bigger picture and the life beyond this one, but the struggles of getting from here to there.  Family issues.  Enemies.  Worship.  Praise.  Love.  Joy.  And waiting.  You knew that was coming, didn’t you?  It is only fourteen verses long, but the very last verse deals solely with waiting.

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”

This became my favorite chapter clear back in high school, so I’ve been mulling over this idea of waiting since then.  Triggered by this verse.  I have to say that I haven’t always done well at it.  But I have always claimed the promise given here.

If we wait on Him, He will give us strength.  So wait on the Lord so you can get that strength.

Strength for what?  To push forward?  To say what we need to say?  To do something that needs done?  To become the next great somebody?  I think not.  It says that we should wait on the Lord (with good courage or a positive attitude) and then He will strengthen our heart.  Not our arms or our tongue or our feet or our position in life.  Our heart.

We need to wait on Him so that He can give us strength to wait on Him.  

If that doesn’t sound like it will suit your style, then you are not alone.  I would much rather be given strength to go accomplish some great thing.  But strength to wait?  I’m certainly going to need it because waiting is so often much harder than doing something!  But why do we need strength to wait?  Why do we even need to wait in the first place?

The key is found repeated twice in this verse.  We are not asked to “wait.”  No.  We are asked to “wait on the Lord.”  There is a big difference.  God is asking us to take a front row seat and watch something totally amazing and spectacular that He is about to accomplish.  It may be something inside of us.  It may be something outside of us that we have a part in.  It may be something outside of us that we just get to watch and be amazed.  But no matter what it is that God wants to do, let’s not forget that it is God who is the one actually DOING anything at all!  We are asked to wait.  Remember the children of Israel?  How they were asked to wait and not attack the city of Jericho right away (actually they were asked to WALK while they WAITED!)?  Then they were privileged with an up-close view when God totally worked wonders and brought that entire city down in a heap of ruin.  All they had to do was wait.

So it is with us.  Movement is usually required while we wait on God, but God is still the one who actually does the work, and the one who deserves the glory.  It’s all about Him, and our role is to submit to His will.  To wait on Him.  But will it be worth it in the end?  Yes, yes, and yes.

There are a lot of verses in the Bible that deal with waiting.  I hope to look at them slowly over time, and try to get a more practical grasp on what this whole “wait on the Lord” idea is all about.

What about you?  Do you have a favorite verse or an experience that involved waiting on the Lord?  I’d love to hear about it!