Waiting for God – He Acts on our Behalf

Are you waiting for God? He acts on our behalf as we wait for Him. “Since ancient times no one has
heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who
wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

A few years ago, my husband went in for his annual physical and the doctor ordered a routine chest x-ray.
A lesion was found on his lung and a CAT scan was ordered. After the CAT scan, other tests were done.
We asked our church and family to pray as we waited in expectancy to see how God would answer.
During times of trial, depending on God to bring us through is sometimes difficult. However, we can
always reflect on other times of suffering and how we were kept by His power.

My husband has been going to a cardiologist for the last two years and the x-rays have been negative.
The cardiologist continues to check on this spot on the lung every six months. As we await results we
trust God and know He is in control. Today we praise and thank God once again for a negative test. He
alone has acted on our behalf as we wait for Him!

Waiting for God – He Strengthens Us

As you are waiting for God, He strengthens you. “But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength.
They will fly high on wings as eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint”
(Isaiah 40:31).

I once heard an illustration about how God strengthens us during trials. It went like this: “Did you know
that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to high spot
and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift
it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape
the storm; it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm. When the
storms of life come upon us, we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God. The
storms do not have to overcome us; we can allow God's power to lift us above them. God enables us to
ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure, and disappointment into our lives. We can
soar above the storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle
them.”

Waiting for God – He Blesses Us

When waiting for God, He blesses you. “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you
compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18).

What does it mean to be blessed by God while we wait on Him? As we wait on God and His timing, He
can accomplish so much in our hearts. Often we find new purpose in life, receive answers to prayer, see
God work, increase our faith, and most often we see God’s perfect plan fulfilled in our situation.
Remember, waiting is not wasted time!

Hearing God's Voice - Are You Ready to Listen?

Hearing God's voice is something we all long for-but did you know that it's not hard to do? In fact, God
wants you to hear His voice! He doesn't speak to us through a quiver in our liver or through vibes or
mediums. Hearing the voice of God is as natural as hearing your best friend talk to you. What's more, we
can hear Him everyday and not just on special occasions or by chanting special incantations. He speaks
to us in the natural moments of life. Do you want to hear God's voice? Then you must be ready to listen.

Hearing God's Voice - Why Do You Want to Hear Him?

Why do you want to hear God's voice? That may sound like a silly question, but motives are important in
anything we do. The Bible says this about God's Word: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper
than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges
the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

Do you want to hear God's voice? If you do, it's possible you're hearing Him already, for He may be the
one giving you the longing to hear Him.

Hearing God's Voice in the Bible

In his book Knowing God, J. I. Packer says, "God has spoken to man, and the Bible is His Word, given to
us to make us wise unto salvation."

The Bible itself declares, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God" (John 1:1). In another place, we read: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16).

You may hear people say that the Bible is just a book written by men, but the Bible itself claims to be
God's Word! Can we rely on it? The evidence of history, archaeology, fulfilled prophecy and personal
testimony over thousands of years is overwhelming that the Bible is, indeed, God's Word. Do you want to
hear God's voice? Then read the Bible. Find a good daily reading plan, and stick to it.

Hearing God's Voice through Prayer

When you want to have a conversation with someone, how do you begin? Do you stand in front of the
person and hope they will talk to you? That might work, if the other person is outgoing enough, but usually
we begin a conversation by opening our own mouths and talking, engaging the other person's attention.
It's the same with God! He loves to hear us talk to Him, and it's in those moments that we prepare
ourselves to hear the voice of God. Prayer is like saying, "Hello, God, it's me. I believe You created me
and that You know way more about how I should live my life than I do. I'd like to get to know You better.
Here's what's going on in my life, and I'd sure like Your thoughts on how to handle it. Would You please
speak to me about this today?"

In an ordinary conversation, we speak, then listen for the response of the other person. It's the same with
God! Once we've prepared our hearts to listen through prayer, we're more likely to hear the voice of God.
Does He speak to us through an audible voice? Some claim He does, but usually that's not the case. We
may not actually "hear" the voice of God, but He speaks to us in many ways. Here are some of them:

 God speaks through His Word

 God speaks through our thoughts
 God speaks through conversations with others
 God speaks through circumstances

Hearing God's Voice through Jesus

The Bible also tells us that Jesus is God in the flesh. Therefore, if you want to hear the voice of God, you
must study and know the teachings of Jesus. Here's how John describes Him: "That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our
hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life." (1 John 1:1). You must also have a
personal relationship with Jesus. Have you ever tried to carry on a conversation of any depth with a
person you did not know? It doesn't usually go very far.

Shortly before He was crucified, Jesus met with His disciples to reassure them of what would happen
after He was gone. He promised them a helper: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees
him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17). The Holy
Spirit, then, is the fulfillment of the way we hear God's voice!

Hearing God's Voice with the Help of the Holy Spirit

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and
will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26). The second chapter of Acts describes the
events that occurred on the day of Pentecost, after Jesus ascended into Heaven. Verse 3 says they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit, the Counselor promised by Jesus. This unique aspect of God's personality
did not come to them as someone they could see and touch, but rather He came to live inside them. That
same Spirit is available to you and me today. Are you a Christian? If so, you already have the Holy Spirit
available to you. Ask God for a fresh filling everyday, and He will prepare your heart to hear God's voice.
His Spirit, that still, small voice inside you, is the One who will remind you of what God said, and help you
recognize God's opportunities in your life.

Hearing God's Voice - Conclusion of the Matter

So we have the Bible, prayer, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and our own hearts to help us in hearing God's voice.
Do you want to hear God's voice? That is the final question, for God responds to willing hearts. In the
book of Revelation, we read: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20). God will never force
you to obey Him, but waits for your willing response to His call. Are you hearing His voice right now?
Don't let your final answer be the wrong one.

Unanswered Prayer – Unheard Answers

Are you experiencing unanswered prayer? Does God turn a deaf ear to some of your desperate pleas for
healing, finances, or protection? We all experience irritation when our best efforts to communicate result
in an unsatisfactory response -- or worse, no response at all. We wonder, “Did you ever receive my
message?” When we pray, we often equate the lack of immediate tangible results with God rejecting our
prayers. In James 5:13-16 we are urged to pray earnestly with the promise of “powerful and wonderful
results.” Why would God emphasize the importance of prayer and then choose not to respond with a
joyful answer?

When answering prayer, God responds first to our attitude, much as a parent responds to a precious child
(Psalm 103:13-14). Our childish actions and attitudes frequently affect a prayer’s desired results.
Unforgiveness (Mark 11:24-25), selfishness (Proverbs 21:13), doubt (Matthew 21:21-22), greed (James
4:2-3), pride (2 Chronicles 7:14-15), and stubbornness (Zechariah 7:11-13) hinder God’s desire to answer
prayer.

Unanswered Prayer – Unexpected Answers

Prayer is not a casual one-sided conversation. It is not “back-up insurance” guaranteeing a life free from
pain and struggles. Prayer is actively acknowledging God as the source of all power and trusting that His
answers, whether expected or unexpected, will accomplish greater things (Isaiah 46:9-10; 64:4).

Matt and our daughter, Jackie, both musicians, became close friends. As a drummer, he would play back-
up whenever she sang with the worship band. Matt’s deepest desire was to teach God’s Word and
perhaps enter the ministry. Their common interests drew them closer. As a high-school junior, Jackie
hoped to attend the same out-of-state university as Matt. Then, Matt was diagnosed with advanced
lymphatic cancer. Jackie says, “I had great faith that God would heal Matt. He had such a passion to be a
pastor, teaching others. I knew God wouldn’t take his life because Matt could make such a difference in
this world.” She prayed for his healing.

In September of Jackie’s senior year, Matt died. Jackie responded with anger and disbelief with God for
seemingly not answering her prayers: “Initially, I blamed God. Later, I blamed myself, thinking I didn’t pray
hard enough, or maybe I accidentally missed praying one day.” Following graduation, Jackie began
attending a Christian university. Through friends, she began releasing the pain and grief locked inside,
eating away at her in solitude. “Once I actually voiced my suffering to another, the healing began, and I
experienced God’s love and strength again” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

Matt had taught all of us that he valued his eternal relationship with God more than any temporary life he
had on earth. We had all prayed for Matt to live, and God answered with a wondrous “YES!” (John 11:25).
In the last semester of our daughter’s junior year in college, she met Michael. “I was first attracted to
Mike’s intense love for God. I knew God was accomplishing His plans in all our lives.” Today, Michael
serves the Lord, teaching and sharing God’s love with intense passion. And when Jackie sings of God’s
greatness, her devoted husband, Michael, accompanies her on the conga drums (Jeremiah 29:11).
Unanswered Prayer – Understanding Answers
Sometimes, God will answer, “No” to our desperate prayers. Any delay or unexpected outcome must not
dishearten us. What is God’s true purpose in answering our prayers (John 14:13)? What does God want
to complete in us through prayer (John 16:23–24)? God wants us to bring our every need to Him as He
answers (yes or no) according to His character and will. God will never grant requests contrary to His will.
While receiving a “Yes” usually makes us happy, God never promised us happiness. Happiness is based
on circumstances. God wants us to have everlasting joy -- especially when He responds, “No, it will be
done in My time, not yours. No, I will reveal My glory.”

In Luke 22:41-44, Jesus agonized over the events leading up to His death. In fervent prayer, His greatest
desire was to give preeminence to God’s will, not His suffering and pain (Hebrews 12:2). When we pray
without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), God always responds, and every answer brings joy.

http://www.allaboutprayer.org/unanswered-prayer.htm

Power Of Prayer - How powerful is it?

The power of prayer should not be underestimated. James 5:16-18 declares, "…The prayer of a righteous
man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain,
and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and
the earth produced its crops." God most definitely listens to prayers, answers prayers, and moves in
response to prayers.

Jesus taught, "…I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20).
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the
contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every
pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it
obedient to Christ." The Bible urges us, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers
and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).

Power Of Prayer - How do I tap into it?

The power of prayer is not the result of the person praying. Rather, the power resides in the God who is
being prayed to. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we
ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we
know that we have what we asked of him." No matter the person praying, the passion behind the prayer,
or the purpose of the prayer - God answers prayers that are in agreement with His will. His answers are
not always yes, but are always in our best interest. When our desires line up with His will, we will come to
understand that in time. When we pray passionately and purposefully, according to God's will, God
responds powerfully!

We cannot access powerful prayer by using "magic formulas." Our prayers being answered is not based
on the eloquence of our prayers. We don't have to use certain words or phrases to get God to answer our
prayers. In fact, Jesus rebukes those who pray using repetitions, "And when you pray, do not keep on
babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them,
for your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:7-8). Prayer is communicating with
God. All you have to do is ask God for His help. Psalm 107:28-30 reminds us, "Then they cried out to the
LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the
waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired
haven." There is power in prayer!

Power Of Prayer - For what kind of things should I pray?

God's help through the power of prayer is available for all kinds of requests and issues. Philippians 4:6-7
tells us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." If you need an example of a prayer, read Matthew 6:9-13.
These verses are known as the Lord's prayer. The Lord's prayer is not a prayer we are supposed to
memorize and simply recite to God. It is only an example of how to pray and the things that should go into
a prayer - worship, trust in God, requests, confession, protection, etc. Pray for these kinds of things, but
speak to God using your own words.

The Word of God is full of accounts describing the power of prayer in various situations. The power of
prayer has overcome enemies (Psalm 6:9-10), conquered death (2 Kings 4:3-36), brought healing (James
5:14-15), and defeated demons (Mark 9:29). God, through prayer, opens eyes, changes hearts, heals
wounds, and grants wisdom (James 1:5). The power of prayer should never be underestimated because
it draws on the glory and might of the infinitely powerful God of the universe! Daniel 4:35 proclaims, "All
the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and
the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: 'What have you done?'"

http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net/Topics/WaitingOnGod/
WaitUpon017.html

Waiting on God is the special process through which the Lord

causes our eyes to turn to Him for help in time of need. By
extending the duration or distress of our trial even a little bit, our
weaknesses become apparent.

It is at this point our hearts become desperate, our faith is proved, and
our hope is purified. The process is so common that the phrase "Wait
upon the Lord" or "Waiting on God" is regularly used.

We need to wait on God for a spouse, for a job, for healing, for wisdom,
for ministry, etc. We might say that it is Satan tempting us, and in some
cases he is, but at the same time it is God who is testing (proving) us. He
is bringing us a step closer to Himself.

Waiting on God is a crucial step in which our dependence upon God

grows.

Without this deeper awareness of God in our lives, God restrains Himself
from giving us more grace. Blessing without humbling brings increased
susceptibility to temptation. This is the reason growth comes with tests.
Humility keeps us from pride which makes us selfishly ambitious where
we would otherwise forget the Lord.

Waiting for the Lord is not easy. Our heart is often crying out in
agony. We feel oppressed and constrained. We yearn for freedom and
provision. Waiting upon the Lord for needed supplies is one common area
in which He trains us. We have to be needy so that we are forced to look
to the Lord for help. Our other resources are stripped away. Someone
yesterday said to me, "But I don't like what the Lord is bringing me
through." How true this is. We squirm, squiggle and squeak.

Waiting upon the Lord are times in which we do not have

resources, answers, or direction. Instead we are often confused,
poor, broken and limited. Our hope is focused on what happens after that
season of humility, where we will experience a period of God's blessing.

If we live by confidence in our own resources and abilities, will we not

become self-confident? What glory does that bring to God?! But through
this process, God enables us to depend upon Him so that we know it is
only He who does wonderful things in our lives.

Ultimately then, waiting upon God protects us, deepens our trust in Him,
forces us to seek His ways and brings Him the most glory. They are times
the Lord is testing whether we are really seeking Him and His ways.

I can remember experience after experience where I have cried out to

God for help and deliverance. When going through those times, I think
that if I could just get out of this one pit all would be well. However, not
long after the Lord delivers me from one set of problems, I find myself in
another whole set of problems. And again I am seeking His help with the
same kind of desperate prayer.

It began to dawn on me that God has carefully planned out these

'pauses' in life in order to renew, strengthen, humble and focus us on
God. This is much like the recommendation that one go around a fruit
tree and cut off its roots - shocking it so that it will grow stronger and
healthier roots. In this respect 'Waiting upon the Lord' is similar to
pruning.

**********

FUNCTIONAL DEFINITION OF WAITING UPON GOD

 Waiting upon God is exercising confidence
in God's timing and help during difficult times.

Confidence in God not in my own resources

Purpose of this study of waiting upon the Lord:

 That we may fully understand this regular process that God brings
His people through.
 That we might learn how to embrace the Lord rather than to shun
Him in these times.
 That we better identify with God's goal that we trust Him more and
bring Him more praise and glory.
 That we know how to encourage other people when they are
confused by this process of waiting upon the Lord.

Ultimately then, waiting upon God protects us, deepens our trust in Him,
forces us to seek His ways and brings Him the most glory

Purpose

Waiting and Planning provides 8 principles from Isaiah 29-32 on how to

make good plans that resolve the tension between self-reliance and
trusting God.

There is a tension between taking control and letting God care for
things. Some would say that unless we take control, we are not putting
to use our good resources. On the other side, we have those who insist
that we need to actively wait for God to work. We suggest that there is
no need to discard one view to gain the other.

The two thoughts can be nicely weaved together. Waiting on God is the
building material of good plans. The passages on planning through Isaiah
29-32 will give us at least 8 principles in making good plans that will help
resolve this tension.

Making Plans the Wrong Ways

 Hiding Plans from God (29:15)

 Rejecting God's Plans (30:1-12)
 Implementing Our Plans (31:1-3)
  Exposing Foolish Planners (32:5-7)

More Discussion

http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net/Topics/WaitingOnGod/WaitUpon010.htm
l#Anchor-More-10572

MAKING PLANS
Testi
ng The Wrong Way
revea
ls  
whet
her
the
objec "Once I have my plans all
t thought through, then I'll
is make sure everything
up is okay with God by
to praying about it."
its
origi
nal
stand Making Plans the Right Ways
ards
.  Finding God's Plans (29:16)

 Accepting God's Plans (30:18-22)

 Seeing God's Plans (31:4-9)
 Affirming Noble Plans (32:8)

http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net/Topics/WaitingOnGod/WaitUpon010.htm
l#Anchor-More-10572
 Our
respo
nse
to
stres
MAKING PLANS s
The Right Way revea
ls to
what
"I know how easy it is to get carried away with my own plans. I will degre
seek His will rather than my own. I want His will and really need e
God's wisdom. I must start praying seriously about what He wants we
regarding this one matter." trust
and
depe
nd
upon
God.
 Hiding Plans from
God (Isaiah29:15)
Woe to those who deeply
hide their plans from the
LORD, And whose deeds
are done in a dark place,
And they say, "Who sees
us?" or "Who knows us?"
(Isaiah 29:15).
Our society is known as a
busy generation. We can't
take time to be quiet. One
of the reasons for this is
our desire to hide our
plans from God.
Distractions such as
busyness or entertainment
hide them.
They deliberately find
themselves super busy
making and carrying out
plans. They actually forget
that God has an opinion.
They are confident they
can carry out the plans.
"Who sees us?"
They think no one
observes their subtle
plans.
"Who knows us?"
They are confident that no
one really understands
their motivations.
Rejecting God's
Finding God's Plans (Isaiah 29:16)
You turn things around! Shall the potter be
considered as equal with the clay, That what is
made should say to its maker, "He did not
make me"; Or what is formed say to him who
formed it, "He has no understanding"? (Isaiah
29:16).
Do we really want to know and do His will? We
discover that if man really wants to know and
do God's will, then he must believe that God's
plans are higher and better. These plans need
to be revealed to him.
If we do affirm to seek His will, then we need
Him to direct our paths. We can ask
ourselves, "How much do we struggle trying to
discern it? What kind of prayer have we really
made regarding this issue? Are we open to not
doing it?
In the end, we must be convinced that He has
a plan and that His timing, design,
provision and ultimately His plan is better
than anything we could come up with.
Accepting God's Plans (Isaiah 30:18-
 Plans (Isaiah30:1-
12)
"Woe to the rebellious
children," declares the
LORD, "Who execute a
plan, but not Mine, And
make an alliance, but not
of My Spirit, In order to
add sin to sin; Who
proceed down to Egypt,
Without consulting Me, To
take refuge in the safety of
Pharaoh, And to seek
shelter in the shadow of
Egypt! (Isaiah 30:1,2).
God spoke, but His Word
was rejected. There were
many false prophets and
government leaders
suggesting an alliance with
Egypt. But there were the
few true prophets like
Isaiah (Is 8) and Jeremiah
who spoke out on how God
told them not to make an
alliance.
Our planning often is
different than the Lord's
will because it looks
attractive in some aspects.
In this case, they gained
security and self-
confidence from a world
power siding with them.
God in His extraordinary
mercy could have made
Egypt reject Israel's
proposal for an alliance
and therefore caused the
22)
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to
you, And therefore He waits on high to have
compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of
justice; How blessed are all those who long for
Him. O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem,
you will weep no longer. He will surely be
gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
when He hears it, He will answer you. (Isaiah
30.18-19). And your ears will hear a word
behind you, "This is the way, walk in it,"
whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
(Isaiah 30:21).
God wants so much to bless His people, and
yet, as long as they have unrepentant hearts,
He will not bless them. God's plan is always
better. If God's people do not live by faith in
His love, then they will not understand how
God's graciousness is just waiting to be
expressed toward them. Those people that
long for God (wait for Him) are the same that
have confidence in His goodness.
Notice how once His people cry out to the
Lord, He will surely bring help. Once they cry
out, they find three significant means to wait
upon God and find His help.
He will be our Teacher and Leader (20).
He will reveal His will, "This is the way, walk in
it" (21)
They will destroy and put away their idols
(22).
Israelites to only have God
left as an alternative. But
He let them go their own
way. By relying on others
than God had planned,
they showed they were not
at all interested in God's
ways.
 Implementing Our
Plans (Isaiah 31:1-3)
Woe to those who go down
to Egypt for help, And rely
on horses, And trust in
chariots because they are
many, And in horsemen
because they are very
strong, But they do not
look to the Holy One of
Israel, nor seek the LORD!
Yet He also is wise and will
bring disaster, And does
not retract His words, But
will arise against the
house of evildoers, And
against the help of the
workers of iniquity. Now
the Egyptians are men,
and not God, And their
horses are flesh and not
spirit; So the LORD will
stretch out His hand, And
he who helps will stumble
And he who is helped will
fall, And all of them will
come to an end together.
(Isaiah 31:1-3).
Seeing God's Plans (Isaiah 31:4-9)
Return to Him from whom you have deeply
defected, O sons of Israel. For in that day
every man will cast away his silver idols and
his gold idols, which your hands have made as
a sin. And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not
of man, And a sword not of man will devour
him. So he will not escape the sword, And his
young men will become forced laborers. "And
his rock will pass away because of panic, And
his princes will be terrified at the standard,"
Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and
whose furnace is in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 31.6-
9).
God completely defies any of the false
alliances His people have made to get them
out of trouble. God personally makes it clear
only He, but certainly He, will deliver His
people from Assyria their invader.
God makes it very clear that our plans and our
attempts to combatting impending problems
are utter foolishness in light of His greater
purpose.

When a person rejects

God's way, he must out of
necessity rely on things
to support their plans.
Notice they rely on horses,
chariots and the nation of
Egypt. God in His Law
purposely told them not to
have horses and chariots.

Man's resources, then, in

many cases become
snares keeping them from
trusting God and doing
what is not best for us.
 Exposing Foolish
Planners (Isaiah
32:5-7)
No longer will the fool be
called noble, Or the rogue
be spoken of as generous.
For a fool speaks
nonsense, And his heart
inclines toward
wickedness, To practice
ungodliness and to speak
error against the LORD, To
keep the hungry person
unsatisfied And to withhold
drink from the thirsty.
(Isaiah 32.5-6).
Fools only breed poor
plans. These poor plans
will inevitable be exposed
for what they are, but
sometimes this takes
longer than we think.
These fools become
desperate in their pride to
save his plans by hiding
their folly. We have seen
many examples of this in
America from the Savings
and Loan fallout, Enron's
corruptness, political
bribes and scandals, etc..
Let's list what it says
about the fool.
Affirming Noble Plans (Isaiah 32:8)
But the noble man devises noble plans; And by
noble plans he stands. (Isaiah 32.8).
Noble men make noble plans.
Noble plans transcends time and will testify to
God's faithfulness in heaven.
The greatest things will be those things done
according to God's will. We see many mediocre
things being done even by the church. This is
because of their reliance on self and others but
not God.
God made the church to be vulnerable so that
she would regularly call out to God for help.
We can get by for a long time without thinking
clearly what God wants. Why is it that a
denomination will just close churches rather
than examining her innards? Their folly
condemns them.
The noble man trusts alone in God. There are
men who had more money go through their
fingers than George Mueller, but the affect of
their money pales in contrast to the man who
trusts in God. God is every seeking those men
who wait upon Him for doing great things.
More on the Book of Isaiah

 The fool will no

longer be called wise
 The fool will no
longer be seen as
generous
 The fool speaks
 nonsense
 The fool's heart
inclines toward
wickedness
 The fool practices
ungodliness
 The fool speaks
error against the
Lord
 The fool keeps the
hungry and thirsty
unsatisfied

More Discussion

The problem in a society full of resources is that we can easily operate

without waiting upon God. Just think about credit for an example. If a
person wants money or a machine, he just goes and get it even if he
doesn't have the money. $30/month for three years the ad goes.
Because he is so accustomed to borrowing, he overrides God's means of
using resources to guide him.

But our problem has escalated by all sorts of

personnel, governmental, charitable and other
resources. They are not necessarily bad in
themselves, but they can in many cases be received
in spite of God's help. Man can raise money for all
sorts of odd things in today's world! This is true in the church too. Good
programs have substituted God's people waiting upon God. They work.
They use proven methods.

And so seminaries have trained men to depend on these proven or

'scientific' means to preach, raise money, counsel or even evangelize. As
they see it works,theywe become self-confident and then influence other
people to trust that method.

The 'God' factor is virtually eliminated. We need to be very careful

not to fall into this snare. It can happen to churches, Christian
organizations or in the lives of individuals. God wants people to pray and
wait upon Him. If they don't, they forget Him and certainly will minimize
His ways.
Life without God is secularism. We can understand secularism within
the society overall but when it is in the church, it is outright scary! But
this is where the Western church is as a whole. As affluence and
knowledge has become readily available, man basically thinks he can do
anything that he desires.

He is right to a degree, of course. With the resources that the Lord has
given to him, man can do a lot. The church can do a lot, but it will not be
done to God's glory.

There have been a few good strands of faith passed

along in the church, but they are much too small and
far too few. A key area that the church has become
worldly is in the handling of finances. Just think how
common it is today for a church to get a mortgage.

God's people for the most part do not even know what the scripture
teaches about covetousness and owing others, but even when they do,
most play it down. Church loans are man's means of arranging
financingforof his own projects. I have known of several church building
projects. Each time there has been great turmoil and divisions. Only
when the people are led together in faith, are they joined together in this
kind of project.

In Christian living, we try hard to please the Lord. We end up falling into
some regular sin such as
gazing at pornography, Path of Spiritual Decline
indulging our appetites, birth
control or being worried. We  We focus on what we might do
change the standard to  We do not think we can carry out
God's design
accommodate our abilities.
 We lower our standards
We then set goals that we can
 We adopt lesser goals
reach. We are proud of the  We accomplish them
things we have accomplished.  We are proud of our
accomplishments
As a result of this, we hear  We encourage others to do the same
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!

Steps to Waiting on God

Isaiah 38

Paul J. Bucknell
_________________________

Waiting Upon the Lord | Waiting & Planning | Steps to Waiting | Fail to Waiting
Biblical Perspective on Waiting| Waiting for Ministry |Waiting for Revenge
Waiting for a Wife | Trusting through Treachery | Waiting for Christ's Return
Study Questions | Testimonies on Waiting Upon the Lord | Godly Man Index

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. Hezekiah
had two parts to his prayer.

o He asked God to remember him.

Hezekiah needed God to remember his own plight. No one
else could change things. Does anyone believe that God did
not remember his situation? I doubt it. God knows everything.
We can't say He forgot someone like we sometimes do. More
than this, King Hezekiah stated asked God to remember him
now. He really believed the prophet's word about his
impending death. His window of life was short. He needed
instant action.

o He told God about his life.

This might sound a bit strange, but Hezekiah wanted God to
remember what kind of life he had lived up to this point. If for
any reason it was blocked from God's mind, Hezekiah believed
his life was important enough to tell God about it. This was
essentially telling God about his life and goals. He was no
doubt hoping that God would reevaluate his circumstances.
However, Hezekiah came short of asking God for healing. This
didn't seem to make a bit of difference.

Hezekiah's prayer ended with bitter tears as his

amen. The words he sent before God were soaked in
tears from his heart. Various people will pray
differently but all must pray if they are to wait upon
God.

The Lord heard his desperate prayer. He did not need to wait long on God
for an answer, but He did wait. He received an additional 15 years of life.

The principles above highlight that this waiting upon God is a process.
This would not be the first or last time for him or us to wait upon God.
God develops these life encounters so that we will be protected,
strengthened, redirected and recommitted

After his illness and recovery, King Hezekiah wrote a poem of

thanks to God.
 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after his illness and
recovery: I said, "In the middle of my life I am to enter the
gates of Sheol; I am to be deprived of the rest of my years."
I said, "I shall not see the LORD, The LORD in the land of the
living; I shall look on man no more among the inhabitants of
the world. "Like a shepherd's tent my dwelling is pulled up
and removed from me; As a weaver I rolled up my life. He
cuts me off from the loom; From day until night Thou dost
make an end of me. "I composed my soul until morning. Like
a lion--so He breaks all my bones, From day until night Thou
dost make an end of me. "Like a swallow, like a crane, so I
twitter; I moan like a dove; My eyes look wistfully to the
heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security. "What shall
I say? For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;
I shall wander about all my years because of the bitterness of
my soul. "O Lord, by these things men live; And in all these
is the life of my spirit; O restore me to health, and let me
live! "Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is
Thou who hast kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For
Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. "For Sheol
cannot thank Thee, Death cannot praise Thee; Those who go
down to the pit cannot hope for Thy faithfulness. "It is the
living who give thanks to Thee, as I do today; A father tells
his sons about Thy faithfulness. "The LORD will surely save
me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments All the
days of our life at the house of the LORD." (Isaiah 38:9-20).

"Failing to Wait"

Genesis 16, 17, 22

Paul J. Bucknell
_________________________
 "And I will
bless her,
and
indeed I
will give
Waiting Upon the Lord | Waiting & Planning | Steps to Waiting | Fail to you a son
Waiting by her.
Biblical Perspective on Waiting| Waiting for Ministry |Waiting for Then I
Revenge will bless
Waiting for a Wife | Trusting through Treachery | Waiting for Christ's her, and
Return she shall
Study Questions | Testimonies on Waiting Upon the Lord | Godly Man be a
Index
mother of
nations;
kings of
Purpose peoples
shall
Genesis 16,17, 22 teaches the consequences of failing to wait come
for God's plan through Abraham's example. from
her."
If you are sensitive to the word 'failure,' more than likely you Then
have faced a lot of criticism in your life. Failure is one word Abraham
these people stay far away from. They often are fell on his
perfectionists. face and
laughed,
They don't dare to fail. Some of it is that they don't want to and said
face criticism but more of it might come from the sense of in his
need to prove how good they are. "I'll show them how good I heart,
"Will a
can be." But not everyone can always succeed. Sometimes
child be
even the perfectionists fail. If their pride is burst, then they
born to a
can feel totally worthless. man one
hundred
We often think God treats us in ways that we have been years old?
treated by our parents. How fortunate we have in Abraham's And will
life how God deals with failure in our lives. Abraham failed to Sarah,
wait upon God, a mess developed, and yet God helped him who is
back up again to keep waiting until the promise was fulfilled. ninety
years old,
ABRAHAM bear a
child?"
CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT WAITING
And
Abraham
Abraham stopped waiting. He had a son by another woman. said to
The reasons for this were many. God, "Oh
that
Abraham had waited a long time for the fulfillment of God's Ishmael
promise to him. Years and years went by as people laughed might live
behind his back about God's promised son to him. And even before
Thee!"
But God
said, "No,
but Sarah
your wife
shall bear
you a
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!

More-> "Doing things in ways that you shouldn't" - (Genesis 16-17)

C.) Procedure Detour (Genesis 16-17)

Doing things in ways that you
1. The difficulty
The problem and the temptation
“Now Sarai, Abram's wife had
and she had an Egyptian maid
whose name was Hagar.”
Every crises that we face in life also
offers its own temptation. In their
case, Abram simply didn’t have any
children after many years of being
married. Along with the personal
frustration was the social stigma still
seen in some societies. They faced
The problem, however, was much
Yahweh’s repeated promises to
“And the LORD appeared to
descendants I will give this land.”
desendants as the dust of the
The very blessing that brought
of a great nation. But what good is it
shouldn't!
If it was in modern times,
Abram and Sarah might
have joined the list of
many others in seeing are seen in Genesis 16:1,
whether they could help
borne him no children,
the fertilization process
along. They would check Abraham's Life Detours
out the best hospitals but Intro & Objectives
discover meager results. Or A) Place Detour (Genesis 12;20)
perhaps they would not B) Person Detour (Genesis 13-14)
have. They knew C) Procedure Detour (Genesis 16-17)
Assignment
something that many of us
do not know.
In Genesis 16:2, Sarai, rejection from others because of it.
his wife, said, “Now greater than just Sarah’s. Notice
behold, the LORD has Abram.
prevented me from
bearing children.”
Abram and said, "To your
(12:7) And I will make your
The Lord was in charge
earth...” (13:6)
of her fertilization. But if
she really believed this,
Abram to the land was the promise
would she then have
given Hagar her maid to to have a land but no
Abram to lie with?!

We can sense the doubts

and frustrations in this
chapter.
descendants?! The lack of a child became a severe test of Abram’s faith. It is like saying to a boy with
only one arm that he would become a great baseball player. The promise in a sense teased Abram and
provoked him to understand more of God. We can sense Abraham’s perplexed state a bit more from
Genesis 15:1-6,

2 And Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, since I am childless, and the heir of
my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "Since Thou hast given no offspring to
me, one born in my house is my heir."

It would have been easier if God had never spoken to Abram, but He had. In fact Abram’s name
means father. His destiny was wrapped up in what he did not have. Abram did believe God as
verse 15:6 says, but God was developing and greatly testing this faith. The real quality of
endurance is not waiting up to almost when fulfillment would come but right up to when the full
time had come.

2. The detour

There was a common practice in those parts recorded in ancient records found by Haran. If there
was infertility, then it was legal and acceptable for the husband to impregnate his wife’s slave
girl. When the time of birth came around, the wife would be there at the birth and receive the
baby, and they would treat it as her own. This is what is Abram did in Genesis 16:3-4.

“And after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the
Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. And he went in to Hagar,
and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her
sight.”

We should remember it was not that they were impulsive. It seems that Sarah had mentioned this
option ten years prior to him following up on it as 16:3 says. But as often happens, time tests our
faith. We ask, “Did God really mean that? Maybe I misunderstood Him.”

Reflections

Don’t always follow the advice of your wife.

The husband is responsible to do the right thing.
Respect God’s hand in fertility.
Remember it is God Himself who makes our situation harder at times.

3. The consequences

Self-reliance is our biggest problem. This is especially true in a materialistic and wealthy society.
We have so many ways to ‘help’ God out. We pride ourselves on what we can do. We like
Abram are rebuked for not doing what we could do through faith. Every imitation of God's work,
however, is a poor imitation of God’s best.
Like my peach tree that looks so nice with blossoms and later on peaches, a disease gets to them
and they wither and drop off. Things get worse until by God’s grace He steps in. Until we
confront our sin, problems get worse and worse. When one does not do things in God’s timing
and ways, then all sorts of bad things happen. Notice four consequences of Abraham's 'work of
the flesh.'

• Ishmael’s descendants became a major threat to Israel (of Isaac the Promised son).
• Further difficulties in Abraham and Sarah’s marriage developed (cf. Genesis 16).
• Abraham was unable to see God’s faithfulness in his own life.
• Poor testimony to the world. (“I didn’t think there was such a God.”)

The Middle East conflict arises every time Israel is revived. After the
captivity, Nehemiah faced great hostility (Nehemiah 2:19 “Geshem the
Arab”). After the United Nations chartered Israel back into existence in 1948,
the Middle East has been filled with hostilities.

This is true spiritually too. One important principle highlighted in Galatians is

that the flesh is opposed to the spirit. Truly Abraham’s “work of the flesh”
has produced a long-lasting illustration that we can well see even today an
amazing 4,000 years afterwards. We should not shun either side, though.
Both groups need to hear the gospel. Both sides will eventually drop their
hardened hearts and come to Jesus Christ. This is one of God's goals for so
blessing these two groups.

Reflecting on An Important Spiritual Principle

We have before us a very important spiritual principle important for every Christian. A person
wanting to know God has two big hurdles. The first is when one becomes a Christian. In this
case, he must not think he can be accepted because of his works. He has sin and cannot be
accepted by a holy God. He has to believe or have faith in Christ to become God's child. this is
hurdle #1.
Hurdle #2 is just as diabolical as the first but often goes undetected in the Christian church. In
this case a person who has come to know God by faith resorts to working by the flesh, i.e. by his
own works and resources, rather than by faith. Paul in Colossians 2:5-7 summarizes this nicely.

For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your
good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ
Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and
established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

The clearer we identify these two sides and purposely align ourselves with one, then the easier
life will be. This does not make the battle easy necessarily, but it does remove most of the
confusion where God's army suffers the greatest casualties.

4. God’s solution

God of course wants us to endure the test and withstand the enemy’s testing. It is good to
summarize some of the suggestions of the world and compare them to what the Lord says. This
incident Abraham and Sarai had with Hagar and Ishmael highlight these differences.
Abraham and Sarah Spiritual Principles
 16:2• Sarah recommended this The world confidently tells us this or that
worldly way of getting God’s work way is best. God’s says the world’s ways
done. Abraham, at first, thought God are never best. Eventually Hagar and her
World's would do it through his own son. son Ishmael were thrown out. They could
ways seem But time and others wore him down not live together. Work done in the flesh
best to allow the world’s way to become will one day be revealed for what they
a possible solution. are: empty pursuits. God’s work done in
His way will never lack supply.
Genesis 16:3-4a The world places much urgency on
Seems matters. But God is not in a rush. One
compelling "And after Abram had lived ten finds much pressure from the world to do
years in the land of Canaan ..." it their way. God is in no time pressure.
We seem to think we are doing God a
God purposed that Abram wait great thing by speeding up plans for His
many years before Isaac was born. kingdom, but in fact we slow things
After 10 years he tried to hurry down.
things. The last 14 years was proof
that hurrying of God’s plans takes God in fact usually first destroys the
only more time! (A:86 Ishmael vision we have of something and then
(16:16)> A:100 Isaac (21:5)) later builds it up on His own terms.
The custom of the world tells us that The world only considers something it
Self-reliant the son born to the wife's maid can do. God however often gives
would become her own son. Legally assignments beyond what we can do. The
yes, but everyone knows it is only a world focuses on what it can accomplish
game. in its own wisdom and through its own
resources. With God’s way, miracles are
"And he went in to Hagar..." common place because man cannot do
them on his own. Isaac was a miracle
child.
Abraham and Sarai truly believed The world prides itself on doing
Prideful they were doing God a favor. everything that it could. God’s way
however always exalts Himself. Man
God broke this dream in a flash. feels good by emphasizing that he did
Hagar despised Sarai and they could everything that he could with his talents,
not live together any longer. money and reputation. We could praise
Abram because he used his resources and
"She (Hagar) fled from her never did anything illegal. Man’s way
presence." (16:6) exalts man; God’s way always promotes
God.
The reason Abraham waited so long The world suggests to go counter to
Relativistic to take Sarah up on the suggestion God’s principles in His Word. God says
was that he doubted this was God's He never wants us to go counter to His
principles in His Word. The world
 way.
In Abram’s case marriage principles
were broken. Deep down they knew
it, but they chose to violate them.
God’s ways are always in accord
with His Word.
Abram received so much mocking
because of his name meaning
'father,' and his 'God-given' plans on
Living by coming to this land - as many
senses descendants as the stars in heaven.
As we read these verses we can feel
the clash between what one felt and
what God wanted.
including much of the professing church
today believes in relativism.
The world lives by what it sees, feels and
senses. God’s ways are by faith. Man
focuses on and is limited to what is
happening around him; he is pragmatic.
The world is fixed on copying others.
God however works in creative and
various means all within the bounds of
His Word.

In summary, we, the circumstances, and they all find that what they did was a colossal mistake
that could not be easily forgotten. If Abraham waited a bit longer, all would have been well.
Abraham doesn't have another chance to avoid these detours, but we do.

Will we stay on God's path? Let's plan to. Detours are big messes that God somehow works out
in the end but always at great expense.

Purpose

A careful study on what the Bible says about the theme 'waiting on God'
or 'waiting upon God.'

Is waiting upon God biblical?

There are some teachings which we will at once say, "This is what we are
suppose to do." But the fact is, we have never even looked over the
biblical support for what we are doing or even asking others to do! Let us
now do that with the phase 'waiting for God." We have two questions.

 What does the Bible say about waiting on God?

 What does it practically mean?

What does the Bible say about waiting on God?

First of all we should recognize that there are many things people wait for
in the scriptures. We see them waiting for some person or for the
salvation of God. We will use some of these other usages to help define
what it means to actually wait upon 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.

Firstly, we see that the phrase or notion of 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.'

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. The historical biblical

books just didn't describe this inner life experience. 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.

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.

'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.
 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.

What does wait upon God practically mean?

We have focused on waiting on God or the Lord above. But we must

realize as these following verses indicate that they are waiting upon the
Lord for something. Belief speaks about trust in. Waiting, however,
usually focuses on some one to do something. In this case, they are
waiting upon God to do some special thing. Let's take a look at a few
verses below.

The Text The Phrase the Purpose

Isaiah 25:9 we have waited that He might save us

They all wait for To give them their food in due

Psalm 104:27
Thee season

Psalm 106:13 They did not wait for His counsel

Psalm 119:43 For I wait for Thine ordinances

 Psalm 119:81 I wait for Thy word

the coastlands will

Isaiah 42:4 expectantly for His law
wait

Lamentation
he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD
3:26

Genesis 49:18 I wait ... O LORD For Thy salvation

for the mercy of our Lord Jesus

Jude 1:21 waiting anxiously
Christ

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.

Waiting for a Wife

Genesis 6:1-3, Ezra 10-11

Paul J. Bucknell
_________________________
 Waiting Upon the Lord | Waiting & Planning | Steps to Waiting | Fail to Waiting
Biblical Perspective on Waiting| Waiting for Ministry |Waiting for Revenge
Waiting for a Wife | Trusting through Treachery | Waiting for Christ's Return
Study Questions | Testimonies on Waiting Upon the Lord | Godly Man Index

Purpose

Biblical Perspective of Finding a Spouse is found here as we discuss

'Waiting for a Wife' from studies on both Genesis 6 and Ezra 10-11. What
kind of wife should men look for? Also a word to single women. Included
is a chart, "What kind of wife am I looking for?"

Enjoy life with the woman

whom you love all the days of your fleeting life
which He has given to you under the sun;
for this is your reward in life ...
(Ecclesiastes 9.9)

The Biblical Perspective of Finding a Spouse

 The Selection Process (Genesis 6:1-3)

 Intermingling Unto Death (Ezra 10-11)
 What kind of wife am I looking for?
 A Quick Word to Single Women

There is no doubt that waiting on God for the right wife is

crucial to living a godly and good life.

There are many women out there. Many are attractive. A good many are
talented. Some are rich. These traits are trivial to our most basic
question. Will we wait for God's woman for us? We will see in our
following discussion that once discretion is lost in choosing marriage
partners, then the whole society quickly deteriorates. Whenever the
selection process of spouses is minimized, then the society reaps the
consequences. It heads full steam into a world of sensuality.

One Crucial Question

Several scriptures highlight the problems that occur when a man

recklessly chooses a woman as a wife. When a man is quick in making a
decision after his desires, then he shows that his understanding of
marriage is shallow. He is not thinking of preserving or establishing some
heritage but fulfilling his desires. The godly man must wait upon God
for the wife God has for him. The opposite of this occurred in two
different passages that we will now look at. Let us first look at Genesis 6.

The Selection Process (Genesis 6:1-3)

Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land,
and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the
daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for
themselves, whomever they chose. Then the LORD said, "My Spirit
shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless
his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." (Genesis 6:1-3, NASB).

Their decisions for choosing their wives were faulty for several reasons.

 The sons of God were markedly

different than the sons of man.
Up to this point there was a special
distinction between the men who
sought after God and the ones who
had forgotten God. They were known
more by their commitment to God
than their father. This tension to
preserve our godliness is the very
same tension we face in our secular
world today. These men should have paid more attention to their
heritage and preserved their distinct vision. Without a vision of
godliness, they got lost in other things which they saw.

 These God men "saw that the daughters of men were

beautiful."

They were not careful enough to govern what they saw. Some might
think this is unstoppable but it isn't. If we are going along fine and then
just start gazing at the women that cross our paths, whether in a
magazine or on the street, we are in extreme danger. We will start
comparing them and being subtly enticed by these women.

The only way that we are able to compare is to notice their different parts
and gauge what pleases our eyes. Once we notice their beauty, we
deliberate on it, and our minds are influenced. This is the reason we can
not look at any pornography or any programs that entice us to pay
attention to women's physical features. Remember that these women are
paid a lot of money because they do entice!
 Once beauty "They took wives for themselves."
became their
focal point, Let us assume here that each man just took one wife,
then this is
but I doubt it. Notice here once beauty became their
what their
focal point, then this is what their decisions of life were
decisions of life
made upon. They lost the ability to reason and
were made
reflect. The flesh seized control, and they never got it
upon.
back. By the way, we are not saying that a beautiful wife
is bad! Sarah was beautiful.
They lost the
The issue is that beauty controlled them. The way she
ability to
talked, looked, walked, simply enticed his attention.
reason and
Reason and God's guidance took a far second place to
reflect.
the woman's beauty. Women became too compelling for
him to think otherwise.
The flesh seized
control, and They became indiscriminate in their choices.
they never got
it back. "Whomever they chose." This is a clear statement that
the men of God took wives that did not share similar
They lost it all. perspectives. Genesis goes on describing the headlong
fall of the society after this point. Not much dirt is
needed to make the clean dirty. This is true with
holiness too. It stands as the highest priority to train our sons and
daughters to spiritually judge things rather than physically or emotionally
'feel' things.

The LORD responded to this right away.

He did not have to wait for a generation to prove His thesis. Once the
godly seed is lost among the ungodly, then there is no godly seed left.
God had no choice but to shorten life expectancy in order to preserve
man, otherwise the ungodliness would soon destroy the world.

A godly person must marry a godly person. Balaam's big payload came
about because of insight into this very principle. Godliness must be
protected. A church must carry on discipline. A family must have rules. A
government must have laws to preserve itself. If what distinguishes
God's people is lost even for just one generation, then it is gone.
Intermingling Unto Death (Ezra 9-10)
(Marrying a Non-Christian)

Ezra's response in chapters 9-10 all too clearly confirms the absolute
finality of deadly compromise. There is no way to get it back. Once the
seed of godliness is lost, it cannot be recovered. Whatever has been lost
must be judged. Ezra heard it like this.

"Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached
me, saying, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have
not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to
their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites,
the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the
Amorites. "For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for
themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled
with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and
the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness." (Ezra 9:1-2).

All of God's marvelous works of bringing His people back into the land
was going to be made irrelevant if the people started to intermarry the
people in the land. The leaders were accelerating this process by setting
the terrible example. In 10:1 they said it might not be too late if they
actually put these ungodly wives away along with their children. There
was no "Let's convert them" campaign. Worship is influenced by heart
love. They could not just say, "No more." They would all perish within a
generation if they did not cut off this intermingling. Fortunately, they
followed through with this.

The scriptures say a lot about who we marry. It is not a trivial matter.
Below are some other suggestions in finding the right wife.
 What kind of wife am I looking for?

A man must think concretely, "Is this the woman I want to

sacrificially devote myself to all my life?"

He should not marry a woman unless he is willing to bind himself to her.

Once married, then he must remain dedicated to loving her no matter
how bad she is. Here is a list to help us avoid getting married to the
wrong woman.

The right block amplifies the thought on the left.

# Only marry a woman if your # Parents' decision is scriptural

parents approve. dictate.

# Learn to love the qualities that

# You will choose what you like.
God loves.

# Get out of any pornography and # Porno makes the physical

lust. compelling.

# Stop watching the standard # Need to stop being trained by the

movies and programs. wrong thing.

# God's pick is more important than

# Pray regularly for God's provision.
your own.

# Pay attention to character quality # Her character shapes the quality

rather than beauty. of relationship.

# Observe the way she responds # Her relationship with her parents
(attitude) to her parents, especially reflects how she will respond to her
her father. husband.
 # Grow in your own character so # Are you what this woman
she will like you! deserves and likes?!

We tend to go in the direction that we like. We will choose what we deep

down are looking for. Unless we have changed our values to match with
the Lord's, then we will be going after things that the Lord is not pleased
with.

Just think. If your mind wanders from woman to woman now, do you
really think you are looking for a woman who is trained by God? No. The
one that entices you will hold your attention. Use any pre-marriage time
left to train yourself in self-control, obedience to parents and
devotedness to serving others.

A Quick Word to Single Women

When the husband is committed to his wife with constant love, then she
has no fear of abandonment. She grows from her anticipation in what
next step of love the husband will show. The woman that is seeking a
husband needs to think quite carefully about the man that she will in the
future train herself to respond to.

She should ask, "How mature is he? How much does he care about God's
ways? Does he lead a spiritual life? Does he respect his parents? Do I like
his leadership?"

In Summary
We need to do everything to instill a great vision for passing on godliness
to our children. Our sons must be trained in areas of self-control or they
will not have control over lust. Otherwise they will fall in with the world.
Positively, when a godly man and woman are matched up, it becomes a
beautiful place where more godly people will come from. Our eyes must
be shielded from all the 'beautiful' women around us. They are made to
entice us to look at women through the 'fleshly' eye. We are all
susceptible. We all must be careful. By God's grace we will stand strong
and raise a new generation of godly men and women.

=> Trusting Through Treacherous Times

Purpose

Testimonies on how a person needed to wait on God in difficult

circumstances. Exciting stories show how to practically wait on God!

 Share why you had to 'wait upon Him' during a certain period in
life.

 How does one waiting upon the Lord destroy ungodly self-
confidence?

Share why you had to 'wait upon Him' during a certain period in life.

 Unplanned Sabbaticals

The Lord has at different times in my life at otherwise very busy ministry
times taken me and put me aside. Usually it was about 1 year in length. It
did not seem to be for discipline purposes but instead that I would spend
more time with Him and family. Ministry during those times took different
shape than previously.

Each time I had to combat feelings of insignificance. From busy public

ministry with so many rewards to silent retreats where one wanders how
long one will be in such a place. The key was for me to keep diligent with the
small things the Lord puts in front of you. He is perfectly arranging things to
test and to train and of course to serve.

 INSPIRATION

Today was a special day. In some ways it was typical. I greatly needed the
Lord to help me we ideas. This is especially needed when on the last couple
days of a long project. I felt like not doing it. In this case I needed material.
I prayed for help.

He provided the right thoughts so I could know and find some past material
that I could work off of. Once I saw the former material, He brought in all
the eagerness and excitement that was stored up there. This happened two
times even as I was closing up this series on Waiting on God. My heart if
overfilled with joy in His ways.
 Planning a Big Project

Back in 1985 I had a chance to take a course on church planting. It was

excellent. Very practical. I was soon heading back to Taiwan as a church
planter and not sure how God would lead. I needed to wait upon Him.
The most difficult and yet joyful point was that we worked closely with
the already established church. Part of the course required writing out a
goal and strategy on how one was going to start a church. I was very
familiar with what we wanted to do. Part of Fengshan was newly
developed and for 50,000 people only had one small church.

I prayed and developed two plans, one being my dream plan. This would
have us living there, working closely in a big team with national
coworkers and other mission workers. Everything seemed green light
except we couldn't get into that community.

Because of this the church changed its plans from starting a church to
just an evangelical event. What seemed so good and possible was
seemingly becoming impossible. We had no other recourse. My wife and I
spent numberous times walking around that large area looking for a place
to rent. It was a hot and humid summer. We just couldn't find anything
on the lower floors that could double up for a church meeting place.

On one hot afternoon, when I suggested that we go back. My wife asked

if we covered that one area. I didn't think so so we walked another mile
in hope of finding something. A shop keeper said they just heard of one
owner wanting to move out. They said they were on the first floor.

We found that the Lord had provided that place for us. We were
disappointed with the red incense that was all over the walls and ceiling
from their idol worship, but we knew it was a place that the Lord opened
up for us. Within literal weeks, we moved in, the evangelistic campaign
started, and we had a team of 10+ coworkers, many of which would
come down just on the weekend to help!

God made us desperate so that we would see how powerful He was. His
timing was perfect..
How does one waiting upon the Lord destroy ungodly self-
confidence?

Birthing More Than a Child

Our problem is doing things on our own. If we can do them on our own,
then we don't depend upon God. This leads to the path where we just
don't think we need God to live. The advantage of living by faith in what
God provides is that He brings us through narrow passes. Time after
time, we are brought close of running into debt. Sometimes it is just days
or hours to spare.

We have been used to receiving a salary. 'Guaranteed income.' We just

don't have the same opportunities of learning. For example, we had a
baby and though we had her at home, the bill was around $5,000. We
had some coverage that would cover $2,000, but we just didn't have that
extra cash. We asked and saw that the Center would give us reduced
cost but it wasn't too much. Meanwhile we kept praying.

One day we received this postcard from a man saying, "We are working
with doctors and hospitals on some of the larger bills. Please wait for us
to contact you with any discoutns before paying these bills." The night
before Thanksgiving we receive this phone call saying that they agreed to
take another $1200. off the bill which brought the bill to just what we
could afford!

I should mention we as a whole family would be praying before and after

the baby that God would provide. How amazing that with small gifts and
two large discounts, one because this man was able to bring down the
discount more, God cared for the costs of His little girl.

We all learned how to wait on God. We couldn't do it but God was able.
As these experiences pile up, we find that we become more and more
God-dependent. When we are faithful; He is faithful.

Are You Hungry For God?

... Waiting Is A Magnet That Woos His Presence.

God is a rewarder of those who wait for Him. Let yourself be known by Him; give Him access to your
heart. He will take care of the rest. He promised.
Waiting On God
Be Still And Wait On The Lord
Generally, we can measure the value that people put on something by the amount of patience exhibited
when trying to acquire it. Although people are often unwilling to stay very long in a church service, they
will spend the night waiting to get tickets for the Super Bowl or the World Series! God knows our frame of
mind (see Ps.103:14). He knows that when we practice the godly attribute of patience solely to capture
His presence, then we have placed a great value on what is nearest to His heart. Patient waiting draws
the Spirit’s presence to us.

Waiting is a magnet that woos His coming. The Holy Spirit spoke to a noted prophetic minister, and
personal friend, John Paul Jackson, and said, “Tell them, if they’ll wait, I will come.” Worship is tied
closely to this. Even a casual reading of the Gospels reveals that worship was the attitude and posture of
many who came to Jesus for a supernatural touch. They often bowed down in reverent worship before
making and receiving their request. As you wait upon the Lord and worship, let your faith go up to Him
and expect great things! He loves to bless those who anticipate great results from Him by faith. Waiting
expectantly and worship fit together like a hand in a glove.

Once we learn to tap into this inner spiritual well of quietness and contemplation in the very presence of
our Beloved, we will discover a source of peace, strength, and stability that the world knows nothing
about. We find this theme over and over in Isaiah.

- You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

- In repentence and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength. Isaiah 30:15

- Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the
earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unscrutable. He gives strength to the weary,
and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, the vigorous
young men stumble badly, 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. Isaiah 40:28-31

The way we tap into this source of inner life, peace, strength, and confidence is by learning to quiet
ourselves and wait on the Lord. To put it another way, we need to learn how to practice the presence of
God in our daily lives.

The closer we get to the Lord, the gentler His voice becomes. The more we learn how to listen, the easier
it becomes to hear Him speak. It is always a faith walk. Sometimes we may feel like nothing is happening,
but the reality is that we are soaking up His presence. Then, when we least expect it, at God's appointed
time He "opens the valve", and floods of blessing and glory come gushing out of us that we had no idea
had even been deposited there.

The Practice Of The Presence Of God

The Lost Art Of Practicing His Presence
Experience the inward journey and discover the lost art of practicing His presence.
"The inward journey is an excursion deeper and deeper into our souls toward the very center, where God
dwells. One of the great "mysteries" of the Christian faith is the truth that the infinite Creator God can
abide within the spirits of His greatest creation, His people."

The Lost Art Of Practicing His Presence

By James Goll
"We cannot fully realize true intimacy with God until we learn how to come before Him in quietness of
spirit, mind, and body. An atmosphere of stillness is absolutely essential for us if we wish to experience
deep, loving communion with our Lord. David the psalmist wrote, "My soul waits in silence for God only".
The prophet Habakkuk proclaimed, "But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before
Him". When Elijah listened for the counsel of God, he heard the Lord not in the wind, the earthquake, or
the fire, but in "a still small voice". In the 46th Psalm the Lord calls on us to "Be still, and know that I am
God". "

"I invite you and challenge you to go on a journey with me to that secret inner place, a life wasted on
Jesus. It is an invitation to join the society of the broken-hearted, a people of gratitude, meekness, and
faith who have felt the warm gaze of the Lord into their inmost being and have heard His affirmation, "I
knew you were like that all the time". Out of that brokenness will come forth a fragrance that will fill the
house, the fragrance of abandoned, "wasted worship" and a life completely poured out for God."

The road to true intimacy with God is an inward journey, proceeding into His Presence through the
entrance gate of quietness of the soul. It is a narrow track that lies well off the beaten path, virtually
unseen and ignored by the vast majority of humanity careening headlong through life. Although it is not
easy to find, the riches and rewards are well worth the effort."

What you want most in life:

One of life's most bittersweet moments is when you finally realize you don't have it all figured out.

It hits you like a hammer and there's a crushing period of discouragement, but there is an up side. By
the process of elimination, you've gotten rid of what doesn't work. Now how do you find out what
does?

Maybe you thought it was wealth or career success or personal fame. Your dream house seemed to be
it, or was it your dream car? Achievements were satisfying, but only for a while. Even marriage didn't
turn out to be the cure-all you expected.

In a sense, we're all after the same thing, but we're unable to put our finger on it. All we're sure of is
that we haven't found it yet.

The Crevices We Try to Ignore

What we want most in life is to be right.
I'm not talking about right in the sense of right or wrong, although that's a part of it. Nor am I talking
about righteousness. That's a state of acceptability to God that we can't earn ourselves but can only
receive by accepting Jesus Christ as savior.

No, we want to be right and know we're right. Yet each of us has hidden crevices of unrest in our soul.
We try to ignore them, but if we're honest, we have to admit they're there.

We're not even sure what those crevices contain. Is it unforgotten sin? Is it doubt? Is it the memory of
some good we might have done but were too selfish to do at the time?

These crevices prevent us from being right. We can work and try all our lives, but we can't seem to
reach them. Every day we see people trying to get right on their own. From miserable celebrities to
self-destructive politicians to greedy business people, the harder they try, the worse their lives
become. We can't get right on our own.

Living Without Being Right

Everyone with an ounce of self-awareness eventually figures out there's a price to pay to be right.

The trouble is that we misjudge how high that price is. Unbelievers would rather live without being
right than accept Jesus Christ. They decide, first, that Jesus is not the answer and second, that even if
he is, that answer would cost them too much.

We Christians, on the other hand, suspect how to get right, but we think the price is too high as well.
For us, that price is surrender.

Surrender is what Jesus was commanding when he said, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." (Matthew 16:25, NIV)

It sounds scary, but surrender—complete obedience to God—is what's required of us to clean out
those nooks and crannies of uncertainty.

How Obedience Differs from Works

Let's be clear: We receive salvation through grace and not through works. When we perform good
deeds, it's out of gratitude to Jesus and to spread his Kingdom, not to earn our way into heaven.

When we submit ourselves to the will of God, however, the Holy Spirit works through us. His power is
magnified through our obedience so we become an instrument in the hands of the Great Physician,
healing lives.

But surgical instruments must be sterile. So Christ first cleans out those crevices as only he can:
completely. When those nagging pockets of uncertainty are gone, finally we are right.
Christian, Like Christ

Jesus lived in total obedience to his Father and calls everyone to do the same. When we make that
decision to obey, we follow Christ in the purest way possible.

Have you ever tried to run with your arms full? It's hard, and the more things you're carrying, the
harder it becomes.

Jesus says, "Come, follow me," (Mark 1:17, NIV), but Jesus walks fast because he has a lot of ground
to cover. If you want to follow Jesus more closely, you have to throw away some of those things
you're carrying. You know what they are. The more empty your arms, the closer you can get to him.

Surrender to God and obedience to his ways brings what we want most in life. That's the only way we
can be right.

Wait on the Lord

By James Smith, of Cheltenham, New York, 1869.

"Lead me in your truth, and teach me; for you are the God of my salvation; on you do I wait all
the day." Psalm 25:5

The Lord intends to keep his people dependent upon himself. He has everything they can need.
He intends to supply all their needs; but he will be applied to. He will have his people wait on
him, and wait for him. In doing so, he will try their faith, fortitude, patience, and perseverance.
He will sometimes put them to a severe test, but he will never fail them, forsake them, or leave
them destitute. If they trust in him, plead with him, and wait on him, they will be raised to a state
of comparative security, for they need not fear any man, or any circumstance, or any state they
can be in. The Lord will be to them their God. He will do for them all that God can do; and that
is, all they can require, all that is consistent with their welfare and his own glory.

Believer, you may be independent of all creation by realizing your dependence upon your God,
and waiting upon him continually. You must believe the love he has to you, his watchful care
over you, his delight in you, the promises he has given you, the provision he has made for you,
the glory he will get by you, and the honor to which he intends to raise you. In so doing, the fear
of man will die, joy in God will spring up, the peace of God will fill your heart and mind, your
dependence on creatures will cease, and you will be happy in looking only to the Lord. "My soul,
wait only upon God; for my expectation is from him." "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"

Wait in all CIRCUMSTANCES.

You can be in no circumstances in which the Lord can not help you, in which he will not help
you, if you look simply to him, rest on him, and wait for him. For every condition in which you
may be placed, there is a promise; by that promise the Lord stands pledged to appear for you and
help you; he is ever ready to deliverer you; only he will have you believe his word, exercise
confidence in him, plead the promise at his throne, and wait for its fulfillment. Wait, then, on the
Lord at all times. Times will change, creatures will vary, but the Lord remains always the same.
In youth and health, in manhood and prosperity, in old age and its infirmities, we should wait on
the Lord. He will adapt his mercies to us, make all his goodness pass before us, and cause all
things to work together for our good. He will never leave us, change his views of us, or withhold
his tender mercies from us. He is faithful to his word, true to his character, and full of love to his
people.

Whatever change there may be in creatures, there is no change in him. Health may give way to
sickness, plenty to poverty, strength to weakness, and life to death, but he is the same. With him
there is no variableness, neither shadow of a turn. Therefore, "wait on the Lord; be of good
courage, and he shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord."

Wait for LIGHT IN DARKNESS.

Dark seasons you will have, for it is the lot of all Christians. A cloud may come over your
prospects, and the sentence of death may be passed on many of your comforts. Your gourd may
be smitten and wither, and the Lord may take away the desire of your eyes with a stroke. He may
seem to turn against you, to turn his hand against you all the day. There may be no sweet
intimations of his love, no pleasant communion with him at his throne, no sensible communion
with him in his ordinances– all within may be cold, cheerless, and dreary; and all without
disheartening and discouraging. Instead of success, there may be losses; instead of comfort,
trouble; instead of friendship, enmity and alienation. Business may decline; employment may
fail; health may give way; all things may seem to be against you.

But however discouraging your circumstances may be, however dull and dreary you may be in
your soul, or cast down on account of the difficulties of the way, still wait on the Lord, nor shall
you wait in vain.

Deep and almost overwhelming were the trials, distresses, and soul troubles of David, but though
his soul was cast down within him, he waited on the Lord, and he has recorded the result– "I
waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also
out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my
goings. And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God– many shall see it,
and fear, and shall trust in the Lord."

However dark, then, your way, however trying your circumstances, however severe the exercises
of your soul, still wait on the Lord; hold fast by the promise; so "shall your light rise in obscurity,
and your darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy your
soul in drought."

Wait for DIRECTION IN DIFFICULTY.

Difficulties often arise from our ignorance, or relations in life, or the duties that devolve upon us.
These difficulties are often great, so that we know not what to do, or which way to take. Our
wisdom is swallowed up, and our friends are unable to advise us. One rash step may ruin us. We
appear to be impelled and urged to go forward, and yet are afraid to take a step. Every plan we
have formed has failed; every effort has been abortive. We dare not go back; we fear to go
forward– and yet we feel as if we could not stand still. We imagine that no creature was ever
tried as we are. We have been sincere, and yet have gone wrong. We have tried our best, and yet
have failed. We are tempted to envy others who succeed, to think that the Lord has dealt harshly
with us, and even to become reckless. Before us are difficulties, seemingly as great as the Red
Sea before Israel; behind us are obstacles, as fearful as the Egyptians behind them. Besides
which, we have no Moses with the rod of God to make a way for us.

What can we do? Do as the prophet of old did, who said– "I will wait upon the Lord, who hides
his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him." Yes, wait on the Lord, who has given
you this precious promise– "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go; I
will guide you with my eye." He will point out the way, he will teach you in the way, he will
guide as a loving Father or a faithful friend. There are no difficulties with him. He sees the end
from the beginning. He has directed thousands, millions, who have been in as great or greater
difficulties than you are. What he has done for others, he will do for you. Hear his own word– "I
will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not
known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I
do unto them, and not forsake them." Wait, therefore, on the Lord, and say– "Behold, as the eyes
of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her
mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us."

Wait for POWER IN WEAKNESS.

The Christian, at best, is but weak; but, at times, his sense of weakness is truly painful. He feels
weaker than a bruised reed. And very often he feels weakest when he has the heaviest burden to
carry, the most difficult hill to climb, or the most arduous duties to perform. Also, it often
happens that the strongest foes are allowed to assault us in our weakest seasons. So that what
with foes opposing us, a heavy burden pressing upon us, corruption working within us, and a
rough and trying road before us– we are at a loss what to do.

Now is the time to wait on the Lord, and to say with the Psalmist– "Truly my soul waits upon
God; for my expectation is from him." Now the promise suits us, and is intended for us– "He
gives power to the faint, and to those who have no might, he increases strength. Even the youths
shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but those who 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." Precious promise for a dark day and a trying path!
Wait on the Lord, then, however weak, faint, or weary you may feel– and all needful strength
and courage shall be given you; for he will strengthen you with strength in your soul.

Wait for PROTECTION IN DANGER.

Every believer is exposed to foes, and is in danger from the world, the flesh, and the devil. The
world will injure him, if it can; Satan seeks to worry or devour, to fascinate or terrify; and the
flesh ever lusts against the spirit, and has mighty power to injure him. He is in danger from false
doctrines, untried paths, and an evil heart of unbelief. He needs constant protection; for unless he
is kept by One who is wise and vigilant, watchful and wary, powerful and present, he is almost
sure to be overcome. Now the Lord says– "Fear not, I am your shield." And David could say–
"You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness has made me great." With
the eye fixed upon him, the heart resting on his word, and the voice calling to him in every
danger, protection is certain. "For as the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so is the Lord
round about his people from henceforth, even forever."

Nor does it matter what instruments may be devised or employed against them, if they wait on
the Lord in faith and prayer; as it is written, "Your enemies will always be defeated because I am
on your side. I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals beneath the forge and makes the
weapons of destruction. And I have created the armies that destroy. But in that coming day, no
weapon turned against you will succeed. And everyone who tells lies in court will be brought to
justice. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from
me. I, the Lord, have spoken!" Isaiah 54:15-17

Wait, then, on the Lord; let whatever danger will threaten, commit yourself to his gracious
keeping, and his powerful arm shall defend you, and his wisdom shall make a way for your
escape. So that, however imminent the danger, though in the very grasp of the foe, you shall
have to sing– "My soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken,
and I am delivered."

Wait for WISDOM IN TRIALS.

It requires much wisdom to use trials well, so that we may glorify God in the fires, and get only
good to our own souls. Every trial, properly directed, will prove a great blessing; but if not well-
directed, it may prove a sore evil. James was speaking of the believer's trials when he said– "If
any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not;
and it shall be given him." We can not make ourselves wise; but God can make us so, and he is
prepared to give wisdom unto all who devoutly wait upon him. The wisdom that comes from
God, used in our trials, will lead us to the strong for strength, will teach us to use the promises
aright, and will direct us to seek the deepening of our sanctification, before anything and
everything else.

A wise man in trial will be patient and calm, prayerful and hopeful, resigned and humble, and
will be more concerned to have the trial made a blessing, than to have it removed. Wait, then, on
the Lord for wisdom, and see that you obtain it. You may, for God in the Scripture declares– "If
you will receive my words, and hide my commandments with you; so that you will incline your
ear unto wisdom, and apply your heart unto understanding; yes, if you cry after knowledge, and
lift up your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and seek for her as for hid
treasures; then shall you understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the
Lord gives wisdom; out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding." Hence the
exhortation– "Get wisdom, get understanding. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get
wisdom; and with all your getting, get understanding."

Wait for COMFORT IN SORROW.

You may be sad and sorrowful. Grief may become your companion for a time. Jesus was the
man of sorrows, and he was acquainted with grief. We are predestinated to be conformed to his
image. We must resemble him in sorrow, before we are filled with his joy. We must be like him
on earth, before we shall be like him in heaven. If we suffer with him now, we shall reign with
him by and by. A sorrowful saint can sympathize with a sorrowing Savior, and with his fellow-
believers in their sorrows. Take heed, therefore, lest, on the one hand, you despise sorrow, or, on
the other, are swallowed up with over-much sorrow. Sanctified sorrow is a soul-healing
medicine. Yet, dwell not too much on your sorrows; they are only for a time; and when the
purpose for which they were sent is answered, then they will be removed.

Your God is "the Father of mercies," and "the God of all comfort." He comforts those who are
cast down. Wait, therefore, on the Lord, however deep your sorrows may at present be, and he
shall comfort you in all your tribulation. Yield not to despondency, discouragement, or doubt,
but remember that the Lord says– "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you
should be afraid?" "As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you, and you shall be
comforted." Though cast down at present, he will soon turn and speak comfortably to you,
comforting you in all your tribulations, that so you may be able to comfort others with the
comfort with which you yourself are comforted of God. Yes, he will give you everlasting
consolation, and good hope through grace. Your weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes
in the morning. Wait, therefore, on God, and he will make you exceeding joyful in all your
tribulation.

Wait for DELIVERANCE OUT OF EVERY TROUBLE.

Deliverance is certain, for deliverance is promised. "The Lord will deliver you in six troubles,
and in seven he will not forsake you." Jesus is the great Deliverer; therefore droop not, doubt not,
despond not, but call upon him in the day of trouble, and he will deliver you, and you shall
glorify him. As a believer, you can have no ground for fear, or reason to despair; your troubles
shall not overwhelm you, if you cry unto God. How long your troubles may last, or how low you
may sink, is not for me to say; but they will not last long enough to warrant despair; nor will you
sink so low, but the everlasting arms will be still underneath you. Remember, in every trouble,
that "the eternal God is your refuge;" that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble." "The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble." "I will be
with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him; I will set him on high, because he has
known my name." What precious Scriptures are these! Are you in trouble, my friend? Believe
them, appropriate them, plead them in prayer, and God will honor them, and make them good.
You may have to wait long; you may fancy it too long; but at the very best time, in the very best
way, the Lord will arise and have mercy upon you, and will bring your soul out of trouble.

Do not forget David's testimony– "They looked unto him, and were lightened; and their faces
were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his
troubles. The righteous cry, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles."

Wait on the Lord, PRAYING.

Prayer is the solace of the soul; therefore the Apostle directs us in everything to pray. Indeed, we
can not be said to wait upon God without prayer; for prayer is the fixing of the eye, the outgoing
of the heart, the breathing of the spirit, the cry of the soul. In waiting upon God, let your prayers
be simple-simple as a child's speech to its father. Let them be direct, going direct from your heart
to the heart of God. Let them be comprehensive, comprising all you need or wish, all you fear or
dread, all that is needful now, and all that appears desirable for the future. Everything should be
turned into prayer; all our concerns should be laid before the Lord. They may be temporal or
spiritual, limited to time or run into eternity; but whether they regard the soul or the body, the
individual person only or the family, the church, the country, or the world, whether they be great
things or only small matters, they should be carried to the throne, and be laid before the Lord.
This is the way to enjoy settled, solid, and habitual peace, and to carry out the Savior's
admonition– "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me." Anything
that troubles us, however small or apparently trifling, interests our heavenly Father, and he
wishes to hear of it from his child's own mouth. Hence the exhortation– "Trust in him at all
times; you people, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."

Wait on the Lord, BELIEVING.

We should live by faith, walk by faith, and constantly exercise faith. Believe, therefore, what
your God has said of himself, of his designs toward you, and of his care over you. Believe in the
precious promises he has made to you, in the sweet assurances he has given to you, and in the
oath he has taken to secure you. Believe God, let men, or Satan, or your own heart, say what they
will. Believe God, speaking in his word, let Providence work as it may. Believe God, and then
you can concede him time to work, then you can trust him in the gloomiest day and in the darkest
night. Believe God, and then you will enjoy perfect peace, as says the prophet– "You will keep
him in perfect peace, whose mind is staid on you, because he trusts in you."

Wait on God, believing that he will fulfill his word, confirm your faith, illustrate his character,
and secure your best interests. Believe God, and wait on him, that he may perform his promises,
answer your prayers, and rejoice over you to do you good. Take God at his word, and endeavor
to rest upon it. Grasp the promise firmly, and refuse to let it go. Doubting and fearing can do you
no good, but must do you immense harm; but believing God, and staying yourself on his word,
will be of incalculable benefit to you. Believe, therefore, and wait. Wait and believe.

Wait on the Lord, WATCHING.

Watch the hand of God as it works in nature and providence; but remember that it is moved by
the heart of God, which is correctly represented in his word. You may mistake the meaning of
his works much easier than you can the meaning of his word; and therefore let his word dwell in
you richly, ruling your judgment, and controlling your thoughts. Watch the working of the Holy
Spirit in your heart, and mark the desires he awakens, the graces he quickens, the checks he
gives, and the consolation he imparts. Wait on the Lord to carry on his work within you, and
watch, expecting him to do it. Wait on the Lord, expecting him to work for you; and watch his
hand, expecting him to answer your prayers. Let your conduct be an illustration of that word– "I
wait for the Lord– my soul does wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord,
more than those who watch for the morning– I say, more than those who watch for the morning."
Wait on the Lord, SEARCHING HIS WORD.

All that the Lord has to say to us is to be found in his word. That word is to direct us in
difficulty, to counsel us in perplexity, to guide us in danger, to comfort us in trouble, and to
encourage us under depression. It is to be a light unto our feet, and a lantern to our paths. Its
pages should be daily read, devoutly studied, and heartily believed. We can not become intimate
with God but by becoming familiar with his word; and as his word is the chief instrument by
which he sanctifies his people, if we wish to be made holy, to be kept safe, and to be truly happy,
we should constantly and carefully read his word.

This is at all times important, but was never more important than now, when so many books are
written, so many errors are abroad, and religion has become so fashionable. Perhaps few
temptations are so common, or more powerful, than the temptation to neglect the devout and
frequent reading of God's word; let us therefore be on our guard, and while we profess to wait
upon God, let us make much use of his word, and whenever we take it in hand, say– "I will hear
what God the Lord will speak; for he will speak peace to his people and to his saints; but let them
not turn again to folly."

Wait on the Lord in his ORDINANCES.

They were instituted for you, and, rightly used, will be a real blessing to you. Go to ordinances
on purpose to meet with God; for as he said to Moses, in reference to the mercy-seat, so he
speaks to us in reference to his own ordinances– "There will I meet with you, and I will
commune with you." Ordinances without God are but empty cisterns; and to attend to ordinances
without meeting with God, and communing with him in them, is of little account. Yet ordinances
should not be neglected, but in every prayer we should seek to draw near to him; in every hymn
we should lift up the heart to him; in every sermon we should listen, that we may hear from him.
At the table we should see him preside, and seek heart-affecting fellowship with him, and expect
to be revived, refreshed, comforted, or reproved by him.

The language of wisdom may be applied to the ordinances of God– "Blessed is the man who
hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors; for whoever finds me
finds life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord." And the language of the Psalmist, we may expect,
will set forth our experience, if we attend to divine ordinances from a right motive and in a right
spirit– "Blessed is the man whom you chose, and cause to approach unto you, that he may dwell
in your courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, even of your holy temple."
Then we may well say with David– "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to
seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will
hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." Psalm 27:4-5

Wait on the Lord in QUIETNESS OF SOUL.

This is sometimes very difficult, especially when the conflict within is severe, and the storms of
trouble roar. Yet it is a duty, and not only a duty, but a privilege. Reasoning will do but little
good. Resistance will injure us. Therefore David took another course. Hear his words– "Lord,
my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don't concern myself with matters too great or
awesome for me. But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its
mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me." Here was quiet waiting upon God. The
soul was humble; it bowed before God; it lay at his feet, and in stillness of soul, waited for his
appearing. This was wise– "The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, Only in returning
to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength." Isaiah
30:15

Quiet, confiding faith in God is sure to calm the surges of the mind, soothe the ruffled spirit, and
bring every thought into subjection to the obedience of Christ. Well, then, may the prophet say–
"The Lord is good unto those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that a man
should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." If in patience we possess our
souls, quietly plead with God, and look for his delivering hand, we shall be sure to enjoy his
paternal mercy.

Wait on the Lord, ACQUIESCING IN HIS WILL.

Men may be wrong; God cannot be. Whatever he does, he wills; and whatever he wills is good.
Whatever he permits is for wise reasons– and because he can overrule it for his own glory and
the good of his people. All things lie open before him. He sees the end from the beginning. He
knows not only what everything tends to, but what everything will result in. In everything he
keeps the best interests of his people in view. We may therefore very well submit to his will; not
only submit, but feel resigned; not only feel resigned, but acquiesce; not only acquiesce, but
prefer his will and way to our own.

Higher than this we cannot get; wiser than this we cannot be. Now all within will be peace, let
things be as they may without; all before us in the distance will be bright, let them be as they will
near at hand. Happy soul that can bow to God's will, approve of God's plan, be pleased with
God's working, and say– "Not my will, but yours be done." "It is the Lord, let him does what
seems him good." Oh! for this calm, quiet, all-subduing acquiescence in the will of God, that I
may wait on him, wait before him, and wait for him; saying with the prophet– "Therefore will I
look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me."

Wait on the Lord in HOPE.

That is, expecting that he will work for you, give good things to you, or effectuate your
deliverance. Say with David– "I will hope continually, and will yet praise you more and more."
The promises are intended to raise your expectation, and past experience should strengthen it.
There can be no reason to doubt, while you wait upon God; nor can doubting do you the least
good. Hope will cheer you, brighten your prospects, and save you from despondency and gloom.
Therefore hope in the Lord. You may be deeply tried, severely exercised, and at times almost
overwhelmed; but at the very worst, you should expostulate with yourself, and say– "Why are
you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet
praise him for the help of his countenance."
However rough your road, however violent the conflict, however severe the trial, still hope on,
hope always; for God has said– "They shall not be ashamed, who wait for me." Like a vessel on
the ocean, you may have to meet with storms and tempests; you may be tossed and tumbled
about, but hope will be as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into
that within the veil, "Therefore, let Israel hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and
with him is plenteous redemption"

Wait on the Lord with PERSEVERANCE.

Never give up, while you– need a blessing, fear a foe, or groan under a burden. Wait on the Lord,
until you obtain all you need, and enjoy all you desire. You cannot wait on him in vain, therefore
you can not do better. Satan will suggest– "Why should you wait for the Lord any longer?" Tell
him, that your God is a Sovereign, and will work in his own time and way; tell him you are a
poor, dependent creature, and must not dictate to the Most High; tell him that he has appeared for
thousands before you, and that he will appear for you. Let Satan suggest what he may, let doubts
rise ever so thick, let fears come ever so strong, still wait on the Lord.

It is your plain duty, it is your only hope, it is your sure resource. Plead with God, and take no
denial, rest on the promise of God, and never give it up. Wait at the throne of God, and let
nothing drive you thence. If the Lord seems to be turned against you, and if everything seems to
conspire to discourage you, still persevere. Remember the woman of Canaan, how she was
discouraged; but she persevered and succeeded. Remember Jacob, how he was discouraged, and
yet succeeded. Remember Moses, to whom God said, "Let me alone," but he persevered and
succeeded. Remember Hezekiah, what a death-blow he got, but he persevered and succeeded.
The Lord will turn again; he will have compassion upon you; for he will cast all your sins into
the depths of the sea. Trust, then, in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah there is everlasting
strength; and that strength shall be put forth, and be made perfect in your weakness.

Wait on the Lord, for HE IS STRONG TO SAVE.

No case can be desperate that is brought to him. The poor woman in the Gospel had spent all her
money, tried all the physicians, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, until she came
to Jesus; and then, by only touching his garment, she obtained a cure. So, let your case be as bad
as it may, having tried what means you will, the Lord can with one word deliver you, set you up
on high, and save you forever. He loves to undertake difficult cases. He gets glory by appearing
for poor souls in their extremity. He has so appeared for millions, and he will yet appear for you.
Fix your eye on his strength, and your heart on his promise. David did so, and in wondering faith
exclaimed– "O Lord God Almighty! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, Lord? Faithfulness
is your very character."

All the strength of God, if needed, will be put forth for you, if you wait upon him. Oh! what
encouragement to wait upon the Lord, to know that he can help because he is strong, and that he
will help because he has promised!

Wait on the Lord, for HE CAN NOT DECEIVE.

He is truth itself. It is impossible for God to lie. He can not change his mind, break his promise,
or falsify his word. Heaven and earth may pass away, but his word shall never pass away.
Creatures may prove false and fickle, but he is in one mind, and none can turn him. "The Rock of
Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man that he should repent," or change his mind. O
believer! here is strong consolation; you have the promise of the unchangeable God to rest upon,
not only his promise but his solemn oath; therefore trust in the Lord with all your heart, and wait
on your God continually.

Wait on the Lord, for HE IS KIND.

He is kind even "to the unthankful and evil." His kindness is "marvelous." It is united to mercy,
and called "merciful kindness." It is united to love, and called "loving kindness." It is immutable,
and therefore called "everlasting kindness." It is "the kindness of God our Savior." The kindness
of God is strong and tender, steady and durable, humble and condescending. It rules his heart,
shines in his dealings, and is plentifully revealed in his word. It affords the strongest
encouragement to the convinced sinner, the seeking soul, the tried believer, and the miserable
backslider. How sweet is the thought, that there is something in God's heart that sympathizes and
takes part with the poor petitioner at his feet! When we wait upon God, though guilty, polluted,
ungrateful, and depraved, his affections are moved for us, and he is determined to have mercy
upon us. The kindness of God encourages us to wait on him. Wait on the Lord, for God waits for
you, "Therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be
exalted, that he may have mercy upon you– for the Lord is a God of judgment– blessed are all
those who wait for him."

The Lord is always prepared to give, but we are not always prepared to receive. We have never
to wait until he is ready, but he has often to wait until we are. He waits for us long, and therefore
we must not be surprised if sometimes he makes us wait. But the longer we wait for the blessing,
the sweeter and richer will it be when it comes. As the Lord is even now waiting for the fittest
time to bless us, confer his favors on us, or deliver us, it is but right and reasonable that we
should wait on him, and wait for him.

Wait on the Lord, and wait on THE LORD ALONE.

This was David's counsel to his own soul– "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes
from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My
salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge." In all seasons of
affliction and trouble, in all times of temptation and suffering, wait upon God. In the exercise of
faith and patience, pleading with him to perform his promises, and deliver your soul, wait upon
God. Murmur not, repine not, but wait upon God.

Wait only upon God, for perhaps man can not help you; or if he can, he may not be disposed; or
he may raise your expectations only to deceive you. But God can do all you need; he can give all
you require; and he can do so at any time. He bids you wait on him, and he is well pleased with
the waiting soul. Treat creatures, therefore, as creatures, and trust your God as God. Look to him
only and always. Wait upon him and wait for him always. Expect him to act the part of a wise,
faithful, kind, and loving Father; and he will never neglect or deceive you. Wait, therefore, upon
God as God, and as true to his word; "so shall your peace be like a river, and your righteousness
as the waves of the sea."

Reader, are you in trying circumstances– circumstances of peculiar trial? It may be so, and this
little book may be sent to you in special mercy. To you the Scripture speaks, when it says– "Wait
on the Lord." The Lord can easily find a way for your escape, or make one. Your case cannot be
desperate while God is omnipotent. However great the difficulties that lie in your path, however
impossible it may appear for you to escape or overcome them, there is nothing too hard for the
Lord. He can make a way in the sea, and a path in the deep waters. Let nothing therefore
dishearten or discourage you. You may be brought into such a state as to be entirely dependent
on the Lord, having no friend, adviser, or helper; and that may be the most blessed season of
your life. Then you may use David's prayer, with David's feelings– "Lead me in your truth, and
teach me; for you are the God of my salvation; on you do I wait all the day." Psalm 25:5

Waiting on God with patience:

Some days, it is a lot harder to be patient. When we’re bringing our concerns to the Lord again
and again, we grow tired of waiting. It soon begins to feel like our prayers are falling on deaf ears.
Often our desire is to take control and just “do the best we can”; it is our fleshly reaction to the
silence. We know Galatians 5 lists patience as a fruit of the Holy Spirit so we confess our desire to rule
our own lives. We ask the Spirit to fill us, empowering and directing us even as we continue to wait on
the Lord.

This doesn’t mean our circumstances change. Our only child remains sick in the hospital, the
thread our marriage hangs on continues to splinter, and the hope we’ve held on to for years fades
with increasing speed. Having prayed fervently about whatever issue you are facing too many times to
count, it’s easy to feel your bank of patience depleting once again. On these days, let these reminders
on the nature of patience be an encouragment to you as you continue to wait.

Life Lesson: Time management

Resolution: Check your compass

You are not alone in the waiting.

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the
present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as
we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were
saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for
what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” – Romans 8:22- 25 (New International Version)

Waiting is a common experience. All your brothers and sisters in faith, as well as all of creation know
what it is like to wait on the Lord. Consider those who have waited before you: Job, David, a myriad of
Prophets. There is plenty of encouragement in the Bible concerning a need for patience and those who
have excelled in it. James 5:7, Colossians 1:10-12, Psalm 40:1 and Revelations 14:12 are just a few
examples of the myriad of passages about the topic.

The New Bible Dictionary defines patience as “God given restraint in the face of opposition or
oppression”. Patience is only needed when there is a reason to not wait. It is only necessary in the
face of opposition. This is why seeking patience is in many senses a battle. The promise we can lean
on here is that patience is God given restraint. The Lord is the one who provides us with spiritual
armor to go into battle. We often think of patience as mere endurance, but such logic is faulty. We are
not exercising restraint on our own strength. In truth, our only responsibility is to trust that God will
provide the strength to hold on, and then act accordingly to our faith in that promise.

How is this strength given us?

We receive this strength by being filled with the Spirit. As Christians, we know that the ultimate
source of patience lives within us. Our role is to trust that the Holy Spirit does live within us, and ask
Him for strength to persevere in whatever situation we find ourselves in. This is a provision we can
claim by faith as taught us in Romans 5:1-5.

Patience as listed in Galatians 5 is often called longsuffering. The original Greek word is
makrothumio, meaning “long temper”. We are to keep a long and slow temper towards God, others
and ourselves. This spiritual posture calls for grace. It is grace that compels us to trust God, grace
that we can extend to others when they hurt us and grace to forgive ourselves when we stumble and
fall.

The experience of waiting on God reminds us that our reality as Christians is not within our
apparent circumstances, but rather in the truth of Christ’s love and life in us. This gives us
hope as Romans 8:28 assures us that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who
love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” It is not in our abilities to know the time or
way in which God will work things out. Ecclesiastes 3:11 and Isaiah 55:8-9 are great reminders that
these rest solely in the domain of God’s knowledge. Our role here is to trust the promise of Philippians
1:6 and wait with hope as God’s brings about to completion the good work He began in each of our
lives.

What is our role in the battle?

Consider again the definition of patience as God given restraint. God allows us to access divine
restraint, but it is our choice to accept it and act in willful obedience. Adam and Eve were given
complete free will. They were gifted many provisions in the garden so they wouldn’t need to partake in
the fruit that was forbidden. However, they chose to not exercise restraint and instead disobeyed
God’s command. When we use God given restraint to wait on His will and timing, we renounce their
fallen actions and step out in obedience towards God.

There is purpose in the process. Take a look at Hebrews 12:2. Waiting on God forces us to look to
Him. It casts our eyes rightly to Christ as the source of our faith and the assurance of our salvation. It
reminds us that Christ’s death and life is the reason we can be filled with and empowered by the Holy
Spirit. Trials cause us to persevere by deepening our knowledge of God and relying on him more
intentionally. As James 1:2-4 tells us it is here that a mature and complete faith is grown.

Standing patiently when we wait on the Lord does not mean being stuck at a standstill. Consider
Ephesians 6 which instructs us to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm
then.” To hold ground by remaining obedient to the Lord while waiting is not passive. Note that the
word stand is repeated three times. Patience is an act of the will to claim ground for the Kingdom
of God, and is rewarded richly by Him. Revelations 3:10-11 tells us of God’s care for those who
persevere through the battle.
Whether we feel we lack patience to wait on God, or to continue to love those that may be hard to
love, we do in actuality have access to all the patience we need. We can trust God to give us the
strength to bear our circumstances and instead use the time of waiting to grow in intimacy with the
Lord.