Ever find yourself standing in front of the microwave oven saying, “Hurry up?” Or push the elevator call button every five seconds while waiting for the elevator to arrive? Waiting is said to be one of the most difficult things to do. I know, it’s a tough assignment.

We get impatient waiting; we hate to have to wait for our ride to arrive or our food to be served, and even for our prayers to be answered. But let us not forget that the Bible promises power to those who patiently wait upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31). More importantly, we do not survive spiritually if we do not learn to wait.

We Renew Our Strength by Waiting on the Lord

It’s important to note that the strength we have right now that needs to be renewed from time to time is not our own strength. It is the strength that we received when we first came to the Lord in weakness.

Unless we first acknowledge that we are weak, we will never admit that we need the Lord’s strength. For “God’s strength is reserved only for those who know they are weak and know they have no might” (David Guzik).

So how do we receive this “new” strength from the Lord? We receive it by waiting. We need to understand that waiting on the Lord does not mean sitting around until the Lord does something.

Indeed, God gives us strength but we should not expect it to come as if He were just pouring it into us while we sit passively. We receive God’s strength as we continually seek Him and rely on Him, instead of our own strength.

How to Wait on the Lord

A. Wait with Patience

We should wait on the Lord with patience.

When we do not know what to do about something, we should wait. Often times we get caught up in just doing something that we neglect to hold still, listen and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).

So many of us are waiting for something and as we wait, we can become discouraged and start asking when the waiting will ever end. Will God ever answer my prayer?

When the pieces of our lives are not fitting together the way we want, we get busy and start trying to force things to work, as Abraham and Sarah did.

B. Wait in Prayer

We should wait on the Lord with prayer.

The first step in getting answers to our prayers is to pray. When we face trials, prayer should be the first we head. Psalm 130:1-2 is a prayer for God to listen to. The psalmist is so consumed with despair, asking God to listen to his requests.

Do you know that failure to pray is a sin? 1 Samuel 12:23-24 says, “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.”

Twice the psalmist says in Psalm 130:5-6 that his soul waits for God’s response. Consider also the repeated phrase, “more than those who watch for the morning. The psalmist is so eager for the Lord’s presence that he says it twice for emphasis.

Are you praying while waiting on the Lord?

C. Wait on Purpose

We should wait on the Lord on purpose and make God the focus of our lives.

Divorce, addiction, emotional disorders, and criminal records are evidence of lives torn apart because someone decided on pursuing to follow some voice other than God’s, some counsel other than God’s, and some plan other than God’s.

In Psalm 62:5-6 David wrote, “My soul, wait silently for God alone. For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.”

We also read in Psalm 1:1-3 that there is a blessing for those who do not seek the counsel of the wicked. Clearly, the righteous man and the ungodly (wicked) man are different in the way they think and behave.

The Christian knows that God’s word is always the best counselor, and godly counselors will always bring the truth of God’s word to help someone who needs counseling.

My Personal Testimony

Seven months ago, I submitted my resignation letter because I truly believed that I am not properly compensated for the work that I do and have been doing for 8 long years. I have been praying and asking God for a raise for more than 2 years but it seemed like God was silent.

So I took that as a go signal from God for me to resign and apply to another company that is willing to pay me more than what I was currently making. Upon handing in my resignation letter, HR called me to his office and asked if I would consider staying. In return, they will give me a pay raise.

What he offered was much lower than what I was expecting. But because I have not heard from the companies I applied to and my resident visa is expiring in a few days, I took the deal.

Today, I still feel like my salary isn’t worth the workload that I do. Was I impatient for doing things my way instead of waiting on the Lord? Maybe! Today, I take delight in the great and mighty things that God is doing n my life and church ministry. God is still good and He is good all the time.

And through all that, I have learned that if we take the time to pursue God’s direction and wait for His response, we will get much better results.

Are we weak? It is because we are not waiting on the Lord.

Closing Words

God loves us and He wants us to live with joy, hope, and victory. But at the same time, God desires for us to wait with patience, in prayer, and on purpose and He will answer.

There is power in waiting on the Lord. It gives us the benefit of getting our strength renewed. The basic meaning of the word renew is to change; it means to keep putting on fresh strength.

But we also have to remember that the Lord gives us strength not to show off but to move forward and progress for Him and in our walk with Him.

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Reference:

NKJV Prophecy Study Bible, 2015 Edition {Diamonds for Living} by John Hagee, ed.

The prophecies of the Bible assure us that God will prevail. The NKJV Prophecy Study Bible, 2015 Edition has hundreds of pages of special features that offer a broad understanding of prophetic themes, salvation, covenants, and other important doctrines of the Christian faith.