Wait for the Lord

 Did you know that the word “wait” occurs 90 times in 86 verses in the NASB and 24 of those occurrences are in the Psalms and 23 of the 24 occurrences refer in some way to waiting on God? I didn’t either until I did a little research on it.  Here are a few of my favorite verses from the Psalms about waiting

·         Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!         (Psalm 27:14 )

·         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.  (Psalm 37:7)

·         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.  (Psalm 37:34)

        

·         I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. (Psalm 130:5)

I’m not good at waiting; I like to have a plan, to know where I’m going and how I’m going to get there. To me waiting seems like a waste of time so when I came across the chapter “Learn to Wait” in Paul Tripp’s book “Broken-Down House” I was challenged to see waiting in a new way. Here are a few things Pastor Tripp teaches about waiting

·         “Waiting is living through those moments when you do not understand what God is doing and you have no power to change your circumstances for the better.”

·         “Waiting will always reveal the true character of your heart, where you have placed your hope, your level of faith, your capacity to truly leave things up to God, your ability to rest in God and God alone.”

·         “Waiting is more than being patient as situations and other people change. Waiting is about understanding that you and I desperately need to change, and that waiting is a powerful tool of personal change. God is using the grace of waiting to change us at the core of our personhood, the heart.”

·         “Waiting is not an interruption of God’s plan. It is his plan.”

·         “When we find waiting a grueling, burdensome experience it is because we are looking for our identity, meaning, and purpose in the thing we are waiting for.”

·         “We can wait productively by being active in prayer; confessing the struggles of our heart and seeking the grace of God, celebrating God’s sovereignty and counting our blessings.

Oh Father, take these truth deep into our hearts and change us from the inside out, teach us to wait in a way that glorifies and honors you.