28. Wait

Wait

For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God beside thee, who worketh for him that waiteth for him. Isaiah 64. 4.

To wait upon the Lord is one of the hardest things we ever do. Back in our mind we are often tempted to believe that God works for the man who will in turn work for Him. It is true, rather, that our God works for the man who will in patience wait for Him, or look to Him. Let us just note the importance of the one short word “wait.”

It is when we wait upon the Lord that we can be saved. “My soul waiteth in silence for God only; from him cometh my salvation” (Psalm 62. 1). Those that have sought salvation from any other source have wasted their time. One who really met the Lord by waiting upon Him once testified, “I waited patiently for Jehovah; 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 he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings” (Psalm 40. 1—2). Friend, is that what you want? Then wait in silence upon God only. “Wait for Jehovah, and he will save thee” (Proverbs 20. 22),

It is good to know that none that wait upon the Lord is ever disappointed. “Yea, none that wait for thee shall be put to shame” (Psalm 25. 3). None means none. Not one of the millions of people that have turned to the Lord in patient waiting has ever been disappointed. Friend, have you ever met one? Of course not, for “blessed are all they that wait for him” (Isaiah 30. 18). All who enter God’s school of waiting graduate with honors.

Those that wait on the Lord are given renewed strength. “They that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40. 31). Are you tired and weary? Do you find your strength too small to accomplish your God-given task? Are you standing before some great mountain that you can not see beyond, and which you are helpless to scale? Why, friend, you need “renewed strength” that you may “run and not be weary.” You need endurance that you may continue to “walk and not faint.” All this you can have if you “wait for Jehovah.” Remember He is a God that “worketh for him that waiteth for him.”

Those who wait upon the Lord inherit rich spiritual blessings. “Those that wait for Jehovah, they shall inherit the land” (Psalm 37. 9). When Moses led Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, he did not dare make a move until the cloud that hung over the tabernacle moved first. There were days and weeks and months of waiting. The people were no doubt tempted to think their progress was slow, but God was teaching them the precious lesson of waiting upon Him. To wait upon the Lord was more important than to move on. Much activity in the name of our Lord is useless because there has been no waiting upon the Lord. When Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel, He gave them a tremendous job. No time must be lost in carrying out this commission. However, Jesus also charged them “to wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1. 4). For ten days these commissioned disciples waited for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them. What a tragedy it would have been if they had not waited! Nothing was lost by waiting. Everything would have been lost if they had failed to wait. They experienced the truth that our God “worketh for him that waiteth for him.”

God wants to do something for you, dear friend. He has given you the promise that if you will but wait for Him you shall see Him work. Remember He is a God who “worketh for him that waiteth for him.” “Wait for Jehovah: Be strong, and let thy heart take courage; Yea, wait thou for Jehovah” (Psalm 27. 14).