Dear friends and readers,
Today I want to expound a bit on something we frequently hear in church or during discussions between believers; "WAIT ON THE LORD"! Ok, lets do that but first it is important to understand the concept.
The command to wait upon the Lord is found in several places in both New and Old Testaments. Many of the New Testament references have to do with waiting for Christ' second coming. Old Testament style the term may well mean waiting for God's personal and providential care for individuals, families and even the nation. But in both cases there is a whole lot more inferred in the concept to "wait on the Lord" than folks may realize.
First as a general concept waiting for the Lord to speak, do, provide, answer prayer or increase knowledge is just simply what followers of the God of Creation should be doing---coupled with both faith and prayer. The questions many learn to deal with as they mature as believers are simply these; What does faith really mean? Can I trust the Lord to actually answer prayer? Does He really heal the sick? can He really be depended upon to provide my need? Oh ok, no problem trusting him for my needs but for my children? Well, that's a whole lot higher level of faith. In a nutshell all faith is can be defined in one simple word. TRUST! Do I trust God? And if the answer to that is REALLY REALLY yes, well for those kinds of folks, they do seem to experience the Lord working in their lives.
Is that scriptural? Yes it is absolutely. James 1:6-9 speaks of a testing for faith. Specifically this scripture is speaking about seeking Godly wisdom but this Biblical principle stretches across a very wide path of our lives no matter the sincere need. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. BUT let him ask in faith (believing---trust---my emphasis added) WITH NO DOUBTING, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord"! OOH, tough words. NO doubting? How do we get there?
The simple answer is by PRESSING INTO the Lord. Not really a Biblical term but it demonstrates a point. Once again James demonstrates this concept (4:8) by telling us "DRAW NEAR TO THE LORD AND HE WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU"! In this case the first responsibility is ours. It is God who responds. Elsewhere the New Testament refers to a sweet smelling aroma. 2 Corinthians 2:15 tells us that "WE"---believers, are the fragrance (sweet smelling aroma) of Christ, among those who are saved and among those who are perishing". I have thought about that scripture a great deal over the years and here is my take on what God is saying; I picture God the Father sitting upon His heavenly throne and breathing deeply in while saying "My son Fred, James, Joe, or my daughter Jane, Anita or Jazmine TRUSTS ME---AAAAAH! Can you picture that in your minds eye? But what would He be doing while breathing in mistrust or prayer full of doubts?
So, how does "waiting in the Lord" impact our walks and what does it specifically mean? First every single thing we do as believers should be based upon scriptural truth. God said what He meant in the Bible and meant exactly what He said. EXAMPLE; Oh how many times over the years have I had someone say to me, Pastor, have you heard about "so and so's church"? Wow all kinds of "EXTRA BIBLICAL" new gifts of the Holy Spirit are breaking out? Really? No hold on right there, if a "gift of the Holy Spirit" cannot be verified in scripture it is nothing more than a contrived super spiritualized false "whatever" that ends up leading people astray. Mankind was created in the image of a Holy and Righteous God, and jumping pews, screaming, multiple people yelling in tongues at the same time, clucking like chickens or barking like dogs is OUT OF ORDER. 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 40 nails it down where the gifts of the Holy Spirit are concerned (all of which I believe in by the way) "Let all things be done decently and in order"!
Next There is no EXTRA BIBLICAL anything. Period. God may not have told us everything there is to know about Heaven or our Universe but what He has told us is exactly what He wants us to know until we get there. Where prayer is concerned, there is no magic bullet or set prescriptive. Talk to God with respect as though He were your father, which by the way He is. Ask Him for what you NEED not what you want. Don't treat Him like a sugar daddy. Be patient and wait for Him to answer. On that note I have learned that sometimes God gives us (in answer to prayer) what HE KNOWS we really need rather than what we thought we needed. Example; On one occasion I remember someone prayed for money to settle debts but God instead brought physical healing which enabled that person to go back to work so debts could be paid.
Listen for God to speak to you. Some will say God only speaks through written scripture (and in fact He frequently does) but He also speaks through events, other people, nature, circumstances and sometimes through that "STILL SMALL VOICE" that was experienced by the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-13. Ah you say but that was Old Testament. Right you are, it was. And it was also in the Old Testament that God said in Malachi 3:6 "I Am the Lord, I do not change"! And in the New Testament Jesus Himself said (John 10:27-28) "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow Me".
Did you notice that Jesus DID NOT say, they "WILL" as in someday, hear my voice? No, so you say why have I not heard the voice of the Lord speaking to me? First have there been times for you that you absolutely did not know something and then suddenly you did? Or perhaps you experienced what seemed like a "knowledge or wisdom dump" into your very core? That was most likely the Holy Spirit speaking to you folks but always remember that whatever you think you are hearing or have heard from others needs to be verified with scripture. On another note, Elijah the prophet was alone in the desert, it was probably very quiet. In our world there is nearly always noise and distraction. Horns blowing, children yelling, schedules to arrange, church services on the next horizon, little league or "soccer mom" stuff competing for our time and energy.
Frequently when people pray they are the only ones doing the speaking but do not taken the time to just sit quietly and listen, "waiting on the Lord"! Take some time and get alone in a quiet place and just speak to your Father and then sit back and listen. When we are hurting, don't know what to do, crying out desperately to the Lord, literally sucking all the oxygen out of the room--- we probably could not hear the Lord speak to us if He were beating a brass drum! While I certainly cannot guarantee you will hear some kind of voice from without, remember that the Holy Spirit is the one who is feeding your spirit.
Waiting on the Lord really depends upon your own attitude towards Him. 1). Are you at a place in your life in which you are ready to be completely and totally dependent upon Him? That does not mean quitting your job and waiting for buckets of money to fall from the sky. But it does mean deciding that you will 100% accept GOD deciding the terms and the timing of His plan for your life or even immediate future. 2). Trusting God with the timing of future things is a difficult thing to do for all of us. But here is something that might help you; God looks at your life differently than you do. You do not know tomorrow nor can you but God sees your birth and your passing from this earth at exactly the same time. He is Omnipresent and Omniscient. Here is an example; Picture in your mind a standard everyday yard stick. 3 feet long, one yard. Hold that yard stick in both hands so you can see the number beginning with #1 in your left hand. Imagine that number 1 was your birth. Number 6 was when you graduated from high school. Number 12 represents when you married and number 15 when you began having children. Today you are 40 years old and looking at number 25 on that yard stick. But number 26 is tomorrow and so you do not see what that number will represent.
God looks at the yard stick of your life from end to end, not sideways as you do. He fully knows what number 26 represents. He already knows how it will play out and He uses your prayers in your best interest but you must trust Him to do so.
Romans 5:5 "hope does not disappoint". Romans 8:19 "The creation waits in eager anticipation for the children of God to be revealed". Psalm 62:1 "For God alone my soul waits IN SILENCE (my emphasis added)---my hope is from HIM"!
Waiting for the Lord is trusting in Him to decide your fate, your future, your next move. It does not mean stopping, it means moving according to His plan for your life. Going all the way back to Exodus chapter 14:14 "THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU---YOU NEED ONLY TO BE STILL"!
Today we are blessed with credit cards, bank accounts, retirements, social security, stocks and bonds. insurance, doctors, lawyers and accountants. All good stuff, none of it bad in itself. BUT, is it a possibility that we have become so dependent upon all those security blankets that we do not really turn to God until those things begin to fail us? Has God become the last resort?
I wonder what would happen in all of our lives if we turned to God first? I am not suggesting getting rid of the security blankets but rather depending upon the Lord to decide how that all plays out in our day to day lives.
The Biblical issue of "waiting on the Lord" actually means doing all we can DAILY and changing our perspective from stuff and things and the provisions of this world to absolute trust that our Heavenly Father will use our stuff and our circumstances to help us navigate through a hectic world. It is listening to that wee small voice just like Elijah FINALLY DID when he was running away and was deathly afraid of his own death at the hands of King Ahab and his Queen Jezabel.
When Elijah was alone and petrified and he was crying out to the Lord, God met him. God provided for Elijah the peace that passes all understanding.
Mankind has changed and so have our busy lives but God has not changed one whit!
God bless you all today,
Pastor Rance.
P.S. Sometimes I have to read my own writings so I remember as well (-:
