Waiting on God

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” Psalm 62:5 (NLT)

Most people, including myself, do not enjoy waiting. As we mature, we may find ways to mask our impatience, but inside we are just like children waiting to open Christmas presents. Waiting is a part of life and in fact, sometimes we even must wait for God. Let us examine three aspects of waiting: first, our motivation for waiting; secondly, we examine what it means to be “actively waiting” and finally, what should we expect to get when we wait?

People have many different motivations to wait for something. When you go to the doctor, you sit in the waiting room and wait there for as long as it takes because you have come to accept that a doctor’s time and schedule are more important than yours.  We wait because we want medical attention. We wait in traffic because what else are we going to do? This may be considered waiting out of necessity; however, some people wait because they want something very badly.  It happens when a popular new movie, toy or electronic gadget comes out and you must have one on the first day, so you wait in a long line, willingly.

Why should we wait on God?  Is it only because we want something from him?  Or is our desire to wait on him because we love him? It is not wrong to want something from God and it is his desire to give his children good gifts, but do we value the gifts, more than the giver? Love must be our motivation as we wait on God.

The second point about waiting on God is that we must be “actively waiting”. When I first met my wife, Denise, it did not take me long to figure out how special she was and that I wanted her to be my wife. She, on the other hand, needed a little more time to see if she felt the same way about me.  I waited actively, I let her know how special she was, I sent flowers and notes until she understood that I was serious and that my love was sincere.

We should also actively wait on God.  Not only for eternal life, but for those things that we need to fulfill our purpose and destiny. We must wait actively.  There is so much to do and so little time.  There are so many that need to hear the good news that Jesus loves them and that he died for them.  We must be actively engaged in the Father’s business.  Listen to what Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4 (NIV) We must not be passively awaiting his return, but rather, we wait actively, doing the work of the ministry.

There are many different things to wait for from God, but I want to give you three things I believe are important for every believer. The first thing that we should wait for from God, is direction. How many times have we started down a path only to learn that we were going in the wrong direction? Things would go so much better for us if we would just wait for Him. “I am GOD, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go. If you had listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from the sea.” Isaiah 48:17b–18 (MESSAGE)

Secondly, we must wait upon God for strength.  The task that we face requires more strength than we have.  Even in ordinary circumstances, the challenges of life can bring us to the point of fatigue, but when something extra is thrown at us it becomes even more imperative to go to God for strength.  Each of us face different battles. “But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.” Isaiah 40:31 (MESSAGE). We wait upon God, because we have learned to depend and trust him.  Many of us know from experience that he never fails us, and he will give us the strength to go through any test or trial.

Finally, we are to wait until our salvation is fully revealed.  It is true that when we accept Christ into our hearts and ask for the forgiveness of our sins, we receive salvation, but it is the promise of salvation.  It is certain, but we must wait patiently for it to be revealed to us.  We must not lose heart, we must remain strong, and we must rely upon his power, so that we may endure whatever comes our way.  It is not always easy, but he who promised is faithful. Jesus is coming back for a bride, his church, which is unblemished and pure and anxious to see Him.  “So also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28 (NLT)

Steve Ekeroth

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