Wait on the Lord

A few weeks ago, someone asked me to write some 'words of wisdom' for their graduation.  I don't consider myself wise, but at the same time I recognize that the Lord has taught me some lessons in this school called life.  And while I still lean heavily on the wisdom of those older than me, I recognize that I also have a duty to those younger than me.  What follows is my response to her request.

Psalm 27:14- Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Waiting well is like learning patience--it only comes through much practice. Life is full of waiting--doctor's offices, grocery check-out lines, etc. The Christian life is full of waiting too. Waiting for an answer to prayer or waiting for a godly spouse. In a Christian's life, waiting has less to do with patience and a lot more to do with faith--faith in a sovereign God who upholds and controls all things.

Wait on the Lord as you start out in life. Begin your day on your knees. Do not run ahead of your Lord. Bring Him your thoughts, your plans. Weigh them in the light of Scripture. Wait in faith and expectation for His leading and guidance. He will answer. To wait on the Lord means to be strong in the Lord. It is recognizing that he is your Captain and it would be considered mutiny to run ahead and pursue your own agenda before hearing His wise direction. The Lord is your Creator. In Him you live and move and have your being. You cannot operate apart from God. You were made to bring Him much glory. And yet the Lord has a plan for you (Jer. 29:11). Wait, and he will reveal it to you. He knows you. He knows your needs. He has inscribed you on the palm of His hands (Isaiah 49: 16). He has left heaven to die on a cross for you. Trust in Him!

Wait on the Lord when trials press hard. The way to heaven is the way of affliction (2 Cor. 1:7). The word of God speaks much about trials. There is much comfort written for saints in trial. Man constantly wants to change his own circumstances. But sometimes God wills us to be silent. He lays the rod of affliction across our backs in such a way that we cannot raise ourselves from the dung heap. Yes, he is teaching us to trust Him. He is teaching us to draw our eyes heavenward and to wait on Him. Trials are a critical part of our sanctification. Here, more than in any other classroom in Christ's school do we learn to wait upon the Lord. We learn courage. We learn longsuffering. We learn how utterly useless and insufficient the world's wisdom is to a heavenbound pilgrim. We learn to cling to God--yes it seems by our very fingernails at times. When you meet someone who is very near to the Lord you can be sure that individual has spent a great deal of time under sore trial and difficulty. Little wonder James 1 can talk about counting it all joy when we fall into trial. The Lord is refining us. He is teaching us. He is drawing us closer yet to Himself. He has a vested interest in us, sealed with Christ's precious blood.

Wait on the Lord with great expectation for that wonderful Great Day. As pilgrims, we will have waited and longed for that heavenly home, sometimes with great intensity. Oh blessed, blessed day when the clouds will be rolled back and our eyes will see Him whom our soul loves so much. Best of all days when our precious Lord will come and gather His beloved to Himself and bring them to that home which He has prepared for them--a place of perfect, uninterupted communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. Is this not worth waiting for?! Worth striving against the flesh, the world and Satan these 80 or so years? As we wait for that day, press on! Live each and every day with eternity in mind. Live life, gazing heavenward.

Isaiah 25:9- And it will be said in that day: "Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and he will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; We will be glad and wait for His salvation.