Waiting On The Lord

Bible Study

Waiting the Lord

Is. 40:31  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

If you have not yet memorized Is. 40:31, I recommend you begin to work on memorizing it soon.

It is the most famous verse in the Bible that speaks to the subject of waiting on the Lord.➔ 

Is. 40:31

If you want to claim the promise of renewing your strength; mounting up with wings as eagles; running and not being weary; and walking and not fainting, then you must go through the process of waiting on the Lord.

*One of the most painful and contrary to my nature lessons that I have   

  ever had to learn, is the lesson of waiting on the Lord.

*And it seems to be a lesson that I still today find myself relearning, 

  or perfecting...

*One of the most painful and contrary to your nature lessons that you 

  will ever have to learn, is the lesson of waiting on the Lord.

*This is also one of the most necessary lessons that we need to learn.

It is a lesson that must be applied virtually every day of our lives...

It is a lesson that will need to be used in virtually every area of our lives.

And it is a lesson that, when applied, yields great and satisfying results, after the agony of exercising it.

As far as the world goes, the idea of waiting is both contrary & ingrained in our society.

It is contrary to have to stop and wait at the stoplight...  But stoplights are all over the roadways.  And thank God they are!

People have to wait, while they work hard to earn a degree...

People have to wait, for important days & dates to arrive...

We have to wait in lines at the store, bank, etc.

So the idea of waiting is built into society, even if people aren’t wait-ing on the Lord...

And the idea of not waiting is ingrained in our society as well...  Our instant society. 

Instant coffee, instant tea, instant mashed potatoes...

*No one has ever made any instant mashed potatoes that could compare to the real thing!

And our microwave, microchip society is set up for us to get things faster & faster, whether it’s food, information, or computer process-ing.

And I don’t mind having those things work fast and efficiently...

But we have to remember that there are some things we have to wait for...  And sometimes we are in a hurry, when God is not!

Some of the best things in life take time to mature...

*Fruit takes time to grow & ripen...

*Bread takes time to rise... and then bake...

*People take time to grow up...

*Eat the fruit before it’s ripe and you’ll likely get sick to your stomach.

*Eat the bread before it is cooked, and ditto...

*Try to do things in life before you are of age, or have gone through the proper channels, and you are likely to get yourself in big trouble.

People want to do what they want to do, when they want to do it.  

*Kids want dessert before the meal...  (And so do some adults!)

*Teens & young adults & other unmarried folks want the privileges of 

  marriage without getting married...

We want what we want, and we want it now.

Some people want to get married so bad that they won’t wait for the right person to come along, but instead, settle for what is available to them now.

Sometimes folks want an answer to prayer so bad, that they will force an answer instead of waiting for the answer from God.

Dan. 10:1-12

Sometimes we want God to move more quickly than He is moving.

Sometimes it seems like we need God to move more quickly than He is moving...

Sometimes it feels like we are hanging on for dear life, and if God doesn’t do something fast we aren’t going to be able to hang on any more...

To that end, I want you to know that it is OK to ask the Lord to hurry along the answer... There are 3 examples from the Psalms, where the distress called for quick help from the Lord.  In part, the Psalmist prayed, saying➔

...hear me speedily.

...answer me speedily.

...deliver me speedily:

And some prayers do call for a quick answer... Like Peter sinking beneath the waves, crying out Lord save me!  And immediately Jesus saved him from drowning in the sea.

But there are other times when we get impatient, being stuck here in the sands of time, while God is working from eternity, and waiting for everything to line up right, before He sends the answer.

And so even when we pray hear me speedily, answer me speedily, deliver me speedily....  We then must needs wait upon the Lord, for His perfect timing.

Everyone needs to learn this lesson of waiting on the Lord...

And if you will learn that lesson...  Then you will soar to great heights with God!

Is. 40:31 

Waiting on the Lord, doesn’t mean that you sit idle and do nothing.

A waiter or waitress in a restaurant, works... but they wait on the needs of the customer...  At least in theory!

This is the idea of Rom. 12:7 when it says➔ ...let us wait on our ministering:

I learned great lessons in this area, helping my dad as a young person

Work on car...  Building our house...  And various other projects...

*I was his gopher...  Go fer this, go fer that...  Hand me this...

Sometimes I spent a long time not doing much, but just waiting on his beck and call...

It wasn’t exciting, but it was necessary.  Necessary to build character in me, and necessary to help him get the job done.

When he was building our house, I spent hours & hours being there, helping him with various things... 

Snapping chalk lines...  Feeding electrical wire to him... And many 

other things...

These jobs were not exciting...  In fact, they were downright boring!  

*But it was worth it all, when after the house was finished he told me

  what a big help I was to him.

*That reminds me that if we wait upon the Lord, serving Him & 

  ministering to His needs, faithfully waiting upon His beck and call, 

  one day when we get home to heaven He will welcome us with the 

  words➔  Well done, thou good and faithful servant...

What could be better than that?!

When my Dad told me what I help I was to him building the house, I was shocked, because I didn’t think I really did much to help at all.

But I was that extra set of hands and feet that he needed, and through it all God was teaching me to wait!

And maybe you don’t think those little things you do for the Lord are important, but if you are doing the things that He’s told you to do in the word of God, you will one day see what a help it was to His cause.

Context of Is. 40:31➔
Is. 40:28-31  Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. {29} He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. {30} Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: {31} But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

So here God teaches us to wait when we are weary.

Let me show you another place that teaches us to wait when you are worried.➔ 

Ps. 62:1-5 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. {2} He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. {3} How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. {4} They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah. {5} My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

Music machine - 

Cf. Mrs. Strobel’s song she learned when she was a child.  

Have Patience song...

It starts out as a peppy song about everybody getting frustrated with this slow snail named Herbert. 

And then the chorus has the snail slowly singing this little song

Have patience, have patience, 

Don't be in such a hurry; 

When you get impatient, you only start to worry. 

Remember, remember that God is patient, too, 

And think of all the times when others have to wait for you.

Notice again, Ps. 62:5➔ My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

Wait thou only upon God...

*Not on the check that’s supposed to be coming...

*Not on the tax refund that’s supposed to be deposited in your bank account...

*Not on someone else that is supposed to come through for you...

*Not on the government....

*Not on the gas prices going down...

*Not on anything or anyone else but the Lord!

We also need to learn to wait, when we are wanting the Lord to come back quickly and rapture us out of here!

II Thess. 3:5  And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

We are an impatient lot, are we not?!

Well, at the root of our impatience is pride.➔ 

Eccl. 7:8  Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Sometimes we just fly ahead at break-necked speed, pushing ahead like a bull in a China shop.

My dad when I was young...  Hold your horses!  Slow down!

And sometimes, we just have to just slow down & wait for the Lord➔

Ps. 130:5-6 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. {6} My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

Waiting on the Lord sometimes feels like you are being stretched out on the old torturer’s rack!

But it is actually good for us.  Not the torturer’s rack, but the waiting!

Lam. 3:24-27 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. {25} The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. {26} It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. {27} It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

As you should be beginning to see, Is. 40:31 may be the most famous verse in the Bible about waiting on the Lord, but it is by no means the only one...  

It is really amazing how many times the Lord references this subject...

This punctuates its importance, and our need to be reminded of it, and to take heed to it.

Hosea 12:6  Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

Is. 8:16-17 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. {17} And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

Waiting for direction➔

Num. 9:15-23 

Cloud on earth  fog

Ps. 27:11, 13-14

Ps. 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.

I Sam. 10:6-8; 13:8-14

Is. 30:18-21 

Is. 49:23 

Is. 50:10-11

I Cor. 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Paul said➔  But as it is written...  Let’s take a look at where it was written➔

Is. 64:4  For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

In I Cor. 2:9 the Lord replaces the word wait with love...

We show God our love for Him, by waiting for Him...

Just like it is true in our earthly relationships...  Love waits...