Isaiah 40:31 says, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” Who you wait for is of critical importance, and learning to wait is a necessary second step in that process of obedience.
Waiting is an interesting word. It basically means to delay action or remain stationary but in readiness and expectation. It is an experience or state of watchfulness and anticipation. The challenge for all of us who follow Jesus is learning to wait patiently before Him. Unfortunately, few of us do.
There are times in life when there is nothing else we can do but wait. I do not like waiting in a line, especially when it comes to eating. Nevertheless, I occasionally have to do it — but, characteristically, I do it impatiently!
I heard about a little boy who was having trouble sitting quietly at his desk at school. Exasperated, the teacher finally said, “Stay in that seat and do not move!” He submitted but got the last word by responding, “I may be sitting on the outside, but I am standing on the inside.” Our waiting or being still before God is not an occasion for rebellion in our heart. It is the opportunity to wait peacefully and patiently in our heart and in our activity.
Isaiah 64:4 tells us that God “acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.” Even when it comes to serving God, we may exhibit more impatience than patience. We suffer from what Christian psychologist Archibald Hart called “hurry disease.” Instead of being calm, patient, and relaxed, we can become tense, overactive, and busy to the point of missing the lesson or blessing that can come to us from our Lord.
Psalm 130:5 says, “I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait; and in His Word do I hope.” Paul wrote in Romans 8:24-25, “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” We are saved, we are being saved, and some glorious day we will experience the fulness of salvation in a new body and in the presence of God.
Waiting is God’s will for us. In our daily routines, we wait for many things — but in our Christian walk, we are called to wait in expectation and faith in God. He is God; we are not. He knows more than we ever will and does more than we could ever imagine. He is in control, not us.
In his poem, “The Birds of Killingworth,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow depicts a time when the farmers decided to kill all the birds. Longfellow defended the goodness and benefits of allowing the birds to live. But the birds were slaughtered, and many of the farmers regretted it too late. Longfellow’s words remind us that often the greatest thing we can do is wait: “For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain.” Fortunately for the villagers in Longfellow’s poem, someone brought more birds of song to the village.
In an anxious world where most of us are conditioned for instant gratification, the challenge for Christians is to learn a different and better way of living. Waiting may not solve all our problems, but it will eliminate many of them. There are certainly times that call for immediate action. When that moment comes, we must respond with action. But what we learn in the times of waiting (that attitude of watchfulness and expectation) will likely condition us to be even more effective during the rarer times of crisis.
We must wait in line for a multitude of things. We have “waiting rooms” for everything, from medical needs to mechanical issues. Waiting is sewn into the fabric of life. It is not that we wait, but how we wait that is the key. Patience or endurance is learned through waiting.
Farmers prepare the soil, plant the seed, water, and nurture the soil. Then wait. It is a law engrained in nature by God Himself. Following the great flood, the Lord said, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
Times of testing are realities we all will experience. James says the testing of our faith produces endurance, patience, or steadfastness. It also involves waiting. I recall Phillips Brooks sharing a story about a parishioner who came to visit him. Brooks could not be seated but kept getting up and walking. His church member said, “Pastor, what is wrong with you?” Brooks replied, “I will tell you what’s wrong with me. I am in a hurry, and God is not!”
Waiting is vitally important. We all need to become better at it so we can be more effective in our service and witness to God. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” More times than we might imagine, waiting for the Lord may be our greatest experience of kingdom work.