Wait on the Lord

Is. 40:31 “But those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”

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In another translation, the word ‘hope’ is ‘wait.’ “But they that WAIT upon the Lord….” I have a plaque hanging in my office where I see this verse every time I sit down at my computer. It doesn’t help to slow me down.

Why are we always in such a hurry to move on to the next best thing? Why am I always in such a hurry? I want to hurry up and get done with this despicable chore so that I can move on to something more fun. (fill in the blank with words/situations that apply to you.)

We want to get through one situation, be it good, bad or indifferent, so that we can move forward, especially if we find ourselves in difficult circumstances. But what if God wants to use the situation of which you are now in the middle to help you grow? To feed you spiritually? He may not have brought those circumstances to you, but He can certainly use them to cause you to grow in Him, if you will let Him.

My priest preached an excellent message this past Sunday from Ezekiel 2:8 and 3:1-2.
“But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” Ez. 2:8

And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Ez. 3:1-2

“Eat what I give you…” “eat what is before you…” In other words, whatever circumstances you find yourself in today, do not try to get that situation resolved unless God is telling you to do so.

I have been fussing and railing against a situation that I am in and have been in for quite some time. It hasn’t done any good. God still has me in that place because He has not finished with me there. To prove His point, God gave me a confirmation word several weeks ago and this message from Fr. David on Sunday. Stay in this particular situation- eat what has been set before me.

What do we do when we surrender and agree to “eat what is before us?” We wait. And …we wait. And…we wait some more. Read Is. 40:31 again. “But they that WAIT upon the Lord…” Waiting births patience. In this day and age of running from one thing to the next, without pausing to catch our breaths, much less spend quality time with God, we need all the patience we can get. Patience can birth perseverance and James says in Chapter 1, verse 4, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” By eating what is set before us, waiting patiently, God has the opportunity to make us mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I don’t know about you, but I would much rather eat what is set before me and let God do His work in me during that time, than to miss out on what God has for me by helping myself to the next plate.

(c) 2009 Edwina E. Cowgill