Wait for the Lord!

by Jeff McAlvey

Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
~ Psalm 25:4-5

Scripture, especially the Psalms, tells us often to “wait on the Lord” (Psalm 25, 27, 31, 33, 37, 38, 40 52, 62 and 130; I’m sure I missed a few). Waiting is something that is hard for us. We are people of action. We solve problems ourselves. We Google solutions. But God’s Word is clear in our Christian life: we are called to wait on Him. And the benefits are clear: those who wait for the Lord will not be put to shame (Ps 25), will experience him as their help and shield (Ps 33), will find hope in Him (Ps 39), will experience his salvation and hope (Ps 62), are blessed (Isa 30), and will have their strength renewed (Isa 40).

Andrew Murray, the South African pastor and author who wrote so many great devotional works in the late 19th Century, speaks of the believer’s need to learn to wait on God in his book The Believers Secret of Waiting on God. Murray writes, “In all our Christian life, personal and public, we need more of God…to cultivate a deeper sense of His presence…of entire dependence on Him.”

What does waiting on the Lord look like? There are many layers, and as you practice waiting on Him, you’ll learn and understand more. However, it all begins with spending time with Him, reading his Word, asking for understanding, pouring out your heart, and being silent before him with patience. Again, quoting Andrew Murray, “When first you begin waiting on God, it is with frequent intermission and frequent failure. But remember to believe God is watching over you in love and secretly strengthening you in it.” So, we should wait expectantly, “more than the watchman waits for the morning” (Ps 130:6). The watchman doesn’t wait nervously hoping morning will come. He absolutely knows light will dawn and the darkness will disappear. Even more, brothers and sisters, we that know our faithful God, who loves us more than we can ever understand, will give us counsel, comfort, understanding, and much more.

What are you waiting for (forgive the pun)? Start today, begin spending a few minutes of your quiet time, just waiting, listening.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord: I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. ~ Micah 7:7