Fast food. Microwaves. Pay-per-view movies. Instant Messaging. E-Mail. YouTube.
Our lives are filled with time saving, instant gratification conveniences. There are not many things we will voluntarily stand in line for. We don’t like to wait.
Unemployment. Unpaid bills. Growing children. Medical bills. Home repairs. Inflation. Flat tires. Grouchy co-workers. Marital stress. Pain. Fear. Anger.
Our lives are drained with stresses from every direction. We know we need to pray, but we find it hard to make the time.
Yet the prophet tells us,
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength… (Isaiah 40:30-31)
The ones who gain new strength are those who wait for the LORD! What does it mean?
The psalmist echoes our frustration and stress:
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see
the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)
Surely we need to see the goodness of the LORD in the midst of our trials and frustrations! Does the psalmist tell us how we will experience it? Yes!
Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:14)
I wonder how often we frantically run into God’s presence in prayer, tell Him our frustrations and our woes, ask for His help… and then run off to the next thing in our life without waiting for the Lord. Then we grumble and complain to ourselves that God has not given us the help or direction we are seeking… Is it because we have not given Him a chance to speak? Have we waited in His presence and listened for His response? Have we prayerfully read and meditated on His Word, listening for what God may want to tell us?
In Hebrew, to wait for the LORD implies eager expectation, anticipation, and hope. Watching and waiting for God to act. Looking for the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Are you looking for the goodness of the LORD? Are you taking the time to seek His face? To call upon His name? To wait for the LORD?
Join me as I seek to experience what it means to truly wait for the LORD in prayer. Together as the Body of Christ, let us seek His face and call upon His name. Let us continue to wait patiently for the LORD with a listening, expectant attitude until we hear His voice and see Him moving in our midst.
Pastor Cindy
