Let us look at how things worked out for some people who did not wait for the Lord.
Let us start with Abraham. God promised to make his descendants like the stars of the sky while he still did not have one child. After waiting for years, his wife suggested the use of her maid as the vessel through which the blessing would occur, and he went along with it. Within his home, it created great strife, which continues today in the descendants of this man. God gave him the son He promised twenty-five years after the promise, but not without consequences. Waiting is hard!
Our second example is Joseph. God gave visions of grandeur to Joseph, who subsequently shared these visions with his siblings and parents. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why his brothers did not like the idea that they would one day bow down to their younger brother. (Wink wink) Joseph then suffered being sold into slavery at the hands of his brothers and then imprisonment after being falsely accused by his employer's wife. God fulfilled the vision, but the road to it was not easy. Waiting is hard!
Third came Moses. God's people had been enslaved and had been crying out for deliverance. God sent Moses to be born in the midst of this and provided a way for him to be saved from death. Forty years later, Moses tries to take on the role of defender of the Israelites by killing an Egyptian. He marveled at the fact that the Israelites he encountered did not understand that he has there to save them. He fled for his life to the wilderness where he became a shepherd for forty years. Then God called him to deliver His people and gave instructions as to how it was to be done. Moses tried to make excuses as to why he could not do it. A very different man from the one who tried to deliver by murder. God had work to do in Moses' life. Waiting is hard!
These examples are not the only ones, but you get the idea. Now of the eleven uses for the phrase "wait for the Lord," seven are found in The Psalms, which were written by David. David was by no means perfect, but he does show us how to "wait for the Lord."
Saul was king in Israel and yet he disobeyed the Lord. Because of his disobedience, Samuel was sent to anoint the next King. The Lord told Samuel to anoint David, a shepherd boy. Once this was done, the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, who began to be vexed. Saul sent for a boy to play the harp for him, to soothe his spirit. David was brought to do so. David did not tell Saul that he had been anointed but rather served the king. When Saul and the Israelite army went to battle, David went back to his family and cared for the sheep. David's father sent him to the battle to take food to his brothers and bring news from the front. David heard Goliath taunt the army of God and volunteered to go fight. As a shepherd, David had slain a bear and a lion to defend the sheep, and he was confident that God would help him to fight the giant as well. David had the victory that day, which also lead to the hand of Saul's daughter in marriage and friendship with Saul's son. Saul grew jealous of David and sought to kill him. However, David would not lift his hand against the king, though he had more than one opportunity to kill him. David sought to "wait for the Lord" even when his life was in danger.
The last three uses of that phrase, "wait for the Lord," are as commands found in the book of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied many things regarding The Messiah and His coming. After the prophets spoke, God seemed to be silent and the people waited 400 years for the Promised One. Then when Jesus did come, He was not what the people expected. Jesus was also very concerned about waiting until His time had come. As Luke 2 shows us, He knew He was to be about His Father's work, and yet He lived in subjection to Mary and Joseph as His parents.
I have found myself waiting a lot lately. I wait for the next treatment. I wait to find out results. I wait with preparation for surgery. I wait for us to return overseas, and it gets harder every time our time to return gets pushed back by this treatment process. Waiting is hard! However, God will fulfill His promises and plans if we will but wait for Him.
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