Patient Waiting In An Impatient World!

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. James 5:7-20 KJV

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31 KJV

The Word of God has quite a bit to say about waiting. Waiting is referred to in two ways.

1. the action of remaining passive, inactive or stationary until an event, activity is done or someone or something arrives.

2. the sense of a servant attending to the needs of someone, or serving someone.

The world's tendency towards a fast paced culture has eroded much if not all of our ability to wait. "I want it NOW!" is the constant cry of the masses, and sadly, it finds a resonating chord in the lives of many of God's saints. Many a child of God has allowed their heritage in the Lord to dissipate because of their anxiety. We see someone else hustling and bustling and building up their earthly possessions and become edgy, feeling that we also need to do the same. We become caught up with the effort to keep up with, or surpass the Joneses, without realizing that it's an inner envy rather than God that is driving us. We become aggressively diligent in our efforts to rise up the social ladder. We try to align ourselves with those we believe are the right people for material success. The tragic result is that we become slothful in the work of the Lord, disloyal to his Name and spiritual paupers even though the world may hail us as a success story! In Luke 12 Jesus illustrated this tragedy with the parable we refer to as the rich fool, ending it with these words: So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Luke 12:21 KJV

It is essential to wait for the Lord, and it's our duty to wait upon the Lord are reminded by His Word of our priority: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 KJV

1. Waiting requires patience and learning to wait develops patience

David said he waited all day

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Psalms 25:5 KJV