Isaiah 40:31
Topic- What does it means to wait upon the Lord?
In the Word of God, we are told to that if we want to be blessed by the Lord, we must learn to wait upon the Lord
Psalm 25: 5 says, “Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”
Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say on the Lord.”
Psalm 37:7 says, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.”
Psalm 37:34 says, “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.”
Psalms 52:9 says, “I will praise thee for ever because thou has done it; and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
Psalm 62:5 says, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him
Psalm 123:2 says, “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.”
Psalm 130:5 says, “I will wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.”
Proverbs 20:22 says, “Say not thou, I will recompence evil; but wait on the LORD, and He shall save thee.”
Isaiah 8:17 says, “And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.”
Lamentation 3:26 says, “It is good that a man should both hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Hosea 12:6 says, “Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgement, and wait on thy God continually.”
Isaiah 40:31 says “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; and they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint.
Now the question is, what does it mean to wait upon the Lord.
1.To wait upon the Lord means to put your trust in the Lord.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.
Psalm 37:3-5 says to “Trust in the Lord, and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of your heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in hem and he shall bring it to pass.”
2.To wait upon the Lord means to have faith in the Lord.
St. Mark 11:22-24 says to “Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall belive thay those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them; and ye shall have them.”
3.To wait upon the Lord means to call upon the Lord in prayer.
In Jeremiah 33:3, the Lord says, “Call upon me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
4.To wait upon the Lord means to serve the Lord with gladness.
Psalm 100:1-2 says, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”
5.To wait upon the Lord means to be patience with the Lord.
Hebrews 10:35-36 says, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”
6.To wait upon the Lord means to be obedient to the Lord.
James 1: 22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only
7.To wait upon the Lord means to trust in the Lord for your soul salvation.
Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe believe in thy heart that God has raised him from the head, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
8.To wait upon the Lord means to have hope in the Lord.
Psalm 42:11 says, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance and my God.”
Jeremiah 17:7 says, ”Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the LORD is.”
Now another question is asked: What happens when I wait upon the LORD?
1.Job 14:14 tells us that if we wait upon the Lord, our change will come.
2.Isaiah 30:18 says if we wait upon the Lord, God will be gracious, compassionate and have mercy upon us
3.Lamentation 3:25 says that the Lord is good to those who wait upon Him
4.In Isaiah 64:4 tells us that the Lord has some great things for us if we wait on Him.
5.In Micah 7:7 says that our salvation will come ,and our prayers will be heard by God if we wait upon the Lord.
6.And in Isaiah 40:31 says that if you wait upon the Lord, you shall renew your strength, you shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” That is He will you the strength to overcome your problems, overcome your tribulations, overcome your disappointments, overcome your setbacks, overcome your sickness, all because you wait upon the Lord.
Why is it Wise to Wait?
1. To receive God’s clear direction for your life. Can you name anything about which you should not talk to God? Talking to Him, listening to Him, waiting upon Him . . . there is nothing that does not deserve His attention. The Lord desires you to sift everything through the will, purpose, plan, and Word of God.
2. To keep in step with God’s timing. Often, what you want for yourself is also what God wants for you. However, your timing may not be God’s timing. So, even though God intends for you to have something, He may withhold it for a time and say, "No, this is not the right time to do it."
3. To allow God the proper time to prepare you for His answer. Very often, you may know exactly what God wants for you. However, He may tell you to wait. You may cry, "But, if this is what I’m supposed to have, why can’t I have it now?" The answer is that sometimes God has to prepare you for the gift, for the blessing, for the next move. What would be a delight for you tomorrow might be an absolute disaster today.
4. To strengthen your faith in Him.Think about how Abraham felt. God had promised a son, but decades passed without a child. Did that mean that Abraham had heard God wrong? No, because we know that Abraham became the father of the entire Hebrew race. Abraham was not perfect, but he learned through the years of waiting to trust the Lord.
5. To allow God to sift through your motives to reveal your desires. Even if what you want meshes with what God wants, your motives may be poorly aligned. What is your motive? Is it something selfish? Is it really what you believe God wants for your life? God often makes His people wait so that He may take time to clean their hearts of poor motives.
Now the last question is why should we wait upon the Lord?
We ought to wait upon the Lord because
Jesus Christ is our bread when we are hungry
Jesus Christ is our Comfort when we are feeling lonely
Jesus Christ is our Peace when we are feeling tense
Jesus Christ is our Rest when we are feeling weary
We ought to wait upon the Lord because
Jesus Christ is our Joy when we are feeling sad
Jesus Christ is our Strength when we are feeling weak
Jesus Christ is our Living Waters when we are thirsty
Jesus Christ is our Help when we are in need
We ought to wait upon the Lord because
Jesus Christ is our Wisdom when we are confused
Jesus Christ is our Protection when we are endangered
Jesus Christ is our Supply when we are empty
Jesus Christ is our healing when we are hurt
Jesus Christ is our encouragement when we are feeling depressed
We ought to wait upon the Lord because
Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lord, the King of Kings
Jesus Christ is the Light and the Savior of the world
Jesus Christ is the Mighty Son of God
Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God
Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace
Jesus Christ is Good Shepherd
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega
Jesus Christ is the True Vine
Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life
