The Art Of Waiting

I am reminded of an unforgettable verse of scripture that includes the word wait, Isaiah 40:31, "But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. The will walk and not faint."

Then I hear that word run in that verse and another verse comes to mind, the last part of Hebrews 1:1 "Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us."

And then the word endurance jumps out at me and I think of 2 Peter 1 verses 6, 7, and 8, " Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genunine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

That word self-control is an important word and I think of Paul’s list of some important targets in Galatians 5:22 and 23, "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control."

There is also another verse in which the word endurance appears that is important for us to hear this morning, James 1: 3 and 4, "For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurace is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.

What are some other words that mean the same thing as endurance? I checked a thesaurus to find other words that meant the same thing and here is the list of words: staying power, survival, stamina, fortitude, continued existance, and . . . patience.

And all of this has to do with learning how to wait. The Isaiah passage indicates what the benefits of waiting are - strength, help, and spiritual stamina.

Waiting is a spiritual issue and Saul had to wait for Samuel, but he did not. And he paid the consequences for his impatience.

I want us to return to the 2 Peter passage and take a closer look at it. It is verses 6 - 8: "Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone." What does it mean?

1. If we make the choice to know God, that is to have a personal relationship with Him based on the forgiveness that we recieve and accept through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection then that moves us toward self-control as evidence of our committment to and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Why is self-control important?

It is evidence of a changed life. Instead of living by and through our impulses we live by and through the spirit and power of God. So, our behavior changes and when our behavior begins to change, it has an impact on our relationships. People begin to see the difference in our lives. We are under new management.

2. Now self-control will lead us to patience endurance and patient endurance leads to godliness. Why is godliness important?