“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” (Isaiah 40:31)
We often find that life is filled with periods that demand our waiting. Be it for the loan to come through to buy that house, for the results of our exams, the promotion promised, there are multitudes of opportunities that will test the quality of our waiting. We can be anxious waiters and that’s a sin, as we are to “be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6). We can be those who those are impatient waiters and endeavour to take control of the situation ourselves to make things happen.
But I ask, “how are believers meant to wait for all those ordinary things of life that we are confronted with?” Can I suggest, that we must include the Lord in this. As a matter of fact, we are to wait for whatever, with the understanding that the Lord is in control, so our waiting is a waiting for Him to solve, bring about, determine, and provide whatever we are waiting for!
Now, lets get up close and personal. We here at NCC are waiting for a new church building premises. And God has given us this opportunity to wait upon Him – right? So how do we wait? Do we get anxious? Do we rush around and take control and make things happen? Or do we just sit back, and ‘let go and let God’ kind of deal?
I would suggest that we do none of the above. Our response should be one where we “wait for the Lord” as He is the one who gives the weary and tired, strength and vitality through providing for His praying, dependent people.
But to “wait for the Lord” does not mean that we sit back and do nothing. It includes walking and working in unison with Him for the need at hand, just as we do for His gospel mission in the world.
I like how John Stott puts this: “Working and waiting belong together. In combination they will deliver us both from the presumption which thinks we can do everything and from the pessimism which thinks we can do nothing.” [Grace quotes]