Wait for the Lord
"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in His word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchman for the morning,
more than watchman for the morning."
Psalm 130: 5-6
I'm in the middle of an overnight work shift and thought of these verses. I've always loved this passage because it shows us the intensity of waiting for the Lord in the image of a night watchman. I can just imagine the longing for the sun that is in the heart of someone whose job it is to see danger approaching. But along with the longing, is also the certainty. The sun will come up. The night will pass. And the example assures us that the Lord will "show up" and we have the promise of His word to put our hope in.
In some ways, it is strange to talk about waiting for the Lord when we just celebrated Pentecost last week. The Holy Spirit is here. The Lord is with us. Christ dwells in us by faith. So what are we waiting for? and How do we wait?
We are waiting for many things including answers to prayer and God's promises to be fulfilled. We want to see the Lord's kingdom come "on earth as it is in heaven" and that means alot of redemption and transformation! We are waiting for the Lord to act and this can be tough sometimes. In a particular situation we may think the course of action that God should take is so clear and get impatient that He isn't doing anything. Here is where I want to encourage you on today: how to wait.... patiently, faithfully, and worshipfully.
Patiently: Many students (and teachers!) are learning to practice patience right now as they wait for the end of June. And that's the thing about patience.... it only can be gained through the hardship of waiting. Be patient with God. He will come through.
Faithfully: By this I mean be faithful to God. Don't be a fairweather follower of Christ only loving and obeying Him when things are going your way. Being faithful to God means that you are consistently putting your faith in Him, obeying Him, and not waivering in your love.
Worshipfully: Before Pentecost I was struck with the actions of the disciples while they waited for the Holy Spirit's filling. Luke 24:53 says they "were continually in the temple blessing God" and Acts 1:14 tells us they "were devoting themselves to prayer". Praise and prayer are the actions of the waiting Christian.
When life is hard, don't be discouraged thinking that there is nothing can do.... you can wait patiently, faithfully, and worshipfully. God will act and when He does, there will be "plentiful redemption and He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities." (Psalm 130:7)
and in His word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchman for the morning,
more than watchman for the morning."
Psalm 130: 5-6
I'm in the middle of an overnight work shift and thought of these verses. I've always loved this passage because it shows us the intensity of waiting for the Lord in the image of a night watchman. I can just imagine the longing for the sun that is in the heart of someone whose job it is to see danger approaching. But along with the longing, is also the certainty. The sun will come up. The night will pass. And the example assures us that the Lord will "show up" and we have the promise of His word to put our hope in.
In some ways, it is strange to talk about waiting for the Lord when we just celebrated Pentecost last week. The Holy Spirit is here. The Lord is with us. Christ dwells in us by faith. So what are we waiting for? and How do we wait?
We are waiting for many things including answers to prayer and God's promises to be fulfilled. We want to see the Lord's kingdom come "on earth as it is in heaven" and that means alot of redemption and transformation! We are waiting for the Lord to act and this can be tough sometimes. In a particular situation we may think the course of action that God should take is so clear and get impatient that He isn't doing anything. Here is where I want to encourage you on today: how to wait.... patiently, faithfully, and worshipfully.
Patiently: Many students (and teachers!) are learning to practice patience right now as they wait for the end of June. And that's the thing about patience.... it only can be gained through the hardship of waiting. Be patient with God. He will come through.
Faithfully: By this I mean be faithful to God. Don't be a fairweather follower of Christ only loving and obeying Him when things are going your way. Being faithful to God means that you are consistently putting your faith in Him, obeying Him, and not waivering in your love.
Worshipfully: Before Pentecost I was struck with the actions of the disciples while they waited for the Holy Spirit's filling. Luke 24:53 says they "were continually in the temple blessing God" and Acts 1:14 tells us they "were devoting themselves to prayer". Praise and prayer are the actions of the waiting Christian.
When life is hard, don't be discouraged thinking that there is nothing can do.... you can wait patiently, faithfully, and worshipfully. God will act and when He does, there will be "plentiful redemption and He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities." (Psalm 130:7)
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