Waiting on God, by Pastor Tony Smart

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 40:25-31

Today's message is entitled "Waiting on God." I believe it is one of the most significant aspects of Christian living we must learn. It is imperative that believers understand that God's timing of events in our lives, the way He assigns priorities to our prayer requests, the time He chooses to lift certain burdens we bear, are all done with a good and higher purpose. I enjoy reading through a well-written suspense novel and feeling the intensity of the plot builds until one gets to the last chapter. Throughout the reading one is given a sense of anticipation for what may happen next!

I believe so it is when we wait on God. His will for us unfolds over time and we never quite know all the details of His plan for us, but we can be assured that after we have prayed, and been obedient to His revealed will, and doing those things which we know are right, God will direct us, and encourage us in ways unimaginable.

WAITING ON GOD IS:

1. Expectation: When the servant of God is truly relying on Him to accomplish great things there is daily expectation, even hour to hour expectation, that something unprecedented will occur. Servant of the Lord, you may rest assured that whatever your Heavenly Father sends your way will be of great value to you (James 1:17). Yes, our adversary, the devil, will attempt to interfere with your faith and service when you make commitments to God. The more spiritually minded a servant of God becomes, the bigger a prize he becomes for the wicked one. Every satanic weapon ever devised may be directed at you--lies will be told about you, men will rise up against you--but through it all we should expect God to grant us the victory. People who wait on God are winners (Psalm 37:3-7; Psalm 62:5; Psalm 125:1). Are you expecting God to do something unique and majestic in your midst?

   
   

2. Exercise in Patience: Abraham's son, Ishmael, was born into this world partly because he and his wife, Sarah, became weary while waiting on God to give them the promised child, Isaac (Genesis 15: 2-4; 16:1-16; 18:10-15; 21:12). Isaiah said that "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength..." While we are journeying through this life we may become tired at times even right up to the point of calling it quits. I don't know of any bonafide servant of God who hasn't battled what I call acute fatigue. The ministry is a marathon, not a sprint, and God's timetable doesn't always agree with ours, but think of the blessing you have received which was directly related to your waiting on God to do something. Maybe it was the salvation of a loved one, a change in behaviour of a teen-aged child you have been praying for, the rekindled love of a spouse, a new open door of opportunity to minister, or receipt of some material blessing. These are benefits obtained by patiently waiting on God, trusting Him for accomplishments beyond one's capability and what a joy it is when we see God's hand doing these things.

   
   

3. Experience: Before a person steps out by faith into a ministry, it is a good idea for him to learn to wait on the Lord for proper instruction, direction, and provision. I can't over-emphasize that this is a learning process. Every servant of God will be trained by God through this waiting period. In Scripture we have the experience of Joshua with Moses, Elisha with Elijah, the apostles with the Lord Jesus, Timothy with Paul. Ruth with Naomi. After the servant of God gains the experience he needs by waiting on God under a mentor, he is better prepared to serve the Lord in the field where he is called. If human employers require experience from job applicants, why shouldn't we believe that Almighty God wouldn't also demand His servants to gain experience (Romans 5:3-4)? Young preachers learn extremely valuable lessons by learning to wait on God even before they start out in ministry. This initial experience may make the difference between a long and fruitful ministry and one that is short-lived.

   
   

4. Examination: While the servant of God is waiting on the LORD to provide encouragement to do the work, it is also a great time to do self-examination. We may ask, Is there anything in my life that would hinder God's Spirit from renewing my strength? Is my relationship right with my brothers and sisters in Christ? Do I harbor any unconfessed sin? Remember, John said in Revelation 2:21 (speaking of an individual in the Church of Thyatira): "...I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not." Obviously, the time God allots us to prove His faithfulness also affords us the opportunity to get right and live right. Preacher, it is a crying shame when God can't trust someone with His refreshing power because of sin in his life, or because of lack of integrity. Christians who are truly waiting for God to manifest His power in their lives, or through their ministries, take the opportunities they have to spread open their souls to the scrutiny of the Word of God and Spirit of God, they also should welcome helpful criticism.

   
   

5. Exaltation: Now we get to the conclusion of the process of waiting on God. The Scripture says: "...they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." There is a sense of freedom and grace gained exclusively by those, who in weakness and helplessness, turn to the God of the Bible. I am convinced that the works that are going to endure for all eternity are those ministries that are built by frail people who, perhaps at one time, thought themselves stronger than they actually were, came to an end of self, then told God, "If YOU don't empower me to do it, I can't do it." They started out to do something great for God, then they learned that God really was doing something great for them. While they were waiting quietly, He equipped them to do more!