The Psalmist and different authors in the Scriptures revel in the idea of waiting patiently for the Lord (Psalm 40:1), and Isaiah gave a great promise for those who do
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Today waiting upon the Lord is a cliché used by millions of believers but unfortunately only practiced by a few. Waiting upon the Lord demands walking by faith and not the impulses. In a world of quick fix schemes, fast food, 24/7 social media and fast living it has become difficult for many believers to wait upon the Lord. It is almost a lost art that needs to be recaptured by the believer specially if he wants to walk in victory and eliminate frustration out of his life.
One would think and ask, 'Why should we still be waiting upon the Lord since Jesus the Messiah already came to earth? Didn't the patriarchs do all the waiting already? Didn't the disciples already do the tarrying for the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost?'
With four thousand years of waiting for the Christ Incarnate one would think the waiting would be over once Jesus had come, but still today in the church age, we wait as much as ever, Here ngs we are waiting on
The Harpazo - The Rapture of the church, his invisible coming to catch away the saints.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
The Parousia - The Second of Christ, his visible coming which all eyes will see.
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called lFaithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
Revelation 19: 11
So as you can see the patriarchs waited, the early church waited and we are waiting. However the rapture and the second coming is beyond our control. The aspect of waiting on the Lord that we are referring to is when it directly affects your life. As parents with children one of the greatest source of frustration for both parties is the inabilty to wait for anything. The last thing a child wants to hear is Dad or Mom saying, 'Not now!' It can trigger temper tantrum, despair, disillusionment and frustration. The tantrums do not necessarily leave as we aged but follow many believers in their adult years. You may not respond with the same emotional outbursts or have a fit like some children, but most of us still hate waiting for what we want.
Anytime we don't wait upon the Lord, we get into trouble that has serious and long lasting repercussions.
- Abraham did not wait, produced Ishmael and we are still paying the consequences today.
- Moses did not and delayed Israel's deliverance by thirty years.
- Saul did not and he lost his throne
- Joshua did not and he was deceived by the Gibeonites
So it imperative that we get this aspect right because destinies are at stake. How do we do this then?
- Be humble and realize you need to wait upon God because you don't know what to do
But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold. The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.
2 Samuel 5:17-20
.People who do not wait upon the Lord are in effect proudly saying, 'I can do it by myself!' We all know pride goes before the fall. Waiting upon the Lord then means to humble yourself before God and wait for intructions.
- Never step before the Lord but always conversate with him through the prayer of enquiries
...And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
2 Samuel 5:20
Baalperazim simply means the place of the breakthrough. Attached to waiting upon the Lord is breakthrough. Notice that david did not rely upon his military skills and experiences to defeat the Philistines but he enquired of the Lord. He humbled himself and posed question to God. Prayer is posing questions to God to receive answers. You do not qualify for answers if you do not enquire. Therefore waiting upon the Lord is asking God questions and for strategies.
- Wait for the answer and strategy
Don't just jump up and go. Many after praying think because they have prayed therefore it is a done deal. It is not a done deal until you hear from God. Over and over in the bible you will see these words,
- And the Lord said...
- The Spirit of the Lord said
- The word of the Lord is come unto me
- The Spirit bade me
- The Spirit forbidded me
God is a speaking Spirit and he will speak to you. He will speak to you through his Word and he will speak to you by his Holy Spirit. Take the time to be in God's presence long enough until you hear from him.