Waiting - helpful notes

Waiting : Alie Stibbe Day by Day With God 7^th December 2014

Psalm 27                                              Seek His face

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord: be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Wanting things done quickly – out of a deep-seated sense of insecurity... if everything was ordered, in control and sorted out, then nothing could hurt.  BUT The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?...  If the Lord makes me wait, it si because he is working on thins ehind the scenes that I don’t need to know about:  BE STRONG: SEEK HIS FACE; WAIT.

Isaiah 40:27 – 31                               Latent strength

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.

Wait = ‘qavah’ – connations of strength and the tension felt during endurance. A rope has latent strength, not seen until it is used.

Mounting up, running and walking are like the three strands of a rope in action: accessing spiritual power, physical and mental stamina from God.

Psalm 130:1 – 5                                 There is waiting...and waiting  

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord: Lord, hear my voice...I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.

Wait = ‘qavah’ – endurance through an extended period of soul-felt anguish.

v 5 ‘wait’ = ‘yachal’= hope, wait expectantly, trust... for God, to keep his word and be true to his character.

While we wait/endure in the Lord’s strength, we wait’trust that he will come through for us.

Psalm 130:6 -8                                   As sure as the sunrise

I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning...

Hold on in there and watch in wonder: the darkenss will lighten in God’s good time.

Psalm 33                                              Timely delays

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope (yachal) is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope (chakah) for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.

Expectant waiting (yachal) needs the added knowledge of how to ‘tarry’ (chakah). To wait for God’s timing.

Psalm 37:1 – 9                                    Waiting in silence

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Wait = damam’ = be still, be silent.  Tarry silently, without grumbling...

Putting our concerns into the Lord’s hands and renewing our hope in him frees us up to live our day with our hearts and minds at rest, so that we can do the tasks that need our immediate attention positively and constructively.

Exodus 14:13 – 14  (at the Red Sea) do not be afraid..stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will brin g you today.. The Lord will fight for you: you need only to be still.

Psalm 38:9 – 16                                 The God who answers

All my longings lie open before you, Lord: my sighing is not hidden from you... Lord, I wait for You: you will answer, lord my God.

Put it all down in a journal...wait in loaded silence for the Lord...wait for his whisper.

Lamentations 3:24 – 33                  What are you waiting for?

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance: therefore, I will hope in him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.

Are my longings God’s intentions or my own? The human heart is ‘deceitful above all things’ (Jeremiah 17:9)...nothing about the future is certain. The only certainties we have as we await are the promises in God’s word that pertain to his person and character.

When all is stripped away... the Lord is enough. He is sufficient and everything else is secondary.. So when you do not know what you are waiting for, wait for the Lord: he is and has eerything we need. We can be expectant about our future without knowing the details if we seek to stay close to him, and quietly trust that he has everything in hand.

Numbers 9:1 – 14                          Hold your horses

Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you.”

Wait = ‘amad’ = physically stand still.  “Stop right there!” – policeman with his hand up!

By waiting, the solution to our indignant complaint becomes clearer and the Lord’s will in the situation can be done.

Joshua 18:1 – 10                             Caught in the headlights

So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the god of your ancestors, has given you?”

Waiting can turn from being a spiritual discipline into an aspect of fear.  The Israelites were frightened to go into the promised land.

The reasons most people fail to take a course of action is fear: fear of failure, fear of being rejected, fear that something might not live up to what we expected, or fear of making the wrong decision.

If we don’t decide to make a move one way or another, like the rabbit sitting in the headlights, we are going to get squashed. It took courage for the spies to go into the promised land and surey what lay ahead.... Is the Lord encouraging you to look ahead and see what he has waiting for you if you had the courage at least to take a look?

Ruth 3                                                 Bottleneck moments

Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens.”

Remember this verse, when part of waiting on the Lord has involved depending on other people to make a decision or do something.

Wait = ‘yashab’ = to sit down, to dwell/have one’s abode.   We need to ‘dwell’, to set up camp in the presence of the Lord...abide in the Lord’s love, not in anxious thoughts.

Psalm 106:1 – 18                               Don’t have a goldfish brain

And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them. They soon forgot his works: they waited not for his counsel: but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness...And (God) gave them their request: but sent leanness into their soul.

We forget... what God has already done and that the Lord kows the plans he has foer us and has promised us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)

If the Lord calls you to wait, do not hasten to drag the perceived endpoint to the place where you are: the result will almost certainly be leanness of soul or a degree of spiritual death. Tarry instead for the Lord’s blessing.

Isaiah 26:1 – 9                                  Obey while you wait

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.

While waiting, be obedient: just keep on doing the right thing, one small step at a time, one day at a time.  Stay rested and concentrate – make sure I stay within his ways by doing the right thing while I wait.

Psalm 5                                              Wait deliberately

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice: in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

Wait = ‘tsaphah’ like  a watchman from a tower, or like a prophet who looks out across time and sees the future as God revewals it to him. Also used of the noble wife who watches over the affairs of her household (Proverbs 31:27)

Meet with the Lord in the morning, not vacantly or routinely but to survey the day with eyes enlightened by his Holy Spirit, so that we can pray, be open to the Lord’s leading and plan effectively.

Intentional waiting prepares us for what the Lord has prepared for us so that everything we do ushers in his kingdom a little bit more.