Wait Upon the Lord

"Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
Wait, I say, on the Lord!"
Psalm 27:14

"They that wait upon the Lord will gain new strength..." Isaiah 40:31

Waiting, that is probably the hardest thing that God askes us to do!  We want it and we want it now!  I hate waiting.  But I have learned that when we trust God and wait upon His timing, truly our hearts are strengthened and we are renewed.  I think of the example of Abraham not waiting and pushing God's will, thus having Ishmael with Hagar which has led to centuries of dispute and angst and wars.  If he had waited upon God, Isaac would not have had a rival and all of history would have turned out differently. 

Then I think about the times that I didn't choose to wait upon the Lord.  I tend to be a bull in the china cabinet.  I get an idea and I drive to get it done!  Luckily, my husband is very logical and can usually keep me from doing something foolish.  Recently it was an urge I had to admonish one of my sons about a relationship.  I just wanted to cut to the bottom line.  Lay it all out.  But we, my wise husband and I, chose to wait upon God's timing.  We did put some bugs in this child's ear, and recalled some things that he had learned, but we did not give him an ultimatum or tell him what he should do.  My husband asked a few questions to get him thinking.  Now we wait.  Ughhh!  That's the hard part!

But God loves my child more than I can even imagine.  This child is praying and listening.  Surely God will lead and guide.  Mom needs to trust and wait.  In our younger student book we have the kids decorate a box called their "Trust God Box".  Any time they are afraid or worrying about something, they are to write it down and pray about it and give it to God by putting it in the box and letting it go.  I often have a mother tell me, "I need a 'Trust God Box'!"  Well, I guess I could use one also!  Waiting is really about trusting.

If you have a hard time waiting and trusting, a good place to start is Proverbs 3:5-6.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."  Trust, lean, acknowledge that God is in control and that He is good and that He will handle the situation.  Then let go and wait patiently upon the Lord.

Hint of the Day: We all have a hard time waiting.  Give yourself a goal such as not thinking about the answer to your problem for a week.  Then if you reach that day and haven't worried, give yourself a treat!  This works with children as well.  If they don't ask about or talk about an event or worry for three days ( or another set time), give them a treat.  We can train ourselves to wait upon the Lord.  Pray for patience and for God's timing.  Then wait and don't worry or try to solve the situation.  You can do it, and your faith will be strengthened.