Waiting Upon the Lord

The theme of “waiting for the LORD” or “waiting upon the LORD repeats throughout the Old Testament in many places. As I understand it, it is essentially a patient looking to the the LORD God with hopeful expectation, even through difficulty.

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. (Psalm 130:5)

“And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You. (Psalm 39:7)

It is the recognition of God as our true source of hope, light, life and good. We are encouraged and commanded in numerous places to wait upon the LORD, and very powerful promises are made to those who do indeed “wait upon the LORD”.

You can do a search of all the occurrences of this idea in the Old Testament by examining this link at Blue Letter Bible. I was particularly interested to check up on some teaching about Isaiah 40:31 which promises renewed strength to those who wait upon the LORD. The above link reveals Scriptures using the Strong’s word H6960 (qavah).

“But they that wait H6960 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 40:31)

It is stated in some dictionaries that the Hebrew word qavah means to bind or entwine – hence the idea of binding or entwining one’s own life with the Lord’s through waiting on Him. By being united to the Lord in thoughts and purposes, we are also given the Lord’s strength, which enables His highest and best will to be done in our lives. It is interesting that the word “their” is in italics – meaning it is not actually in the original text. This is important because it means that through waiting upon the LORD it is not necessarily our OWN strength that is renewed, but rather a strength comes to us, which is actually the strength of the LORD. This interpretation is in line with many other verses in the Bible which teach that GOD is our strength. I give just two examples among many.

The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God (Exodus 15:2)

God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. (2 Samuel 22:33)

If the LORD is telling us that HE is our strength, if only we wait for Him, then this is one message all who wish to please God and be successful in their Christian lives REALLY need to pay attention to. How easily we forget this principle though! When things are going reasonably well, or if in spite of setbacks we are confident we can come up with a life strategy that has a good chance of working for us, many of us just go for that – rather than patiently waiting on the Lord for His direction, His instruction and His blessing. And if we fail to wait or look to the LORD, there is the definite possibility of major disappointment.

When we look at the other references using the same Hebrew word qavah we can see that the definition of entwining doesn’t always fit. It certainly does mean looking for, or waiting for as well, or even normally. It is all about what we are putting our hope in (as seen above in Psalm 130:5). From which source are we looking for help? Many of the other verses where this word qavah is used in the context of waiting or hoping for anything else BESIDES the Lord speak of a disappointment which followed. I think that is significant. 

Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait H6960 for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. (Isaiah 59:9)

Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked H6960 for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! (Jeremiah 14:19)

Looking for, waiting for and expecting results and blessings from certain people or things can often lead to disappointment where the primary focus of waiting is not the LORD Himself. This is a very deep and painful lesson for us to learn. The wise will heed the first time, and save themselves years of pain.

Some of us, who like to be “doers” rather than thinkers can especially have this very strong tendency to rush ahead of God and do things. We can be guilty of this even if we do also spend a lot of time praying for things, doing Bible studies or attending church. Waiting on God for major life directions is about honoring God as LORD and master. We are not meant to create our own strategy for the major events of life, and certainly not for the  major battles of life. We need to have the humility, the trust and the patience to keep looking to God, to keep inquiring of the Lord, and to at times to do nothing to try to fix certain things that pertain to God’s business, until we have the full assurance that we have the mind of Christ on the matter.

I am certain that many of my own setbacks in life are due to my failure to follow this principle at key points in my life. Here are some of the promises God makes to those who wait upon the Lord:

Not being ashamed

… and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait H6960 for me.
(Isaiah 49:23)

Yea, let none that wait H6960 on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. (Psalm 25:3)

God will lead and teach those who wait on Him – not necessarily His people who do not wait.

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait H6960 all the day. (Psalm 25:5)

Preservation from evil is something that can be expected by those who wait on God.

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait H6960 on thee. (Psalm 25:21)

Spiritual, physical and emotional strength is promised to those who wait on, or look to, the LORD.

Wait H6960 on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, H6960 I say, on the LORD. (Psalm 27:14)

But they that wait H6960 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 40:31)

As I go through life I observe that all the areas of our being are interconnected. Physical weakness, and lack of health can impact us emotionally as well as spiritually (in the end). If you are too weak to pray or think, it does affect your spiritual life! On the other hand, a strong spiritual connection with the Lord which comes by waiting on Him and feeding on Him through the Word can produce emotional strength, physical strength, mental strength and even divine health! Everything within us is connected and affects the other parts. So it is very important for us to bathe our minds in the revelation of God’s Word and also to be charged with the presence of God. This is now possible because of the gift of the Holy Spirit. But we still need to make our relationship with the LORD through the Holy Spirit a priority and a focus or it won’t happen for us.

Joy and Gladness in God’s Salvation

we have waited H6960 for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:9)

Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on H6960 the LORD, and he shall save thee.
(Proverbs 20:22)

Eternal (and in some cases temporal) Riches and Exaltation

For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth. (Psalm 37:9)

Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. (Psalm 37:34)

I think this principle is generally true, all other things being equal. In this life though, there are persecutions promised to us, and martyrdom and loss is also possible, so we have to see that the promise might not always be fulfilled in this present fleeting age where Satan has so much power due to the sins of men. However, there is no doubt that God has greatly blessed and exalted certain men and women who waited on the Lord for direction and instruction consistently. However, the ultimate fulfillment will be after the return of Christ.

Persistence and Patience is Required in Waiting Upon the Lord

We have to be persistent and patient in this process of waiting upon God, because the Bible teaches that the LORD does not give Himself out cheaply – He hides Himself!

And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look H6960 for him. (Isaiah 8:17)

What this means for us is that we need to persist and be patient. When it seems like God is not coming through as quickly as we would like, we must resist the temptation to take matters into our own hands. Instead, we must continue to patiently wait, look to, and hope in the Lord – knowing that HE ALONE is our source of strength both for the waiting and for the life ahead, and that He is also our only reliable source of life, blessing, provision and satisfaction.

 

 

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