Wait for and confidently expect the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for and confidently expect the LORD.—Psalm 27:14 AMP
In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will prepare [a prayer and a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].—Psalm 5:3 AMP
There are sorrowful situations and circumstances in my life for which I have been waiting on the Lord for more than 20 years. Twenty years is a long time to walk with grief as a companion. I have come to understand over the years, however, that this waiting more than anything else in my life has caused me to cling to Jesus and deepen my relationship with Him. And for that I thank Him.
Each of us probably have petitions that we bring to the Lord daily...even hourly. Some of us may have been praying, pleading and earnestly desiring and waiting on the Lord’s timing to answer for years.
Here is a little of what I have learned as I wait.
God’s desire toward us (ME!) is good and His plans for us are from His heart of love. (Psalm 33:11)
The Lord gives grace and glory; He will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84)
This is my comfort in my affliction,
That Your word has revived me and given me life. (Psalms 119:50)
I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love,
Because You have seen my affliction;
You have taken note of my life's distresses, (Psalm 31:7)
The LORD said, "I have in fact seen the affliction (suffering, desolation) of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters (oppressors); for I know their pain and suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand (power) of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a land [that is] good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey [a land of plenty]((Exodus)
In all their distress He was distressed,
And the angel of His presence saved them,
In His love and in His compassion He redeemed them;
And He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.—Isaiah 63:9
"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.—Ps 91:14-15
For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.—Ps 9:10
The best part of this waiting as I said before is that as I do my relationship with my God is deepened and my faith is increased. But the gift in the waiting is Him. Beloved…as we wait for the Lord to act on our behalf, to help, to rescue, to vindicate or to change our situation, The Lord our God waits with us. As Hebrews 13:5 promises “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” There are truly no words of thanksgiving in any language to cover that one incomparable, indescribable blessing.
Hear the cry of each of our hearts this morning, Father. Help us to persist in prayer...humbling ourselves under Your mighty hand...surrendering and submitting to Your will. Help us to place our hope and our confidence in You alone. While there is life, Father, there is hope...may our sorrow and discouragement never hinder our worship. Oh, help us to pray and may You be gracious to us. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as we hope in You. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Blessed is the man who makes You His trust. Blessed are all those who wait for You. Be gracious to us, Father, as we seek You.
