THOSE WHO WAIT

To the men I ask, “Have you ever waited upon your wife to get ready; how many times have you become impatient while waiting on your loved one to do all those little things that she has to do before she is ready to leave the house of the store?” To the women I ask, “Have you ever become impatient with your husband when you ask him to do a little chore for you; do you think that he does a thousand other things before he gets around to doing that little chore that you asked of him?” You know we sometimes even become impatient with our Creator when our prayers aren’t answered as quickly as we think they should be granted. Let us look at some Bible examples of those who “Waited Upon God”.

Jeremiah professes a dependence upon God for the mercy of rain, which they were now in want of, (Jer 14:22) “Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things." Imagine a farmer who sees his corn leaves curling up and turning brown before the ears are filled out; all too often he blames God for a lack of rain. We all need to look at the broader picture. Is God trying to teach us something? We may not know the answer right away, but there is a reason. Let us take a lesson from Jeremiah and “wait upon God”.

The Psalmist was aware that God was the giver of all things; (Psa 104:27) "These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season." We must do our part in obtaining what we need and it is certain that God will do that which He has promised to provide. The very next verse teaches that we are to do our part in providing for our needs: (Psa 104:28) "That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good." Yes, God will give to those who “gather”. In Psalms 145:16 we learn that God “satisfies the desire of every living thing; (Psa. 145:16) "Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." God provides for plant life and animal life; as a matter of fact God provides for those who do His will and for those who do not keep His commandments.

The greatest dependency that man-kind has from God is for the mercy of God; (Psa 123:2) "Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us." It is indeed a sad thing that many will realize this too late. Every soul needs the “mercy of God” because "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Rom. 3:23). Due to the fact that all have sinned we are all in need of the “mercy” of God for pardon; (Psa 39:7-8) "And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. {8} Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish." Again we find that pardon is something that we must be waiting for. The results of God’s “mercy” and “pardon” is we have “salvation”; (Gen 49:18) "I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD." That “salvation” comes from God is something that David was aware of; (Psa 62:1-2) "To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. {2} He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved." Although we have salvation the instant that we obey the gospel of Jesus Christ we won’t know the full benefits of “salvation” until we begin to spend eternity in heaven. Salvation in heaven is truly something worth ‘waiting for”!

Salvation is something that God wants us to have, therefore He has provided guidance and teaching: (Psa 25:5) "Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." God’s Word, the Bible is available to all; it is His provision to everyone to lead us to salvation. What is left for us to do? Friends, we must study that which God has provided and live by His instructions.

A final point that I feel that I must make is; we should be “waiting” for the return of Jesus; (1 Cor 1:7) "So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:" (1 The. 1:10) "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." Jesus will come again! Are you “waiting” for His return? Are you prepared for His return?