What Does It Mean To 'Wait' Upon The Lord?
What does it mean, to 'wait upon the Lord'?
Have you ever wondered 'Where is God when I need Him?' Israel was wondering the same thing. 'My way is hidden from the Lord and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God." Isaiah 40:17
We can get so caught up with 'doing' life that we neglect 'being' a child of God. This was the case with Israel. They had neglected their relationship with God and all of a sudden when the armies of Babylon came against them; then they remembered their God.
Isaiah 40:27-31 is a warning against living life in our own strength. It contrasts the wisdom and power of the everlasting God, with the weakness of our natural strength. '
Isaiah 40:27-31 (NIV)
Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel,
"My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God"?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
No matter how strong we think we are, no matter how independent we'd like to be, sooner or later we're going to run out of strength- our natural resources will run dry.
The cure is to 'wait upon the Lord'- 'those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength'. The expression' wait upon the Lord' alludes to a rope; a cord that is wound together with other cords to give it strength.
As children, our father would often take us for bushwalks in the Blue Mountains behind Sydney. On occasions, we would run ahead, until we came to an obstacle such as a creek that was too difficult to cross. We would have to wait for our father so that he could help us across. As we got older, we became more independent. We'd try and repair our bikes, or build tree houses on our own. As often as not, we'd mess things up. Dad would say- "You should have waited for me, I would have helped, I would have shown you how."
Every day we have the choice to 'wait upon the Lord'. Psalm 119:117 says, "I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Thy words." God waits for us to put our hope in Him, to spend time in His Word, in prayer and worship, so that our strength can be renewed for each day. The promise of renewed strength, of running without being exhausted of walking and not growing faint, is for those who wait upon the Lord.
