Sweet Sisters,
Have you ever wondered what it means “to wait on the Lord”? How do I “wait on the Lord”? What do I do while I am “waiting”?
Webster’s dictionary, 1828, has two interesting definitions.
- To stay or rest in expectation; to stop or remain stationary until the arrival of some person or event.
- To be ready to serve or obey.
The Hebrew word for “wait” is Qavah. It means to wait actively with anticipation, hopefully watching for God to act.
When I “wait on the Lord” I choose to calm down (rest) in the expectation that God is going to provide what I have asked of Him. I am prepared to do whatever He may ask of me in the process.
For a while now, whenever I go to bed, I feel like I can’t breathe. I take allergy medication or use an inhaler but it doesn’t make the feeling go away. When I finally go to sleep, I wake up often. I have one of those devices that measures your oxygen level. It generally reads between 90 – 96 percent, so I am getting oxygen. I have prayed and prayed that God would take this feeling away.
Last night as we were getting ready for bed, I shared my dilemma with Paul. He says, “Debbie, I have an extra Cpap machine and brand new tubes and face mask to go with it. How about I set it up for you and we see what happens?”
This is not the answer I was expecting. Paul has used a Cpap machine for years. They have really helped him, but I was glad I didn’t need to be tethered to all that “stuff”. I thought a moment and then I said, “Alright. Let’s do it.”
Paul got everything set up. He even found an extra large “nose thing” so I didn’t feel so claustrophobic. Guess what happened? All my prayers were answered. Not once during the night did I feel like I couldn’t breathe. I slept better than I have in a long time.
There are lots of Bible verses that talk about hoping in the Lord or waiting on the Lord. Let’s look at some of them.
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Notice that the psalmist tells us to be strong and take heart while we wait for the Lord.
Psalm 33:20
We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
We learn in this verse to “wait in hope”.
Psalm 37:7
Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
I love that the psalmist tells us here to “be still” or in Debbie’s words, “calm down”.
Psalm 40:1
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 62:5. (ERV)
I must calm down and turn to God;
he is my only hope.
I love how Easy to Read Version translates this verse.
Psalm 130:5
I am waiting for the Lord to help me.
My soul waits for him.
I trust what he says.
The psalmist tells us to wait with our whole being. He also tells us to put our hope in God’s word. We can only do that if we know God’s word.
Micah 7:7
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.
Micah says he will watch in hope. Some versions say “with expectation”.
I’ve saved the scripture we are most familiar with for last: Isaiah 40:30-31.
30
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31
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.
Remember I said that “waiting on the Lord” requires action on our part? Isaiah tells us that God will renew the strength of those who hope or wait on Him. Isaiah then goes on to say that they will soar, run and walk. I take that to mean that God will absolutely empower us when we “wait” on Him. He does expect us to be involved in the process.
Isaiah says that when you “soar” it will be like an eagle. When you “run” you will not grow weary. When you “walk” you won’t faint.
Sweet Sisters, “Waiting on the Lord” is not sitting back and expecting God to do it for us. I think it is telling God that I am willing to do whatever it takes, but I can’t do it without you.
Debbie