WAITING ON GOD

Yesterday as we were riding in the van with my brother and his wife he was singing a little chorus with much meaning. TEACH ME LORD TO WAIT. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. Teach me Lord, teach me Lord to wait."

My thoughts, while he was singing, were: The hardest thing in my Christian life has been to learn how to wait. In a little while he look at my husband and said, "You know that is one of the hardest things to do?" Wait! How many times in a day do we hear that one word?

I knew the scripture by heart but I had to go back this morning and read it from the Bible. I went back a few verses and read in Isaiah 40:28: "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding." vs.29 "He giveth power to the faint;and to them that have no might he increaseth strength."

It seems we are forever waiting on someone or something. My brother remembered when we were kids. Mother and Dad would go on Friday evening to buy groceries for the week. We children stayed at home except for the baby. Sometimes it got dark before they got home. But we were brave since we had an older brother with us. We knew that when they got home with the groceries that somewhere in a bag -they would have us candy. So really- waiting wasn't too bad because we there was something in it for us.

But what about the times when we have to wait and don't really understand why? The times that we ask the Lord to work on behalf of a cetain situation that is really important to us? Are we willing to wait patiently for God's timing? Patiently? Wherever did that word come from? That means we have to have patience and doesn't the Word say Tribulation worketh patience?

I remember in High School that I thought the Senior year would never come. But as I plodded along with my studies the day finally arrived. I was a High School Graduate!

I also remember when my husband ask me to marry him. That was in March. We set the date for November. We were 300 miles away from each other. So we patiently waited for a letter in the mail each day. I wore a path going to the mailbox to hear just a few words from my future groom. It finally got down to with each letter we could count off the weeks, then the days

and then the news that he would be there the next day. The day finally came that we had waited for. The bride and groom were united in marriage. Was it worth the wait? Oh Yes!I often think that we as the Bride of Christ are waiting for our Groom, the Lord Jesus to come. Will it be worth the wait? A thousand times yes!

In the 1st chapter of Acts Jesus commanded His disciples not to depart out of Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father. After giving them instructions He was taken up in a cloud. Here were these men that had walked and talked every day with Jesus. Now their Leader was gone! They really did not know what was going to happen. Just wait! In waiting pray! Why did they have to wait so long? Because that was their command. But as they prayed I am prone to think that maybe they had some issues with each other that had to be cleared up. Restitution! That's a word we don't hear much anymore.

Maybe fellowship with each other had to be restored, maybe hard feelings -- whatever they did to get in one accord was well worth the price they paid to get there. Can you imagine 120 in the upper room all in one accord? They were there because Jesus gave them instructions to tarry and wait. He promised them power after the Holy Spirit comes. They were as human as we are!

"Lord, will thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? and he said unto them , It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power." They were expecting Jesus to come back and set up his kingdom. But they were to soon learn the meaning of waiting on the Lord.

I find in my own Christian life that it is easier to wait now than it was in the past. Do I like it? No! But I have learned over the years that the Lord has our interest at heart. I have learn to depend on Him to work everything in my life out as He sees best. Is it easy? No! I have to ask the Lord to help me with each new trial. I remember wearing myself out trying to work out my own problems. Can I tell you - I have always made a mess of things when I do?

"Hast thou not heard that the Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? He giveth power to the faint, and to them that hath no might He increaseth strength." He will work out every thing in our life if we will learn to wait on Him.

Teach me Lord, Teach me Lord, to wait!