“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31
Lamentations 3:25 says, “The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”
We don’t like getting stuck in traffic jams or waiting in line at the grocery store or being put on hold on the telephone. We live in a fast-paced society and run from fast food to computers to high speed Internet to Smart phones. In a nutshell, we don’t like to wait. We like the world to revolve around us – our needs, our wants, our desires, our goals, our dreams – and when we’re forced to wait, we’re put into a holding pattern.
But those that choose to wait upon the Lord allow themselves to slow down; to let their needs, their wants, their desires, their goals, and their dreams revolve around Jesus and His will for their lives. God graciously and greatly rewards those who wait on Him.
Waiting requires patience, and patience is a virtue that too few of God’s children desire to develop. We like the idea of being patient, but we don’t want to endure any challenges to develop patience.
James 1:3 says, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
What kinds of trials develop patience? All kinds. Financial challenges. Wayward kids. Marital problems. Situations beyond our control such as the weather, being adversely affected by the actions of another, losing a job due to layoffs or downsizing. The list is endless.
As a young mother, I desperately needed patience with my children. And I knew it, so I prayed earnestly for it, well aware that I might be enduring extra trials as a result of that prayer. My daughter, Michelle, has Williams syndrome, and the older she got, the more difficult it was to handle her. I personally believe that I would have endured those years of trials and troubles whether or not I prayed for patience. Because God knew that I desperately needed it, He sent her on ahead to work me over.
You see, God always does what’s best for His child. And without patience, we will never be like Him. Since His goal is to conform every one of His children into His image, he allows the trials we need to teach us patience and humility, whether or not we pray for them. The problem is that so often, God’s children resists the trials He selects to make them strong. Rather than allowing God to guide and develop them, they grow angry and bitter because of the challenges designed to strengthen their faith and mold them into His image. Yet, without trials, they won’t develop patience, and without patience, they won’t know how to wait on God. And if they don’t wait upon Him, anything they attempt to do for Him, they do in their own feeble strength because God only strengthens those who wait upon Him.