In many of the Old Testament passages, we find commands to wait on the Lord” like this one: “Wait on the LORD: Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14, KJV). Most modern translations use “wait for the Lord.” To English readers, the idea of waiting on the Lord might seem like a passive exercise, but when we take a closer at this commandment it’s nothing of the sort.
Patient, confident trust in the Lord is the central idea of the exhortation to wait on the Lord. The entire Psalm 27 is a prayer to God for help. David beautifully illustrates the meaning of waiting on the Lord. Throughout the psalm’s eloquent lines, He expresses authentic faith and courageous trust in God, based on his confident and faithful expectation that the Lord will rescue and save him in his time of trouble.
My beloved brothers and sisters, I don’t know how long you have been faithfully and patiently waiting on God to do a ‘thing’ in your life, but I can confidently assure you that if it’s still not better, God is not done! Jesus said this in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Let me insert this one caveat; the door that opens may not be the door you want, but it will be the door you need!
So, what am I really saying in the above statement? We can wait on the Lord by seeking Him. David conveyed his trust in the Lord by longing to be with Him, to commune in God’s presence and worship in His temple: “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” (Psalm 27:4)
The other thing we can do while confidently, faithfully and patiently waiting on Lord is to stay prayerful (I Thessalonians 5:17). We can wait on the Lord through prayer, as David did in eager expectation of deliverance (Psalm 27:7–14). David asked God for wisdom, direction (verse 11), and protection (verse 12), wholly believing he would “see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” (verse 13). Those who wait on the Lord can fully expect Him to fulfill their hope: “Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame” (Psalm 25:3, ESV).
At the end of the day, there are several more scriptural base actions steps you can put into practice while waiting on God to move in your situation or circumstance. That being said, remember that waiting on the Lord always brings God’s blessings: “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him” (Isaiah 64:4; see also 1 Corinthians 1:7).
If this message speaks to you, I get it because we’ve all been there. However, although at times we might feel as though the Lord does not see or hear us—that He’s not answering our prayers. During these moments, we can put our complete confidence, faith, and trust in the living God. We can wait on the Lord with eager expectation and anticipation, knowing that He is with us and in control of our lives. He will do what He has promised. He will rescue and save us. He will comfort deliver, and restore us because He is always working for our good, even when we don’t feel Him. God and God alone causing all things to work together for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).
4GIVEN 