Wait on the Lord!

 

We live in a very need-it-now society. We don't like to wait in line. We don't like to wait in traffic. We don't like to wait for our family to be ready. We simply do not like to wait! To make matters worse, patience is not promoted in our culture.  We have express lines in groceries, and fast-food lines in restaurants, and we can even call ahead to ensure we can be seated as soon as we arrive at the restaurant.  Waiting is just foreign to our nature.

However, the scripture tells us time and again to wait on the Lord.  Psalm 27: 14 says “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  Patience is even one of the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5, so obviously, patience is a virtue that we should be striving to attain.  Although I must admit that patience is not one of my virtues.

Recently I read a book titled Shadow of the Almighty, a story of the missionary, Jim Elliot, as told by his wife from his diary, his letters, and his conversations with friends and family.  Jim Elliot and four other missionaries were murdered in 1956 while trying to take the gospel to an unreached people group. When most people think of Jim Elliot, they think of two things: the sacrifice that he made on that day and his famous quote “he is no fool who gives that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose”.  This account of his life before that fateful day is a picture of a faith that far exceeds my own and a living example of Psalm 27: 14.

When Jim graduated from college, he was fully prepared to go to the mission field right then but in his prayer time, he was confident that God was not ready for him to make that move yet and so he waited.  As he and Elizabeth became acquainted, they very quickly realized that they were in love, but they were also very confident that God said to wait. So, they did!

They both went to the mission field but in different places. They continued their missionary work and they continued to wait on the Lord.  Finally, when Jim was confident that God was saying “now”, he invited Elizabeth to meet him for a weekend where he proposed.  While she said “yes”, they both agreed that God had approved the engagement, but marriage would still have to wait.  They did wait until God had prepared a work that would require the two of them, and only then, did they marry and begin their work together.

Waiting patiently for God was an ever-present theme throughout the book.  It was also one of the strongest indicators of their faith.  They were confident that God was leading them.  They were confident that God was going to respond in His timing, and so they had enough faith and trust in His purpose and in His plan to wait.

I can't say the same thing for myself.  I retired a little over nine months ago, and I have tried to ensure that this last chapter of my life is dedicated to Him.  To that end, I have constantly prayed for what the next step should be.  Where does He want me to serve?  What does He want me to do?  How can I continue to use my talents and abilities for His Kingdom's work? 

So far, I don’t have a clear answer to those questions but I’m not one to sit idly by.  Just as Jim and Elizabeth Elliott continued with the opportunities that came along while they waited, I’ve tried to keep busy with a better prayer life, more Bible study, continuing to teach my Sunday women’s group as well as starting another women’s Bible study in my home.  This blog is just another step in that journey.  I just pray that I will have that same kind of faith and that I will be willing to wait on the Lord and not run ahead of Him.  Waiting on the porch!

Isaiah 30:18