Have the Strength to Wait on the Lord

Waiting means listening and adopting His perspective on who we are, while learning more about who He is. The Bible is alive and active, applicable to our daily lives. He meets us there, speaks through His rich notes of Truth and guides us faithfully as we wait on Him. Courtney Doctor wrote, “I recently heard a pastor say, ‘The waiting may be hard, but it never leads to disappointment.’ The truth of the statement rests entirely on what we think we are waiting for. In other words, the question isn’t simply what am I waiting for, but what am I hoping in? I’m learning that waiting and hope are intimately tied together.”

Nehemiah wrote, “The joy of the LORD is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

The prophet Isaiah wrote, “But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:30).

Certainly, there is great courage, strength, bravery, and hope in waiting on the LORD. Instead of rushing towards our own solutions, obediently waiting on the LORD –  developing the discipline of patience to wait for Him – results in the powerful display of His constant movement in our lives and on our behalf.

It takes courage and bravery to wait. Confidence in the Lord is key to unlocking the worship in the waiting. The bravery to step out in faith by stepping back. The courage to be quiet instead of defending ourselves, explaining or excusing. In the quiet, and in the stillness, God meets our bravery to buck the ways of the world, and miraculously fills our hearts to the brim as we allow Him to lead us.

There are many things in this world we fill our hearts, minds, physical bodies, and souls with. Our homes have lots of things in them, and there’s always something in our Amazon carts or filling up our shopping wish lists. Just as soon as the fridge and the pantry are full of food, it’s time to restock again. The world is fleeting. There will never be enough in it to satisfy our souls. We will always run out, lest we wait on the Lord.

The strength to wait cannot be developed or discovered in this world. In the new year, we often rush towards a million seemingly simple solutions to advance ourselves in our resolutions. But the real courage is in waiting on the only Source which can develop the roots of our strength. Nothing matters if Christ isn’t the center of it – the center of us.

More from this author
Jesus Understands the Sting of Rejection
Let Jesus Be Your Guide When You Are Lost in the Woods
The Hard Steps to Take When Someone Hurts Us

Photo credit: Unsplash/Aaron Burden

Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ at megbucher.com. She is the author of “Friends with Everyone, Friendship within the Love of Christ,” “Surface, Unlocking the Gift of Sensitivity,” “Glory Up, The Everyday Pursuit of Praise,” “Home, Finding Our Identity in Christ,” and "Sent, Faith in Motion." Meg earned a Marketing/PR degree from Ashland University but stepped out of the business world to stay home and raise her two daughters …which led her to pursue her writing passion. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the editorial team at Salem Web Network. Meg loves being involved in her community and local church, leads Bible study, and serves as a youth leader for teen girls.