November 26 – A Life of Waiting

“Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.” - Psalm 25:5 (NASB)

 Are we not all in need of guidance through life? With many crucial decisions to make the wise one looks to God for help in making the best choices. Much like traveling in a region or city that we are not familiar with, we need directions and we get that from many sources. We all have many things to learn from the Lord. Even though we may have been following the Lord for many years and even though we may have been learning from Him many things, He still has very much to teach us. And how will God have an opportunity to teach us what we need to learn? We have that opportunity by recognizing and waiting on God. By constantly being ready and expecting God to teach us His ways and His paths. It is through an attitude of expectation that we wait with hope for God to teach us what He wants us to know. “Lead me in Your truth and teach me” is what David wrote. We too can be at all times looking expectantly to God for Him to show us and teach us and lead us.

 

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November 19 – Hear and See The Only One

“For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.” - Isaiah 64:4 (NASB)

 

Too often in order to not ‘offend’ those who believe in gods that don’t exist, gods of their own creation, even faith believer in Jesus Christ will compare non-existent gods to our God. Isaiah's words reveal to us that no one at all has ever seen a God besides the one true God. Nobody ever has perceived by the hearing of their ears or the seeing of their eyes any god besides God Almighty the Creator of the Earth and all that is upon it. These words were true in Isaiah's time nearly 2600 years ago. He declares that since the beginning there has been only one God who would respond to the needs of the human race. And during all these years since Isaiah wrote these words, there has been no other God – although many have tried to create for themselves an acceptable god. What a joy to know that we do have a God who acts on our behalf when we turn to Him. We can trust in the promise that He acts on our behalf. This is the one and only God and He is our God, our heavenly Father who is near us every day.

 

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November 10 – Resting In Silence

 “My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.” – Psalm 62:5-6 (NASB)

There are times in our lives that our best option is to back away from our worries and take a respite, like a breather. The idea of waiting in silence as we read in this verse is very close to the idea of resting.  God created us humans and gave us a physical body that needs rest for recuperation from the work we do.  God also gave us a soul which also requires rest and we get that rest by waiting for God in silence.  When we wait we can hear and learn to believe in God's promises.  That's what gives us hope and that hope comes from God.  Our word 'hope' means a way to wish. We want but don't know if we will get it and perhaps will be disappointed.  But God created us to have hope that comes from Him and never disappoints us.  Our hope grows and gets stronger as we wait in silence.  As we wait in silence, we think about and meditate on what God has promised.  He promises hope from his unchangeable character and lovingkindness.  Today let’s do it; let’s wait only for God and for Him alone.

 

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March 1 – Patient Resting

“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.” – Psalm 37:7 (NASB)

Don’t we all remember when we went to school for the first time? For most is was Kindergarten. Some time during the day all in the class took a break from activities and rested. During the rest period we were told to “be still” which was difficult for some of us. Indeed, very difficult for most 5 years old children. The command we have in today’s verse is to “rest in the LORD” which is just as correctly rendered “be still before the LORD.”  Just as a 5 year old is not really resting if he or she is wiggling about, we are not truly resting if our concern and activity is fretting about those who seems to be “getting away” with their malevolent behavior. Many cheat, lie, steal, and run confidence games on good people and seem to escape legal consequences. The first verse in this psalm said it first. “Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.” Our promise is that we do not need to fret. We actually do not gain anything if we become so obsessed over the evil in this world – and we miss the rest we need. 

 

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November 26 – The Wait in Life

“Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” Psalm 25:5 (ESV)

How much do any of us enjoy “the wait?” Who has time to wait in our high-speed world to be put on hold? But waiting is very often a good thing, even the best thing for us to do. Especially in the Psalms of David we find suggestions to “wait” on the Lord. We all have many things to learn from the Lord. And how else will God have an opportunity to teach us what we need to learn if we don’t wait for Him to teach us? We have opportunities to wait for God to act. God’s time is perfect and very different than ours. We don’t care for the army way where it’s common to “hurry up and wait” By waiting we can constantly be ready with hope that God will teach us His ways and His paths. It is through expectation that we wait with hope for God to teach us His perfect way for us. “Lead me in Your truth and teach me” is what David wrote. We too can be at all times looking eagerly to God for Him to show us and teach us and lead us.

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July 30 – Waiting Patiently With Hope

“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” – Romans 8:24-25 (ESV)

We continue talking about hope, and by that we mean hope that has faith as its foundation. It is not a ‘wistful’ hope but a hope out of conviction that God’s promises are ours to keep and trust. “Seeing is believing” but that isn’t believing by faith and it isn’t “seeing is hoping” either. Even our faith is a gift from God. Because of our faith, we have hope that what we do not see now is yet truly ours.  It is not really hope at all if we say we hope in what we can see and confirm. We do not really have hope for what we see when assurance and proof is right in front of them. We hope for heaven and that's a hope which will not disappoint; we know it is ours although we do not see it now. We have our hope in God’s promises, in His word. God has said, “Take My word on it.” So, we can and do that with faith and hope from God. It is because of that hope and our conviction in the promises that we are able to patiently wait for it to be. 

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July 17 – No Fainting, Eager Waiting

“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
    In the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
    Be strong and let your heart take courage;
    Yes, wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:13-14 (NASB)

Does the chosen verse today bring to our minds the times when we have struggled to hold firm our faith and trust in God’s promises? David declares that despair was threatening him because of the threats his enemies were throwing at him. But his faith helped him waiting on God with eager and patient anticipation. Charles .H. Spurgeon has this commentary on our passage. “Faintness of heart is a common infirmity; even he who slew Goliath was subject to its attacks. Faith puts its bottle of cordial to the lip of the soul, and so prevents fainting. Hope is heaven’s balm for present sorrow. In this land of the dying, it is our blessedness to be looking and longing for our fair portion in the land of the living, whence the goodness of God has banished the wickedness of man, and where holy spirits charm with their society those persecuted saints who were vilified and despised among men. We must believe to see, not see to believe; we must wait the appointed time, and stay our soul’s hunger with foretastes of the Lord’s eternal goodness which shall soon be our feast and our song.”*

 *C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 27-57, (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers), 2:5.

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April 8 – Wait and Seek, Seek and Wait

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26 (NASB)

The command to seek the Lord and the command to wait on the Lord have the same general meaning, and the same general promises are given to each in scripture. Waiting and seeking for our Lord God are terms that frequently describe earnest and effectual prayer.  Waiting and seeking are also ways we are to worship our God.  In our verse today waiting and seeking are used in a combination that suggests a certain difference between them as well as a devotion as a result of coupling these actions.  There is an eagerness and earnestness in our daily walk and communion with God expressed here.  We are enjoined to actively seek God while at the same time passively wait for His answer and action. This is the promise we are given today – The Lord is good to us who wait and seek.  It is good that we make our seeking and waiting silently not just an act of communion but that it becomes habit of our lives as we work out our salvation to His glory. (Philippians 2:12-13)

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January 17 – Flying, Running, Walking, Falling

“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 40:31 (NLT)
“Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”  Psalm 37:24 (NLT)

Does this sound too good to be true? We know, of course that the verses chosen for today are speaking of spiritual strength and relief from spiritual weariness, but God also will provide our physical bodies with strength when we need it and ask for it. We have a promise of God’s watchful care over us in both of our verses today.  The prophet Isaiah and the psalmist David tell us what result we can expect if we trust in the Lord. Waiting for God to lead us and knowing that He holds our hand, so to speak.  Even when we stumble and fall, He protects us from destruction.  Our God does not grow tired or weary; He gives strength to us when we are weary; His steady hand keeps us from deadly falls. Our great almighty God has a way of passing on to His trusting children relief from weariness and protection from destruction. Are you tempted to give into the weariness of living for the Lord and of facing trials? Hope in the Lord! He WILL renew your strength and He WILL keep you on your feet.

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December 11 – Waiting While He Works

“From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.”  -  Isaiah 64:4  (ESV)

Is it not our normal understanding that we are the ones working for God?  How often, then, do we take the time to think about and meditate on this truth from God's word in Isaiah – God loves us and demonstrates who He is and what He is like by the work He does for us.  But God does not need a job and is not our employee. That is NOT how He works for us. For as we have in our passage today, no one has ever heard or seen a God like our God.  His promise of working for us means He is doing what we cannot do.  We are weak and He gives us strength.  We find ourselves defenseless and He is our shield and protector.  We are foolish and need His wisdom.  We are lost and in need of rescue by God.  It is in our utter helplessness that God works to provide us while we wait for Him. He freely gives understanding to us because our understanding is faulty.  He does the work for us that we cannot do.  God the Giver, gets the glory, praise and honor with thanksgiving from us.  

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December 5 – To Hope is To Wait

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.”  - Psalm 42:5  (NASB)

There is a promise here that is ours if we are willing to wait, to hope in God.  Depression is so very common among all people and it is nothing new.  The author of this psalm writes as if for all who will sing the song.  Being in despair is to be sunk down or depressed.  How do we react when we find our soul sunk down?  There is a mental illness some of us suffer with which is called depression but there is also these momentary times of depression due to profound sadness or disruption of our lives.  Death, loss of job or home, divorce, failure to succeed and many other circumstances which cause us to be in despair in a common way.  We learn this promise here that if we respond to such times by hoping in the only one who is unchangeable, our God; if we are willing to wait for his solution to work out, we are promised a return to praising Him again. He will come and His presence will bring help and the wisdom and guidance we need. God never forsakes His own. 

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May 29 – Rest, Don't Fret

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!  Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”  Psalm 37:7-8  (ESV)

It is from Psalm 37 that we have chosen our verses for today.  This is a Psalm that is rich in promises that are ours as a result of our following the behavior God has set forth for us.  Today's verse says, “Be still,” or “Rest.” We are to trust God to work his promises in His time and not to spend time fretting over the circumstances in which we find ourselves. In particular, don't compare ourselves to others.  Don't measure our circumstances with the circumstances of others who seem to be doing well in the way they are doing business. Don't become anxious that some non-believer is making it rich through his unethical actions and work.  Don't get embroiled setting them straight even if what they are doing is not right.  Why?  Because we have another but different kind of outcome promised to us if we choose to not get stirred up and angry.   Getting upset and involved in trying to sort out another person is likely to get us entangled in their evil.  No, fretting is NOT our way.  Our way is to be still and wait for God to act on our behalf and to follow the path He sets before us.  

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May 28 – Worth Waiting For

“He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him;  let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isaiah 25:8-9 (ESV)

We have this promise that one day, God will put an end to death, tears, and shame.  It is God who has made this promise.  Although the application of this prediction was for the people of Israel who believed and trusted in their Lord, we too have this promise applied to us when we do trust in Him (Revelation 21:4).  By faith believe we are assured that He is always faithful to His promises.  As we realize that and as He does come to help us, we more clearly recognize Him as our God. We trust in our Lord for the salvation from sin that He offers. When He saves us we learn to acknowledge Him to be the One He claims to be. Does not this give us true joy? Choose today to recognize that “He is the Lord” and rejoice in His salvation.

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May 25 – Wait For It

“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  (NIV)

These words were written by Isaiah nearly 2700 years ago at a time that the people of Israel were divided into two kingdoms.  Even at that time, the people of Israel and Judah had influences around them of other so-called gods.   Isaiah declares that even in the  'ancient times' of his day, there was no other God beside the God of Israel.  There never has been and never will be.  He is assuring the people that the true and only God was He who had revealed Himself to them and was working on their behalf.  It required belief then, just as it requires belief now, to know, hear, and see God working in our lives.  When we believe in the one True God we will trust Him and we will wait for Him to act on our behalf.  The promise is the God will respond to our faith.  As we look to Him for help He does respond.  God has promised to provide all our needs today according to the riches in Christ Jesus.  Believe, exercise faith and then...wait for it.  

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April 16 – Waiting With a Heart of Courage

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!  Wait for the Lord;  be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”  Psalm 27:13-14  (ESV)

We can have the same confidence and believe the same way that David did when he wrote this song.  We are serving the same Lord and He is as good to us as He was to David.  He watched over His people in those days and He watches over us who are living today.  Therefore we can have this same confidence in His care for each of us today.  We may not see immediately or quickly the answer to our prayers for help and we may need to look forward for the Lord to act in His perfect time.  These are the times when we may need to wait for the Lord to demonstrate His goodness and His love. Having confidence and believing in His will is a part of living by faith and living that way is what God is looking for in our lives.  God will never fail us.  We can always expect Him to demonstrate His love and concern for us.  

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March 16 – Waiting With Confidence

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”   Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV)

Not very often do we find ourselves eager to wait for anything.  Where ever we go and whatever we do, we want to be in the fast moving line, we want to get it done and be finished with it.  Our verse today tells us of a different way – it tells us that waiting can be good if we are waiting on God's promises to be fulfilled.  These words are an expression of faith in our Lord.  The psalmist expressed his confidence in the goodness of the Lord and we can do the same. God has been good to us as we have been living for Him and we can be sure that, as we trust Him, He will show us His goodness from day to day.  Then we read in the second verse that because of this confidence we can wait for the Lord to act because He has promised us that He will show us His love and His goodness. Waiting for God to act is a part of our faith in Him and His Words of Promise.  It is by waiting we learn to truly trust Him.  We also can be confident of this: God will show us His goodness as we take heart and strength from Him in our waiting in faith believing His word. 

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March 7 – Know. Teach. Lead. Wait.

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”  Psalm 25:4-5  (ESV)

One of the wonderful promises we have from our God is the promise that He will lead us on the path of life that He has designed for us.  Another verse in the Book of Proverbs that we looked at recently tells us to not trust our own understanding only but to acknowledge God in all our ways.  He promises to make our path straight and clear.  Our verse today is a prayer asking God to fulfill his promises by making known what His ways are and teaching us the right path – the straight path He has made for us.  Yes, our loving Lord is ready to lead us along that path in His truth.  He is eager to teach us how we should then live for our best benefit and for His own honor and glory.  And why should this matter to us?  Why should this path be the one we seek?  Because our salvation comes from the path-maker.  The psalmist ask the God of his salvation to make known, to teach the way, to lead in God's truth, and to teach that truth.  After asking for this, we wait.  We wait all day, and every day.

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February 18 – Hear, Perceive, and See

“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 (NIV)

These words by the prophet Isaiah are written as if he was speaking to God and acknowledging Him.  What is revealed here for us are promises we can carry with us each day.  The first promise is that God is the only true God.  From the earliest times there has not been any perceivable God by hearing or seeing besides our God Almighty.  Many create ideas of gods and they worship them but they do not exist. Some  claim their gods are the same one as our God, but the promise here is none have ever seen, heard, or perceived any other God besides ours.  We keep saying it because it is true.  The other promise we find is that our God actually is active in His relationship with us who believe.  As we wait for His guidance, wisdom and direction, God acts. We have heard, we have perceived and we have seen what God does for us out of His love for us.  Those who do not see, perceive or hear, can if they chose to believe and receive by faith what God offers to all, forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. 

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January 30 – When Silence is Good

“My soul, wait in silence for God only,  For my hope is from Him.”  Psalm 62:5 (NASB)

What does it mean to 'wait in silence' for God only?  Waiting in silence is a means of of resting.  Much of the world practices taking a break during the day when it is the hottest.  We call it 'siesta' and during this break, we are quietly resting, napping or perhaps simply thinking about things.  However it is done, it rejuvenates the body and the mind for work the rest of the day. We live in a loud and busy world with many distractions which pull us this way and that way and we've learned foolishly to think that we must respond and attend to them all.  We get involved and we get stirred up.  Just reflect on how many participate in useless activities in which the world captures our attention and distracts us from our focus on the source of our hope.  God calls us to rest, to wait in silence for Him and only Him, because that is the only way we will find hope from that does not let us down.  That is the best way to hear God clearly.  Don't make Him shout at you above the din of the world to get your attention. Wait in silence and He will deliver a lasting hope, it's a promise. 

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November 10 – Rest Time

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”  Psalm 62:5 (ESV)

The idea of waiting in silence as we read in this verse is very close to the idea of resting.  God created us humans and gave us a physical body that needs rest for recuperation from the work we do.  God also gave us a soul which also requires rest and we get that rest by waiting for God in silence.  While we wait we hear and learn to believe in God's promises.  That's what gives us hope and that hope comes from God.  We commonly use the word 'hope' in a different way and think of it as a wish we want but don't know if we will get it.  But God created us to have hope that comes from Him and never disappoints us.  Our hope grows and gets stronger as we wait in silence.  As we wait in silence, we think about and meditate on what God has said and promised.  He promises us hope that comes from his unchangeable character and lovingkindness.  Today we can do it; wait only for God and for Him alone. 

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