Isaiah 40:31 ESV

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Wait!

The Bible talks a lot about waiting.

Waiting is not something I am known for. I am an action guy. I make decisive moves based on experience and training. I do not hesitate once I see the path of attack any situation needs. I am very mission minded. Once I see the mission, I quickly develop stratagem and tactics to achieve the goals of the mission. Even if I only see a 2% window of success, I go for that 2%, knowing that without significant risk, there is no reward. Reckless? Yes, sometimes. Sometimes, costly, too. But often the payoff is very worth the risk.

This approach to life has served me well, except in the arena of things that genuinely matter. Where my first instinct is to react and do something, the economy of God says I must first wait on Him. Where I am willing to risk and deal with any pain my shortsighted behavior commits me to, God says that wise men wait on him.

His promise is that if we wait on Him, He will lead us. I either believe this promise, or I don’t. If I do, I wait. If I don’t, I learn to wait, and in learning to wait, I learn that He is faithful to see me through my circumstances. It is no sin to test God on his promises, especially if I have doubts about them. It is in this arena of my willful suspension of my disbelief that He proves to me He is God. I believe in God and His promises, but I have to learn to trust in Him. That comes by testing and seeing He Is faithful to keep His word.

Jesus demonstrated this truth when the man said to Him, “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.”

When I learn that waiting is more important than action, I determine that my first reaction to any circumstance must begin with sitting in His presence and waiting on His will.

When waiting for Him becomes a habit, I discover that the seed of hope has germinated and grows into a fruitful tree of life. What appears to be hopeless, is seen differently when I wait. When I wait to see how God views my circumstances, I see the problem through His eyes. I see where He seizes my circumstances and takes me out of my way, and offers His solution to the problem. I learn to see the problem as a gift, and an opportunity to grow in Him. More of my way is removed so I can have room for doing things His way.

HOPE.

Ask any prisoner of war. When hope dies, you die. Hopelessness kills. Man made hope works only so long. In the end, we are powerless to sustain life-giving hope; The kind of hope that continually undergirds your world view. I have survived many terrible things through sheer determination and short-term hope, but the life-giving, sustaining Hope I refer to comes only from God.

So, today, I am choosing to suspend my cynicism, to let go of my need to react and find my own solutions. Today, I am determined to rest in the completed work of the Cross. I choose to accept the gifts Jesus exchanged with me when he became all my sin. I am his redeemed brother and a child of the living God.

I determine to boldly rest in Him and wait and see what amazing thing he will reveal in my circumstances. While I feel overwhelmed by what I face, I choose to wait for the Hope of His deliverance.

Psalm 39:7 ESV

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.”

Let’s be about it.

I love you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord

David G. Perkins

Sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com