September 13, 2022
A compilation
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“In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”—Psalm 5:31
When you ask God for help, you can wait with expectation.
You pray to a God who honors his promises. He is a good Father who always gives you what you need. When you wait expectantly, you demonstrate faith by believing God will do what he has promised.
Expectation isn’t entitlement. Entitlement says, “I will get what I need from God because I deserve it, I’ve earned it. I’ve read my Bible five times this week and have been to church twice, so God has to give me what I need.” Expectation says, “God will give me what I need because of who he is.”
Waiting expectantly isn’t easy, especially when you feel powerless. When you are trusting God to do the impossible—in your marriage, career, or relationships—and his timing feels too slow, it’s hard to keep trusting him.
Don’t be discouraged, and don’t give up! Even though you don’t know why God hasn’t answered your prayers, you can trust him to keep his promise. God is always in control; he is never surprised, and no one is more powerful than him. Your biggest problems are small to him.
While you are waiting, God is working. He is building your faith, teaching you his truth, drawing you closer to himself, and making you more like Christ. God knows what you need better than you do.
Follow David’s example: Keep making your requests to God and waiting expectantly for him to answer.—Rick Warren2
Trust and wait
“Wait on the LORD: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the LORD.”3 … 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. It beautifully illustrates the meaning of waiting on the Lord. Throughout the psalm’s eloquent lines, David expresses authentic faith and courageous trust in God, based on his confident expectation that the Lord will rescue and save him in his time of trouble.
First, we see that we can wait on the Lord by trusting in Him. David expressed great confidence in the Lord, who was his light, salvation, and stronghold.4…
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.”5…
We can wait on the Lord through prayer, as David did in eager expectation of deliverance.6 David asked God for wisdom, direction, and protection, wholly believing he would “see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”7 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.”8
Waiting on the Lord involves the confident expectation of a positive result in which we place a great hope. This expectation is based on knowledge of and trust in God. … We must be confident of who God is and what He is capable of doing. Those who wait on the Lord do not lose heart in their prayers: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”9 Waiting on the Lord renews our strength.10
Waiting on the Lord by trusting, seeking, and praying establishes our faith and brings serenity and stability: “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.”11 As this passage affirms, waiting on the Lord is also a testimony to others who will see our faith and, as a result, put their trust in God.
Waiting on the Lord 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.”12
Sometimes 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 faith and trust in the living God. We can wait on the Lord in eager 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 is always working for our good, even when we don’t feel Him.13 Through patient, courageous, active trusting, seeking, and prayer, we can learn to wait on the Lord.—GotQuestions.org14
Worth waiting for
Over the years I have seen some dear friends of mine be marvelously blessed by the Lord. Some of these same loved ones and co-workers have gone through what seemed to be a series of incredibly trying times. They faced a lot of difficulty, disappointment, and unfulfilled desires and dreams.
I attended a wedding celebration for one of these friends. She had gotten married in another country, and so she and her husband were celebrating their marriage with those of us who weren’t able to attend the actual ceremony. I felt so much joy seeing them together, along with their beautiful baby daughter. She had desperately wanted a family for many years, but it just wasn’t happening, and of course that was a huge test for her—but she continued to hold on to the Lord and trust.
And now, after years of waiting, the Lord had brought the right man into her life—and brought her into his. As hard as I know it was for her to wait all those years, it was worth it. She now has a wonderful husband and a beautiful baby.
Seeing her so happy, as well as thinking about others who have come through long spells of waiting or ongoing tests, increases my faith to trust God when times are bad, or when I’m going through a difficult period. Each of these had passed through their own particular “valley of the shadow of death”15 which was full of difficulties, discouragement, and circumstances that couldn’t easily be changed. In some cases, there was no way out but to wait, and to trust that, in time, things would change for the better.
Each one persevered through their difficulties. They held on to the Lord in faith and prayer, they didn’t give up, and they crossed the valley and came out on the other side. Those difficulties eventually passed. Their particular valleys took a long time to travel through—years, in some cases. Some came out of their battles wounded, and they needed time to heal. But each one held on, didn’t give up, and is better and happier for it.
I was reminded of a low time in my life, when I was faced with personal difficulties, which were the most trying I had faced until that point. There was nothing I could do to remedy the situation except to pray and trust God for the outcome—that He would either change the situation or give me the grace to make it through. Thankfully, He did both.
Most trials and tribulations don’t pass immediately; sometimes they last a very long time. In the midst of it you may feel as if you’re being ripped apart, and sometimes all you can do is cry out to Jesus and hold on desperately to the promises in His Word. There is new life after passing through that valley of seeming death. And it’s worth holding on for, worth waiting for, worth fighting for.—Peter Amsterdam
Struggling to wait
When we understand God is good, we can trust He has good in store for us. When we know Him as the sovereign Lord over our prayers, plans and hopes, we can believe He wants our best. When we wait for God to act on our behalf, we receive the fullness of His blessings.
Maybe you are struggling to wait for God’s best. Everything in your heart, mind or flesh may be crying out for a shortcut—one that will relieve the pressures of life right now.
When you’re tempted to run ahead of God’s best, He’s never further away than an arrow prayer. Help me. Save me. Comfort me. God loves to hear your short, sweet prayers of trust. As you lean on God instead of your own desires, He’ll act on your behalf.
Though you can’t hear, perceive or see God’s master plan for your life, you can trust Him today in your struggles. Surrender all your hopes and desires to Him. Keep praying for as long as it takes. His presence will be an incomparable comfort if you choose to wait.
Lord, I believe You have Your best in mind for me. When my desires crave what is second-best, remind me to cry out to You. Help me trust that if I wait for You to act, I’ll see You reveal an amazing, custom-made plan. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Sarah Geringer16
Published on Anchor September 2022. Read by John Laurence. Music by John Listen.
1 NIV.
2 https://pastors.com/god-is-working-while-youre-waiting.
3 Psalm 27:14 KJV.
4 Psalm 27:1–2.
5 Psalm 27:4.
6 Psalm 27:7–14.
7 Psalm 27:11–13.
8 Psalm 25:3 ESV.
9 1 John 5:14.
10 Isaiah 40:31.
11 Psalm 40:1–3
12 Isaiah 64:4; see also 1 Corinthians 2:9.
13 Romans 8:28.
15 Psalm 23:4.
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