Wait on the Lord

By Susie Frederick

Do you ever get impatient? It is part of being human. We are in a hurry to arrive somewhere by an appointed time. We want our children to obey immediately. We have a plan, and want to see it happen on schedule. We think our way and our timing is the best. But that is not what God says. We are told and shown many times in the Bible: God knows what is best, and when it is best to happen.

For hundreds of years, the prophets of God foretold the coming of the Saviour. God’s people were desiring deliverance long before the coming of Jesus Christ. But God knew the exact time when it was best for Jesus to be born, and the exact time when He should be sacrificed for our salvation. “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you [Christians] are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Gal. 4:4-7).

We believe that God is all-wise, has all power, and is loving by nature. Why would we doubt that He not only knows what is best, but when it is best to happen? Do we trust too much in our own understanding? We are cautioned about doing that: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6).

Even believing this, do we find it difficult to wait on the Lord? We are given reasons, and incentives, to wait on His timing. Isaiah tells us that those who wait on the Lord will be blessed (Is. 30:18), their strength will be renewed (40:31), and God will act on their behalf (64:4). And while we wait, God hears us (Micah 7:7). But God knows our impatient nature, and does not condemn our eagerness in some matters. Paul speaks about our eagerness for deliverance from the troubles of the world, and from persecution, in Romans 8:23, 25: “...even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body....But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”

If we can trust God in such a serious matter as our eternal salvation, can we not also trust Him in small matters? (See Rom. 8:32.) God — who knows even the number of hairs on our heads (Matt. 10:29-31) — will certainly know and do whatever is best for those who are His children (see also Matt. 6:25-33). We may never understand His reasons, or His ways. But we can be confident that God’s ways — and His timing — are best for us. Let us live in such a way that people may see our trust in Him, and our joy in His care. And in seeing our joy, others will be drawn to Him.