Waiting on the Lord…

“Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord…”

Such a great song by Chris Tomlin. You have likely heard it on the radio or sung in church. I had never really paid close attention to the lyrics until recently.

If you are anything like me, it is VERY difficult to wait on much of anything, especially to wait upon the Lord. We live in an instant society where we need results fast. Even as I wrote this I was sitting in an airport –people watching, sending email and corresponding via instant messenger with a friend all while WAITING for the airplane. The interesting thing is that I was “doing” a lot of different activities as I was waiting. Life is just like that – as we wait on God – we should continue to live life.

The problem is that some people can get caught on the fact that God has not responded yet and they feel as if they are frozen in time unable to move forward until God responds. God does not expect us to sit idle as we wait on an answer from him.

The reality is that Strength comes from exercise and activity. We must get up off the threshing floor of our troubles and put our life back into motion. As we move, we strengthen ourselves and we can then start to move towards God’s will. During this time we must seek God through prayer and his word. It’s really all about conditioning. For example, I go to the gym several times a week to “condition” my muscles. It is hard work – many times painful and the pain last hours if not a day or two depending on how hard I am working that muscle group. The end result is a stronger muscle. There cannot be conditioning without action.

Waiting on God is a conditioning as well. A conditioning of the heart and soul… it is hard work… it is painful and the pain can last for a period of time. The end result of waiting on God is strength and above all a trust in God we didn’t have before we started waiting.

By Philip A. Foster