(2 Corinthians 1:20) “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in the Messiah. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
Every promise that God has made in His Word the Bible is for our spiritual and temporal benefit as New Covenant believers in the Body of Messiah. We are told that “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him” (Proverbs 30:15). We are also told that “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89).
God’s unchanging Word can be relied upon and through His Word we also receive comfort and hope as we also read; “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
As New Covenant believers in Messiah we will have those seasons when we will find ourselves passing through the deep dark valley of despondency, depression, despair, unanswered prayer, and when things we have been praying about have not come to fruition.
When we read through the Psalms, especially those written by David, there are numerous references to waiting on God or waiting on the LORD. While God has said that in and through the Messiah that all of His promises are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’ in Him, it also needs to be said that in most cases there is often a waiting period between His ‘Yes’ and our ‘Amen.’
Our Triune God loves us dearly and way beyond our human comprehension and is perfectly able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that is at work in us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:20-21).
In His foreknowledge of all things God does not always answer immediately or on demand. God has three answers to every heartfelt prayer that we bring before Him, “Yes,” “no,” or “wait.” God is not a spiritual dispensing machine, but one who in His infinitely wise and loving will knows what we need, when we need it, and when to satisfy that need, or to work His restoring power in a certain situation we find ourselves in, or a circumstance we may be facing when there seem to be no outward sign or evidence that anything has changed in the natural.
Just because we may not receive an answer to our prayers strait away does not mean that He will not answer us, however, we must make allowances for His infinite, loving, sovereign, and infinitely wise will in the circumstances we are wrestling with.
Waiting on God is not a waste of time but will save time in the end when done God’s way according to His will! In the end His ‘Yes’ will be our ‘Amen.’
Waiting on God allowing for His will to act in His time and in His way is a spiritual blessing that will strengthen us spiritually and allow God to work in us and through us to prove to us His good, acceptable and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).
Isaiah writes; “But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Oftentimes, the eagle knows long before a storm begins in the sky and flies to a high plain waiting for the raging of the storm and turbulence in the clouds. Then it flies into the storm.
During this time, every other bird has gone into hiding; only the eagle dares to fly into the very eye of the storm. However, the eagle uses the storm as an advantage to mount up to an altitude it ordinarily does not fly to.
The eagle’s gyring oscillation in the storm makes it fly above the storm. And so Isaiah likens this to the believer, that as we wait upon the LORD, we are equipped with supernatural strength to mount upon and above the raging storms of life and those hurled at us through Satan’s machinations.
Waiting on God is a lost spiritual discipline today in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation where every gratification of the fallen carnal appetites can be immediately satiated. We also live in a world that wants to see miracles, signs and wonders. Not so with the LORD. “He does what He wants, when He wants, in the way He wants, where He wants, and with whomsoever He wants, and asks no man’s permission!
He will always respond to faith. He allows for the storms we face to strengthen us, not to discourage us, knowing that the testing of our faith develops perseverance, and that when perseverance has completed its work we become more mature in our faith walk with Him and complete in that we will not lack anything we need for life and godliness through His divine power (James 1:1-4) (2 Peter 1:3).
Waiting on God develops spiritual character, strengthens faith, evokes a sense of expectancy, and produces a perseverance in that faith that honours God and that He richly rewards, and without which we cannot please Him at all (Hebrews 11:6). In both Testaments the word for faith not only means belief but also includes faithfulness to that which we believe.
Waiting on God does not mean sitting around drinking coffee with our feet up waiting on God to answer us. Waiting involves service to the LORD, keeping on keeping on despite the setbacks, the failures, the temptations and the weight of the sins that can so easily trip us up. Spiritual breakthroughs are not always instant. Sometimes Satan’s strongholds in our life can only be broken only through persistent prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29).
Waiting on God; means fixing our eyes on the author and finisher of our faith walk being the Messiah Himself, a spiritual work He starts in us and fully intends to complete at the rapture and resurrection (Philippians 1:6) (1 Corinthians 15:51-57).
You know dear brothers and sisters when the Messiah our Lord Jesus stepped into the fishing boat with His disciples as they set out upon the Sea of Galilee that a storm arose which was so fierce that they feared for their very lives except the Lord Jesus who was asleep in the boat’s stern.
He heard their cries of desperation arose and rebuked the storm and they all arrived safely on the other side. He fully intended to get to the other side anyway and while He was in the boat with them they would all make it to safety.
Storms in life will come. They are not pleasant at all. Anxiety, weariness of spirit through manifold temptations, demonic oppression, unbending circumstances, and seasons of unanswered prayer assail us, and in those times it is greatly comforting to know that He is with us and in us by His Spirit as we pass through that storm.
He knows how long it will take and when it will come to an end when He rebukes it. He will never allow us to be tempted or tested beyond what we can bear but with that temptation, trial or test provide for us a way of escape that might be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
As we also read in the prophet Isaiah “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smouldering wick He will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3).
As the author of Hebrews writes; “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (the faithful remnant in the Old Testament), let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3).
Waiting on God involves reading His Word, being consistent in prayer, keeping short accounts with Him when we fail Him or when we fall into a sin that needs to be confessed, but to keep on keeping on, walking by faith in step with the blessed Holy Spirit and exercising God’s call and gifting in our lives which are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). As Rabbi the Apostle Paul also writes; “Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
If anyone had troubles to contend with throughout his life it was King David. He battled fears within, anxiety, hunger, rejection, and times in the wilderness, implacable enemies from without and within his own circle of acquaintances. He experienced persecution from King Saul who had tried to kill him. Even from his own family members arose Absalom who tried to kill his father David in a rebellion.
David faced many daunting battles throughout his life. At one time his own men threatened to stone him, and at that time he comforted himself in God when no one was on his side (1 Samuel 30:6). He had moments of unbridled joy but also seasons of heaviness of soul and spirit.
His most devastating set back was when he committed murder and adultery; however, even though he had to live with the consequences of this sin, it was through repentance and faith that God spiritually restored him, enabling him to finish his life and serve his generation in the will of God (Psalm 51) (Acts 13:36).
In all of these things He trusted in the LORD, as we read what he writes in Psalm 131; “My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty. I do not aspire to great things or matters too lofty for me. Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. Israel, put your hope in the LORD, both now and forevermore” (Psalm 131:1-3).
As he quietened his soul waiting patiently for God to deal with the situation he faced he found that His expectation of God moving in his circumstances increased and David came to the point where he would patiently wait for the answer. As we also read what he said in Psalm 65; “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him (Psalm 65:5).”
Our Triune God still does awesome deeds within the Body of Messiah in Jesus name but He is not always in “the wind” or in “the earthquake” or in “the fire” of the outward appearance or manifestation of spiritual power, but often in the still small voice of a quiet persistent assurance from the indwelling blessed Holy Spirit that everything will be okay in His time and in His way. Elijah saw the awesome power of God on Mount Carmel but needed to understand that God was not always in the spectacular! (1 Kings 19:11-12).
There will be times or seasons of spiritual power when “the fire” will fall from heaven, however, for the most part for us in our daily walk with the Holy Spirit God will say to us; “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:5).
Brothers and sisters our Triune God is never too early and never too, late but always on time! While all of God’s promises are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’ in the Messiah our Lord Jesus we must always keep in mind that in most situations we will ever face there will be a span of time between the ‘Yes’ and the ‘Amen’ Selah.
