On Waiting on the Lord

Waiting on the Lord

Isaiah 40:31: 

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall soar high on wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint."

Waiting on the Lord is something people tell us to do all the time. Unfortunately nobody ever really says what it means to wait on the Lord, how we can do it, or why it can feel pretty awful when you are.

This is something that I've been thinking a lot lately, in mid December of last year I felt that God was calling me to ministry, so I completely redid all my college applications, and ended up here at Biola University as a Biblical and Theological Studies major. I immediately joined a ministry called National School Project. National School Project is a ministry that mentors the leaders of Christian Clubs at public high schools and helps them plan events to share the gospel with their whole school. It felt perfect, I have a strong passion for teaching and for mentoring, and for sharing the gospel and this felt like the perfect ministry that would enable me to do both. I filled out the paperwork, was assigned a partner and a school and began to meet with my supervisor to discuss how exactly we would mentor this particular team of high schoolers.

First a week went past without getting to meet my students, then two weeks, then a month, and before I knew it, the semester was over without ever getting to meet my students. As the weeks went on and my partner and I began to get more and more frustrated with the school, and with the ministry in general, there were many weeks where I really wanted to quit, and join another ministry. I prayed and I prayed and I just didn't understand, I thought this was what God was calling me to, I couldn't grasp why he was putting me on the back burner like this. In one of my classes, the teacher brought up the age old adage that, "When God tests, Satan tempts." As I began to turn that phrase around in my head I decided to apply it to my situation, what exactly was God testing me with? And what was Satan tempting me with?

Eventually I came to a simple conclusion, the temptation in this situation was to quit and join a ministry that would let me serve when I wanted to serve, however the testing was whether or not I would wait for the ministry that God was going to give me. I realized that I hadn't really prayed before joining NSP, I hadn't sought God's will in which ministry on campus I should join, let alone whether I should join one at all. I had set out to do ministry my way and leave God out of the picture. However, after making me wait, God gave me the ministry that he had planned for me. For this last semester I have been long distance mentoring a school in San Jose. It's not always easy to only get to see my students on Google hangouts, but worth it because it is what God had planned for me.

So, story time out of the way, what does it mean to wait on the Lord?

One of the best analogies for waiting on the Lord that I heard recently was like waiting on a table as a waiter. It's an active waiting focused intently on the subject, constantly checking in to ask if anything needs to be done and then doing what is asked, or going back to just waiting if the answer is nothing. An poem by John Milton sums this up quite nicely:

When I consider how my light is spent
E're half my days, in this dark world and wide
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, least he turning chide,
Doth God exact day-labour, light denied,
I fondly ask; But patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need
Either man's works or his own gifts, who best
Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best, his State
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
and post o're Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and waite. 

God does not need our service. It is by his grace that we serve, Ephesians 2:10 says, "For you are his workmanship, created anew for Christ Jesus for good works which God pre-ordained that you should walk in them." We can't do anything on our own, Isaiah 64:6 says, "For all our righteous deeds are like dirty rags."

When we wait upon the Lord it is because we don't want to perform our own righteous deeds, but we want to wait for his righteous deeds. While we wait we do whatever is before us.

A Comparison and Contrast of David and Saul

David and Saul both were placed in situations where they had to wait on the Lord and trust in his timing, let's see what we can learn from their respective responses.

Saul (1 Samuel 13:8-15)

First some background. Israel was still in the time of the Judges when they went to Samuel (the prophet and judge at the time) and said, "Hey Sammy, we want a king like the rest of the nations." and Samuel was like, "you really don't guys." And Israel said, "ya we do man." And then God grants their request and Saul from the tribe of Benjamin is anointed as king. Two years later, Saul decides to go up against the Philistines who had been occupying Israel for some time, so Saul takes  2,000 men and attacks one area, while his son Jonathan attacks a different area with 1,000 men. Jonathan wins and obviously the Philistines don't like having their people killed so they muster a lot of men to fight Israel.

At this point we get to the passage we'll be studying. Samuel had told Saul to wait 7 days, and then Samuel would come and offer sacrifices to seek the favor of the LORD. Well it's day 7 and Samuel still isn't there so Saul (not authorized to offer sacrifices since he's from the tribe of Benjamin) offers the sacrifices anyhow. As he's finishing up Samuel walks up and says, "What have you done?" Saul gives an excuse about how he saw the people were scattering and so he forced himself to offer the sacrifices and seek the favor of the Lord.

Bad choice.

Samuel responds by telling Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."

Woah.

Saul couldn't wait on the LORD's timing even though the LORD had given him a specific time (7 days). Instead he took matters into his own hands and offered what he thought God wanted, rather than to just do what God had told him to do.

In Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 Solomon writes,

"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few."

In other words, make sure that you are actually doing what you are supposed to before you do it. Saul didn't. He thought that his works, his plan would bring the favor of God. But instead Samuel told him that his disobedience had actually cost him his job.

David

David on the other hand did wait on God. Rather than study a single passage for David we'll take a brief look at his entire life.

David was the youngest son of a large family. He faithfully served in the fields until one day, Samuel the prophet came knocking at their door saying that God had told him that one of the sons of their family would be anointed king over Israel. After rejecting every single on of his older brothers, David's dad calls David in from the fields and Samuel anoints him king (1 Sam 16).

Instead of taking over Israel immediately and establishing his kingdom, David goes back to the fields until Saul called him up because he had heard of his skill with the harp (or the lyre if you're in the ESV). And again, instead of taking this opportunity to assassinate Saul, David simply plays the lyre whenever Saul is being tormented by a harmful spirit.

Then after killing Goliath, David serves Saul as a commander in his army, he never tries to take over, he just faithfully serves. Until eventually, David's fame has grown larger than Saul's, Saul tried to pin David to the wall with a spear (1 Sam 18:6-8). But instead of holding his anointed position over Saul, David just continues serving.

Eventually Saul begins seeking to kill David so intensely that David takes some men and flees into the desert. He doesn't plot the assassination of Saul though, or the overthrow of his kingdom. Instead he just lives off in the wilderness having adventures with his band of mighty men.

In fact during this time David has 2 perfect opportunities to kill Saul. once while Saul is relieving himself in a cave, and once while Saul is sleeping in the midst of his camp. But he spares Saul both times. Instead of killing the man who ,beyond just sitting on the throne that is rightfully David's, is actively seeking to murder him, David lets him live because he knows that when God is ready to put him on the throne it'll happen.

Finally, after Saul falls in battle (not at David's hand), David takes the throne. He had been told it was his so many years before, and yet he waited until God had the right time for him, and his kingdom prospered.

So What Will You Do?

Will you be like Saul? Will you complain that God is taking too long and he doesn't understand the position you're in and do what you think must be done?

Or will you wait. Patiently, until God gives you what he thinks must be done?

And what will you do while you wait? David didn't twiddle his thumbs, he honed the gifts God had given him.