Isaiah 40:31/ What are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for? We are all waiting on something. Some are waiting for a spouse, while others are waiting for a spouse to turn a corner in some area of godliness. Some are waiting on test results. Some are waiting on a prodigal child to return. Some are waiting to hear from God about a major decision.
The reality is that God's people wait.
Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac—Gen. 21:5
Moses waited 80 years before God called him to ministry—Acts 7:30
Jacob waited 14 years for his wife—Gen. 29:18
David waited 20 years to be king—Psalm 40:1
Paul waited 3 years to start his ministry—Galatians 1:16-17
Jesus waited 30 years to start His ministry—Luke 3:23
Jesus is waiting to come back—2 Peter 3:9
If we serve an all-powerful God who can do anything, then why do we ever wait on anything? I mean, surely, He could make anything happen instantly, right? That means if we are waiting, we are technically always waiting on the Lord.
The question then becomes: how are we supposed to wait in a manner that is good for us and glorifying to God? Isaiah 31:1 helps with the answer:
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
or in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord.” Isaiah 31:1
This passage would have been shocking to the original audience; Egypt enslaved God’s people for 400 years, so to turn to them for help in their time of desperation would be an affront to God and utterly foolish. Their desperation clouded their judgement. I think we have all experienced this, where our longings are so powerful that we’re not exactly thinking straight. It can seem right in our minds at that moment to act on our own ideas and abilities before looking to God and consulting Him. And to their credit, sometimes even reasonable ideas like using horses and chariots to go to battle prove to be "woeful" in God’s eyes. This is because God can do things like causing a city wall to fall at the blast of a ram's horn (Joshua 6). We will be tempted to rely on ourselves in our waiting, but godly waiting looks to God alone. And here's why: our ideas and actions are fallible, just like horses and chariots, but God says, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose” (Isaiah 46:10).
Healthy, God-honoring waiting is trusting in and relying on God alone. It’s abandoning the emotional roller-coaster of self-dependency and finding the rock-solid footing of God-dependency. And this is what God-dependency looks like: long before we act, we seek God's direction. We admit our inability to discern the way forward in our lives and concede to His directives, however unusual they may be. We actively look to Him and His direction through bible reading, prayer, and godly council in our waiting. This will bring strength when our longings leave us weary:
“but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Ask Jesus to search your heart and reveal if you're really at peace with His plan for your life. Admit that you don't know the best way forward and that He does. Thank Him for His plan for your life and ask Him to help you trust that it is good. Ask Him for the strength that arises from waiting on Him.
If you want to dig deeper into this, need help, need prayer, or have questions—please reach out to us here: Roots Help & Prayer Form.
In Christ,
Pastor Kevin Black