“Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14
I find great encouragement in this verse and a great paradox. I am called to wait on the Lord and that makes sense; I can do that. I need to wait for Him to accomplish His purposes in His timing and in His way. Anytime I try to do something on my own power on my time schedule, then I am sinfully trusting in myself. I simply need to wait.
But the paradox in this verse is the connection between courage and waiting. While I wait on the Lord, I am seemingly not doing anything. I am keeping my purposes and desires at bay, waiting for the Lord to act. So, why are we commanded to be strong and take courage in order to do nothing? Well, I think this confusion may come from a misconception in what the Psalmist means by waiting. The waiting he speaks of does not mean that we sit around and do nothing, but we *actively* trust and pray concerning the situation. We are doing something, but we are putting our energy and time not into accomplishing what we want, but into seeking the Lord’s will and committing the issue to Him. So when I am waiting on the Lord, my heart must take courage and believe that He will sustain me in that waiting period because He always fulfills His promises.
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Micah, thank you so much for this post. While I wait on the Lord during these long, long weeks of
morningall day sickness, I am so often tempted to work for what I want (it to end), instead of working towards greater trust and contentment while God works His purposes in my life. Thank you for the great encouragement!Thanks, Micah….I really needed that reminder.
I remember the Spring of 2003, when I was forced to wait on Graduate Schools (all of which came back negative except UVa), Andy (why couldn’t he just ask me out?!), finances, everything! My life felt like it was in a holding pattern, and it drove me crazy. I can’t say I delt with it in a Godly way most of the time, but I can say that courage and faith are linked, and God blessed me so much as He provided in abundant, amazing, suprising ways. You will be astounded as you look back and see the things He’s working.
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