WAITING ON GOD

Psalm 25 – “Let none of us who wait on thee be ashamed.”

Along the line of our inheritance, I believe that every Word of God is something that we can stand upon in faith and believe it for ourselves and our loved ones.  In Psalm 25, the Psalmist is obviously in distress and is, possibly, caught in that place where he really does not know what to do and so he is attempting to “wait on God.”

Waiting on God is one of the hardest things I have to do.  I don’t know about you, but I am a very resourceful person and can often come up with some pretty effective ways to deal with the distresses in my life, or worse yet, in the lives of those with whom I share love.  And yet, talented as I may be in this area, I am instructed to “wait on God” and the promise is that if I do, I will “not be ashamed.”

Andrew Murray wrote a whole booklet on the theme of “waiting upon God” and its importance.  His writings challenge me to the depths of my being, and especially that part that tends to decide what to do without waiting.  I want action now!  It is not my natural inclination to wait on anybody.  No, it will be a supernatural work of God for me to wait!

In this case, I will confess to God my natural tendency to depend on my own understanding and make a decision and a plan of action based upon it.  I will agree together with Him that is contrary to His will for me.  I will ask Him to forgive me and to cleanse me of all associated unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:5)

His part will be to answer the above prayer and to give me the power and the grace to be obedient and to wait upon Him.  A struggle may still ensue between my flesh and my spirit, but it will be in His strength that I will overcome.  The promise, remember, is that I will not be ashamed.

Somewhere along the way, if I continue to wait and listen, I will hear a word behind me saying “this is the way, walk ye in it.” (Psalm 32: 8,9)  Times when I have waited for that voice and then been obedient to the holy direction are times when things have worked out well in my life.  But then, I forget!  Do you?

This morning, dear Father, we seek your face.  We desire your wisdom and your point of view on every situation in which we are tempted to act out of our own understanding.  Lord, give us grace to wait upon you and give us power to obey when we hear from you even if the word is to continue to wait and do nothing except to continue to pray.

Such grace and power and wisdom, the ability to see things from His point of view, as well as the knowledge of what to do are all parts of our inheritance as children of God.  I do not wonder that many people do not claim this inheritance.  It is just so much easier to do what we think best, isn’t it?

Father God, grant to us this day that we may wait and not be ashamed!  I also pray for all the other promises in this psalm to be true of us today.  Show us your ways; teach us your paths.  Lead us in Your truth and teach us.  You are the God of our salvation and on You we will wait all the day!  May this be true of us as Your children today!

Meanwhile, I pray that the Son is shining in full strength into your place of waiting and that until you hear the word you will be able to experience the warmth of His presence.  Amen