Rest When Waiting On The Lord

Our willingness to wait reveals the value we place on the object we're waiting for.  –Charles Stanley

So many times, our natural instincts and desires are to run from one thing to the next.  Or to be impatient and decide to press forward on our own, without the help of God.  We live one step ahead of God, not wanting to wait for His perfect timing.  It is dangerous to continue like this. Our hearts never have a chance to rest or be at peace if we are constantly in action and moving.  And we teeter on being just outside of His will when we push faster than what God's plan is for us.  

Waiting is a good thing.  There is joy and peace in the waiting.  In the rest.  In the times of peace and tranquility and silence.  There is purpose in it.  We need to obey when God has us rest from ministry, from sports, from activities, from the go-go-go mentality.  These things in themselves are not bad things.  But when they take precedence over God's instruction to wait and slow down, they become bad things.  The word "wait" or a version of it, is in the Bible 180 times.  That is pretty significant.  Here are just a few:

Psalms 27:13-14   I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Psalms 37:34  Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Isaiah 30:18   Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 40:31   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.

Lamentations 3:25   The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

Micah 7:7   But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Acts 1:4   And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father

Just as it is good for our bodies to take a break from foods or activities for fasting purposes, it's good for our bodies to take a break from things that can easily become idols in our lives.  Those things that become more of a priority in our hearts than God himself, even ministry.   Isaiah 40:31 says that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.  Renewal can only come when we are quiet and still.  We have seasons of doing and seasons of rest.  Those seasons can last many years, or last only a short while.  Our bodies were designed for rest.  He requires that we take one out of seven days a week to rest and renew ourselves.  Eight hours a night, once a week for Sabbath, vacations, and seasons God chooses for us.  

In the stillness, silence, and quiet is when we can hear His voice.  If we're too busy moving and going and doing, His voice is quieted and we can't hear him.  

Sometimes God will give us a choice of waiting, and if we choose not to, stress and anxiety can easily set in.  Sometimes He won't give us a choice, which can come in many forms, but think of health, family needs, disaster, to name a few.  When we wisely choose to deliberately rest and not push and shove our way through life and His promises, peace and joy are at work.  We move in time with Him.   "I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry" Psalm 40:1.  We need to wait patiently.

God's timing is rarely our timing.  We've had many opportunities to force the door open on many occasions, knowing what God promised, but decided to wait instead for His perfect timing.  When we push too hard, too fast, many times what we were hoping for wasn't quite ready, or we miss out on blessings on the other side because of our impatience.  My mom used to say, "If you don't hear from God to move, then wait."  Silence the outside voices and choose God's timing.

"I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope" Psalm 130:5. Thankful for his peace, hope, joy, and so much rest in the waiting, so our strength can be renewed for the tasks ahead.