Wait Upon the Lord

Image: By Manfred Antranias Zimmer, CC0 Public Domain, Pixabay

It is amazing but do you realize we are already more than one full week into the New Year? The passage of time is swift and relentless.

Soon and very soon it will be the end of the year again and, once again, we might think, what will I have done? Or not done? What will I have said? Or not said? What opportunities might have been missed to share the love of Christ with others?

At the end of every year, there should always be a reflection. And at the beginning of every year, this reflection should bring to mind a revelation of the countless blessings and guiding hand of our precious Lord.

Every day we should purpose in our hearts to remember to seek direction from the One who has it all in His hands. I love that expression "purpose in our hearts" as it reminds me how Daniel met the challenges of being a captive in a pagan king's court. Daniel sought the Lord His God every single day of his captivity.

But Daniel purposed in his heart...

Daniel 1:8

We should desire to seek Him and His will also. The truth of the matter is it is a slow progress. Why? Most often, the progress is two steps forward and one step back as we offer our feeble and unneeded help.

Prayerfully, we lift up our hands and lay our cares and our concerns at His feet. What do we expect? For many of us, there is an expectancy of immediacy. We know He listens. We know He hears. And sometimes we wait .....for a minute or two and some even a day or two. Yet the Scripture is clear; wait upon the Lord.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage,

and He shall strengthen thine heart:

wait, I say, upon the LORD.

Psalm 27:14

The question becomes , "How long do I wait?" The reminders are clear in Scripture that show us how waiting on Him, however painful it is, is always worth it.

There is the story of Joseph. And what a story it is! As a young man he is given a dream but it takes years for it to come to bear as he waits on the Lord; years in which he suffered much.

David waited. The one anointed to be the next king while Saul still bore his crown and relentlessly pursued him with but one thought; to destroy the upstart shepherd boy, he waited.

And Abraham. Remember him? He clung to his faith and believed.

And Noah. And ….well as you read your Bible, each story will become afresh and strengthen the weariness that sometimes tries to creep in as we wait on the Lord.

Remember whatever the circumstance is, even though we don’t understand it, God does.

Keep praying. Keep talking to Him and ... listen for Him. He is always there. He keeps His promises.To find those promises, open your Bible and read His never ending conversation just for you and for anyone who will open their hearts to Him. He reveals Himself with every passage.

Be strong and of a good courage,

fear not, nor be afraid of them:

for the Lord thy God,

He it is that doth go with thee;

He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Deuteronomy 31:6

And He is true to His word from Genesis to Revelation.

and, lo, I am with you always,

even unto the end of the world.

Amen.

John 28:20

Now that is a comfort!

The journey into this New Year will be filled with many challenges, both physical and spiritual. Upon reflection, I know I see His careful consideration of every step and misstep made. I know He has already planned the next steps that lie before me. And I do not want to get ahead of Him. His timing and purpose is perfect. So let us purpose in our hearts to seek Him and to wait patiently upon Him. Let the revelation of His will in our lives grab us, fill us, and cause us to share Him with a world that is desperately in need of an epiphany.

Image: By Manfred Antranias Zimmer, CC0 Public Domain, Pixabay