WAITING VERSES WAITING ON GOD

There is a difference between waiting and waiting on God. T.S. Elliot in West Cocker described it like this:
“I said to my soul wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing. Wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing. Yet there is faith. And the faith, hope, and love are all found in the waiting.”

This is a peculiar waiting. You can wait for "the wrong thing" when you have a misplaced object of your waiting. This kind of waiting is based upon a dream, a desire, or a wish. It could very well be a very good thing, but not God's thing. many times that thing you are waiting for may never happen. But when you wait upon the Lord alone, everything you hope for, long for, and dream of will be found in the Lord and from the Lord.

That is what we have seen that the Jews are doing in Esther. That is what Mordecai is doing. That is what Esther is doing. God was looking for people like them. Desperate, broken, scared, weak, overloaded, overwhelmed, facing impossible odds, and serious threats. Are you? And oh how God is going to work for them and oh how God will work for you!

God’s eagerness to work is astonishing! In fact He is so eager to work that He goes around looking to work for those who trust him 2 Chronicles 16:9, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support (work for, to help) to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” That is what God is going to do for Esther.

WHAT GOD DOES FOR THOSE WHO WAIT Esther does not rush into action. During this time the Jews and Esther are doing what the prophet Isaiah advised about waiting, “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) From this verse we learn that five things happen when we wait rather than rushing into action:

First, God gives further instructions Esther is stopping her actions and listening for God’s direction. “For God alone my soul waits in silence from him comes my salvation…For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him”(Psalm 62:1,5).

Second, God gives new strength Isn’t that what Esther needed? We may feel weak, even intimidated, when we turn to our Lord. While waiting, amazingly, we exchange our weakness for His strength.

Third, God gives a better perspective It says we "will mount up with wings like eagles." Eagles can spot fish in a lake several miles away on a clear day. By soaring like eagles while waiting, we gain perspective on what we are dealing with.

Fourth, God gives us extra energy "We will run and not get tired." Notice, it's in the future tense. When we do encounter the thing we have been dreading, we will encounter it with new strength-extra energy will be ours to use.

Fifth, God gives us a deeper determination to persevere We "will walk and not become weary" The Lord empowers us to do what we cannot do ourselves. He gives us fresh energy and vitality supernaturally to keep on keeping on.

Undoubtedly that is what Esther found during those three days she waited on the Lord. And as she waited, the Lord does a work in her heart that will empower her to make history! All because of the waiting. It was a silent yet precious and powerful parenthesis in Esther's life. Because Esther waited on a God, He worked a mighty deliverance through her for an entire nation.

This may be one of those "white spaces" in your own life; one of those silent, yet precious and powerful parenthesis. Are you facing an unprecedented event in your life? Are you at a critical juncture where you need to act or speak? Are you at a place where unless God helps things are hopeless? If so, wait on the Lord.

Maybe it's time for you to pray and to fast and to call upon a few close friends to fast and pray with you. “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you" (Psalm 50:15; Isaiah 41:10-13).

Maybe it's time for you to say, "I'm not going to rush into this unpredictable and unprecedented situation. I don't know my way through. I can't find the path to walk. So I'm going to wait. I will not run ahead nor lag behind. I will submit to the place where God has me and follow the pace He is moving. In the meantime, I'm going to give it to God and trust that He loves to work for people who wait for him. Isaiah 30:18, "Oh how happy are all those wait for the Lord." Waiting on the Lord will make you happy. Why? Because no longer will you have to work things out when you know you can’t. No longer will you despair because a problem can’t be solved. No longer will human inability be a hindrance to the destiny that God has purposed for you. God works for those who wait!

Oh let us look up, lift up, and enjoy the God who so happily labors for us. All the things we need most will be achieved for us by the labor of God or not at all. And so I want to end this chapter with this great truth ringing in your ears: "God works for those who wait for him."


A Prayer
Oh Lord, my soul is overwhelmed with so many things. I believe in Your precious promises but I feel like there are so many things working against the fulfilling of Your promises in my life. I will not look to myself or man and think that they can hinder Your work, I will wait for You.