Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord! Psalms 27:14
We read time after time in the Bible to “wait” on the Lord. If you google “wait on the Lord scripture,” you will find dozens of related verses. Waiting on Him is associated with good, hope, strength, courage, mounting up with wings like eagles, compassion, mercy, and rest, among other things. I was thinking the other day about King David and how he wanted to build the temple so that God would have a glorious dwelling place.
Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building.
I imagine David was so excited about his plan, like I am when I plan a home renovation, garden plantings, or a vacation. He may have lain awake at night making sketches in his head. He may have thought about all of the details, the gold overlay and the fabulous carvings, where the ark would rest, and how he would acquire building materials. But then God makes him wait. He says ‘You may not build a house for my name.” (1 Chronicles 28:3). Imagine David’s disappointment as his plan is foiled. But, David listens and obeys and his plan comes to a screeching halt. In the end, he is given permission to make a plan of the temple (through God’s guidance) and to prepare materials for his son Solomon to build the temple, but he does not build it himself. He doesn’t see the finished product in his lifetime. He chooses to wait on the Lord and follow His plan, and he is blessed for his obedience.
I think David can be an incredible lesson for those of us on this Thin Within journey. In our culture of immediate gratification, we want to not wait in so many ways. We may have a plan for what we want to wear to that reunion, wedding or beach trip. We may want to be a certain size by a particular date. We may ask for complete freedom from our food and body issues – today, not tomorrow. We may want that food, the ice cream, chips or burger, right now, although we are not hungry.
I want to challenge us to think about waiting on the Lord. Wait for Him to show us when to eat and when to stop. Wait for Him to show us what to eat. Wait for Him to show us what a surrendered life looks like. And let’s scrap our plans for “perfect” bodies or for fitting into that dress or for achieving a certain size. He put the hunger and satiety signals in our bodies and created each one of our bodies. Wait on Him to show you how to treat your body. David wrote over and over again in the Psalms to “wait on the Lord.” Let’s follow his godly example! Check out Psalms 33:20, 37:7, 38:15, 39:7, and Isaiah 40:31.
~ Carrie
How About You?
What do you get out of the passages Carrie shared with us above? What is God calling you to wait on? What is God calling you to let go of?
Crazy isn’t it to have a post yesterday that says “Don’t wait!” and a post today that says, “Wait!” Both of these messages are valuable and they are congruent with one another. Waiting on the Lord is not the sort of waiting that Aprille was speaking against yesterday in her blog post. So often we want to say we are waiting on the Lord when really we are doing “delayed obedience”—which isn’t really obedience at all. As you read and pray about this blog post today from Carrie, consider if your waiting is on the LORD or is it procrastination or delayed obedience? Be mindful that delayed obedience is another way of saying no to God! Hugs! ~ Heidi
Waiting is hard, so hard. I read about a man that had all of his weight melted off of him within minutes during a praise and worship services. It was so fast that his pants slipped down to his ankles. The teller of this story was a reputable minister, so I have no doubt it happened. God can do anything, so this is not impossible! Since God is no respecter of persons I desperately cried out to God that He would do the same for me.
I like instant, I like things happening yesterday or last week. And still, I enjoy nothing more then lighting a fire, reading my Bible and waiting for Him to talk to me. But then, I want whatever He said to happen immediately. Silly me!
I can be impulsive. I can be impatient. Waiting isn’t my best…er…virtue. Is that even a virtue? But isn’t TW really all about waiting? It’s waiting until 0 to eat. It’s waiting to see if you are at a 5. It’s waiting upon the Lord when you really really really want that item of food, but you know you aren’t physically hungry. In my truth cards I have the scripture from Isaiah 40:31 that talks about waiting up on the Lord. That is where I find my strength. It’s not in myself, it’s in the Lord. He give us the strength as we wait upon Him. We won’t grow weak or weary.
You’re right Christina! TW is all about waiting on The Lord and His timing and cues. For me, and maybe for many of us, the temptation is strong to try and rescue myself from uncomfortable situations, before even giving God a chance to act or answer prayer. Waiting is a mighty act of faith. Please pray for me to wait on The Lord this weekend.
Will pray for you. I agree – I usually stray when I have “forgotten” to turn to God and pray. But, He is our refuge, our stronghold, and strength in our weakness. This is what I sometimes pray in the moments of temptation. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (eph 6:10). Think about that gift! Wow, we can be strong in His (Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth) power. Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.
Like Christina said, when we hope in Him and wait on Him, He renews our strength.