To Those Who Wait For Him

I remember the song “Anticipation” by Carly Simon and the chorus was made famous in Heinz ketchup commercials:

    Anticipation, anticipation
    Is makin’ me late
    Is keepin’ me waitin’

The first stanza though has a lot of wisdom wrapped up in it:

    We can never know about the days to come
    But we think about them anyway, yay
    And I wonder if I’m really with you now
    Or just chasin’ after some finer day

One of the hardest things, especially for a man of action such as me, is waiting on the Lord, even though the Bible tells me it is a good thing to do:

    “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:25-26)

I have learned that if I will take a stand for Jesus in all areas of my life, He takes care of my future. For me to be able to do that on a consistent basis I must always read and study my Bible, to pray about the issues I’m facing in my life, and to be involved in a Bible-teaching church. It is important to be in the fellowship of the saints. If I will do this, no matter the future my life will be deeply enriched. I will have much to offer my spouse, my children, my relatives, my co-workers, my neighbors…all with whom I come in contact.

Sometimes as Christians we forget to seek God’s Will for our lives, even in important issues such as marriage, employment, buying a home, or moving to a new location. Typically we begin an endeavor and then half-way through it (usually when it is going bad) we ask God to bless it. God does not work this way. He is not our personal fairy godfather or Santa Claus who gives us what we wish.

The Prophet Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3 that “the LORD is good to those who WAIT for him” (emphasis added). That means we do not go out in front of Him and then ask Jesus to catch up to us. My signature verse below is Psalm 37:4 and I think it is appropriate to have another look at it:

    “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

Now that verse is ripe for all types of abuse by prosperity and “name it and claim it” Bible teachers, but let’s look at in the context of the preceding and succeeding verses:

    “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:3-5)

The first word in this passage is trust, which is another word for faith. Have faith in God…trust Him to provide for you. If you match up His track record in your life against yours without Him, the Lord Jesus Christ wins hands down. King David knew what it meant to trust in God and the shame he experienced when he was disobedient:

    “To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” (Psalm 25:1-5)

I know that some of you are facing tough times right now…life changes abound. Some are looking for jobs; some are facing career choices; others are facing relationship problems. Please know that I love you dearly and that I am praying for you.

But there is One who loves you more and does more than just pray for you; He is your Advocate.

    “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:1-3)

Is Jesus your Advocate? Is He the propitiation for your sins? Have you surrendered your life to Him, made Him your Lord, and is He your Savior? If not then this whole devotional is a waste until you first get right with God through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

Are you keeping His commandments? That is how we prove we know Him as our Lord. You cannot say Jesus is your Lord and continue living a life of disobedience…that is nothing more than cheap grace. Jesus’ death on the cross was not cheap; it cost God everything.

If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior then trust Him today with whatever you are facing, and yes, that means you must wait for Him.

But be of good cheer…He is worth the wait.

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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