If you thought my sermon was quick my blog will be even quicker. The question of how the Lord finds us waiting for deliverance has been a reoccurring theme in my own life. On the eve of His final judgment, when He was on the verge of delivering Israel from their enslavers, God commanded them to feast. Not to fret. Not to work. To feast. To celebrate who God is, what he's done and will do on their behalf. One of the scriptures I constantly return to is Isaiah 26:8; "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws we wait for you: your name and renown are the desire of our hearts." From this verse I understand that waiting for the Lord is an active waiting. The walls of a waiting room are most often lined with chairs to sit in. that's how we generally think of waiting. This verse tells us that waiting is an activity filled with faithfulness in obedience to what we know God has asked of us. Waiting on the Lord is an activity you do with Him!
The second thing I love about this verse is the object of our anticipation. Usually, when I'm waiting on the Lord I'm waiting for something, direction, provision, healing. The object of my anticipation consumes my thoughts, prayers and energy. That's what makes it so hard to wait! This verse, however, teaches us that the desire of our hearts is His "name and renown"! I don't wait for myself I wait for Him. The best part of making your waiting an activity of faithful obedience and making God's name and fame the thing we desire most is that while you wait, you have what you wait for. Beautiful! Taste and see! The Lord is good!
Skip Bowersox
