Waiting Upon the Lord
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
The benefits of waiting upon the Lord:
Inward strength - they shall renew their strength -perseverance - they were in captivity
Upward strength - mount up with wings as eagles
Outward strength - run and not be weary
Onward strength - walk and not faint
In this message I don't want to speak about the benefits of waiting on the Lord, but what exactly does it mean to wait on the Lord. If we do the waiting right, we will get the rewards right. We will be sowing into a “Suddenly,” moment.
What it means to wait upon the Lord
1. Listen attentively
One of the best things that should happen in a season of waiting is that your spiritual hearing should improve. I am not saying you will hear a louder voice, I am saying that by straining your ears you will learn to hear more of the sounds that are already there.
Have you ever gone in the woods, and stopped the noise in your mind to pay attention to all the sounds of the woods? It is amazing all the background noise we miss, because we don't pay attention enough. Waiting on the Lord is a season where we should improve our ability to hear God better because we are straining after His voice. Consider this passage:
Pr 30:18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:
Pr 30:19 The way of an eagle in the sky, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a maid.
The way of an Eagle in the sky.
Solomon did not understand how an Eagle could soar. We now are somewhat able to answer this question: An eagle learns to soar by using thermal currents of air. These warm air patterns are created by the surrounding terrain. They will spread their wings and their tail feathers and let the warm updrafts carry them to new heights, then glide down to catch another upward thermal. Soaring saves an eagle energy because it does not have to flap its wings as often.
Soaring is a touch thing. Making 3 pointers is a touch thing, anybody can chuck a ball up. Waiting on the Lord is a time in your life where you cherish little nudges from God. By practice you can learn to hear the small whispers of God much better. Often God doesn't need to speak more, we need to hear better.
3 Levels of spiritual hearing
Joh 12:27 ΒΆ Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, [saying], I have both glorified [it], and will glorify [it] again.
Joh 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard [it], said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
1. Could not make out a distinguishable sound - thunder
2. Angel said something to him.
3. Someone heard exactly what was said.
In a Peruvian textile factory in the city of Arequipa, some 500 miles southeast of Lima, generations of women have learned to rapidly sort alpaca fiber into five qualities of fineness merely by touch, distinguishing diameter differences of as small as one micrometer— one hundred-thousandth of an inch.
*Discover magazine April 2001
Alpaca is famous for its incredible fineness (which translates to softness), its warmth (many times warmer than sheep wool) and its hypoallergenic qualities (no lanolin and small fiber cores equals low-prickle factor!). Continuous sorting of the fibers allows the women to fine tune their ability to discern minute difference. Even so straining after the voice of God will fine tune your spiritual hearing, you will go from thunder to hearing specific words.
2. Pray more when you fell less
The usual response is to pray more when you feel more, that is we tend to pray more when we are in a season of personal revival. The discipline of prayer is better than revival praying, because its results are more consistent and more long term.
Waiting upon the Lord means you are in a season where "it," hasn't yet happened. Whatever your "it," is. But it also means you are doing something about it, you are praying and seeking God. That is the truest and most correct meaning of waiting upon the Lord. Waiting does not mean sitting still and doing nothing, it means sitting still and praying and seeking God.
Kindled From On High; by William Arthur
It is only by waiting before the throne of grace that we become endued with the Holy Fire. He who waits there long and believingly will imbibe that Fire and come forth from his communion with God bearing tokens of where he has been.
Kids go to a concert they come back with a T-shirt or a CD. They come back with tokens of where they have been.
Go to the beach and you come back with sea shells and a sunburn. Tokens of where you have been.
Go to Disney world and you come back with Mickey Mouse. Tokens of where you have been.
Go to the throne of God and you will come back with something.
Real and genuine tokens of where you have been, such as:
Unction and importunity in prayer
A compulsion and renewed compassion for the lost
Forgiveness for those who have offended us
Faith for whatever trial you may be facing
A song in your spirit, wind in your spiritual sails.
3. Rest in the sovereignty of God
Ga 4:1 Now I say, [That] the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Ga 4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Even Jesus waited on the Lord, but He understood it was so God could line up all the ducks in a row. God has everything under control, we shouldn't freak out because He doesn't work according to our schedule, bust rest in the fact that He is doing what is best. Trust in His sovereignty.
In India on a missions trip I saw a cow with a rope from its mouth to the bottom of one of its legs. I asked about it and was told the cow tried to run away and was being broken of self-will and disobedience. With the rope in its mouth it could only walk forward by dropping its head every time its leg moved back, running away was impossible and simple walking was with difficulty. I had been amazed seeing cows being led down the street with nothing more than a simple stick from a tree. Now I understood how it was done. Waiting on God, is where He breaks us of self-will, as we learn that things are done on his schedule not ours. God's ways are better than ours, resting in His goodness towards us a loving parent, makes waiting time much more palatable.
4. Join the wait staff
I am using a little play on the word wait. Here wait staff means to be a on the meal serving team.
Lu 12:35 "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,
Lu 12:36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.
Lu 12:37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.
It was expected the servants would stay busy maintaining the house in the householders absence. Waiting for your miracle is a good time to sow into someone else's miracle. Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
I think the most noticeable prayers in heaven are when we pray for others. Are you in financial need, waiting on God? Pray for others in the same situation. That is what Job did, and it got his prayers answered. Are you waiting for a physical touch in your body? Pray for others, God will notice your prayers more.
In verse 37 watching means, that as house servants all things were prepared for the Master's return. The house is clean, the table is set, the animals have been fed, all He has to do is walk in the door because the staff has been busy serving while He was gone. This is illustrated in Jesus' explanation of the parable in v. 43
Lu 12:43 Blessed [is] that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Joining the wait staff means serving God while you are waiting for your "it."
Sow into your suddenly. The master will come suddenly and read v. 37 again:
Lu 12:37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.
Wow!
Close: Is anyone here in a season of waiting?
Listen attentively
Pray More when you feel less
Rest in the Sovereignty of God
Join the wait staff
Pray to mount up with wings as Eagles
