Waiting on the Lord

Waiting rooms seem to stir up a wide range of emotions. If you are waiting to meet a friend’s new baby, chances are you are excited and hopeful. If you are waiting to get your results from a lab test, you’re likely feeling fearful or restless. All the while, time seems to stand still. Maybe you have been waiting on answers that have brought you to all sorts of theoretical waiting rooms: waiting to hear back from your boss, or a significant other, or a phone call from your prodigal child. Chances are, you are waiting for something, but we have been equipped to rejoice in our waiting, no matter what we’re waiting for.

What does it look like to “be strong” as you wait for the Lord? We remember all the Lord has done. Being strong is being confident in God’s faithfulness. Time and time again in Scripture, the Lord fulfilled the promises He made. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, was ninety years old before the Lord gave her a son as promised (Genesis 21). David waited approximately fifteen years before he was anointed as king as the Lord had promised (2 Samuel 5:4). When we look back, we grow in confidence of the character of God. When we are confident in God’s character of faithfulness, we are more patient in the waiting.

How do we “take heart” in the waiting? We look forward and anticipate God’s faithfulness. Scripture reminds us that the Lord will continue to fulfill what He has spoken, regardless of our actions. God has a perfect record of faithfulness. We can have full confidence that God will be faithful to us even when He doesn’t act according to our own timeframe. When we take to heart in the way the Lord has made good on His promises, we are reminded who to place our hope in. Taking heart creates a confident expectation that God will do what He says in our lives.

Waiting rooms are not typically where you’d like to spend your time, but waiting rooms are always temporary. Life on earth is a bit of a waiting room. We see the brokenness because of sin, we know who will ultimately take all the pain away, but we haven’t experienced complete healing yet. We remain expectantly hopeful for eternity spent with Christ. He is our Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals. By His strength, we wait on His always dependable, always perfect timing.