Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
An important key to having courage and strength with God is a willingness to wait upon Him. The call to “Wait for the Lord“, book-ends the call to be strong and courageous. Like many things in the Christian life, however, increasing our strength and courage while waiting is not something that is intuitive to us. Becoming stronger or more bold in our faith would seem to require much activity and exertion on our part. After all, doesn’t one increase their strength only by training, and their boldness through noble acts of bravery?
There is, of course, a time and place for being bold, and we ought to be continually training ourselves toward greater Godliness (1 Timothy 4:7). Yet in my own life, I have found waiting upon God to be one of the most challenging tasks in the Christian life. Preaching, studying, praying, and even traveling overseas on the mission field often require less courage and strength than simply waiting for God to move. Ironic as it may be, waiting on God can take every ounce of our strength, courage, and discipline. To be still and trust God is frequently a far more demanding task than taking things into our own hands. Yet, we are not on His timetable, and we do not know what He knows. It is ours then to wait on Him.
Lest we get the wrong idea of waiting, however, we should not think that waiting on the Lord is a passive activity. This is where many of us fail in our waiting upon God. We assume that waiting on God means He will wrestle our attention away from the world when He is finally ready to move. This does sometimes happen, yet I do not believe it is the way God prefers to work in us, with us, or for us. Far too often, this kind of passive waiting simply leaves us wandering aimlessly in the world. This aimless wandering through life can then lead to a disinterested spirit within us toward God. Over time, this apathy toward God settles over every part of our lives. We stop reading our bibles, praying, and even attending church. These spiritually essential activities end in part because we think waiting on God in one area of our life removes our obligation to follow Him in all the other areas of our life. We become sinfully focused on God meeting our need before we meet Him in sincere worship, praise, and obedience. The end of this path leaves little that distinguishes us outwardly from the non-believer. In a twist of irony, this kind of waiting is often self-defeating. As we drift away from God while we passively wait on Him, it becomes less likely that we will see Him move when He does.
It’s clear that a passive approach to waiting on God will not lead to greater strength and courage in our walk with God. We must then not wait idly. The waiting called for in Scripture is an active waiting. The Hebrew word wait is a verb and thus describes an action. There is in the word wait the idea of an expectant waiting. As we wait on God, we hope and expect Him to speak and move. We do not presume upon Him regarding when and how He should move, and we do not claim that He has moved when He has not. We should never allow a foothold in our minds that we can manipulate God. Yet still, we wait with a child’s eagerness who waits intentionally on his mother or father for the attention, approval, or provision they seek. Our spiritual eyes remain locked on God’s every move in expectation of His deliverance. We search His written word to see if He has already answered our inquiries, and train our spiritual ears upon the Spirit of God, ready to answer any call He makes in our lives. The words in our heart continually call out to God and ask Him to hear us and to move. We also work to ensure we are ready to move when God moves by not encumbering ourselves with hindering sins.
We do not move a moment before God does, but neither do we linger a moment after His movement is clear. If you are waiting for God, and surely we all must, then bolster your waiting with courage and strength by infusing your waiting with activities that will buttress your faith against the onslaught of doubt the enemy will throw against you. Are you hurting? Then wait actively for the Lord. Confused? Then wait actively for the Lord. Is life wonderful with no particular pain or struggle? Then wait actively for the Lord, because pain and struggle are a mere breath away from us all. Do you desire salvation? Then wait actively for the Lord. Soon enough, the waiting will end. Soon enough, you will finish your course and the race will be over. If you have run well, you will wait no longer and temporary faith will end in eternal sight. I exhort you to heed this word in Psalms 27:14 and “Wait for Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”