Wait on the Lord

"Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalms 27:14)

So, since this post is about waiting, I don't want to waste your time and beat around the bush.

Truth: You will have to wait at some point in your life.

Some people like to get around this by taking short cuts or quoting scriptures like, "But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first"(Matthew 19:30) to justify their reasoning behind wanting to skip the line or in some cases skip the process.

I hate to burst your bubble, but God wants you to experience the process, not just for you but for those you are called to minister to. Sometimes, the process is painful and slow, but it is necessary for God to create something in you that will last beyond you. If we were to take control of our own process, imagine the damage we'd cause or the obstruction to our legacy. I'd like to think that the things we create on our own tend to have an expiration date, but the things that God creates last for all eternity. He creates with His Word and His Word never can return void.

Personally, I am one of those who hates waiting in lines or standing around waiting for the show or performance to begin. I hate when there's a wrench thrown in as if God just wants to see you jump through hoops to get to what you've seemed to have waited forever for. It's frustrating! Honestly, my natural instinct is to avoid inconvenience, pain, and struggle, but that just seems the only way to get to the other side. I have to go through the valley to even reach the base of the mountain. The wilderness often comes before the pasture. It's going to be challenging. Something to keep on the forefront of your mind.

WAIT, a word worth understanding...

Wait, by one definition, is a verb that means to stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens. There is a lot of expectation in waiting. In fact, if you are not expecting something to come out of your waiting then you are just wasting time. A synonym for "wait" is to mark time. When I think of someone who is marking time, I think of it as a sort of countdown to something that will change current circumstances.

Genesis 1:9-10 says, "And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered [wait:] together in one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering [collection: ] of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good."

The first time "wait", or its Hebrew word origin - Qavah, shows up in the Bible is when God is talking to the waters. We all know the Creation story, but it's interesting that even creation had to wait to be created in its fullness, in its purpose. Every living thing waits, because its purpose comes from a power greater than its own.

This one scripture shows that there is indeed a waiting period before God gives permission to produce, to birth, to bring into fruition.

But the best part is that you do not do it alone. If you find yourself waiting alone, then it is isolation and not God setting you apart. Discern your environment. The phrase, "to be gathered together", is synonymous with the word "wait". Imagine how we see gatherings today. Nobody gathers for no reason. There's expectation in gatherings. During the Civil Rights Movement, gatherings were often used to devise a plan to overthrown racism and systematic oppression. That's one of the reasons local governments started banning large gatherings. If they could not communicate and combine their resources, then they would remain under the thumb of oppressors. Things get started in gatherings like a spark to a flame. The simpleness of seeing others who believe the same cause as you do really sets things in motion. Waiting is never a passive activity. There is always the stirring of movement.

Recently, the state government had North Carolina on strict lock-down through a series of executive orders. This was at the height of the pandemic around late Spring-early Summer of 2020. One of the many executive orders was the restriction on gatherings. People couldn't gather together with more than 10 at a time, and even that was looked down upon because the risk of spreading disease was so high. Gatherings often are a collective pool for bad things to thrive, too. This really let's us know just how powerful the right environment can be. It can either be the birthplace of a revolutionary movement, the defining of atoms as they form oceans and seas by the command of God, or they can be the covering and protection of teeming parasitic and dark plans of an enemy. Waiting offers the opportunity, the potential, of growth, but what is grown is up to us.

The enemy hates when the saints gather. He fears the outcome of when "two or three are gathered together in m name, there I am in the midst of them."(Matthew 18:20). The "I" in this statement of scripture is referring to God, Himself. Satan fears God, because His very Presence signifies his defeat. He already knows when God shows up, he's already lost the fight he instigated. I strongly believe that this one of the reasons the enemy tries so hard to prevent the saints from gathering together in prayer. Every time prayer is initiated, there's the enemy trying to prevent it.

"And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, ' These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.' And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And he came out the same hour."(Acts 16: 16-18)

Satan has seen what happens when the saints gather (Acts 2:1-2). The Holy Spirit falls heavily and the atmosphere is so thick with God's spirit that any form of division cannot stand in the proximity of Him. The day the Holy Spirit fell in the upper room, what we call Pentecost, was a day of victory for God in the midst of the disciples fearing for their lives. God showed up and suddenly there was no room for Satan in the place.

The importance of churches is also displayed in the concept of gathering. Church is often a place where we go and actively wait on God to move. Yes, God gives us strength on our own, but imagine the power that happens when you are on one accord with others who are fighting what you are fighting. An army is always better than a single soldier.

So, while waiting can be found in gatherings, waiting leads you to your dry land. Something that most people choose not to think about. Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days in the wilderness before beginning his ministry.

When God commanded the waters to gather, it revealed dry land. Dry land doesn't look like it could produce life. Dry land doesn't look like what we would expect to come out of water. It looks and feels different than what we have been used to so our natural instinct is to reject it. God wouldn't have brought us out here to die! Be careful with changing your "couldn't haves" to "wouldn't haves" because there is no limit on what may or may not do. Did our prayers produce dry land? Was it something we did wrong? Did we take a wrong turn somewhere? Questions like this get asked all the time when we have such high expectations in our time of gathering, in our time of waiting, but we fail to realize that the presence of the dry land is about to be declared good by God(Gen 1: 10). God blesses the existence of the dry land to signify that what we gained in our time of waiting will carry us through to what He has for us. Our waiting grew our provision, but the dry land will give us our ministry.

Don't curse your dry land. It's what God has blessed as your Promised land. Wherever you step is holy ground, so wherever you go, things will grow. What looks like just dry land is where you can be fruitful and multiply. God gave you purpose in your waiting, but He will fulfill you on your dry land.

Watch!

There's awareness in waiting. It shouldn't come as a surprise when God gives you fruit. If you are rooted in Him, then you will already know He will call what is produced on the ends of your branches good. He's not going to hold back on His fatherly pride of what you become when you allow Him to build and grow you. If you are waiting and not paying attention, His coming and His presence will come as an unexpected surprise like the bridegroom opening the door to 5 unprepared virgins(Matthew 25:1). Getting caught off guard by God will look like a disturbance of peace, but if you are already listening then you'll recognize a catalyst for what it is.

You'll always know you are out of your waiting period when God moves.

Pay attention & WAIT for it.

Love you, muchly!

Jamie Y. Wharton