Waiting on God Makes Us Strong

Psalm 27:14 (KJV) “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”

Can you think back to a time or perhaps even multiple times in your life where you had to wait on God to work things out for you? You had to keep trusting that God was in control. As you reflect back to those times in your life, I’m sure you can recall the details of the difficulties you were up against, and you were determined to keep having faith even though things made no sense to you. There were probably even many days where you wondered where God was or if He had forgotten about you and the pain you were feeling as you had to navigate your way through the unanswered questions. But everyday something miraculous happened…your heart had strength to keep believing one more day!

When God places us in situations where we must wait on Him,  although those situations are not always comfortable for us, He is often using the time to purify our hearts and prepare us for the good things that are ahead. In Deuteronomy 31:6, He promised to never leave us or forsake us so we know He is right there with us as we wait. Through waiting we learn to persevere in faith and be steadfast because we have to stand strong with the strength that God promises to give us. As we read through God’s Word, we can see that many of the people in the Bible waited for long periods of time before they saw the manifestation of God’s promises in their life. But we also know from reading God’s Word, that God is a God who can move suddenly! So as we wait, we should always be ready for things to turn around quickly on our behalf. Waiting equips us to be people who can handle God’s very best. So rather the wait is short or long just know that God always wants what is best for you.

While we wait we can use the wisdom in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 to help us through. It tells us to rejoice, pray, and give thanks…

Rejoice – because we already know we have the victory in Christ Jesus our Lord, shouts of victory come from the homes of the righteous (Psalm 118:15).

Pray – without ceasing so we will stay closely connected to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Give thanks – because thanksgiving is the fruit of a grateful heart that is ready and able to receive God’s abundant blessings. Giving thanks shows humility before God and appreciation for the great things He has done and will do. Being thankful is His will for us (1 Thess 5:18).

Remember God’s past faithfulness to you as you wait. Also remember through your waiting you are an inspiration to others who are inspired by your endurance.