Refusing To Wait Can Bring Disaster

"Truly my soul silently waits for God; from him comes my salvation." Psalm 62:1 Waiting on the Lord can be very difficult. We become impatient and then we try to solve our problem ourselves, sometimes making a mess of things - all because it's so hard to wait. God told Abraham and his wife Sarah that he would give them a son. Sarah was already past the age of childbearing so after waiting a long time she decided to tell Abraham that maybe God needed a bit of help, maybe he would give them a son through her maid Hagar. In those days, the son of one’s maid was accounted the wife’s son. So Abraham slept with Sarah's maid and the maid became pregnant. The son she bore was not at all the son God promised, no, it was Ishmael who became the father of the Arab peoples. To this day that mistake has cost the world dearly in pain and suffering. Later, God brought forth from Sarah herself the son he had promised. His name was Isaac, through whom the Jewish people came. Had Sarah had the faith to wait, even in unlikely circumstances, the whole Arab-Israeli conflict that began then -- would never have taken place. Have you asked something from the Lord? Have you waited long for it? Do not think that the length of the wait makes the promise less likely, that is not true. Before the Lord brings an answer to prayer, he has to set up all the circumstances that will bring the answer about. He knows what he’s doing. Trust him! The faith of the believer is tested in the waiting period. When the wait is long, will the believer lose faith and try to make it happen? God is looking for the man or woman who will totally, with all their hearts, trust him and wait on him. vs 2: "He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved." And that's the point. Will the believer be moved? Will the believer buckle under the waiting period if it's long? Perhaps you're a young woman who has asked God for a husband, or a young man who has asked God for a wife. You've waited a long time, so you become tempted to just go ahead and marry whoever is interested in you. Don't do it. That will bring a lifetime of regret. Wait on the Lord. WAIT, I say, on the Lord. He alone can bring the right person to you, but first he has to set up the story. If you wait on him, not only will the promise come, but you will have an awesome testimony. Are you waiting for the salvation of a loved one? Don't try to make it happen, don't try to play the role of the Holy Spirit. Be silent. And wait. And pray. God is faithful. vs 6 repeats for emphasis: "He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense, I shall not be moved. When a Scripture is repeated in a passage, it's repeated to make the point that this is VERY important. You must not be moved by anyone or anything as you wait for the answer to your prayer. This will take a great deal of faith and an absolute trust in the Lord who alone is your provider. vs 9: "Surely men of low degree are a vapor, men of high degree are a lie; If they are weighed on the scales, they are altogether lighter than vapor." The rich and mighty of the world are false. Empty as fluff, altogether lighter than vapor. And that is because they put all their trust in themselves and in the schemes they can bring about in order to achieve for themselves all their desire. This is the way of the world. They have no substance. They lie and cheat and plot to get their way, to satisfy themselves with fame and fortune. Their lives are full of Hagars, and they bring forth all sorts of sin and damage as they plot to attain to their selfish goals. vs 11: "God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God." And those who truly believe that, will put their trust in him alone. "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and HE shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him, and HE shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:4

Trust, delight, and commit. This is the way to true and lasting success.