Wait
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. ~Psalm 37:7
As we go through life, we find that there are encounters that we have that cause us aggravation, anxiety, frustration, and worry. Problems do not go away or lessen as we get older. Rather, they increase and come at us in ways that we do not know how to prepare for. Psalm 37 was written to help us when we experience frustration with people who hurt or take advantage of us. The opening verse tells us, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.” In our devotion this morning, we see the importance of learning to wait on the Lord when things in our life seem to be going backwards, our situation is upside down, and it appears that evildoers gain an upper hand over us.
There is the principle in waiting.
Waiting on the Lord is when we resign ourselves from trying to solve our dilemma or problem and leave it in God’s hands. When you wait on the Lord, there is no time limit. When you wait on the Lord, we do not get an answer right away. When you wait on the Lord, it is like sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for the doctor to see you: when it is your turn, you will be called. When you wait on the Lord, it is the Lord Who is in control and not you.
There is the performance in waiting.
We learn to exercise faith in God. “Trust in the LORD, and do good.” Faith is letting go of my possession and control and turning it completely over into the hands of God. It is like taking a large sum of money to the bank. Once the money is turned over to the bank, we trust the bank to take good care of our funds. Faith is committing the issue at hand to the Lord and allowing Him to deal with it. Faith is saying, "God is in control of it now."
There is the praying when we wait.
“Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” We are happiest when we turn our frustrations over to the Lord. Praying about our fears, frustrations, and feelings ultimately means we give it all to Him. The desires of our heart are the innermost concerns and feelings. When we release the frustration to God through prayer, there is a release that He gives us concerning the outcome. We are delivered from a vindictive complex, and we have the assurance that God will answer our prayers.
There is the patience when we wait.
God teaches us how to be patient. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. We change our perspective of our situation from how we feel about it to learning to wait and see what God will do for you. There is great value to our character when we are tested with frustration and worry. It forces us to grow in patience and realize that God, in His timeline, will take care of things.
There is the prevention when we wait.
“Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.” Waiting on the Lord teaches us to not react out of anger or retaliation when we have been taken advantage of. Instead, it is letting God fight our battle for us. God always does a better job settling things when we have been wronged.
There is the product when we wait.
“He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” “And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.” “For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.”
God’s way is always the best way. Give your fretting and frustrations to the Lord. Let Him take care of those who are taking advantage of you.
Have a patient God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 2 Kings 1-3