Psalm 27:14 "Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart ; Wait, I say, on the LORD!"
It has been said, “Patience is giving the opportunity for God to work according to His timetable.” Don’t you despise waiting, though? It’s amazing how I’ll check multiple lines in a grocery store just to make sure that I get in the shortest one. No doubt, change in perspective surely takes place when the fulfillment of a desire hasn’t arrived, but…we’ve all been there, haven’t we? Maybe we wait on the birth of offspring, a loved one to change and place trust in Christ, or we wait to find fulfillment in our job or an opportunity to travel to a dreamed of destination. No one escapes time in deliberation over an unfulfilled desire.
Have you ever noticed that main characters of the Bible spent a lot of time waiting? Noah waited on rain. Abraham and Sarah waited on the fulfillment of a promise and even tried to rush the process. The children of Israel awaited freedom from Egyptian bondage and, later, entrance into the “promised land.” Moses longed to see that land but wasn’t permitted. Joseph spent time in undeserved imprisonment. Hannah waited for a son to be born. David trusted in the LORD for HIS timing in the transition from Saul’s kingship. Like Joseph, prophets and apostles alike spent time in prison (one in a cistern) waiting for a fair trial or release. The Jews awaited the promised Messiah, and Simeon announced that he’d finally seen the consummation of that desire fulfilled when he laid eyes upon Jesus.
In this verse from Psalm twenty seven, two times the reader is commanded to wait. One time he is commanded to “be of good courage.” These are not suggestions, but rather, imperatives. And, the instruction to wait means to wait in expectation, looking for something. Interestingly, a secondary meaning of this Hebrew word for wait is to “bind together” or “collect.” Also, imperfect tense in the verb "strengthen” denotes that there is a process involved in the waiting to be strengthened. What may God desire to deposit into our lives that is our responsibility to collect and allow HIM to bind up (pull together) in our waiting period? He goes about transforming us as we follow HIS command to look to Him. As we obey HIS voice, HE promises to strengthen us -- something you and I NEED as we wait.
Though a different Hebrew word for "wait" is used in Lamentations 3:26, it sums up what is revealed in our verse from Psalm 27. “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” God is doing good things as we are following His commands to wait and be of good courage.
It has been said, “Patience is giving the opportunity for God to work according to His timetable.” Don’t you despise waiting, though? It’s amazing how I’ll check multiple lines in a grocery store just to make sure that I get in the shortest one. No doubt, change in perspective surely takes place when the fulfillment of a desire hasn’t arrived, but…we’ve all been there, haven’t we? Maybe we wait on the birth of offspring, a loved one to change and place trust in Christ, or we wait to find fulfillment in our job or an opportunity to travel to a dreamed of destination. No one escapes time in deliberation over an unfulfilled desire.
Have you ever noticed that main characters of the Bible spent a lot of time waiting? Noah waited on rain. Abraham and Sarah waited on the fulfillment of a promise and even tried to rush the process. The children of Israel awaited freedom from Egyptian bondage and, later, entrance into the “promised land.” Moses longed to see that land but wasn’t permitted. Joseph spent time in undeserved imprisonment. Hannah waited for a son to be born. David trusted in the LORD for HIS timing in the transition from Saul’s kingship. Like Joseph, prophets and apostles alike spent time in prison (one in a cistern) waiting for a fair trial or release. The Jews awaited the promised Messiah, and Simeon announced that he’d finally seen the consummation of that desire fulfilled when he laid eyes upon Jesus.
In this verse from Psalm twenty seven, two times the reader is commanded to wait. One time he is commanded to “be of good courage.” These are not suggestions, but rather, imperatives. And, the instruction to wait means to wait in expectation, looking for something. Interestingly, a secondary meaning of this Hebrew word for wait is to “bind together” or “collect.” Also, imperfect tense in the verb "strengthen” denotes that there is a process involved in the waiting to be strengthened. What may God desire to deposit into our lives that is our responsibility to collect and allow HIM to bind up (pull together) in our waiting period? He goes about transforming us as we follow HIS command to look to Him. As we obey HIS voice, HE promises to strengthen us -- something you and I NEED as we wait.
Though a different Hebrew word for "wait" is used in Lamentations 3:26, it sums up what is revealed in our verse from Psalm 27. “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” God is doing good things as we are following His commands to wait and be of good courage.
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