Waiting on the Lord

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

What does it mean to wait for the Lord?

• waiting expectantly – trusting that we’re not treading water, or wasting time.  God hasn’t forgotten about us.  He hears; and this waiting is part of His answer
• focusing on His faithfulness in the past.  Looking to His promises for the future. Walking by faith; knowing He gives us grace for each day.
• waiting with hope; knowing that He will bring us good
• being confident in His promises and mistrusting my feelings
• embracing our dependence; We are weak.  We are not in control.  We cannot make ourselves or our world or our relationships right. Now… we can start to see who Jesus is. His beauty, His love, His sacrifice. Now, my weakness can become His strength
• surrendering my schedule. “Your time, Lord.  Your terms.”
• agreeing to stop, when everything in me says ‘GO’.  I want to stay up – but in love, He makes me lie down.
• laying down my weapons.  ‘He will fight for me; I need only be still.’
• listening to His Spirit … and carving out space to hear

I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realize now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying

on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.

R.S Thomas: The Bright Field

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