Waiting on the Lord

Habakkuk 2:1-

I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected (NKJV)

It seems many of us are in a season of waiting on the Lord for finances, new jobs, diagnoses,…..

I have been waiting for financial breakthrough for the past 1 year and go through a myriad of emotions on a daily basis. Lately, I was joined by ladies who either have been laid off and waiting for a recall, or loved one not accepting health diagnosis and stepping up to treatment options.

We have been meditating on the word, wait. Habakkuk 2:1 gave us a picture of what waiting on the Lord meant. Habakkuk complaint against God who ,in his opinion, allowed wickedness in Judah and now was punishing Judah using  the even more wicked Babylonians. How can God allow it? In this verse, Habakkuk decided to take a stand , stop complaining and wait for God to answer him. He

-took a stand to watch. He did not just wait but he kept an eye out as we would say.

-stationed himself on the tower

Like a watchmen, being on the tower, gave Habakkuk a view or perspective of the world. We in the waiting season can watch the world; our loved ones, neighbors  and community. Everyone has an opinion, critism or even ideas about what we should be doing while they go about doing their thing. Habakkuk had the right idea of being above distractions

-watch to see what He will say. Like Habakkuk we too need to shut out distractions and wait to see what God will say.

-what he will say when God corrects him. It became a time of reflection, observation and meditation for Habakkuk as he stood at the tower.

Many times we at ground level are distracted by the world, it’s opinions,⁸ that we miss what God is saying and what kind of conversation we will have with Him.

So when we wait on the Lord, we need to

1-trust Him and exercise our faith in God. We need to believe that as children of God, God hears our cry and answers. Know that He knows what we are going through and is working during our season of waiting. He is so full of mercy, grace and love towards us

2-our hope is in Him who gives us rest in His presence

3-our dependence is on Him alone. Our eyes watch for Him and eagerly await His Words.God’s timing is the perfect timing

Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Psalm 130:5-6

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

⁶ My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

(We watch very diligently as morning is when the enemy attacks and the watchmen have their eyes peeled on the surrounding)

Micah 7:7

⁷ Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

4-when we wait on the Lord we are never disappointed.  Praise the Lord!

5-we learn patience and we listen to His Word. Waiting is not a time to sit around and worry or pour out our troubles to anyone who will listen. It is not a time to listen to others. It is not a time to get angry (oh why is this happening to me) Do not let what is being said or what the circumstances are around us cause us to to become depressed,  disappointed,  angry and even question God. We may even get angry and bitter towards God( does He not care? Why is God so unfair  why is He not answering me.. ). We need to get to a higher place and watch and see what God has to say (are we ignoring His wisdom and trying on our fleshy effort to find solutions?)

Psalm 37:7-8

⁷ 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.

⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

Psalm 5:3

³ My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

6-we have to be courageous to fight fear and the “what if”s . We need to take a stand, confess the fears within us to the Lord and surrender to His wisdom. We think about Joshua who was a servant to Moses and at his death God elevated him to become the new leader; leading millions of people. Goodness gracious! He definitely needed courage. God starts of in Joshua chapter 1 encouraging and strengthening Joshua. His main commandment to Joshua was meditate on God’s Word day and night. That too is our mandate- stay in the Word.

Psalm 31:24

²⁴ Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Ephesians 6:10

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

7-we need to humble ourselves under God. Love everyone as Jesus did. Remind ourselves of all the blessings to come. Habakkuk did alot of complaining but now he realized he just had to wait on the Lord.

While we wait, we need to be used of God and serve Him.Ask Him; how can I be of service or who do you want me to serve or show me where I can serve Your people. I spend my time now calling people and asking the “how can I help ” question. I attend care groups, invite people into my home, and pray with them. I generously give to anyone who is in need. For my lady who was laid off with 60 others, we talked about how she could call them, ask how they are doing, if they needed help or just to pray with them or be a friend.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

⁹ For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;

¹⁰ And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

8-see this as an opportunity to praise His goodness and faithfulness. Consider this time as a time to get closer to Him and make a deeper connection

Psalm 27:13-14

¹³ I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Lamentations 3:22-26

²² It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

²³ They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

²⁴ The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

²⁵ The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

²⁶ It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

9- this maybe a time of testing. God is refining our faith, and building up our spiritual endurance.He is strengthening us and preparing us for a greater glory. There is no fail or pass mark here. We remember Abraham and Sarah. They waited for 25 years for the birth of Issac but impatience caused Sarah to “ask” Abraham to sleep with Hagar. Ishmael was born but he was not the promise. Isaac came but God did not forget Ishmael and blessed him. Man’s fickleness can cause complications but nothing surprises the Father. Hallelujah!

David was anointed king when he was 15 years old and attending his father’s sheep but he did not become king until he was 30 years old. This time of waiting was not easy but David’s eyes were on the Lord. He continued to care for the sheep and when told to take food to his brothers, he made sure the sheep were cared for before he left.

Isaiah 30:18

¹⁸ And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

James 1:2-3

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Proverbs 17:3

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts

1 Peter1:7

So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Time of waiting is never a wasted time. There is peace and joy as we sit and rest in His presence. When we quit the negative, watch and see, we will receive an answer from the Lord. God spoke to one of the ladies about my finances, the same time He spoke to me in the early hours of the morning. He said He is preparing the finances I need and she said to me” Oh how Jesus loves you”

Dear Lord, thank you for this season of waiting. Help us to be watchful , diligently and actively listening to hear You speaking to us. Your Word says cast all our cares unto You because You care for us carefully and faithfully. Oh how you love Your children, Lord. Like Habakkuk, help us to get to higher ground and keep our eyes on You. Right now, while we wait Lord show us where we can be of use to Your kingdom. Give us opportunities to serve You and Your people. We give You the praise and glory for who You are and who we are in You. In Jesus Name Amen