Worth Waiting For
- Randall Brewer
- 8 hours ago
- 10 min read
‘I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.’
- Psalm 40:1-2 -
For spiritual growth, there is nothing more important than time alone with God, just meditating on His Word. This pleases God as it shows how much we love Him and desire to be remade into the image of His Son. It also shows our passion to be in His presence and our willingness to wait patiently on Him, no matter how long it takes. So try not to hurry when it comes to God. The best things in life are worth waiting for, and what is better than knowing God? It takes time to develop intimate relationships in the natural realm, and even more time in the spiritual. But God is worth waiting for.
Waiting on God is a big part of spiritual growth. We must give Him time to bring to pass all He has promised. We want God to tell us what to do, but we struggle when He tells us to stop, sit still, and wait on Him. We forget that waiting on God is both powerful and beneficial. We cringe at the idea of waiting for heaven to act, so we must recall that the Bible defines waiting differently. For us, waiting meaning taking a position of readiness; staying in a place of expectation and being watchful. Picture someone on the edge of their seat expecting something wonderful to happen at any moment. Seen this way, waiting on the Lord can be fun. At least it’s supposed to be.
We struggle when we wait on the wrong thing. We wait for circumstances to change, not for God to act. We put the cart before the horse by waiting on the natural, not the spiritual. We are to ‘wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!’ (Ps. 27:14). We must wait for, hope for, and expect the Lord! David knew the importance of waiting on God. As a youth he was anointed to be king, but it didn’t become a reality for many years. Yet he said: ‘Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him’ (Ps. 37:7). The next line says: ‘Cease from anger and forsake wrath,’ as those who only hate to wait will grow angry and say or do harmful things that David warned against.
Believers must be patient, bridle their anger, trash their wrath, and cool their jets. Only those who wait on God without murmur or complaint are blessed among men. They are those who grow up spiritually and go on to do great things in the kingdom. Mature believers know that seeking and waiting on God go hand-in-hand. As they wait on God and seek Him out, their expectations are high because, as Hebrews 11:6 says, God ‘is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.’ It does us good to remember His heavenly response is worth waiting for.
God is moved by faith, which is shown in our willingness to wait on Him. Hebrews 6:12 says to ‘imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.’ Those who wait successfully know that God is good, so waiting is not a burden. It’s a joy and a privilege. Psalm 37:9 says: ‘Evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ Isn’t that worth waiting for? Yes! But we must be careful not to set natural parameters on supernatural God. Don’t give a specific date on which He has to move but trust in His perfect timing. As Solomon wrote: ‘He has made everything beautiful in its time’ (Eccl. 3:11).
We struggle with waiting because we don’t know what to do in the meantime. More often than not we feel overwhelmed when circumstances seem to get worse, not better. We get frustrated and start to murmur and moan. On the other hand, those who wait cheerfully and in great expectation keep their eyes raised to God. As Psalm 25:15 says: ‘My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.’ So who gets delivered from the hardships of life? Those who focus on the Lord! We gave Him our life so now give Him your time. If you do, victory will be yours in the end.
Psalm 40:1-2 says: ‘I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.’ When you get alone with God and wait on Him with joy and expectation, divine life is poured into you. You’ll be like Adam before the fall when God ‘breathed into his nostrils the breath of life’ (Gen. 2:7). God took what was His and breathed it into Adam. God gave him divine life, crowning him with glory and honor (Ps. 8:5), but Adam lost all that when he sinned.
Jesus, ‘the last Adam’ (1 Cor. 15:45), came to earth and was also ‘crowned with glory and honor’ (Heb. 2:9) as reward for His patient service. Therefore as we wait on God, we are transformed into the image of Christ and regain that same divine life that the first Adam knew as he walked with God in the cool of the day. Much is learned from the fall of Adam and Eve. Their ruin came when they went to the wrong place and listened to the wrong voice. God told them to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion in the earth (Gen. 1:28). If they’d only done what they were called to do, they wouldn’t have had time to wander into places they shouldn’t.
Because Adam and Eve missed the mark and sinned, they were made to live natural lives. No longer were they like God. Fellowship was broken and they had to work by the sweat of their brow and suffer pain the rest of their lives. But then, after thousands of years, Jesus came and changed it all. He paid for sin and restored fellowship with God, meaning we can now live supernatural lives in a natural world. We can meet with God and grow up to be like Christ if we patiently learn from God.
1 John 5:12 says: ‘He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.’ It stands to reason that divine life comes from divine God. Get in His presence and make Him your Lord today. A supernatural life doesn’t happen on its own. It’s lived out on purpose. You can’t sit in your easy chair all day and expect good things to happen automatically. No, you’ve got to get alone with God, mediate on His Word, and wait on Him to give divine direction. Then, when His Word leads you, you’ve got to go out and do His bidding. This is all part of growing up. ‘First the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head’ (Mark 4:28).
Psalm 16:11 says: ‘You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.’ How can God show us the path of life if we don’t get in His presence and wait on Him? He can’t! We inherit divine life by knowing Jesus, but we bask in His goodness by waiting on Him. He breathes into us the same life He breathed into Adam. As Paul says: ‘You He made alive’ (Eph. 2:1). So it doesn’t matter how long we have to wait. The longer the better when our life is overflowing with the divine life of God. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). Old things have passed away and all things are new. We are changed from the inside out. Divine life is ours, so enjoy it!
When trials come and you don’t know what to do, get in God’s presence and wait. Jesus said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). Only Jesus shows the path of life and it’s on that path that divine life flows. It’s where we discover the things of God and not of men (Matt. 16:23). It’s where God has authority over all we say and do. As Jesus said: “Anyone who intends to come with Me has to let Me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am” (Matt. 16:24). We have to die to selfish desires and give God control of our life. Move into the passenger seat while Jesus takes the wheel. He knows what’s best, so wait on Him to take you where you need to go.
Flee complacency when it comes to your relationship with God. Don’t be satisfied with where you’re at but crave Him more and more. If you’re content, you won’t draw closer to God and grow up spiritually. The good news is this: once you taste and see that the Lord is good, you’ll naturally want to come back for more. Mary knew this, so when Jesus came to her family’s home, she sat at His feet and heard His word (Luke 10:39). She had such hunger for Christ that even her sister’s complaints couldn’t pull her away. Martha was busy serving, which in itself is good. But we are to be like Mary and not get so busy that we don’t have time to spend with Christ. An hour in His presence is more vital than a day of service. Remember, if you’re too busy for God, you’re just too busy.
Mary sat at Jesus’ feet as a sign of deep humility. She humbly heard His words and grew up spiritually, so James 4:10 says: ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.’ When we are humble before the Lord, we rely on Him for everything and He lifts us up to spiritual maturity. Moses was used mightily by God, and Numbers 12:3 says: ‘Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.’ Moses was humble, so God lifted him up. Jesus said: “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it” (Luke 18:17). Just as a child relies on parents for everything, we rely on God for everything. That’s humility. Humble yourselves and become reliant on God. Be like Mary and sit at the feet of Jesus.
Humility is the key to blessing, so we must always sit at the feet of Jesus. As 1 Peter says: ‘Be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time’ (5:5-6). It is God’s joy to lift you up. Your responsibility is to be ‘building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life’ (Jude 20-21). In other words: keep your life in the love of God. Stay at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ.
Jude knew we must be diligent to stay in the presence of God, experiencing and enjoying the love He has for us. As we do this, He gives us all we need to grow into mature, steadfast believers. Time spent waiting on God ensures our relationship doesn’t become cold or formal. No, our relationship with God is vibrant and alive! Intimacy grows as we communicate and share with Him, keeping ourselves in the love of God. Romans 5:5 says: ‘This hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how deeply God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.’ In this alert expectancy, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary – we can’t find enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives by the Spirit.
Paul’s great prayer for spiritual growth comes in Ephesians 3:16-19: ‘I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.’ Paul wants us to know that God loves us and He has a plan for us, and we are filled with all the fullness of God when we wait on that pledge to come to fruition.
Just think about fullness for a moment. The fullness of God was also in Jesus (Col. 1:19), meaning the greatness of God that was in Christ is now in us. Loving God isn’t what fills us with His fullness. It’s when we realize how much He loves us that we are supernaturally filled. Every day, say out loud to yourself: “God loves me. God loves me. God loves me!” As you grow more conscious of how He loves you, His blessings will fill your life. This is why Paul calls God ‘Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us’ (Eph. 3:20). Jesus is in you and His power is at work in your life. You experience this when you realize how much He loves you. So say it again: “God loves me. God loves me. God loves me!”
We are called to live a supernatural life. Get alone with God and wait on Him. Give Him the time and honor He deserves and He will give you wisdom and direction. Jesus said: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). As you grow up in Christ, as you abide and wait in Him, you will know divine life, for in Christ ‘was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it’ (1:4-5). The Light that came down from heaven was Life. It blazed out of the dark and no darkness can put it out. How would you like the life of Christ to blaze out of you? Isn’t it worth waiting for? Indeed it is. So get alone with God, dig into His Word, and watch what happens.