Wait on the Lord

To Do . . . And Not To Do

There is another illustration for waiting that can be found in the book of Psalms. It paints a vivid picture and gives a clearer idea of what waiting should look like. In Psalm 130, the Psalmist is crying unto God and declaring the Lord's merciful forgiveness. After stating this attribute of God which is the reason for waiting, the Psalmist goes on to say, "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch fort he morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning." Out in the dark and the cold, one can only imagine how eagerly a watchman would wait for morning to come.

It is very clear now that waiting can not be an idle thing. It is full of trust, hope and patience, but are there instructions as to what should be and should not be done during a time of waiting? In Psalm 37:34 it says, "Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land" and before this instruction to wait are many more instructions and promises. The very first verse in this chapter holds two direct commands. "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity." Two things – fret not, and do not be envious – are strong commands that should be applied to waiting. Both of these commands fall under that category of trust. Trust by definition, eliminates worry and if one is trusting in God, there shouldn't be any envy since God is being trusted to provide. Verse three backs this up by saying, "Trust in the Lord, and do good."

A few verses later, an interesting topic is addressed. Psalm 37:4 states, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Many other places and times, stories and people, have expounded on the importance of praising the Lord and taking delight in Him, and combined with all the rest that delighting is in connection with, waiting also, seems to be benefited by delighting in the Lord. When one delights in the Lord it would be hard to harbor impatience and bitterness, no matter how rough the circumstances may be. Thus delighting is something that should be practiced especially during the arduous task of waiting to keep one's burden light and spirits high.

"Cease from anger, and forsakewrath," is the command given in verse eight. If this instruction is obeyed, itlogically follows that waiting on the Lord can be peaceful as the one waitingfocusses on God rather than harboring anger toward something. Again, thiscommand is not left without a promise. In the first part of verse nine and thewhole of verse ten this promise is given. "For evildoers shall be cut off . . .For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligentlyconsider his place, and it shall not be." This gives confidence in God'sjustice, reminding those who might be tempted to harbor anger toward something,that they need not take matters into their own hands, only wait on the Lord andHe will bring justice.