Psalm 27:14(NKJV)
“Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”
This verse in Psalm 27:14 is very simple, but for many believers, it reveals one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian walk, which is simply waiting on the Lord. God is faithful to His Word. He never changes, and He never wavers. When He makes a promise, we can take it to the bank, because God never fails. Most of us claim to know and understand the infallible and perfect nature of God, but when we find ourselves waiting on a blessing to come to pass, we sometimes doubt God’s willingness to bless us. We ignore Psalm 27:14 and refuse to be of good courage. We make costly mistakes when we try to take matters into our own hands and abandon patience. Our hearts are strengthened towards God through the wait, and this is a lesson that none of us can afford to skip.
God tells us twice in Psalm 27:14 to wait on Him, and when God repeats Himself in this way, it’s to get our attention. It’s to express the importance of what He is conveying. He knows that patience is a struggle for most human beings, particularly in our modern day. The conveniences of technology and just about everything else in this age caters to a “on the double” mentality. Our attention spans are not nearly as long as they once were, and some of us have no concept of what it means to patiently endure. God’s standard of patience for His children has not changed, and He will not allow us to bypass this crucial element of the example of Christ.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is to leave everything in God’s hands and wait for His divine timing. The challenge that most of us have with this is not knowing any of the details and fearing that we might miss an opportunity. We don’t know what to do with ourselves during the wait, but God tells us exactly what to do, and one of those things is to be of good courage. This means that we are to encourage ourselves through God’s Word. We need to feed our minds and hearts scriptures that remind us of God’s faithfulness and encourage us to keep the faith. Lamentations 3:25(ESV) says, “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” We must confess verses like this continually.
When I was in high school, I really liked a young man, but he didn’t pay me much attention. I prayed and asked God to help me find a way to impress this guy, because I wanted so badly to capture his attention. God knew the heart of this young man, and he was certainly not for me, but I was young. I wanted what I wanted. Heavenly Father spoke to me in many ways, and He let me know that I didn’t have to do anything to make someone like me. All I had to do was wait on Him. “That is not for you. I have something better!” He told me.
After a while, I became antsy because I wasn’t seeing this ‘something better’ and I wanted someone to love. I took matters into my own hands and eventually asked the guy out. He told me that he didn’t like girls that wear glasses. My little heart was broken, and my ego was shattered into little pieces. I thought to myself, I should’ve listened to God in the first place, and I wouldn’t be in this emotional mess. I cried my eyes out for weeks, but a few months later, I met the nicest young man while I was visiting my grandfather in Atlanta. This young man loved the Lord and was very kind to me. Although that was a long time ago, I learned patience and many other lessons through that whole experience.
The prophet, Isaiah, said in Isaiah 64:4(NLT), “For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” God’s timing is always perfect, and when we wait on Him, we will see the manifestation of our desires, and they will exceed our expectations. God knows what we need, and He knows exactly how to bless us. We don’t have to feel pressed to hurry things along. He tells us to be strong and of a good courage, and this is exactly what we must do. Wait on the Lord! Don’t be impetuous and do something you’ll regret. Use your time wisely and do the things that strengthen your heart towards God, because this is how we move ourselves closer to Him and closer to the blessings we seek. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
“God’s Timing Is Always Perfect”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack and KLizzie for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.