Justin Tucker, LHBC Worship Pastor
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
I’m gonna wait on You
I’m gonna wait on You
I’ve tasted Your goodness
I’ll trust in Your promise
I’m gonna wait on You
I am not a naturally patient person. I have always had a hard time sitting still. No matter what the situation is, I like to be in motion. If traffic is heavy, or there is a wreck, or if I just feel like there are too many stop lights between point A and point B, I will oftentimes take a longer route just to stay in motion. This absolutely drives my wife and others crazy. I’ve always been this way though. I’ve always felt that moving was better than waiting. As a kid, I would start tasks that most definitely needed adult supervision and would usually end in a mess that had to be cleaned up. Case in point, one Saturday morning when I was 5 or 6 years old, I had gotten up early to watch wrestling. I was a huge fan of NWA wrestling and the Four Horsemen. Nothing was better than watching Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard wreak havoc in the squared circle. Well, my parents were still in bed and I got thirsty. I had already gone into their room and had asked for something to drink but apparently Mom and Dad weren’t on the same timetable I was on. I knew that while pouring Kool-Aid the potential for making a mess was high so I decided that my best course of action would be to take an entire pitcher and a cup into their room and have them pour it for me. I made it into the room and to the side of the bed where I then proceeded to spill the entire pitcher of cold, sugary, tropical punch flavored goodness onto my Dad. Apparently, he wasn’t as big of a fan of Kool-Aid as I was. My impatience cost me getting to see wrestling that morning and it created a huge mess.
Just as I failed at waiting on my Dad to get up and fix me a drink and watch wrestling with me, I think we get impatient with God when we find ourselves in a season of waiting. How many times have we not waited on the prompting of the Holy Spirit to move forward in a situation and found ourselves in a mess? I know that I have. It’s not hard to find characters in the Bible that did the same thing. In 1 Samuel 13, we see King Saul fail to wait and it ends up costing him his kingship over Israel. 8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
That man that Samuel spoke of to Saul would end up being King David. Now, David wasn’t a perfect king either and he had his fair share of times that he got out ahead of God. The biggest difference though was that David was always repentant. He was always genuinely sorry for not waiting on the Lord before he moved. Another thing that helped David wait was his willingness to worship. Several years ago there was a song out by John Waller called “While I’m Waiting” in this song I believe we can not only see the heart of David but it also gives us a prescriptive look at how we should posture ourselves today.
I’m waiting, I’m waiting on You Lord
And I am hopeful, I’m waiting on You Lord
Though it is painful, but patiently I will wait
And I will move ahead bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I’m waiting I will serve You
While I’m waiting I will worship
While I’m waiting I will not faint
I’ll be running the race even while I wait
Waiting isn’t easy but sometimes, it’s all we are called to do. Samuel says in chapter 15, verses 22 and 23: And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord, help me to be patient in the seasons of waiting. I know that You have a perfect plan for me and that sometimes I get ahead of Your plans and act as if I know better than You. Forgive me for that, Father. Jesus, humble my heart to your KIngship. You have earned and you deserve my obedience. Holy Spirit, guide and direct my steps. Lead me in all of Your ways, not mine. Remind me to have a desire to only go where You are as Moses did. Thank You for Your grace and mercy. Thank You for saving me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Hebrews 1:3– 3
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high