Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor grows weary. His understanding in unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40: 28-31 NKJV
Who likes to wait? I'm sure not too many of us would admit to admire the idea of waiting. For waiting involves the unknown and our own lack of control over a particular situation. Who wants that? Most of us would rather have control over our circumstances, leaving nothing to chance. It is the man who is the "Master over his own destiny" who is admired and revered. While this may be an admirable trait, what happens when ones own "Destiny" reaches out and slaps them across the back of their head? Someone who seemed so in control of their surroundings one moment may, in the next instant, find themselves free falling into chaos! Now what happens? Do we continue on as if nothing has happened, and live out the illusion that we are still in control? Or, do we recognize that there is ultimately something bigger than us that is manipulating things?
In Isaiah 40:31, the prophet shares some valuable advice to anyone who has stumbled forth wondering what to do next. As Isaiah tells us, when we choose to wait on God for his guidance and provision, whatever we're facing may seem that much less daunting. This seems natural, since releasing ourselves from the cares and worries of controlling our own situation can have a calming effect.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lillies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"
Matthew 5: 25-30 NKJV
It is interesting that when we wait on the Lord, we release ourselves from the worries and cares of our situation. So, why would Isaiah suggest that we wait on the Lord? If you guessed that stress is harmful to Gods children then you are correct! It is little wonder, then, that God would want to bear whatever burdens we are carrying. If worrying about our situations is a bad thing, then Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 to cast our worries aside. In fact, Jesus goes through more than a few examples of the folly of worrying. Instead, we should trust that our heavenly Father, who values his children, will ultimately provide for them what it is they need. I won't get into the difference between a want and a need but, trust me, God knows and will meet our needs. Knowing this, wouldn't that take away alot of the stress of any impossible situation we find ourselves in? I'm thinking that many of us could save alot of money being spent on therapy, self help boooks and seminars if we would just wait on the Lord.
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment