Waiting on the Lord is a frequent theme throughout the Bible. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” This verse encourages believers to patiently trust in God even through difficult times. Here is an in-depth look at what it means to “wait on the Lord” according to Psalm 27:14 and other biblical passages.
Waiting Requires Patience and Endurance
Waiting is not passive. It takes patience and endurance to wait upon the Lord. King David wrote Psalm 27 while facing enemies who were seeking to kill him. Yet even in dire circumstances, he resolved to wait on the Lord courageously (Psalm 27:14). Waiting is an active choice we make, deciding to trust in God’s timing and purposes even when we don’t understand them.
The book of Lamentations echoed this idea: “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him” (Lamentations 3:25). Though waiting is difficult, God rewards those who resolutely put their hope in him.
Waiting Involves Seeking God
Waiting on the Lord requires seeking him instead of self-reliance. Isaiah prophesied that one day people from all nations would come to “seek the Lord” and “wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18-19). We wait on God by seeking him in prayer, studying his Word, and pursuing an intimate relationship with him.
The book of Hosea gives insight into why God sometimes makes us wait: “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you” (Hosea 10:12). God uses waiting to reveal areas where we need to repent and grow in godliness.
Waiting Requires Renewed Strength
Waiting upon the Lord requires strength and stamina that only he can provide. Those who “wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). When our human strength gives out, God enables us to continue relying fully on him.
The book of Isaiah described God sustaining his people in the midst oftrials: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for 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 40:30-31). God empowers believers to withstand and overcome exhaustion when they wait on him.
Waiting Leads to New Perspective
Waiting can change our perspective, revealing that God’s plans are much greater than our own. The prophet Habakkuk initially questioned God’s plan for the Israelites. But as he waited upon the Lord, Habakkuk gained a new outlook: “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint” (Habakkuk 2:1).
As we wait on God, he expands our viewpoint beyond the current moment. Another passage says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Waiting leads to understanding God’s perspective.
Waiting Produces Greater Hope
Waiting leads to a confident and steadfast hope in God. Paul said that the Scriptures were written so that “through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). As we study stories of believers who waited faithfully, it builds our hope in God.
Romans 5:3-4 connects waiting with hope: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” As we endure through the waiting process, our hope grows stronger.
Waiting Fuels Perseverance
Waiting strengthens our perseverance and resilience. James wrote, “You also must be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8). There is a godly patience that empowers believers to withstand trials.
Similarly, Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Waiting leads to patient endurance that sustains us through hardship and pain. This perseverance is evidence of deepening spiritual maturity.
Waiting Keeps Us from Rush Headlong Into Sin
Waiting guards us from frantically running ahead of God into sin and destruction. When the Israelites did not wait for Moses and charged ahead to enter Canaan, they were routed by their enemies (Numbers 14:40-45). In Isaish 28:16, God laments, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose;’ yet they would not hear.” Impatience leads to disobedience and disaster.
In contrast, Lamentations 3:25 says, “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” Waiting cements our trust in God’s timing and direction for our lives. It is better to patiently follow God than to rush ahead without him.
Waiting Allows God to Direct Our Paths
Waiting enables God to direct our paths according to his will. Psalm 25:3-5 says, “None who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”
As we wait on God, he guides us one step at a time. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8). Waiting keeps in step with how and where God leads us.
Waiting Sustains Us Through Dark Valleys
Waiting empowers endurance through dark and difficult valleys. Psalm 23 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). God’s presence sustains us through painful losses, tragedies, and grief.
God remains with us through our darkest moments. David wrote, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14). Waiting upon God provides strength to pass through suffering victoriously.
Waiting Keeps Our Eyes Fixed on Eternity
Waiting enables us to set our gaze on eternity with God rather than temporary earthly troubles. Paul said, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).
Waiting reminds us that today’s difficulties are light compared to eternal blessing in heaven. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). Waiting keeps eternity in view.
Waiting Stills Our Soul Before God
Waiting ushers our souls into stillness and peace before God. “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother” (Psalm 131:2). As we cease striving and relax into God’s capable hands, he calms our hearts. “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
Waiting patiently enables the Lord to soothe anxious hearts. “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I [speaking of Christ]…Let me dwell in your tent forever; let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings” (Psalm 61:2, 4). Waiting rests securely in God’s presence.
Waiting Prepares Us to Receive God’s Provision
Waiting readies our hearts to receive God’s provision and protection. Isaiah prophesied, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). Ceasing from anxiety and busyness makes room for God’s peace.
Waiting prepares the way for God’s power to work in our lives. “But they who wait for 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 40:31). God strengthens those who wait so they can walk and serve in his power rather than their own.
Waiting Equips Us to Minister to Others
As we learn to wait on God, he equips us to come alongside others in their pain. The book of 2 Corinthians says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Our experiences in waiting prepare us to minister effectively to others in their trials. We become conduits of the comfort we’ve received from God as we’ve learned to wait on him.
Waiting Deepens Trust in God’s Character
Waiting builds our faith in God’s trustworthy character. Lamentations says, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:21-23).
As we wait on God, we discover he is loving, merciful and faithful every step of the way. Our confidence in God’s trustworthiness grows deeper. “Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!” (Psalm 112:1).
Waiting Confirms God is Sovereign Over All Things
Waiting reminds us that God is sovereign over every aspect of our lives and world events. “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). God’s plans cannot be thwarted. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”’ (Daniel 4:35).
Waiting strengthens our faith that God reigns supremely over sickness, financial hardship, relational rifts, social unrest, political upheaval, and everything else. He works all things for good purpose in those who love him (Romans 8:28).
Waiting Renews Trust in God’s Perfect Timing
Waiting instills confidence in God’s perfect timing. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, God has made everything beautiful in its time.
In times of delay or frustration, we can rest in the knowledge that God’s timing is flawless even when it doesn’t match our own. Isaiah proclaimed, “For the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).
Conclusion
Waiting upon the Lord requires strength, patience, seeking God, and trusting in his timing and purposes. Though challenging, the rewards are immense. Waiting ushers us into deeper faith, hope, peace, rest, eternal perspective, and strength for each day. God uses times of waiting to renew our strength, change our outlook, fuel perseverance, keep us on his path, sustain us through trials, fix our eyes on heaven, and conform us to Christlikeness. As we wait on the Lord, we discover the beauty, sufficiency, and lovingkindness of God in new ways.
