Scripture Text: "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and
He shall strengthen thine heart: Wait I say
on the Lord." Psalms 27:14 (KJV)
There's just no other way to put it ... I
was angry! I couldn't believe such things
could be said about me! Why, I'd like to ...
Have you ever felt that way?
When someone
wrongs us, our first response is that of
shock. Our second response is the desire for
retaliation, and our third response is a
gnawing, burning pain in the gut that just
never seems to go away.
Would this be a good time to remind you to:
"Wait on the Lord: be
of good courage and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait I say on the Lord."
Well, it might be good advice, but it might
not be such a good time. With our first reaction
being shock, you might hear your self
saying:
"What do
you mean wait on the Lord?!?" Wait on
the Lord for what? I'm tired of waiting on
the Lord every time I get dumped on. Maybe
it's time I started letting people know how
I feel."
Your second reaction to such a reminder
being retaliation might go something like,
"I'll show you how to wait on the Lord... like I
need courage to perform the righteous acts
I'm about to perform." "Why I'll..."
Come on now, we've all had days like this: It's the age
we live in. We're always in a hurry, never
getting caught up... and because we don't
have time, we often find that instead of
getting caught up, we just "get caught". I
believe this is the one of the biggest reasons that we have
problems in our relationships, because we
forget that "the horizontal relationship" we
have with those around us, depends
on "the vertical relationship" we have with
God.
"Well okay brother Wayne... you're right about the
relationship thing; and I guess it wouldn't
hurt me to slow down a little". "In fact, I
know that I need to set aside time to be
alone with God - but when? I don't have time
to "WAIT" on God".
Well, I know
you're not going to hear this - but it
sounds like something you need right now.
That same scripture says that you're to...
"Be of good courage."
"Be of good courage?"
Now wait just a minute
here! Just because I didn't go running off
half-juiced and hell-bent on retaliation,
doesn't mean I'm going to wimp out entirely
and get happy about it when people wrong me. In fact,
I'll tell you what I ought to do... I
ought to just quit. That's what I ought to
do!
He says that, "HE will Strengthen your
heart ..."
Well I know that in
my exuberance my blood pressure may have a
tendency to raise a little . . . but . . .
Huh?
"Wait I say on the Lord!"
"Wait on the Lord?"
Friend, we've all
been there. In fact you may have heard it
described as "The
point of no return; or the black hole of
emotion; or the emotional landfill;"
Yet the reality of this verse is
summed up in the 13th verse of this same
chapter where David says...
"I had fainted unless I had believed to see
the goodness of the
Lord in the land of the living."
ALRIGHT!!! A confession we can sink our teeth
into.
"God if it wasn't for you in my life .
. .if it wasn't for the trust I have in you
to see me through this ... I would
retaliate! I would do something stupid, and
end up in bondage to myself, or be locked up
in jail. But I trust you Lord.
"Teach me thy Ways, Oh Lord, and lead me in a
plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver
me not over to the will of mine enemies, for
false witnesses are rising up against me,
and such breathe out cruelty." Ps 27:11-12.
My friend, can you come to this place with
me today? Believe me, I know what anger's
all about and I know first-hand what it can do
to you and to others. What's more, God knows how angry
you are. He tells us in Ephesians 4:26 to
"Let not the sun go down upon your wrath
. . ."
The very word "let" means we have a choice.
Will we wait on the Lord today, and be of
good courage to others and to ourselves?
Let
God strengthen your resolve to be of good
courage. Let Him teach you His ways, which
are high above man's ways. Let Him deliver
you in such a way that all the world will
see the hand of the Lord in your life.
Today, have the "stop and smell the roses"
kind of waiting on God. Experience the "be
still and know that I am God" kind of
waiting. Again I say "wait on the Lord."
Prayer for you:
Heavenly Father, only you can see what I
cannot see today. You have said that the
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
and though he fall, the Lord shall uphold
him with His hand. I place everything about
this day in your hands Lord. Help me to
"hold my peace" and let you fight my
battles, and by your Word Father God..."Victory,
YES! Victory will be mine." In Jesus' Name.
Amen.
