By Waiting implies inactivity. English dictionaries define waiting as delaying or postponing action. Consequently, such passivity is what many Christians think about when we talk about waiting for the Lord.
We get this “waiting for the Lord” terminology from the Scriptures, particularly the Psalms. But it doesn’t imply inactivity. Quite the opposite.
When we wait for the Lord, we are not delaying action; instead, we are preparing for action. We wait for the Lord like a soldier waits for the commanding officer’s command to “Charge!”. Such a soldier is alert, ready, putting everything in place to be strong and sharp when the moment for action comes. It includes all the months of fitness training and skills development so that when the moment of action requires courage, he will engage with full energy.
When we as Christians encourage one another to wait for the Lord, we should think of strenuous preparation for actions that would require unusual spiritual strength and courage. That is exactly how the exhortations in the Psalms to wait for the Lord are all about
Wait for the LORD;
Psalm 27:14
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
Psalm 31:24
all you who wait for the LORD!
The same idea of strength and courage is put in word-pictures for us in Psalm 33, where waiting for the Lord is the moment of reprieve in battle, re-adjusting ourselves again, bolstering our courage to continue in the fight knowing that our protection comes from God.
Our soul waits for the LORD;
Psalm 33:20
he is our help and our shield.
In a Psalm dedicated to the struggle against the anxiety over the evil around us, waiting for the Lord is associated with a number of spiritual activities. Psalm 37:7 appears to be a statement of inactivity …
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
… but the rest of the Psalm begs to differ.
Psalm 37:3 considers waiting for the Lord to be a time to do what is good, to do the normal activities of each day, and to do so faithfully.
Psalm 37:4 commands us to delight ourselves in the LORD as a way in which we wait on Him to address all the worrisome matters.
Psalm 37:6 assumes that you are being righteous in your responses throughout it all.
Psalm 37:8 reminds you not to get angry at any of it.
The Psalm ends with the same strength and courage focus of the other Psalms on “waiting for the LORD”.
The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
Psalm 37:39-40
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
So, Christian, wait for the Lord.
With that we mean, be strengthened in your soul because of who God is even when your soul is overwhelmed by this life. Do not shrink back in fear, depression, or hopelessness, but with God as the shield before you, courageously act righteous against all the temptations to do otherwise.
The active waiting of righteous living
will keep us enduring
for the passive waiting of God’s timing
to bring justice to this world.
Wait for the LORD and keep his way,
Psalm 37:34
and he will exalt you