Waiting upon the LORD

What does it mean to wait upon the Lord?

Isaiah 40:31 boldly proclaims and promises that, “those who wait upon the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” With a promise like that who doesn't want to wait upon the Lord? But how do we wait upon the Lord? My study of the Hebrew word qavah leads me to a few principles that convey what it means to wait upon the Lord and how we can do it.

First, we must understand that waiting upon the Lord necessitates the passage of time. If God would renew us, answers our prayers and make clear His will to us immediately at all times then the need to wait upon the Lord would not appear more than thirty-five times in the Bible. Waiting upon the Lord involves the passage of time. Secondly, because waiting on the Lord necessitates the passage of time it also demands a compelling trust in the character of God, which implies a familiarity with Him.

Therefore, it is seems incredibly hard to wait upon the Lord if we are not in a personal relationship with Him that is defined by growing in the knowledge of Him. If I do not know His character I cannot trust it. If I cannot trust His character then I cannot wait upon Him. If I cannot wait upon Him I will not have the strength to continue to be faithful to the Faith. For only in waiting upon Him can we claim the promise that He will lend us strength that we might mount up with wings like eagles and run without becoming tired or walk without becoming weary. 

Lastly, waiting upon the Lord implies faithful action in union with resting in God’s timing. At times in our life we can feel like we are driving down the interstate. We keep seeing exits, signs for this and that, but mostly we just see the road. Always the road, in front of us and behind us. We know that there is a destination out there, somewhere God is leading us to. A prepared place for a prepared man. However, we don't see it anywhere in sight. Waiting upon the Lord means that in these times we stay faithful to the duties of the present day. It means that we do not forsake our present obligation in hope of what might be. Instead, we remain faithful in the present devotion and duty. Then, God in His all-encompassing compassion endues  us with strength, endurance and the redemption of our time, effort and faith in ways in which now we can only speculate.

In short, waiting upon the Lord, first and foremost, means an intimate relationship with God characterized by growth in the knowledge of Him. Secondly, it means a faithful consistency in our present duties while trusting in His character to redeem the passage time for His glory, His kingdom’s edification and our personal sanctification.