God’s people wait.
It’s a recurring theme in our history. Noah waited for God to send rain; he waited for God to stop it. Abraham and Sarah waited for a child. David waited for deliverance from a mad king. The Israelites waited for deliverance from slavery. They waited for God to fight for them. And they waited for Him to avenge them. Joshua and Caleb waited for the Lord to give them the promise land. Moses waited for the heavenly promise. The Jews waited for their Messiah. Jesus’ disciples wait for him to come back again.
We wait for the Lord.
We wait because we hope.
Without hope, we wouldn’t wait at all.
Hope.
It’s “the patient and trustful willingness to live without closure, without resolution, and still be content and even happy because our Satisfaction is now at another level, and our Source is beyond ourselves.” Richard Rohr
“Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Romans 8:24-25
We do not despair. We don’t give up. We don’t lose heart.
We wait in eager anticipation.
Since Easter week focuses our attention on the hope we have when we wait for the Lord, I want to share the following verses with you today. They’re all about waiting for the Lord. They encourage my soul. I hope they’ll encourage you too.
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” Psalm 130:5-7
“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” Psalm 33:20
“For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.” Galatians 5:5
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘the Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him, it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:21-26
“I wait for your salvation, O Lord, and I follow your commands.” Psalm 119:166
“Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Jude verse 21
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness…” Titus 2:11-14
“Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” I Corinthians 1:7-9
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.” Isaiah 30:18
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14
Do you have another favorite verse that you would add to this list about waiting for the Lord? Share it in the comments; we’d love to hear from you.
May you wait on the Lord and renew your strength. May you soar on wings like eagles; run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint. — Isaiah 40:31
