Wait on The Lord

Yesterday’s sermon (click here if you haven’t heard it yet) from Acts 23-26 focused on the subject of Waiting on the Lord.

One of the hardest parts of the Christian life is waiting on the Lord.  Yesterday we discovered that God promised the Apostle Paul that Paul would go to Rome, but then, Paul sat in a prison in Caesarea for two whole years waiting for the Lord to intervene and get him to Rome!  And while we don’t know specifically what he did while he waited, we know he broadly did these four things:

1) Paul served the Lord while he waited.  Waiting on the Lord does not mean waiting to serve the Lord.  It simply means waiting for the Lord to intervene.  While you wait, be busy about the Lord’s business.  Be busy in the life of the church, be busy in the work of God.  Serve him and serve Him well!

2) Paul trusted the Lord while he waited.  While you’re waiting for God to move, trust that He will do what He has promised!  He had a plan for Paul to go to Rome, and He protected Paul from the ambush of the Jews in Jerusalem (Acts 23) and from further harm in Caesarea.  Paul had a confidence in God while he waited, and you can too!

3) Paul prayed to the Lord while he waited.  What better way to pass the time while you wait.  Talk to your Heavenly Father and listen to what He says!

4) Paul was thankful to the Lord while he waited.  Paul could be thankful to God while he sat in a prison because he knew that prison wasn’t the end.  His own death wasn’t the end.  Paul had a rock-solid belief in the resurrection…which meant he could earnestly say, “Where oh death is your victory…. where oh death is your sting?”  And THAT creates a thankful heart. 

Whether you are waiting for God regarding a health concern, a broken relationship or even to give you clarity, waiting on the Lord is HARD. I get it.  But it’s not so hard that you can’t do it.  You can wait on the Lord as long as you serve Him while you wait, trust Him, pray to Him and cultivate a thankful heart towards Him. 

Questions to Ponder:

Which of the four things listed above do you struggle with the most? 

Consider creating a plan of action to wait on the Lord.

Prayer to Pray

Father,

Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us patience. And thank you that your time is not our time, but your timing is always better than ours. Help us all to wait on you for your glory alone. Amen.