Waiting on God in Faith: How Waiting Strengthens Christian Faith

Related Sermons:

Teaching Trust in God: https://youtu.be/gr9ZDIpeWGk
Understanding Faith: https://youtu.be/n3NcoNeyHIY
Abraham's Family of Faith: https://youtu.be/z4K0hTcZqEA
The Eternal Outcome of Life's Trials: https://youtu.be/uAgyW9Q1MEs
Christian Contentment - Part 1: https://youtu.be/yE2yErF2zHk
Christian Contentment - Part 2: https://youtu.be/zicoJ_CQKLA

Several Scriptures throughout the Old and New Testament speak of waiting upon God. We read several of these written by David in the Psalms, where he faced all kinds of spiritual, relational, and physical circumstances. Often, it's while right in the heat of them that he's calling out to the Lord and speaks of this waiting. In Psalm 25, David says, “None who wait for the Lord shall be put to shame.” In Psalm 27, he says, “Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” What does it mean to wait for God? As people who want to act to get things done by making decisions, solving problems, and resolving issues, what does this waiting involve? How can we do this faithfully in a way that pleases God and doesn’t leap to take matters into our own hands? This week on the Straight Truth Podcast, Dr. Richard Caldwell and Dr. Josh Philpot take up the topic of waiting on God. Join us and listen in as they seek to help us see that waiting is not a time for inactivity but a time for obedience, fellowship, prayer, reflection, understanding, and preparation.

Dr. Caldwell first mentions that waiting is believing. It is a faith posture that says, I am going to respond, stand, and live in my situation in a way that reflects believing. It is trusting and hoping in the Lord. But this waiting, trusting, and hoping doesn’t necessarily mean that we are inactive or that we do nothing. Waiting periods are not wasted periods. They will involve patience, sometimes requiring us to endure intensely difficult circumstances. So, we want to make sure that we are submitted to the Lord and that we are obeying Him and not stepping outside of the truth and acting in disobedience. We want to go on trusting even when it’s difficult to trust.

If we don’t have the right perspective, waiting periods can become frustrating times in our lives. As human beings, we don’t like the feeling that we are not in control. This frustration can lead to weariness, leading to a lack of prayerlessness, and to us separating and isolating ourselves from others. But this isn’t beneficial. To hope in the Lord is for us to acknowledge we aren’t in control, and prayer is the act that expresses this. We want to be devoted to prayer, persevering in it, and trusting God in all the means that He intends to use to accomplish whatever it is that we are waiting on Him for. This also means not isolating ourselves. We want to gather with other believers, allowing them to come alongside us to encourage us and to pray for us. We want to use these times when we are waiting to study the Word of God and reflect on our lives. It may be that we think we are ready to move forward and do something, when in fact, the Lord knows that we aren’t because we lack understanding and the knowledge required to do so in confident faith. To act without the growth and understanding that the Lord has for us in these times of waiting can be detrimental. The only safe place to ever stand is in obedience to God, and that requires a kind of faith that can stand still when it needs to.

Dr. Caldwell reminds us that no matter what it is we are waiting on the Lord for, even in the face of great evil, we need to have the mindset that some of what we are waiting and trusting Him for will not be vindicated until this life is over. We need only to think about the church during the early days under Roman rule and the suffering that they experienced, as well as the times during the Protestant Reformation. There have been believers throughout the ages who have held to this principle to their martyrdom. That’s the kind of trust we’re to hold on to, just as Job says, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” So we aren’t going to run ahead of Him, we aren’t going to run outside the truth, we are going to stand in the right place no matter the cost.

Dr. Philpot recalls the words of Isaiah 40:31, where the prophet says, “Yet those who wait for 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.” He shares that this provides a good contrast to what happens to those who do not wait. Dr. Caldwell says this is great insight, as our waiting in faith actually strengthens us. There’s a sense of confidence that the Lord fuels when we know we are standing in the right place; it is a holy confidence and strength that attends to that obedience.