Wait for the Lord

Wait for the Lord. Many verses in the Bible give us this encouragement. Yet when times come where “waiting for the Lord” seems to be the only option left, we might be left to wonder what this exactly means.

Through recent circumstances, I felt God nudging me study the verses commanding us to wait for him. I desired to gain a clearer understanding of what exactly was meant by these verses. My initial findings confused me more. Different Bible versions translate this word “hope” instead of wait. So what is that supposed to mean? Are we supposed to wait or hope?

Through deeper study I saw that the neither “wait” nor “hope” were adequate terms to describe this context. The Amplified Bible gives some examples of what this word actually means: wait and hope for and expect, wait earnestly, wait for and expect, hope and wait eagerly, expectantly wait.

We tend to think of waiting as sitting still. It implies no action. We sit on our hands expecting something to happen. Many times we’re anxious or irritated at the thought of waiting. Sometimes we’re patient. Sometimes we’re not.

But if we’re waiting for the Lord, inactivity is the last thing on His mind. He wants us to be waiting expectantly and earnestly. He wants our focus to be on seeking Him and looking to His Word. Consider Psalm 119:166-169: “I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands. I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you. May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word.” (NIV)

What should our purpose be while we’re waiting expectantly and earnestly for the Lord? Isaiah 26:8 says, “Yes, LORD, walking in the ways of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.”

Many of us are presently waiting for God in different areas of our lives, and we can take to heart that God doesn’t want us idly waiting for Him. He wants us to wait expectantly and earnestly, with hope in the amazing things he has planned.