Waiting on the Lord



"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." — Isaiah 40:28-31

I don't like waiting. This morning, on my way to church, it took the stop light about 2.5 minutes to change by my house. It felt like an eternity, and led to a bit of grumbling. I say that not by way of confession, but rather to illustrate that I, like so many in my generation in this culture, am impatient. That, of course, puts us at odds with God.

This morning we looked at the section in Joshua that talks about Caleb and his reward in the Promised Land. Of course it's inspirational because it's a big payoff, but what's more amazing is how long it took to get there. Caleb was 40 when he was sent as a spy into the Promised Land. He came back with a positive report, but others weren't as sure. God promised him then, through Moses, that he would see the Promised Land. But the question was when.

When the story picks up in Joshua 14, Caleb is 85. He's still chipper and still raring to go, but he's been waiting on the Lord for 45 years. 45 years! And I have trouble waiting 2.5 minutes for a green light at the intersection.

Caleb's story isn't totally unique, at least when it comes to waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled. God declares He will fulfill that which He has promised, but in His time. That is hard for us. We want things in our time, and that's only gotten worse in this modern era. We are a very instant gratification people, but we serve a patient God.

That's why the worship song, derived from Isaiah 40, notes that "Strength will rise as we WAIT upon the Lord." The Lord God is our strength, and His timing is perfect. Sometimes that means we need to wait for His promises to be fulfilled. But, as Caleb's story illustrates, it's worth the wait.

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