Why shouldn’t I wait for the Lord? He waited so long for me. In fact, “He called me long before I heard, before my sinful heart was stirred.”
But I have not always waited patiently for the Lord.
Patience was one of David’s outstanding virtues. After his anointing by Samuel, David waited for over ten years before becoming king of Judah. For seven and one-half years longer he waited for his coronation by the united twelve tribes.
David was not patient because he was sluggish and unambitious. Several times David’s ambitions led him beyond the divine restraints.
Patience is the virtue of the active and ambitious. It is a virtue developed under strain—“tribulation worketh patience.”
It is difficult for the spiritually sensitive soul to be patient. He sees so much of the rebellion of the wicked and so much of the sluggishness of saints that he must experience a large measure of grace to wait patiently for the Lord.
David did not wait to see what would happen. He waited on the Lord so that God could introduce and follow through His own purposes. Of course God’s purpose will prevail, but whether we shall find our place in that purpose or not will depend upon our waiting.
God always answers and always helps those who patiently wait. Only God can change the things that need changing most, but God can only change many those things through a surrendered life.
God continues to wait patiently for me—for my prayertime, my glad personal witness, my selfish interest in others, my vigorous promotion of His work in the Church, my sacrificial giving, my willingness to co-operate with others.
As we wait upon the Lord, we give God a chance to accomplish His will in us and His purpose for us.
--George E. Failing
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