Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

“Haste makes waste,” is an old adage that is altogether true. “Hurry and speed are great illusions,” says Winifred Peterson. He continues, “Contradictory as it may seem, slowing down may be the best way to speed up…. Slow down to decrease errors, to achieve accuracy, to reduce mistakes. Slow down and finish one thing and then move on to the next, rather than attempting to juggle a dozen unfinished tasks at the same time. Slow down and think the problem through before you act and you will be less likely to go off in wrong directions. Slow down and try to understand people and situations so you won’t jump to impulsive conclusions. Slow down and savor the wonder of life rather than racing through it and missing the joy of living. Slow down and see the scenery instead of a blur. Slow down and wait upon the Lord. Often the best thing you can do is to do nothing until more light has revealed the way you should go.”

To the modern mind, waiting is such a waste of time. We mortals reason that doing anything is better than doing nothing. We say, “Show me a man who has not made mistakes, and I’ll show you a man who has not done anything,” yet learning to wait is often the surest way to real accomplishment.

“Call it what you will,” wrote Vance Havner, “there is waiting before God that we hurried, modern mortals do not know, that sends a man back to his task with the hand of God upon him in such a fashion that the waters of Jordan part before him.”

It is our failure to learn to wait upon the Lord, to discover the will of God for our lives, that results in so many of our failures today. Scores of letters and e-mail messages come across my desk that speak of human tragedies, many of which could have so simply been avoided had we learned to wait long enough to hear the voice of God. Tragically we make the same mistakes that our fathers made and their fathers before them. A careful study of the Scriptures and history itself will reveal that many, if not, most mistakes in life are made as the result of rushing ahead of God.

Does waiting really help? Before you make a firm decision, let me share with you some promises from the world’s best loved textbook on living‑‑the Bible. Isaiah 40:31 (LB) promises, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…. They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” That is the answer to the weariness and boredom of man today.

David wrote, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14). Micah, the 7th century prophet, cried, “I watch in hope for the Lord…. I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).

A closing thought: You may think, “That is well and good to talk about waiting on God, but what is waiting on God? How does it work today?” To wait on God means that you stop trying to work out the solution yourself. Quietly bow your heart before God and say, “Father, I do not know what to do, but I want you to guide me and direct me. I am asking you to take control of my life. Show me the path to take.”

Stop long enough to say that and you will be amazed at what happens. There is a wisdom

that transcends the knowledge of the universe and a strength that defies weariness, and it is ours as we learn to wait upon God. As Isaiah so vividly pictured it: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 LB). That is God’s answer to the weariness of life today. By waiting, we can most surely move ahead. As one of the great musicians once wrote, “There is no music in a rest, but there’s the making of it.”

Resource reading: Psalm 17.