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| Strength wil Rise as we Wait up on the Lord! |
Isaiah 40:31 " But those who wait on 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."
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."
I will never forget the time when we were enjoying a guest speaker during the morning service; Dr Bob Heil who was a noted evangelist/professor that was visiting our church on Sunday morning. We were meeting in a local High School in Columbus, Ohio while waiting on our church sanctuary to be completed. The auditorium was very large-in fact it safely seated well over 500 students and could hold us nicely since we were a growing congregation.
It was Sunday morning and we'd had a wonderful time of Praise and worship. We'd sang 7 rounds of "But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy and Peace...Kindness and goodness, faithfulness and meekness. But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy and Peace!" We took the offering and the congregation stood to loudly sing "Glory to His Name...Glory to His Name, There to my heart was the blood applied! Glory to His Name!" Then with great anticipation and excitement, the pastor walks up to the podium and kindly turns the microphone over to Dr Heil -allowing this 'great man of God' to bring us an anointed message from the Lord.
A little ways in to the message, Dr. Heil asks the congregation to bow their heads and pray...nobody moving because we "do not want to prevent the Holy Spirit from moving on the Word today". While we are praying, Dr. Heil prays for those who were not saved, that they would come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus and that His Presence would be permitted to move in and around this place...in Christs' name...Amen! We begin to read a story about the travels of the Israelites and how they struggled with their enemies. He was making a point about needing to seek the Lord in the time of tribulation when one of the infants in the very back began to cry. The mother, struggling to get her infant to relax and quiet it down, was not able to appease it quickly enough when suddenly the evangelist stops the entire sermon, put down his glasses, crossed his arms and stepped away from the podium and said to the woman in the very rear of the auditorium "WE WILL WAIT". When she did not move as quickly as he thought she should, the pastors did not budge, the ushers did not budge and he openly embarrassed the woman by saying to her, "I will not start again until things have quieted down. The Holy Spirit deserves our respect and not the sound of a child's crying in the sanctuary!"
So for the many who were not extremely disturbed that mother did not just jump up and walk the baby into the hallway (out of respect to the fine professor of divinity), the rest of the congregation was turned or preoccupied themselves until the child was appeased...and both mother and infant were escorted from the auditorium. Later though, we came to discover the most disturbing information of all. The mother was a non-Christian, invited as a guest to hear this great man of God speak his wisdom from 'the Lord and the scriptures'. Humiliated by his lack of sensitivity, she refused to come back. Needless to say, Dr. Heil was never asked to return again.
What IS waiting all about? Who are we waiting on? and Why should we wait? You've heard the phrase "Timing is everything" and that is most likely what decisions are all about. Timing! But No! No! Not the author of Isaiah according to verse 40: 31! No! No! This is a different kind of wait! Waiting in this respect is like the duty that is performed when serving someone! This waiting is like "when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-and-they-bring-you-a-menu-to-make-a-selection" kind of wait! Remember the first time they took you to the store and they told you that you could have anything you liked! What do you want? Yeah! That's the kind of wait! This is how God wants US to wait on him. He is delighted with our presence and desire to serve Him. When we serve Him, He gets to see who WE are and reward us with His good gifts and not just payment!
Today, I invite you to ask the Lord how you can wait on Him today. Do you need to just sit in His Presence and worship? Do you need to call someone to encourage them? Do you need to busy yourself with work around the office or home? Maybe you should just take the time to get into the Word and listen to what God is speaking to you today. Whatever you chose to do, expect God to attend to your needs....and just wait!
