One of my favorite passages of Scripture — I have many favorites — is contained in Isaiah 40. The prophet writes: "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" (Isaiah 40:31). How awesome is that?

But what does it mean to wait on the Lord? Several things. One, it means that we should be patient as we seek God's will in our lives. As a general rule, we are not patient people. We are always in a hurry to get things done. We carry this impatience into our prayer life too. We petition God expecting instant results, and when he doesn't answer immediately — as often happens— we get as frustrated and angry as we get when we are stuck in traffic! However, let us realize that if he acted immediately, we would be in control, not him, and we are not wise enough to call the shots.

God will not be rushed. He will do things in his time, not ours, which brings us to the second point about waiting on God. It means we should trust in him and his timing. Have you heard the song "In his time"? The first verse goes like this: In his time, in his time / He makes all things beautiful in his time / Lord, please show me every day / As you're teaching me your way / That you do just what you say / In your time. Unlike many of us, God keeps his promises, but we have to trust that he will do things in his time, not ours. So, chill!

Three, it means we seek his guidance and direction. Very often, as we journey through life WITHOUT being led by the Holy Spirit, we get lost. We find ourselves in a spiritual desert, not knowing which way to go because everything looks the same. In such instances, we have to turn to God, asking him to lead us out of the metaphorical wilderness we find ourselves in. We might need to wait for a little during such times. 

Now, because God WANTS us to wait on him, especially if he sees us trying to get ahead of him in our impatience, he will often put the brakes on us. Life comes to a complete stop. Everything gets frozen. Nothing seems to move. This can get frustrating and tedious. However, if we wait, we will see supernatural things happen! As the psalmist declares, we will run and not be weary; we shall walk and not be faint! Leave that aside; we shall mount up with wings like eagles!

So let us wait on the Lord, knowing it is not a passive or inactive state but an active posture of trust and obedience. It involves seeking God's presence and wisdom through prayer, reading the Bible, and listening to his voice. It also involves a willingness to obey his commands and follow his lead, even when it may not make sense or go against our own desires. We have seen the importance of all these disciplines in our other choices, so let us do our best to engage in them.

God bless you.