LAMENTATIONS 3:25–26 – The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
THEME OF THE DAY: WAITING ON THE LORD IS NOT PASSIVE. What crosses our minds when the word “wait” is heard or read? Don’t we get the sense of doing nothing? Like sitting in a doctor’s waiting room, at a red light, or some other place or situation that all we can do is remain inactive and passive until something occurs to move or call us into action? One definition in a dictionary is “to remain stationary”.
In today’s scripture, the word “wait” appears twice, and the prophet Jeremiah, the author, is experiencing the call to wait upon the Lord and His salvation. Such a call is not easy and especially when life is hard and circumstances difficult. The implication is God has placed His people in a seemingly helpless position that requires His action before theirs. And that would be incorrect. We are so wired to think waiting is passive but when God places us in His school of waiting, we are not to be passive. Notice what else Jeremiah states in today’s scripture is an action of God’s people. Not just waiting on Him but a seeking of Him. This presents for us two applications.
First, in those seasons of waiting, when the Lord seems silent to us, we are to intensify our seeking of Him in His prayer and Word. Too often we do the opposite. As God appears detached and disinterested in us, which He never is, we may slack off on praying or reading His Word. Emotions take over and self-discipline takes flight. We stop seeking Him and the chief lesson in God’s school of waiting is missed; a zealous pursuit of Him despite our feelings and perceptions.
Another lesson in God’s call to waiting is the seeking includes a consistency not only toward Him in His Word and prayer, but in obedience. A high mark of spiritual maturity is obedience to the Word of God in times of spiritual darkness and light. If our obedience to God’s Word, like praying and reading His Word, is dependent on “feeling like it” then our Christian life is going to be like a roller-coaster in an amusement park. We will be all over the place with twists and turns, highs and lows, leaving us joyless, stressed, and immature in our walks with the Lord. We obey the Lord not because we feel like it, but because it is right, it is our responsibility, it is our privilege, and God always deserves unwavering obedience to His Word, even in those silent waiting times.
And to encourage us against passivity in times of waiting on the Lord, the prophet Jeremiah would use another word twice in today’s scripture, the word good. He points to the goodness of the Lord in His Person and salvation; both are anchors of the soul to keep us stable when God places us in His school of waiting.
PRAYER: “Father, in times when You appear silent to me, help me not cease to seek You.”
QUOTE: “When God calls us to wait on Him, it doesn’t mean we do nothing.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim