Wait For The Lord!

May 12, 2026

Scripture

“Wait for the Lord and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.”  Psalm 37:34

Wait For The Lord!

It is not always easy to wait. 

The culture around us demands instantaneous results, immediate answers, fast resolutions.  To wait to buy a different car, a new dress, or the latest cell phone goes strong against the cultural current.  To wait for personal growth, improved health, or a significant change in our way of thinking rubs hard against the values of the world around us.

It is not always easy to wait.

It is not easy to wait because we are impatient with the process.  It is not easy to wait because we are intolerant of the discomfort of our current circumstances.  It is not easy to wait because we want it our way…OUR way!

So, we seek the path that seems most expedient, least painful, and most productive.  And yet, that which is best for us does not always come on the path we want to take.

It is not always easy to discern the way of the Lord.

My self-centeredness keeps my eyes focused on me and my desires rather than on the Lord God’s way and His desires.  My preoccupation with my circumstances and my dreams do not always align well with the Lord God’s dream for my life and the way the Lord God wants to take me there.

It is not always easy to discern the way of the Lord.

David writes about waiting and seeking the way of the Lord God twice in Psalm 37 (verses 7 and 34).  Obviously, this was sometimes a struggle for David.  He had learned how important it is to wait on the Lord God so we can seek His way in our life. 

In Psalm 37:34 David writes; “Wait for the Lord and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.”

Waiting is about patience while keeping to the Lord God’s way is about faithfulness (obedience).  In Galatians 5:22-23 the Apostle Paul provides a list of the fruit which the Holy Spirit produces in the life of a Christ-follower.  Paul writes; “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control.”  Two of the fruit the Holy Spirit produces in us are “patience” and “faithfulness.”

Most of the time, I am better at faithfulness than I am at patience.  I tend to be more like the elder son in the story of “The Prodigal Son” in Luke 15:11-32.  As Jesus tells the story, He shares the older son’s response to the grace shown by his father to his younger brother. 

In Luke 15:29 the older son says to his father; “Listen!  For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command…”  The older son focuses upon his hard work, his obedience, and his loyalty to his father.  I appreciate these expressions of faithfulness. 

At the same time, the older brother has run short on patience for the laziness, lack of obedience, and the absence of loyalty of his younger brother.  As Jesus continues to tell the story, he emphasizes the lack of patience of the elder son.

It is often easier to discern, to be faithful, and to obey the Holy Spirit’s leading on the way the Lord God has set for me than it is to be patient and wait on the Lord God. 

My struggle with waiting is that often times it is hard for me to be patient.  I know what it is like to listen and be still, to watch and wait, and to be fully present in the moment.  However, there are times when my activistic personality, my future orientation, and my desire to have the Lord God make a difference in and through me leave me tempted into a kind of drivenness that gets in the way of being patient.

I know what it is like to wait for Jesus to speak or to act or to show up.  My fear is that I will do something out of my impatience, my struggle with waiting, my temptation to define the way the Lord God wants me to go instead of doing what Jesus wants to do in me or through me.

As I strive to wait more patiently and to walk more obediently along the Lord’s way, I recall David shares two promises in Psalm 37:34.  David says the Lord God “…will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.”

When you wait for the Lord and walk in His way, the Lord God promises to exalt you and to destroy the wicked.  In other words, the Lord God promises to show you kindness and generosity and to show the wicked God’s justice.

In a season when I was uncertain and even confused about the way the Lord God was taking my family, I prayed the following prayer.

“I pray you will give my wife and me an inheritance of a place far beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations…a place where our family can live comfortably and joyfully as well as a ministry context with thousands coming to know and grow in their relationship with you, Jesus.  But, please guard my heart so that I look with my heart, mind, soul and body to you rather than to the status of the place.  Today, Lord, give me patience and faithfulness.  Today, Lord, give me faith to trust what I as of yet cannot see…that you will exalt me in the land/place which you will give me as an inheritance.  Today, Lord, give me the assurance you will take care of the wicked so that means I do not have to do it myself.  I pray in the name of Jesus.  Amen.”

Reflect

Describe why waiting patiently on the Lord is a struggle for you right now.  Describe the inner stirring that is leading you to follow a bit of a new way the Lord has for you.  What do your answers to these questions say about your relationship with Jesus.

Pray

Lord God, continue to show me the way you want me to go.  When I am not sure of your way, give me the patience to trust you and obey you.  I promise I will be faithful and serve you more diligently.  I will take time to pray and play, and I will take time to wait and walk in your way.  Help me to be patient enough to seek you and your way for my life.  I pray in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Act

First, write down the one area in your life today where you are struggling with being patient.  Second, write a short paragraph describing the way the Holy Spirit is leading you to follow right now.  Third, meet with a trusted friend and describe the area with which you are struggling to wait on the Lord and the one thing that frequently gets in the way of trusting and obeying the way the Lord wants you to go.