Lamentations 3:25. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
A warm welcome to Tuesday, a sunny and fairly warm day, when all the stress and frustrations of Monday have been washed clean from the slate of life, and we’re only dealing with Tuesday and its problems and challenges! Wow! What a nice Bruh Paulean sentence! (smile) At least I am like Bruh Paul in one respect, I can write long and convoluted sentences.
Anyway, it’s another great day on God’s Planet Earth, so let’s enjoy it the best we can, which includes contemplating a couple of interesting verses from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. They come from that famous chapter 23, and say: ‘The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:25-26) And those verses are ever so true and resonate with a sense of the difficulty we all have of waiting patiently and earnestly on God.
It’s like the prophet Isaiah wrote re God’s graciousness and mercy in spite of Israel’s rebelliousness. ‘And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice): blessed are all they that wait for him.’ (Is. 30:18) And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘Because God is gracious and has been willing to wait for His people to return to Him, He will certainly bless those who wait for him. “Waiting” is a confident and dependent trust in God.’
And there are many verses in scripture that talk about waiting on God, though it’s not always easy to do. So let’s examine a couple more nuh, like this passage from Psalm 130 which says: ‘I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more that they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-KINDNESS), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps. 130:5-8)
Oh friends, that’s how we ought to hope, trust, have faith and wait in the Lord, for He’s promised us oodles of blessings if we wait on Him. And there’s no better example of patiently waiting, especially when there seemed to be no hope, than Abraham and God’s promise of a son from his own loins and thus becoming the father of many nations. It’s as Bruh Paul writes to the Romans re Abraham’s faith.
‘Who against (contrary to) hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: he staggered (wavered) not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong (strengthened) in faith, giving God the glory. And being fully persuaded (convinced) that, what he had promised, he was also able to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.’ (Rom. 4:18-22)
Ah mih people, how many of us would have waited 25 years for God’s promise of a son eh, especially when the man was a hundred years old and the woman ninety? Not many of us. But Abraham believed that God was able to do what He promised, and thus waited patiently for it. And because of that strong faith and waiting ability, he was considered righteous. And you surely need a lot of faith to wait so long for something that went against the laws of nature.
And the scholars offer some interesting insights into those verses. ‘There are five essential characteristics of faith. (1) Faith must have a valid content. Paul quotes Gen. 17:5 (the promise to be the father of many nations); the content of Abraham’s faith was valid because that content was the revelation of God. (2) Faith must have a valid object. The object of Abraham’s faith was God, the giver of the revelation.
(3) Faith is contrary to hope and yet rests upon hope. This is a hope in which there is no element of uncertainty (vs. 18a). (4) Faith has a purpose. The purpose of Abraham’s faith was that he might become the father of many nations, realizing the promises given him in the Abrahamic covenant (cf. Gen. 12:1-3; vs. 18b). (5) Faith produces works. Abraham’s faith conditioned the way he lived. He staggered not (did not doubt) God’s promises.’
And these next verses are also very important. Bruh Paul writes: ‘Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for (because of) our offences, and was raised again for (because of) our justification.’ (Rom. 4:23-25) Yes friends, Abraham’s testimony was also an example for us, to encourage us to believe in God, the Father who rescued us from the throes of sin and death by the sacrificing His Son Jesus Christ.
And here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘But for us also: The principle of justification valid for Abraham is valid for all believers. Raised again for our justification: Because Jesus was raised from the dead we know that His sacrifice on Calvary was accepted in God’s sight and Jesus’ righteousness is available to all.’
Now, there’s much more to say on the subject of waiting on and hoping in God, but it’s too much for this one session, so, as always, if God spares life, we’ll continue on this topic tomorrow. But here’s this classic scripture to end on: In the words of Bruh David: ‘Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.’ (Ps. 27:14) That’s wise advice my brethren, and with it under our belts, let’s go home now declaring (chuhhh!!!) our Tuesday mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And now it behooves us to go out and share the amazing friendship and LOVE of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him the way we do! Much LOVE!
…waiting on God is not easy…but it’s ever so wise…
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