Strength Will Rise As We Wait - Really?

Yes....those were my sentiments as we sang those lyrics Sunday in church.  

  Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, 
                as we wait upon the Lord, 
                as we wait upon the Lord!

Let me tell you, I have been waiting...a LONG time for some things the Lord spoke to me.  And I felt anything but strong as I walked into that church.  Frustrated, irritated, and discouraged were much better descriptors for me.  

So as praise and worship started and this song, "Everlasting God" was led, and we sang these lyrics, I knew something was not right in my heart.  If strength was supposed to come in the wait, I had missed it....BIG time.  

I went home and begun my research.  What did the Bible say about being strong in the wait?  Here's what I found:

     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."

There it is - doesn't get much clearer than that....those who wait shall renew their strength.  Why then, do we become weary in the wait?  As I dug in more, I came to understand that weariness and frustration comes when we begin to do things in our own strength.  

    Isaiah 30:15 - "For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: 'In returning and 
    rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.'  
    But you would not." [emphasis mine]

In this scripture, God is telling Judah how it could have worked.  If they had trusted Him they would have had the strength they needed, but they would not.  They became frustrated and irritated so they devised their own plan.  And because God is a gentleman, He let them.  Our God offers us a good plan, but He will not force us to take it.

In Genesis, we can find another account of the frustration in the wait.  In the 16th chapter, we find that Sarai has been waiting for several years for the son promised to her and Abram.  In desperation and weariness, she suggests to Abram that he lay with her servant Hagar and a son will come forth.  Abram did as Sarai suggested and Ishmael was born.  And oh, the heartache that developed when strife arose between Sarai and Hagar.

We know the rest of the story, that God did in fact bring forth the promised son Isaac to Sarai and Abram.  But Isaac didn't come until 20+ years after the promise was received.  

Friends, the reality is, I did the same thing Sarai did.  She began to focus on what she could see with her natural eye - she was too old to conceive according to the natural mind.  Perhaps she thought that Abram didn't hear God correctly, or that God had forgotten His promise.  She may have even thought she did something wrong and now God would not honor His promise.  These are all thoughts that our mind could entertain.  And they are not accidental!

That's right - those thoughts are there on purpose!  They come from the enemy.  His desire is to get you focused on the natural.  If you are focused on the natural, then you are not focused on the faithfulness of God.  The natural realm will cause you to believe that God is not being faithful.  Once you believe that bait, then weariness and frustration creep in.  And the downward spiral begins.  We step into our own strength, which brings minimal success, and frustration and weariness continue mount.

Is. 30:15 says that in quietness and confidence we find our strength.  To avoid frustration and weariness in the wait, we have to remain confident in God.  We have to stay focused on Him.  In Romans 4:19-21, the Apostle Paul writes about Abraham's faith:

    "And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since 
    he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb, He did not 
    waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith giving 
    glory to God and being fully convinced that what He had promised, He was also able 
    to perform." [emphasis mine]

Abraham stayed strong in faith by ignoring the natural - he did not consider his own body.  He was strengthened in faith by giving glory to God.  He was fully convinced that God would perform what He had promised.  

That's the key friends - we stay strong in the wait by giving God glory for the promise and His faithfulness.  In addition, we must keep our mind on Him all the while ignoring what the outcome looks like to our natural eye!  Is it easy - no!  But as you set your heart to focus on the faithfulness of God, you will emerge fully convinced that He is well able to perform what He has promised!  And that conviction brings an amazing amount of strength!

Strength will rise up as you wait - I promise!

Be blessed and be strong!