Wait For the LORD

Wait for the Lord

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

I don’t like to wait. When I have to wait for a table at a restaurant, I get anxious if they don’t alert me soon enough, thinking that maybe they forgot to call me and accidentally crossed my name off the list. Not waiting well can cause a lot of unnecessary tension and needless worry.

It can be the same with trusting God’s promises. Even great leaders like Moses experienced this. Moses received many assurances from God that he was to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. The urgency with which God sent him, would naturally have given Moses the confidence to go to Pharaoh fully believing that Pharaoh would grant his request and let the people go.

But that’s not what happened. Instead, Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2) Pharoah made life ever more miserable for the Israelites. Finally, in frustration Moses prayed, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me?  Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” (Exodus 5:22-23).

But God was not asleep at the wheel, unwilling or unable to live up to His promises. His answer to Moses was to be patient and to wait for His plans to unfold. God’s plan was to bring greater glory to Himself and greater good to the people of Israel, and to do this God had to let Pharaoh’s heart grow ever harder and allow him to escalate his mistreatment of the Israelites.

God did indeed keep His promise and Moses learned a valuable lesson about waiting for the Lord.

Are you willing to take God at His word and wait faithfully for His plans to unfold?