Psalms 27: 14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Learning to wait on The Lord is the most important characteristic that is needed as persons prepare for crunch time. Exercising godly patience with the right attitude, will be necessary in order to survive last day events, and the terrors that will be obtaining as a result of the fulfillment of end time prophecy.
The impatience that is manifested in our experience too often, and the hastiness that oozes out naturally from some believers is alarming, and if God were to
show us our real attitudes as we interact with fellow mortals, it will give us pause for concern.
When the Psalmist instructs us to wait upon God, he is not only referring to literal time periods, he is also speaking of the attitudes and moods with which we wait. Some persons wait, because they are forced to wait, but during the interim periods, some become restless and irritated, while others may murmur and complain, even as they wait.
It is often during those waiting periods that we may become vulnerable to the assaults of the prince of darkness, as he tempts us to become frustrated and fed up with God, and as a result, his alternatives to waiting often seem as the best option on the table.
We are not saying these things lightly because we’re speaking as persons who have been shot in the foot with the word of truth, and after observing patterns of impatience manifested by many of the faithful in ages past, we have concluded that as mortals we do have a problem with waiting on God.
In fact, very many of the failures of God’s people in times past were due to their impatience, which then led to complaining, and consequently rebellion, for whenever persons become upset, while waiting on God, failure is often right around the corner.
These mixed up moods and attitudes will need to be corrected, and uprooted from our hearts before the final conflict of the ages bursts upon us, because at that time, patience will be one of the most valuable assets to the remnant, according to the Bible.
Of all the characteristics that are mentioned in first Corinthians 13 patience is the only one that surfaces In Revelation 14, at a time when the mark of the son of perdition has spread its tentacles across the land. It isn’t love, or charity, or generosity, or kindness, or mercy that is mentioned; it’s patience manifested in a living faith in God. Let’s read:
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Persons may be able to expound for hours on the 28 fundamental doctrines of the church, while others may be able to point to genuine works of charity like Dorcas, but without patience, it will be very difficult to survive in the evil day.
There is something such as a kind, loving impatient Christian, and there are preachers who may have baptized a lot of souls, but if the discipline of spirit that comes with a consistent exercise of patience in waiting upon God is not materialized, persons will be in danger of turning back when the heat of the furnace is turned up several notches.
Several examples in the Scriptures tell us beyond all doubt, that waiting upon God constitutes one of the main problems that needs to addressed in the lives of all who believe and as we study sacred history we will discover that very often we have been walking in the shoes of those who have gone before.
We begin with the father of the faithful and his wife, who were tested upon this point and failed when it seemed as if God was taking too long. The promise was made to Abraham and Sarah, that they would have a son, and they believed God at the first.
But as many years went by, and nothing seemed to be happening, they began to wonder how long will be reasonable for them to wait for the fulfillment of the promise. One year, two years, twenty years? As time passed by, Sarah became restless, and uneasy.
And in that frame of mind, she became ripe for one of the favorite, and most successful assaults of the devil. Sarah watched in sheer dismay as menopause set in, and based upon science as we know it, the logic of the prince of darkness began to make sense.
The Christian must beware lest logic becomes the director of your faith, because many will stumble on the issue of rational reasoning, when it comes time to wait upon God. In fact, when you think about it closely, most of the heroes of faith accomplished the seemingly impossible, against all logic to the contrary.
God through Joshua and Gideon shook down armies with trumpets, choirs were put in front of armies, to bring about victory through God, and the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea on foot. As the strait of Hormuz is currently blockaded, persons would be surprised if they saw folks crossing the strait on foot, while oil tankers are stuck.
Waiting upon God brings the impossible into view, and the impossible will characterize the experiences of the remnant during crunch time, but we will first have to learn how to wait upon God. This is the very important lesson that Abraham, and Sarah learned the hard way, and the results of their failures remain to this day.
Recently, the president of the United States called on Saudi Arabia to sign onto the Abraham accord, as a prerequisite to allowing nuclear developments in that country. But have you ever wondered why the name of Abraham is in the accord? It sends us back to the time when he failed to wait upon God. Let’s read:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The President on Thursday appeared to add a condition to the newly signed agreement with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program, saying the deal would require the kingdom to normalize its relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
Accord meaning: Merriam Webster dictionary: To bring into agreement: reconcile: to be consistent or in harmony: to agree, to arrive at an agreement.
Genesis 15:2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is my heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
And thus, they waited and waited and waited. Both of them were well into their retirement years when the initial promise was given, but they believed God anyway. Sarah was about 65 years old and Abraham was about 75 years, and they waited and waited.
One year passes by, two years three years four years and nothing happens. Five years elapse, and still no child. Sarah is becoming a bit restless and nervous, for time is slipping away and nothing is happening.
Eight years, nine years, and then in desperation, in the tenth year she says you know what, the promise of God would never be fulfilled, and in that frame of mind she becomes ripe for plan B. Note carefully, in the following passages, the conclusion she has come to, and the subsequent logical substitute suggestion to her impatience. Let’s read:
Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.
The same issue of impatience plagued the children of Israel over and over again, especially when they were encountering difficulties. For example, Moses instructed them to gather the Manna daily, and if any was left over it would become worms.
Some of them did not take kindly to waiting upon God for their daily food, and they decided to keep leftovers until the following day. If we are permitted to pass through crunch time, our patience would be exercised in waiting on The Lord for our daily bread.
And, with our habits of independence, going to the neighborhood Publix, without having to report to anyone, it may seem too much to wait on God for a meal, during the coming crisis. That is why we are to put our feet in their shoes to see if our reactions will be any different.
And if we discover similarities in impatience, now is the time to confess and forsake the sin of hastiness, because very often, history has a way of repeating itself. Let’s read:
Exodus 16: 19 And Moses said, let no man leave of it till the morning.
20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
The same issue occurred again with Abishai, one of David’s bodyguards, when they stumbled upon Saul and his men, sleeping undisturbed in the cave. The situation seemed to suggest that the time had come for retribution against Saul, for all the signs pointed to God’s providence, apparently opening a way for David to seek vengeance.
And instead of waiting on The Lord for guidance the brave soldier would have beheaded Saul, were it not for the restraining words spoken by David, who saw it fit to wait instead. There are many times when the haste in which we do things in the temporal realm may backfire, if we didn’t wait upon God. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 26: 7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.
8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.
9 And David said to Abishai, destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?
10 David said furthermore, As the Lord lives, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.
Again, the blunder of Saul on the issue of hastiness, is the same problem on which so many persons had fallen previously. In that instance he was instructed to wait for seven days, for Samuel to come and offer the sacrifice, before going into battle.
But as is so often the case, the situation obtaining on the ground, drove Saul into panic mode, and he decided to take matters into his own hands, because in this instance he had waited the stipulated time. Observe how the situation on the ground triggers a response of unease and restlessness in Saul. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 13:6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
After studying numerous accounts of impatience in sacred history, it seems as if very serious blunders often occur right around the corner from hastiness. The problem with Saul wasn’t that he did not wait, it was the attitude he displayed while waiting which did him in.
If in some desperate situation you were to wait on The Lord, all the while you are, fussing and cussing, in a bad mood, uttering words of unbelief with your feathers all ruffled, you will not have waited on God even if the stipulated time was observed.
God is a Spirit, and the attitude with which we wait is just as important as any stipulated timeframe He may give. In other words, if you are waiting on God for an answer, and you find yourself becoming very fretted and vexed with Him, that type of waiting will not be recognized as the patience of the saints, for it comes tainted with worry, anxiety, and care. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 13:11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you came not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
13 And Samuel said to Saul, you have done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever.
14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.
From studying numerous accounts on impatience in sacred history, it seems as if very serious blunders are often right around the corner from patience.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 617] Before the time appointed by the prophet had fully expired, he became impatient at the delay and allowed himself to be discouraged by the trying circumstances that surrounded him.
Instead of faithfully seeking to prepare the people for the service that Samuel was coming to perform, he indulged in unbelief and foreboding.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 618] With growing impatience he awaited the arrival of Samuel and attributed the confusion and distress and desertion of his army to the absence of the prophet. The appointed time came, but the man of God did not immediately appear.
God’s providence had detained His servant. But Saul’s restless, impulsive spirit would no longer be restrained. Feeling that something must be done to calm the fears of the people, he determined to summon an assembly for religious service, and by sacrifice entreat the divine aid.
From studying numerous accounts on impatience in sacred history, it seems as if very serious blunders are often right around the corner from frustrations that come about when God’s timing and ours differ.
This leads us into the Bible study, because the study of Christ’s first temptation in the wilderness, which was on the issue of food, will have a direct bearing on all those who will be passing through the time of trouble. This is the temptation on which Adam and Eve fell, and it is the one over which we will have to gain the victory in our Christian experience.
As Christians, we might manifest patience in other areas that may not matter to us as much, but when it comes to food, they say a hungry man is an angry man. That’s what folks say, but during crunch time, a hungry man cannot be an angry man.
We would need to be victorious on this point, by manifesting patience if and when God’s timing, and ours may differ. Jesus was tempted on the timing of God’s deliverance, because God has made promises pertaining to our daily bread. The question is: When will the food truck be coming Christ’s way?
Would the food truck show up as soon as Jesus gets hungry, two days after He gets hungry, or will it wait ten, twenty, or thirty days before it drives by with a bunch of hot Tacos? Would Jesus, like Sarah become restless and decide that the food truck isn’t coming.
Or would Jesus, like king Saul become all fretted and moody, and angry at God because, like Samuel, the food truck doesn’t show up on time? What does on time mean anyway? Is it at the first sign of hunger, is it several days into the fast, or is it in the fullness of God’s timing?
What would you consider a reasonable time frame for the truck to drive by with His lunch? It has to do with timing, when God’s timing and ours differ. Let’s read:
Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry.
3 And when the tempter came to him he said, If You be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Jesus believed that relief would come, and thus, He waited and waited and waited, until God saw fit to send the food truck with His Tacos. Jesus would not succumb to satan’s temptations on reasonableness, nor would He become moody and restless if logical modes of thought collide with faith.
Jesus’ patience was open-ended, leaving the correct timing with God, and even though it was a grueling trial of no ordinary nature, He remained calm and resilient, even as the pangs of hunger gnawed at His stomach. Let’s read:
Matthew 4:11 Then the devil left him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
[D.A. pp121] He awaited God’s time to bring relief.
When you read in Revelation of the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus, we must understand it in the context of food, because, it began with food and it will end with food. God has promised bread and water during crunch time, but we must get into the habit of leaving the issue of timing with Him. Let’s read:
Isaiah 33: 16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
In the book of 1st Corinthians, we are instructed to study carefully the children of Israel as they dealt with God’s timing on the issue of food and drink. In their experiences, the food truck didn’t always show up on time, and very often, when this was the case, they would throw a temper tantrum and they would indulge bad moods. Let’s read:
1st Corinthians 10: 11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Observe carefully how the Hebrews’ mood would go into a tailspin very often when their food truck is no where to be seen for the moment. Panic mode and irritability would often set in, and in some instances, they would get violent, and their patience would wear thin.
We may look back and say that was those guys, but in our own experiences, is it true that we also fail to manifest the patience of the saints, especially when we may have deadlines, or urgent matters, or worse yet, when our own food truck doesn’t show up at a reasonable time? Let’s read:
Exodus 16:2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; because you have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
Exodus 15: 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore, the name of it was called Marah.
24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
Exodus 17:1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?
3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
[G.C. pp 621] The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger, a faith that will not faint, though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time.
Question: How do we prepare for that time? Do we prepare by practicing to go without food for many days, incrementally? Until we reach forty? Or should we ask God to give us patience? You can ask, but we do not recommend asking for patience.
Instead, if we know that we are not manifesting the patience of the saints in our everyday experiences, we should first confess our sin to God and leave Him alone so that He might do His good work in us in His own time and way.
This will call for an acknowledgement of our failures and it will call for surrender. Thus, we may ask God for grace and strength in time of need, but for us to tell Him what to do, and when to do it, will in most cases be asking for trouble.
Recently, I had a scheduled appointment to meet, and as the time drew near, I found myself driving in Hialeah, behind two drivers who seemed to be on vacation, for they were taking their time and driving so slowly in front of me, on a one-way street.
As the time for the appointment drew near, I found myself growing increasingly restless and impatient at the two drivers, so like Sarah, I began to look for a plan B. Up ahead I saw a traffic light where I could turn onto another street to get out from behind these drivers.
But at the traffic light, one continued going straight whilst the other one turned in front of me, and was driving slowly on my off ramp. Later on, as the Bible study was being written out, it dawned in my mind that the patience of the saints was lacking that day, so I had to stop writing and go have a talk with God.
Confession was made and I asked Him to alert me to those times where I may be on the verge of getting impatient. Not long after I had another appointment but this time rain was scheduled to start shortly and I tried to beat it so that I could do what I had to do.
But then I found myself driving behind another one of those Hialeah drivers, and The Lord sent a strong signal into my mind that I was about to lose it again. He then gave me the strength that was sufficient for the situation, and the scheduled rain never fell. God is good!
The preparation for the difficult days ahead involves cultivating right attitudes when we are brought into straitened places. Remember, that even though Saul had waited, his mixed up moods and attitudes were not of the kind God could approve of.
The next time we find ourselves in a situation where something important is delayed, like we have to go somewhere for a particular time, and we get stuck in traffic and a Hialeah driver is texting on his phone in front of us while the light turns green and he isn’t moving.
Observe carefully if there’s a change in your attitude where you become very restless angry, go into panic mode, and complain of the way God is choosing to prepare you.
In other words, if our feathers become ruffled when in straitened circumstances, that is a call to prayer, because victory on this particular point is needed, in preparation for the days ahead, where the heat of the furnace will be turned up several notches.
God will grant us the grace and strength that we will need, but we must confess that we have a problem on patience, if indeed that is the case. We therefore end with a passage of Scripture which reaffirms the issue of waiting on God’s timing and let’s remember that practice makes perfect. Let’s read:
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
God Bless!