Wait Upon the Lord

 Guest Blog by Gary Riedel

S - SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 40:31 But they who wait for 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.

O- OBSERVATION: I love this verse and all the more as the years fly by, but I wanted to think about it in the context of waiting for the coming of Jesus. You see, we can’t speed it up, we can only be patient and prepared, and in the waiting we are strengthened by regularly reading the Word and by prayer.

In fact, we only grow weary and faint of heart when the Word is removed from our routine. Waiting upon the Lord is surrendering to Him and trusting in Him alone, our own strength is of no consequence.

A - APPLICATION: At this time of the year we are anticipating the celebration of the first coming of Jesus, being born of a virgin in a manger in Bethlehem; the beloved Christmas Story in Luke chapter 2. But we never want to forget while all of that is going on, each day draws us closer to the Second coming of Christ. So, while we wait to celebrate the Birthday of Jesus, we are also waiting for Him to come again. Again, their is joy and anticipation in the waiting for those who have put their faith in Jesus and in His birth His suffering in our stead, His death in our place, and His Resurrection which assures our own eternity in heaven, Romans 6:5. Even if illness, age, lack of work, whatever the challenge afflict us, we can still be strong in faith waiting for the Lord to come again or to come for us whichever comes first. Being strong in faith is what keeps
us from growing weary or fainting at the first difficulty. Our hope is in the Lord and Him alone, and absolutely nothing else. Faith in Jesus alone is our only source of meaningful strength! May waiting for Him be your source of strength and consolation!

P - PRAYER: Gracious Father, I pray that all who read this might know You as their source of strength. I pray that in the waiting we grow stronger and more dependent on You and less caught up in ourselves. I pray his in the Name of Jesus, Amen

Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash