WAITING ON GOD

“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" (Isa. 40:31 NKJV).

Scripture has a lot to say about waiting on the Lord. Although it requires patience, faith, and submission, waiting on the Lord has many wonderful compensations. Our verse speaks of four great compensations: energy, elevation, enthusiasm, and endurance.

Energy – “shall renew their strength.” If we need spiritual energy we need to wait on the Lord. We need to wait in His Word and not be in a hurry to get through our daily Bible reading. The same is true regarding prayer. We are reminded by the hymn writer, “Take time to be holy,” and it takes time.

Elevation - “shall mount up with wings like eagles.” Eagles soar above the world with their wings. Spiritually we too need to rise about the world’s standards and interests. Waiting on the Lord will give us the wings to do this. It will help us live a godlier and nobler life.

Enthusiasm - “shall run and not be weary.” We need more enthusiasm in church. Some folks get enthused, but it does not last. Others do not get enthused at all. However, if we would take time to wait in the Word and prayer we would see a great increase in our spiritual enthusiasm.

Endurance - “shall walk and not faint.” Walking speaks of the normal routine of life; it is what we do most. Yet, it is harder to live for God in the normal routine of life than in any other area. Many folk only get with it ‘spiritually’ on special days at church. However, when we wait on the Lord in His Word and prayer, we will gain the endurance to live out our faith in the common routine of life without fainting. Our faith will endure the struggles of ordinary living.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work!”

Peter Marshall (1902 –1949) American Pastor, Chaplain of the US Senate

Word Study

Dishonor

In Rom. 1:24 we read, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves” (NKJV).

Dishonor is the Greek word atimazō (ἀτιμάζω = at-im-ad'-zo). It is made up of two words: “a” which means without, and "time" which means honor. Thus the word means to be treated with indignity or to cause to be disgraced or degraded. It is to treat shamefully whether in word, in deed, or in thought. Further, the word means to cause to have a low status involving dishonor and disrespect. It is to bring reproach, to stain the character of; to lessen the reputation of someone.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah is the Light of the Gentiles (Isa. 49:6)

New Testament Fulfillment – John 8:12; Acts 13:47

Did You Know…

In the Bible, it states that Jesus gives joy (John 15:11).

Bible Quiz

What did the people of Israel make while Moses was on the mountain?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: According to Proverbs 17, what “does good like medicine?” “A merry heart does good, like medicine” (Prov. 17:22).

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

“To turn a deaf ear”

“One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination!” (Prov. 28:9 NKJV).

“To turn a deaf ear” - The expression "to turn a deaf ear” carries the idea of not to listen. The word “hearing” here is not merely a reference to just listening, but carries the idea of accepting and obeying God’s Word. Failure to heed God’s instruction is rebellion, and God finds the prayer of the rebellious to be repulsive. The same thing is said of the wicked man’s sacrifice (Prov. 15:8), and even of his thoughts (Prov. 15:26). And refusing to obey God’s Law carries serious consequences. If you are not interested in what God has to say, He will not be interested in what you have to say, i.e. your prayers.

Did You Know – Christian History

Samuel Francis Smith was born October 21, 1808 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was an American Baptist minister, journalist, and author. He is best known for having written the lyrics to “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” which he entitled “America.”

Smith attended Harvard College (now Harvard University) from 1825 to 1829. Being very poor, he accepted literary work to make ends meet. This is how he met musician Lowell Mason who asked him to translate some German verses for a songbook he was preparing. Among the tunes he handed Smith was a German patriotic hymn, “God Bless Our Native Land.” When Smith read it, he immediately felt that the United States also needed a national poem.

Writing on scraps of paper in February 1832, he finished within thirty minutes a poem he titled “America.” Mason published it. On July 4, 1832 the children’s choir of Park Street Congregational Church in Boston sang it at a Sunday school celebration. Beginning with the now familiar words, “My country, ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty. . .” It gained immediate popularity. One leader commented that since it was ‘strong in simplicity and deep in trust in God, children and philosophers can repeat the hymn together. Every crisis will hear it above the storm.’

After completing his seminary studies, Smith went on to become one of the outstanding Baptist preachers of the nineteenth century. He composed 150 hymns during his life. In 1843, with Barton Stone, he compiled The Psalmist, the most widely-used Baptist hymnal of the day.

Later, as secretary of the Baptist Missionary Union, Smith visited many foreign mission fields. A gifted linguist, he was skilled in 15 languages, to which he attempted to add a sixteenth at the very end of his life: a year before his death at the age of eighty-six, he began the study of Russian! It is, however, for “America,” that Smith is best remembered.

Samuel Francis Smith died suddenly on November 16, 1895, while on his way by train to preach in the Boston neighborhood of Readville. He was buried in Newton Cemetery.

A Little Humor

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL – “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Christ is a substitute for everything, but nothing is a substitute for Christ!”