Devotional

Waiting on the Lord

October 24, 2016

Part 3

“[Lord] … What is man that You are mindful of him?” Psalm 8:4a

We concluded last time with a look at the omnipotence of God. He is our Creator, but He is also our Sustainer, and He deals with His people with compassion. We see that in the text of Isaiah 40:

He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young (verse 11).

How does this sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent Lord treat His people, specifically? God is like a shepherd, carefully and gently leading His people. And notice what it says in verse 29: He gives power to the weak; and to those who have no might He increases strength.

 Isn’t that amazing? This great and awesome and incomprehensible God, this God cares about us. He cares about us intimately. He is gentle in His dealings with us. He sees our weaknesses and gives help to those who have no might. To those who are feeble, He increases strength.

We read in Psalm 46:1b, “God is a refuge and strength. He is a very present help in the time of trouble.” Our temptation is to think that in the time of trouble, God is not present. He has vanished. What’s going on? Why am I going through this? If God is really with me, if He is present, why are my circumstances the way they are? We don’t always understand, and God doesn’t always give us an explanation. But what He does tell us is that He’s in control, He knows everything that’s going on, and He is considerate of us.

God Is Faithful
The next point is that God is faithful. He will keep His promises. Recall verse 29: He gives power to the weak; and to those who have no might He increases strength. This is an absolute declaration that God gives power. He increases strength. We can depend on Him. And we see the result of His power in verse 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.

 He doesn’t just see you in your weakness and say, Oh, that’s too bad. Look how weak they are. He says, Oh look, they’re weak. I need to strengthen them. They’re feeble; I need to empower them. And because He is the faithful God, He comes alongside and does these very things for us. This is a great and glorious promise.

Notice, “Those who wait upon the Lord …” So put your name in that spot. As you wait upon the Lord, this is what God promises He will do. No one is excluded.

We will address the subject of waiting itself in our conclusion next week.