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I’m sure that you’ve read the scripture about waiting on the Lord, Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” I’m encouraged every time that I read that passage. However, what should we do while we wait? When we haven’t seen anything that we’ve prayed for come to fruition, now what?
Well, that’s not the time to give up that is the time that we should persevere and have faith in our living God. But what comes with faith? Well, if you truly believe that God’s words will never return void, the answer to that is work. Faith without works is dead and the scriptures confirm this, don’t take my word for it just head over to James 2:14-19 and read it for yourself. There’s a story that I heard as a child that reminds me of faith,works and being mindful of blessings.
The story was about a man who was in the middle of the ocean and his life was in peril. Suddenly a boat appears and someone throws the man a life jacket which he refused because he said that he was waiting on the Lord to rescue him. Then seemingly out of nowhere a helicopter appears and lowers a ladder for the man to climb to be rescued but the drowning man refused. Needless to say, he succumbed to his decision to stay in the ocean. When the man reached the pearly gates he asked the Apostle Peter why was he allowed die when he was such a good and faithful servant. Pete’s answer was simple, “you were sent a boat and a helicopter.”
Yes, I know that it’s only a story but it made me think about missed opportunities because it didn’t come in a neat package. It also makes me think of the times of waiting by faith on a miracle and doing nothing else. The only way to make faith effective is if it is combined with works. That is a sure way to wait on the Lord.
