Wait for God

Words for the church at large are powerful!  I don’t often get statements or verses that are for the church at large but this summer I did.  Would you like to hear it? “God is calling the Church back to be carried by the glory of God!”

What does that mean? Well, perhaps each of us need to go to the Lord and ask Him what that means for us individually and for our particular local church body. Perhaps we need to pray into this and God will reveal what it means. That’s what I’ve been doing and here’s my thoughts.

The glory of God is His Presence. In the Old Testament God’s Presence with Israel was symbolized by the Art of the Covenant. In Joshua 3:3,4 it says, “…and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it…………that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”  

So the glory of the Lord, (1 Sam. 4:22), was symbolized by the Ark, and the people were to follow it. A similar thing was the cloud and pillar of fire that the Israelites followed. Following God—not leading and directing Him. How do we do that? 

Well, what God has been teaching me is that following God involves “waiting on God”. We wait for Him to be the leader, to direct us and lead us. We wait for His ideas. I love that old 70’s chorus that goes, “We must wait, wait, wait on the Lord 2x, Learn our lessons well and in His timing He will tell us, what to do, where to go, what to say.” (Check it out on YouTube?)

Let’s take a look at the opposite–not to be led by the Lord. It might look like coming up with our own timing, our own solutions, our own plan and asking God to bless it. 1 Samuel 13 gives the story of how Saul did this. He had been told by Samuel in 1 Sam. 10:8 to wait till Samuel arrived to do the sacrifice and Samuel would tell Saul what to do. Saul waited a while but got impatient and then did his own ideas and plan, not God’s. It cost Saul the kingship.  Think of Abraham and Sarah doing their own plan for a son and the difficulties that has produced for generations. There’s curse for doing our own plan and solving things ourselves. Did you know that?  It’s in Jeremiah 17:5,  “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh…”   Look it up and beware!

But God is so amazing! Listen to the promise He gives for someone who will actually wait for instructions and do God’s plans:  Isaiah 64:4  “For since the beginning of the world men have not perceived or heard by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You Who acts for the one who waits for Him.”

Who’s in charge of our life? It is important for us to know who is in charge. When we run on ahead we are taking charge. When it’s our idea—we are taking charge. That’s often called leadership.  But someone who chooses God’s Leadership, who chooses to be carried by the glory and Presence of the Lord, will never be disappointed. God is looking for that person. The way God finds them is if they will wait on God, wait to hear from God, and let God lead them.

To be led by God is amazing and powerful. We will never be disappointed. I’m focusing on this. How about you? Will you let God be your Leader?