Wait on the Lord

Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalm 27:11-14

This is the last part of Psalm 27 where David is encouraging himself in the Lord. He begins by asking the Lord to teach him His ways and lead him in a smooth path because of his enemies. False witnesses or liars have risen up against him to defame his name and ruin his testimony and those that would try to harm him. He would’ve lost heart had he not believed that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He tells us (and I believe himself) to wait on the Lord and be of good courage, because the Lord will strengthen our hearts (and his). Again he says to wait on the Lord.

It is wonderful when you can go through difficult situations and be confident that God will strengthen you through it all. When we ask God to teach us His ways and make our paths smooth because of our enemies, it does not necessarily mean that we are asking God to make things easy for us. Let me back up a moment here. First, teach me Your way O Lord, that part of the sentence alone is saying God show me how to walk in Your will and in obedience. Lead me in a smooth path because of my enemies – God glorify Yourself in the midst of my situation and shut the mouths of those who speak against me and those cancel the plans of those who would try to harm me. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries – Lord do not let their words or actions affect me but let Your will be done. For false witnesses have arisen against me and such as breathe out violence – Lord You know that they are lying about me and trying to ruin my testimony and there are even those who would harm me violently. Here’s the best part – I WOULD HAVE LOST HEART, UNLESS I HAD BELIEVED THAT I WOULD SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING – Lord, I would’ve gave up already if I didn’t believe that I would see Your glory, that I would see Your goodness, that You would sustain me, in this world that I live in. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He will strengthen Your heart – Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Waiting is not easy for both of us, but when we wait on Him, He gives us strength to carry on. He gives strength to take the next step. He gives us strength to keep climbing that mountain. Again I say wait on the Lord. Notice that David is stressing the waiting on the Lord. We must wait on Him because He already won the victory, He just wants us to believe and wait on Him. There is a beautiful song that I heard in a movie soundtrack for the first time and it really ministered to me. It’s by John Waller and it talks about waiting in difficult situations. The chorus goes like this:

While I’m waiting,
I will serve You,
While I’m waiting,
I will worship,
While I’m waiting
I will not faint
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait.

I feel the Lord’s presence as I think of the words to that song because I can relate and it encourages me to keep pressing forward and wait on the Lord because He will see me through. He has never failed me and He will never fail you. Just be of good courage and wait on the Lord. Joshua 1:9 says: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Never forget that my brethren. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Take that verse and make it yours and remember to wait on the Lord.