Wait or Go

Wait or Go

January 28, 2019

Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

There is a cheap cliche that suggests you have two ears but one mouth, so you should listen twice before you speak. This is reinforced in the Bible when it says you should be slow to speak but quick to listen. The same can be said with wait or go. No matter what translation or version of the Bible you prefer, if you search for the words "wait" and "go," you'll find that "wait" appears an average of five times, or more, than the word "go." The reason for this is almost as obvious as listening twice before you speak. When you listen twice before you speak, you are less apt to make severe mistakes or put your foot in your mouth. Waiting before you go is almost just as wise, but something none of us are good at. That's probably the reason why the word "wait" appears so many times in comparison to the word "go." The Lord knows our propensity to rush into things, making a decision before it is the Lord's time.

If you recall Joseph's life, he was so intent on moving forward, but it took an invalid jail sentence to get him to wait. David was bent on building a temple for the Lord, but the Lord told him to wait, it wasn't time yet. Peter was intent on starting a revolution, but Jesus told him to back down, to wait for the Lord to do His work. We are told to wait, often because it isn't the Lord's time yet, not necessarily because the answer is "no." If you pray for direction and need to have insight, sometimes there is a non-answer. Lack of clear direction is a good sign to "wait" rather than "go." In fact, the only time you should go is when you have clear understanding to go, a strong declarative from the Lord.

In speaking with many Christians over the years, not one of them has ever expressed a regret on being patient. No one has ever suggested they should have rushed into things sooner. Patience is having the ability to go forward but the wisdom to wait until the time is right. The Lord requires us to be patient. The funny thing about most of our situations in life, is that the Lord is not telling us no, rather telling us to wait on His timing. His timing is perfect, but the only way you can come to understand this is by waiting. You've experienced this once or twice, waiting until the time was right and then realizing how blessed it was to wait just a little bit longer. The Lord would say to you today to remember those times in your life with things worked out so well, because you waited. Now, remember that right at this moment, when you want to rush forward and do something, do anything. In the Bible, most of the time the word "rush" appears, it is in reference to war. Not waiting on the Lord is being at war with His perfect plan. This may seem like an extreme concept but anytime you rush, when the directive is to wait, then it is an act of disobedience.

Things are easier when you've waited on the Lord, when He has prepared the road ahead of you and made the path level. We have it stuck in our heads that when we do not have a directive to wait, then it must mean "go." This is opposite of how the Lord designed it. Never go unless there is a directive to go. If you do not have a clear directive to go, then the answer is to wait. As Christians, with a free will, we still think we have the right to move forward. We think by waiting that somehow we are weak or insecure, but waiting is actually wisdom until the Lord has given you clear directions otherwise. Surprisingly, it takes more strength to wait than it does to move forward.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Num 9:8, 1 Sam 13:1-15, Is 40:31, James 1:19