WAITING ON GOD – DAY 12 – ++Joshua Paul
Psalm 37:34 (MSG) 34 Wait passionately for GOD, don’t leave the path. He’ll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it.
Psalm 37:23-34 (KJV) 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 28 For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. 30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. 32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. 34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
PROMISED LAND MINISTRIES – “THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH UNITED”
If we desire to find a man whom we long to meet, we inquire where the places and the ways are where he is to be found. When Waiting on God, we need to be very careful that we keep His ways; out of these we never can expect to find Him. “Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness; those that remember Thee in Thy ways.”We may be sure that God is never and nowhere to be found but in His ways. And that there, by the soul who seeks and patiently waits, He is always most surely to be found. “Wait on the Lord, and keep His ways, and He shall exalt thee.”
How close the connection between the two parts of the injunction, “Wait on the Lord,”—that has to do with worship and disposition; “and keep His ways,”—that deals with walk and work. The outer life must be in harmony with the inner; the inner must be the inspiration and the strength for the outer. It is our God who has made known His ways in His Word for our conduct, and invites our confidence for His grace and help in our heart. If we do not keep His ways, our waiting on Him can bring no blessing. The surrender to full obedience to all His will is the secret of full access to all the blessings of His fellowship.
Notice how strongly this comes out in the psalm. It speaks of the evildoer who prospereth in his way, and calls on the believer not to fret himself. When we see men around us prosperous and happy while they forsake God’s ways, and ourselves left in difficulty or suffering, we are in danger of first fretting at what appears so strange, and then gradually yielding to seek our prosperity in their path. The psalm says, “Fret not thyself; trust in the Lord, and do good. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Depart from evil, and do good; the Lord forsaketh not His saints. The righteous shall inherit the land. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” “And then follows—the word occurs for the third time in the psalm—”Wait on the Lord, and keep His way.” Do what God asks you to do; God will do more than you can ask Him to do.
And let no one give way to the fear: I cannot keep His way; it is this robs one of every confidence. It is true you have not the strength yet to keep all His ways. But keep carefully those for which you have received strength already. Surrender yourself willingly and trustingly to keep all God’s ways, in the strength which will come in waiting on Him. Give up your whole being to God without reserve and without doubt; He will prove Himself God to you, and work in you that which is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ. Keep His ways, as you know them in the Word. Keep His ways, as nature teaches them, in always doing what appears right. Keep His ways, as Providence points them out. Keep His ways, as the Holy Spirit suggests. Do not think of Waiting on God while you say you are not willing to work in His path. However weak you feel, only be willing, and He who has worked to will, will work to do by His power.
Waiting on God by Andrew Murray
THE INTERNATIONAL CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY APOSTLES
Psalm 37:23-34 (MSG) 23 Stalwart walks in step with GOD; his path blazed by GOD, he’s happy. 24 If he stumbles, he’s not down for long; GOD has a grip on his hand. 25 I once was young, now I’m a graybeard— not once have I seen an abandoned believer, or his kids out roaming the streets. 26 Every day he’s out giving and lending, his children making him proud. 27 Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don’t quit. 28 GOD loves this kind of thing, never turns away from his friends. Live this way and you’ve got it made, but bad eggs will be tossed out. 29 The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots. 30 Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue. 31 His heart pumps God’s Word like blood through his veins; his feet are as sure as a cat’s. 32 Wicked sets a watch for Righteous, he’s out for the kill. 33 GOD, alert, is also on watch— Wicked won’t hurt a hair of his head. 34 Wait passionately for GOD, don’t leave the path. He’ll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it.
