Mar 2 Are we there yet?

Mar 2

Are We There Yet?

Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD…

“Are we there yet?”  “Pretty soon. Just a little longer”

That question has been asked by almost every child who has traveled. The reasons children ask that question are instructive to us today. First, time is relative. Einstein is reported to have explained relativity by saying “An hour with a lovely lady seems to fly by in an instant, but sitting on a hot stove for two seconds seems like an eternity.”  If you recall a whole year in 2^nd grade was a long time. The older you are the faster time seems to fly by. Two hours in the back seat of a car seems like forever to a child.

     A second reason is a child does not understand geography, or distance, and why it takes so long. A child wants things right now! A child has not learned how to wait. That is why they ask the same question every 5 or 10 minutes. “Are we there yet”

      Our verse today promises wonderful things.

Isa 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.        

In this verse we find renewed strength, wings like an Eagle, ability to run without weariness, and be able to walk without falling. Wow, I want that. Sign me up! How do I get those qualities?  The answer is in the first part of the verse. 

Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD...

It requires you to learn to wait on the LORD. In our instant world, waiting is unheard of. We complain because the computer takes 5 seconds, the microwave needs 30 seconds, and there is one person ahead of us in the check-out lane. Some people even wear a telephone on their ear! Do we also approach God the same way?  The old joke still applies- I want patience and I want it right now.

I am not sure why our modern world has become a right now world of instant everything. Everyone is in a hurry. We want all those things promised in Isaiah and we want them now because we need them now.

Our verse follows verse 30 where we see the strength of young men failing. 

Isa 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

and the young men shall utterly fall: 

The strength of youth alone is insufficient, but God can supply strength. Verse 31 starts with a contrast, “But”, they that wait upon the LORD will gain renewed strength, wings like an Eagle, ability to run without weariness, and be able to walk without falling.   

In studying for this devotional I was reminded anew of how often the Bible requires waiting.

Ps 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art

the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. 

Ps 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. 

Ps 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God;

 for my expectation is from him. 

Pr 20:22 ¶ Say not thou, I will recompense evil;

 but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee. 

Ho 12:6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy

and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

In addition to these verses on waiting we find “patience” 34 times in the New Testament. With so many repetitions of the same idea it is important we learn patience on the path to Christian maturity.

The Bible is filled with examples of people who did not wait for God’s best. The trouble in the Middle East between Israel and Arabs might not have happened if Abraham had waited for Isaac to be born. Instead Abraham ran ahead of God and Ishmael was born. Moses missed out on the promised land because his anger exceeded his patience. How about us? What are we missing because we have not learned to wait on the LORD.

Sometimes waiting on the LORD means we stand still like they did at the Red Sea. “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD,…”. Other times it means we need to follow patiently what we do not understand. Marching around Jericho for a week must have required patience, because it seemed like an odd way to wage war. Still other circumstances require us to do what we can and leave the rest in God’s hands. One of my favorite examples is the question “what do you do if you find yourself in the middle of the ocean in a rowboat?”  The answer is you pray to God and row to shore.

Let our prayer be that we not lag behind what God wants us to do or run ahead of Him. We need courage to not lag behind. We also need patience to not run ahead and solve problems in our own strength. Learning to not run ahead or lag behind is a lifelong process that must be repeated daily. It takes time. It requires we grow by feeding on the Word. Then we can mature by putting the Word into practice in our daily lives.  If we do not do both, read the Bible and do what it requires we will not grow and mature. Perhaps that is the reason we find too many Christians today complaining “When will we get there?”  

Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work,

 that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.