Waiting upon the Lord

John 20:29

Waiting upon the Lord

     Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

     It is a step of faith that Jesus calls us to. Jesus is speaking to Thomas – one of his disciples who spoke out to the others that he would not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead unless he was able to see Him in person and put his fingers into Jesus’ wounds. Jesus says to him, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

     Jesus will often come to our aid in a very visible way and yet there are many times when we are enduring some hardship or period of waiting for something which we have asked Him for and we start to doubt that He will come to our rescue or answer our prayers. We start to doubt even though we have many witnesses to the contrary. We have so many proofs of His faithfulness to keep His promises to us and yet sometimes we are like Thomas and declare that unless we see proof we will not believe that He will do as He said. Jesus words, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed,” is His promise of blessing for us if we hold fast to His promises no matter what things look like. He will come through and take care of whatever it is that we have asked Him for.

     So how does this translate into our everyday walk with God? Well, quite simple really. The Devil is always trying to offer us things that we don’t have to wait for or don’t seem to require any pain to achieve, things that we can have right now if we are willing to overstep a few of God’s laws. He often stirs up our hearts so that there seems to be no other alternative than to do things his way. He likes to fill us with such passion that we refuse to look at the consequences of our actions and do things in the heat of the moment that will cause us a lifetime of misery. God on the other hand, desires for us to have what is truly good for us and part of this is working on our character so that we will not waste what He gives to us, but will make the best use of it. So He allows delays to test us and to work patience and trust in us. God has our eternity in mind when He takes care of us and He is constantly working to conform our character into His image. We are His children forever and so He takes great pains with us to set our lives on a good foundation.

     So how do we hold onto the truth of these things when we are in the midst of a temptation or trial? It seems like it is just too hard to remember when we are fighting with a desire or test and we are contending with our weak nature. The answer is to hold onto God’s love for us and to not be afraid to cry out loud for His help to overcome what we are struggling with. If we cry out, He will refresh our spirit and renew our confidence, and give us a fresh wind to go forth and endure until He has finished all that He is accomplishing in our lives.

     So let us keep eternity in our hearts, and God’s love for us and our love for Him, continually on our minds. A good verse to dwell on is Proverbs 16:17. “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life.” 

          God bless!