WAIT MORE FOR THE LORD

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

TOPIC: WAIT MORE FOR THE LORD

BY T. O. BANSO

“He was still talking to them when the messenger approached and said, “Look, the LORD is responsible for this disaster! Why should I continue to wait for the LORD to help?” (2 Kings 6:33 NET Bible).

I tend to believe that in every age, ministers of God have a difficult work advising Christians to continue to wait for the Lord for answers to their prayers. When ministers of God tell people to wait for the Lord, it appears many of them agree just to give God a chance to prove Himself as the ministers have testified about Him! However, after a while, when the answers to their prayers are delayed longer than they had expected, most of them are tempted to quit on God.

While waiting for the Lord, believers often come under pressure, after some time, to try alternatives to God or go for something different from the promises of God. Abraham, the father of faith, found himself in that situation. His wife gave him her maid to sleep with to get a child through her. Ishmael was the product of that relationship (Genesis 16:1-4, 15). But God insisted that He would still give them the child He had promised them (Genesis 17:19). Isaac was later born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old (Genesis 17:17; 21:5).

In 2 Kings 6, the Bible records that the Syrians laid a siege on Samaria and there was a severe famine such that two women agreed to kill their sons and eat and had actually killed one of them. It was the next day they were to kill the second son that the king of Israel got to know about this, showing the severity of the famine. The woman, whose son was to be eaten,failed to give up his son to be killed, a development that prompted the other woman to cry to the king, who was passing by the wall, for intervention.

When the king heard the words of this woman, he went into morning and threatened to kill the prophet Elisha that day. Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders when the king sent a man ahead of him. Before the messenger came to him, Elisha  told the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent someone to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” (verse 32b New King James Version).

Verse 33a says while Elisha was still talking with them, the messenger was coming down to him. Apparently, after sending the messengers to kill Elisha, the king himself followed the messenger and said, to Elisha, “Surely this calamity is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”  (verse 33c New King James Version).

The NET Bible renders verse 33 thus: “He was still talking to them when the messenger approached and said, ‘Look, the LORD is responsible for this disaster! Why should I continue to wait for the LORD to help?’” Please take note of that statement by the king.

As some commentators have suggested, probably prior to this time, Elisha had told the king to put his trust in the LORD and he would intervene and put an end to the siege by the Syrians and the attendant famine. However, he had continued to wait for the LORD and nothing had changed positively. With the story of cannibalism he heard, he felt that he could no longer continue to wait hence he threatened to kill Elisha. Maybe he was holding Elisha responsible for giving him the wrong advice to trust the LORD for deliverance and for the failure of his God to help them. Therefore, the king said, “Look, the LORD is responsible for this disaster! Why should I continue to wait for the LORD to help?”

Today, there are many people like this king of Israel. They have waited for the Lord and are tired of waiting. They cannot continue to wait for the Lord to help them. But what better alternatives do they have other than to wait for the Lord? None. It is better to wait for the Lord rather than take the devil’s alternatives, which they will regret later. The story involving this king ended well. In chapter 7 of 2 Kings, Elisha prophesied a turnaround for Samaria. A miracle happened as Elisha had said. There was abundant food for the people of Samaria.

If you have been waiting for the Lord, please refuse to be impatient. Wait more for the Lord. David says in Psalm 27:14, “Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD” (New Living Translation).

No matter for how many years you’ve been waiting for the Lord on that issue in your life, you must refuse to be anxious but prayerfully and patiently wait more for the Lord.  The Bible says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done”  (Philippians 4:6 New Living Translation). Don’t be anxious. Have faith in the Lord. Continue to trust Him. Keep praying. “Never stop praying” (1Thesalonians 5:17 New Living Translation. 

Continued prayer shows that your trust is still in the Lord. Someone who does not pray is saying that he/she can do it alone; he/she does not need God. Don’t let the delayed answers to prayers discourage you from praying. Don’t give up on God! Keep praying. Psalm 33:20-22 says, “We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone” (New Living Translation).

It pays to wait on the Lord, notwithstanding how long someone has waited without an answer yet.  God has His own set time – the appointed time for the answer to your prayers. Psalm 40:1-3 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord” (New Living Translation).

If you wait patiently for the Lord, He will answer your prayers and bring you out of the miry clay you may be in. He’ll set your feet on a rock, establish your goings and put a new song in your mouth to sing.  Wait for the Lord, don’t produce an answer for yourself as Abram and Sarai did.

Don’t let the pressure of delayed answer lead you to make a mistake you’ll live to regret. “Haste makes mistakes” (Proverbs 19:2b New Living Translation). Isaiah 28:16b says, “Whoever believes need never be shaken” (New Living Translation). Don’t allow the pressure of delayed answer to prayer to make you take the wrong steps.

Put your trust in the Lord; He will not allow you to be put to shame ultimately. Isaiah 49:23b says, “ Those who trust in me will never be put to shame” (New Living Translation). The King James Version renders it thus: “They shall not be ashamed that wait for me.”

Lamentation 3:25-26 says, “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord” (King James Version). Did you notice that phrase: It is good?   Friend, I appreciate the fact that you’ve been waiting for quite some time. It may have been a long wait for you. But it’s good you wait more for the Lord’s fire; don’t make your own fire (Isaiah 50:10-11). It is good to wait for the Lord.

The prophet Micah declared: “As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me” (Micah 7:7 New Living Translation). If you’ll wait for the Lord just some time more, you’ll experience the answer to your prayer.  May you not quit on God today only for the answer you have been waiting for to arrive tomorrow and you’re not available to receive it.

1 Samuel 13:10 says as soon as Saul had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, Samuel whom he had waited for, for seven days came. If only he had waited more, he wouldn’t have offered an illegal offering to the LORD. Wait more for the Lord. How long more? I wish I know. Wait more for Him.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS:  Father, I repent of my impatience. Please forgive me. Holy Spirit, deliver me from impatience. Help me to wait more for the Lord. I come against the spirit that wants me to go for anything other than what God wants to give me. I shall continue to put my trust in the Lord because He has my best interest in mind and He will give me the best in His own time. I shall wait more in Jesus’ name.

(For over 400 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org