WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD? (2)

WISDOM FOR LIVING DEVOTIONAL

JANUARY 16, 2021

TOPIC: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD? (2)

BY T. O. BANSO

“Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him” (Psalm 32:10 New King James Version).

In our devotional yesterday, I discussed some of the benefits of waiting for the Lord i.e. trusting Him, depending upon Him, looking unto Him, counting on Him, and longing for Him. I discussed these benefits:

1. You will be blessed.

2. You will not be put to shame.

3. You will experience the Lord’s goodness.

4. You will receive answers to your prayers.

5. You will obtain the blessings God has promised.

I want to share with you today more benefits.

6. You will obtain salvation and establishment. David says in Psalm 62:1-2, “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved” (New King James Version). If you wait for the Lord, you will enjoy deliverance, safety, preservation, and stability.

In verses 5-7, David repeats His trust in the Lord as he waits for Him: “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God” (New King James Version).

The book of Isaiah records a similar trust in the Lord for salvation, “And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation’” (Isaiah 25:9 New King James Version).

7. You will gain new strength. If you wait for the Lord, you will gain new strength. You will exchange your weakness for His strength. You will not faint or be weary. “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 New King James Version).  If you wait for the Lord, you will fly high on wings like eagles.

In Hebrews 11:11, we read that by faith, Sarah received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Sarah had long entered menopause. Therefore, her conception was not a normal occurrence. The strength for her to conceive was from the Lord.

David described the Lord as his strength (Psalms 27:1; 28:7; 29:11; 54:1; 59:9). The writer of Psalm 84 says, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You” (verse 5 New King James Version). You need the strength of God because the strength of man is inadequate. “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength” (Psalm 33:16-17 New King James Version).

8. You will not make avoidable mistakes due to impatience or weariness. “Impatience will get you into trouble” (Proverbs 19:2 Good News Translation). The New Century Version puts it this way: “If you act too quickly, you might make a mistake.” The world is still suffering today from the mistake Abraham and Sarah made, giving birth to a child through their own arrangement, not God’s way. He that believes shall not be in haste (Isaiah 28:16b). Be patient.

9. You will enjoy the mercy of the Lord. The Lord shows mercy to those who trust in Him or wait for Him. If you wait for Him, He will surround you with mercy. “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him” (Psalm 32:10 New King James Version).

Those who wait for the Lord enjoy His mercy. The writer of Psalm 130 says, “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning — yes, more than those who watch for the morning” (verses 5-6 New King James Version).  Verse 7 says O Israel, hope in the LORD, for with the LORD there is mercy. The Lord will show you mercy if you wait for Him.

10. You will gain divine perspectives and receive direction from the Lord. As you wait for the Lord or on the Lord, He will give you His perspectives on life issues and divine direction. Issues are not always what or the way we think they are. As we wait for the Lord in prayer and study of and meditation on His Word, He gives us illumination and we begin to see from God’s perspective. We are able to separate the wheat from the chaff. We have the right focus.

1 Corinthians 2:10b says the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (verse 11 New King James Version). 

Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future” (John 16:13 New Living Translation). The Holy Spirit has since come and He knows all things. He will lead you and He always leads in agreement with the Word of God and the will of God.

Wait patiently for the Lord and enjoy all these benefits. Don’t let impatience rob you of them.

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 shall wait patiently for you; I shall not be weary. I am waiting patiently for You, and You will save me. You, the spirit of impatience, I reject you; you will not get me into trouble. Father, deliver everyone waiting patiently for you from impatience. Show them mercy and let them enjoy the benefits of waiting patiently for You 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