This is the third week we will address the need for patience and waiting on the Lord to follow the King. If you’re getting impatient with this, perhaps this is especially for you! I’m just sayin’…

         Growing in patience and learning to “wait upon the Lord” are necessary to walk in the faith that receives His promises. Could impatience be the reason we are not receiving or walking in many things we are expecting? Giving ourselves to growing in patience is one of the most important things we can do. If you dread this discipline, this could be the most important thing for you right now. As Psalm 37:7-9 states: 

       Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Do not worry because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

       Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not worry—it only results in evil. 

       For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord will inherit the earth. 

           We live in a time when it seems the wicked are prospering and wicked schemes are prevailing everywhere, but this will not continue. When God’s people learn to wait on Him, and the patience required to inherit His promises, they will inherit the earth. This is also the key to us inheriting that little part of earth He has given us to have dominion over. 

           There is a time to rise up and fight. In all but two battles in Scripture the people were required to fight for the deliverance God had promised. Of all the great battles in Scripture only twice were the people told to do nothing but watch the Lord. So, the biblical testimony and our default should be that we will fight for what He has called us to do, but we will also be open to Him telling us, “I got this one.” To know the difference, we will almost certainly need to seek the Lord and wait patiently for His instructions.

         David became a great king because he was also a great warrior. And what made him a great warrior was how he waited on the Lord for guidance before every battle.  

         

         Today it seems evil is prevailing in nearly every battle. Courageous Christians continue to mobilize and fight but the victories have been few and short-lived. As a student of leadership and military strategy, it seems in nearly every case we are allowing the enemy to choose the battlefield and are fighting on his terms, and we wonder why it is not going well?

         We need leaders like King David who, even in the most desperate circumstances, take time to “inquire of the Lord” before taking action. The phrase most often used in relation to David is he “inquired of the Lord.” In contrast, King Saul suffered his worst defeats because he impetuously charged without first seeking the Lord’s will.  

         We can rise and try to mobilize and fight the wicked on their battlefields, and there is a time for doing this if the Lord directs us. However, His interventions usually come after we have expended our wisdom and strength, and our deliverance seems impossible. Learning to wait on the Lord so we act in His wisdom and strength before we have a chance to be defeated works much better. 

         Jesus came to show us how to live. He lived only doing what He saw the Father do. Isn’t it time to follow Him?

© 2021 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.