Finding Strength in Waiting on the Lord | Isaiah 40 Bible Study

[0:00] We're going to go to the Word of God to Isaiah 40 and really asking the question, what are you waiting for? What are we to do when we feel weak and weary and how can we get strong again?

[0:13] And the answer is to wait on the Lord. So that's a preview really of the answer. The answer is to wait on the Lord. And that's the way to get through weariness and weakness when it saps our strength.

[0:27] And as this verse tells us here from Isaiah 40, it tells us, Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary.

[0:42] There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.

[0:57] 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.

[1:09] Think of the world we're living in. It's so fast-paced, isn't it? Everyone rushing here and there. It's like this constant, hectic pace. And you've got instant messaging, microwave meals, Uber Eats, fast food, same-day delivery, express checkouts, click and collect, high-speed internet, disposable products, instant energy drinks.

[1:30] It's like everyone's about rushing here and rushing there. And it's like a world where people just can't bear to wait. Waiting feels like a burden. Waiting feels like a burden. But God calls us to wait, to wait on the Lord.

[1:43] And there is hope in this hectic world. There is hope that we can find that rest. We can find that renewing of strength. And at the time here in Isaiah, the people of God were in exile in Babylon.

[1:57] And they were fainting. They were questioning God's care. And Isaiah delivers for them this message. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

[2:07] And it's the same for you and me. When we're feeling weary and weak, when we're feeling like we lack strength, there's hope here. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

[2:19] It's a promise from God. And we can think of that when we're in our own seasons of waiting, maybe waiting for healing, for provision, for guidance, waiting for God to give us some direction or breakthrough.

[2:33] Here is God's promise for you. They that wait upon the Lord, they shall renew their strength. And you think of how we can unpack that kind of truth there and that statement there.

[2:46] It speaks of a trust in God's timing. It's learning to be patient and expecting God to work. Having that humility that, hey, we depend upon him.

[2:58] We're going to wait upon him for his answers. We're going to submit to his plan for our life. We're going to find his will and surrender control to the one who knows the future.

[3:11] And the ultimate waiting is for the blessed hope of his returning. And we see the promise here of his renewal. It says they shall. They shall renew their strength.

[3:22] It's a promise from God. So we can think about a number of things here. We can think, for example, of the wonder of God, of who he is, the everlasting God. We see, secondly, the weakness of man, our helplessness.

[3:36] And then we see, thirdly, this waiting that brings strength. We can learn how to wait well, to wait well. And know his strength in those waiting seasons.

[3:46] What are you waiting for? Are you waiting upon the Lord? It's a good thing. It's a good place to be waiting unto him, to wait upon him, to trust in him, to trust in his faithfulness, his power, his wisdom.

[4:04] Even when circumstances seem unclear, we lack direction, we're finding a difficulty, the best place is to be waiting upon your God.

[4:14] So, number one, notice, firstly, the wonder of God, the wonder of God, of who he is. And we see that, as it reads there, of his awesome character.

[4:26] It's talking about the everlasting God. This is not some flimsy God of man's making. This is the everlasting God. He's from everlasting to everlasting.

[4:37] He's loved us with an everlasting love. He offers us everlasting life. And he is the creator of the ends of the earth. To wait upon the Lord.

[4:47] We think of his unfailing, unchanging, unsearchable ways. To get a grasp of who he is. And Isaiah poses some questions here.

[4:59] Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? He's telling Israel, hey, wake up to these truths here. These truths that sometimes we forget. In times of despair, we forget who God is.

[5:10] And life overwhelms us. We lose sight of who God is. It's a good starting place, isn't it? To think, hey, we should know God. We should hear God.

[5:21] We should know who he is. When life overwhelms, we know God's character. Firstly, we see his everlasting. God is the everlasting God.

[5:32] He's not bound by time. We sometimes get all wrapped up in time. And our precious time, we think, how dare we wait a few minutes in a queue or on a phone call or whatever it be.

[5:43] And we get impatient. But God measures life, not in days and years like we do, but from eternity to eternity. We think of Psalm 90 verse 2.

[5:55] Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever there had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Think of the wonder of the God that we can know.

[6:08] And in exile, Israel felt forgotten. But God was still working in those times through different generations. And sometimes they had 40 years waiting in the wilderness.

[6:21] We see God's eternal perspective. It assures us, and for ourselves too, that a delay is not a denial. His timing is perfect, isn't it?

[6:31] His timing is perfect. He knows what he's doing. And we can think, well, of the tapestry of our life. It is weaving it. And we only see a few threads.

[6:42] But God sees the whole masterpiece that he's making. And sometimes when we wait, if only we could trust the weaver that he's doing his work. He's doing his work.

[6:53] And he's going to complete his work in us. He is everlasting. Get that concept. Secondly, notice he is the creator. He is the creator, it says, of the ends of the earth.

[7:04] God's power. Think of it. As we wait upon this one, he is from everlasting. And he's the creator. He's made us for a purpose. And his power is limitless. He's put the galaxies into existence.

[7:17] He's the one who holds the universe in his hands. Isaiah 40, verse 12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and meted out heaven with the span? You know, he's measured heaven by his measurements.

[7:31] He's comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure. He's weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance. It puts things into perspective when we think about he is the creator.

[7:43] And he's the God that we wait upon. And no problem is too big for him when you think of that. That he's made you. He's created you. He's given you the purpose for living.

[7:55] And he is the one that you can wait upon. No problem is too big for him. Think of Jeremiah 32. Our Lord God, behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power.

[8:08] And stretched out arm. And there is nothing too hard for thee. If we wait upon this one, he's the everlasting God. He's the creator. Your creator. We can think, hey, nothing is too hard for him.

[8:20] Whether you're waiting for a financial need. A restoration of a relationship. Some healing. The creator has the power. Nothing is too hard for him.

[8:31] According to his will. We can consider the Israelites at the Red Sea. They were trapped. Terrified. And we read that God made a way where there was no way. And Moses said unto the people, fear you not, stand still.

[8:45] And see the salvation of the Lord. Which he will show to you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today. You shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you.

[8:56] And you shall hold your peace. We know that God made a way through the Red Sea. And we think of maybe some of the battles we face. In comparison, they're probably not as huge as that one.

[9:08] But God will do the fighting for you. Whatever your situation. Nothing is impossible. Nothing is too hard for him. And God parted the waters in his perfect timing.

[9:20] And he proved his power. We see he's the everlasting God. He's the creator. Thirdly, we see he never wearies. He fainteth not. Neither is weary. He's full of strength.

[9:31] Think of the power of your God. He is unlimited in his power. He's full of strength. And while we might tire after a long day, God's strength never wanes.

[9:43] His attention never drifts. His care never falters. Think of this scripture, Psalm 121, verses 3 and 4. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved.

[9:54] He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Think of the God that you know. He never sleeps. He never slumbers.

[10:05] He never tires of watching over you and caring for you and keeping an eye on you. And there is no searching of his understanding. His wisdom is beyond our grasp, isn't it?

[10:18] We think how his ways are higher than our ways. And his wisdom is beyond our reach. Romans 11, 33 tells us, Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.

[10:33] How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out. The one upon whom we wait, his understanding is unsearchable.

[10:44] We think of, in our little finite world, when we have to wait for something, we don't often understand sometimes the delay.

[10:55] But we can trust God's wisdom. God's wisdom is higher than our wisdom. And when we feel frustrated, maybe at times, waiting, just pause to worship the God who never tires.

[11:11] He's got his way that he's working out. And reflect upon his faithfulness to you. You think back of other times you've had to wait, and he's seen you through.

[11:22] And he's answered your prayer. And he'll do it again. Amen. The faithfulness of our God. When he's provided. When we felt before how all seemed lost.

[11:34] We know that he's the faithful God. And we can meditate on his words as it tells you. Psalm 27. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. And he shall strengthen thine heart.

[11:46] Wait, I say, on the Lord. Sometimes it's hard to wait on the Lord, isn't it? We want a quick fix. We want answers now. We want God to hurry up and answer our prayer and meet our need.

[12:00] We've got to trust him. Trust his timing. Trust his power. His wisdom. He's the eternal God. And he's got a plan that he's working out.

[12:11] As we think about the wonder of God. The one who we wait for. And consider also, Not only just the wonder of God. But the weakness of man.

[12:22] Think of our human helplessness. It tells us there that Even the youth shall faint and be weary. And the young man shall utterly fall. Our human limitations.

[12:33] We're so finite and limited, aren't we? And in our own frailties. In our own human strength. It's finite. It's weak. And even the best of us.

[12:44] Even the youngest. And the most resilient of us. No matter how strong we might feel. How young. How capable we might feel we are. We've all got our limits. We've all got a limit.

[12:55] But God is unlimited, isn't he? And we can put our dependence upon him. See, really, that even the strongest fall. Even the strongest fail. Think of the young people amongst us.

[13:07] The younger ones. There's a limit still to our energy. Our resilience. It says even they are going to faint. And be weary. Even the young men. These are the ones at the height of their vigour.

[13:20] You know, in their prime. It says that they're going to utterly fall. You know, you've heard lately of different ones. You know, strong men have passed away. You know, people that you think they're pretty fit and healthy.

[13:31] But not everyone. We're all mortal. We're all going to come to that point. And you think of life's burdens that get on top of us. Could be grief or illness.

[13:42] Strains. Spiritual battles. We can all get to that point where even the strongest amongst us can have moments like this. Can't we?

[13:52] Who can identify with that? Sometimes we can feel faint. We can feel weary. I know I generally get weary every Sunday afternoon. Have a nap. Now, we can all have that time where we feel faint.

[14:04] We get weary. We get a bit worn. You know, life can get heavy sometimes. And can exhaust even the strongest amongst us. Now, this verse isn't pessimism. It's the reality of life, isn't it?

[14:16] Our human condition. We've got a human frame that's limited. We fall. We fail. The best of us. It's like for a marathon runner as they hit the wall at mile 20.

[14:28] Their legs are trembling. Their breath is ragged. And they can't go on. And life's challenges can often feel like that. Where we can feel like we faint. And we're weary.

[14:38] And we're running out of strength. And when we get to that kind of place in life, if we're honest with ourselves, we can say, well, maybe self-reliance isn't the answer.

[14:49] You know, we can only do so much in our own strength, can't we? In our own limited way. Our culture celebrates self-sufficiency. But really, it's got to have something more than being self-sufficient.

[15:03] We've got to have God's power and strength. And the word warns us against trusting in our own strength. For example, Jeremiah 17, 5. Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and his heart departeth from the Lord.

[15:21] We can put too much emphasis in our own strength, and rely upon our own selves, and we're going to burn out. We've got to wait upon the Lord, and renew our strength.

[15:33] It's like what happened with the Israelites. They thought they could conquer Canaan. In Numbers 14, they presumed, it says, to go up onto the hilltop.

[15:44] The ark wasn't with them. And they thought they could go in their own strength against the Amalekites, but they smote them.

[15:54] They got smashed by the Amalekites. Because of self-reliance, it led to defeat. And it's the same with you and me, isn't it? We can rely upon ourselves, and we're going to fail.

[16:07] We must depend upon our God. We must wait upon the Lord. And the good news about our weakness is that it qualifies us for God's strength.

[16:19] I love this one in 2 Corinthians 12. It's telling us really that our weakness isn't a barrier to God's power. It's the doorway. When we realise that we are weak, we can realise He is strong.

[16:31] Amen? When we realise our inadequacy, we can realise our dependency upon Him. And grab a hold of God in times like that, when we admit our limits, that we can trust rather in His limitless resources.

[16:47] As in 2 Corinthians 12, it talks in the context of the thorn that Paul was beseeching God, take it away three times. And God says, No, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

[17:03] You know, Paul came to that place of His limitation. And He found the grace to sustain Himself. And it's the same for you and me when we're feeling weak and weary, as our scripture talks about, that God is the one who strengthens the weary.

[17:19] We can all get exhausted. We're limited. We've got weariness. We've got human flesh. And we can feel empty and lacking in our prayer, in our ministry, our spiritual life.

[17:35] Don't hide your weakness. Bring it to the Lord and wait upon Him for His strength. Ask God to meet you in your weakness. Here's a good one. Psalm 37, verse 7.

[17:46] It says, Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Fret not thyself because of Him who prospereth in His way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. You know, we can fret ourselves about what this one's doing, what that one's doing, but rather let's rest in the Lord and wait, wait patiently for Him.

[18:05] We've seen the wonder of God and the weakness of man. And thirdly, think about this waiting, this waiting that we're called to wait and the promise of the waiting.

[18:16] It's worth the wait. If you can wait upon the Lord, it's going to be worth the wait. There's a blessing in waiting. Look at His promises here in this text that we started with.

[18:26] 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.

[18:39] Think of the promises here for you. The promises here you could understand and apply to your life. It says, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

[18:51] We see the waiting. What happens is God works when we wait. Our weakness, He turns into strength. Our despair, He turns into hope.

[19:02] Our struggles, He turns into victory. And it's interesting, the word wait, there's a word for wait here in the Hebrew. It means to bind together like strands forming a strong rope.

[19:15] There's a sense where there's a strength to waiting. It's like a strong rope bound together. And biblical waiting could think of prayer for one. It tells us to not be worried, to be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

[19:34] Let your requests be made known unto God. And then it says, And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus.

[19:47] Waiting means bringing our needs to God in prayer. We think of how can we wait upon the Lord. Pray through. Pray. Pray and pray through. Like Hannah prayed.

[19:58] In 1 Samuel 1, 10 to 20, Hannah poured out her soul for a child. And God answered. We need to be as Hannah to pray, to pray through, to seek God's face.

[20:14] Think of waiting. It's got this sense of endurance, this patient endurance. Because sometimes we look at human time, you know, the timepiece on our hand, the time clock on our screen, and we're so bound by time and measuring things by human time.

[20:31] But think rather of God's timing. That even when it feels like a delay, actually it's God's timing. It's God's time. That's what matters. I know we kind of joke when someone's late, oh, that's Queensland time or whatever it be.

[20:46] You know, someone's late, we kind of joke about they're not keeping to time. But hey, God's not bound by time to start and finish on certain times as much as it's a good practice to schedule and to be timely.

[20:59] But we think, hey, what is God's time? That's what matters. What's God's timing? And to trust that. And you see, for example, Lamentations, it says, the Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

[21:13] It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Can we learn to wait, to quietly wait, to wait for God to work, to wait for God's salvation, to wait and have that hope, that quiet waiting.

[21:28] It's not a resignation, this kind of patience. It's faith that God's plan is worth the wait. All right? So brother, sister, you might have something in your mind. You're thinking, hey, this is what I want for my life ahead.

[21:41] This is what I want for my future. Think of it according to God's timing, that we can trust, hey, all right, God's put that on my heart to seek after, to pray for.

[21:51] Well, let me just be patient. Let me quietly wait. Let me patiently wait. And trust the Lord that God's plan is going to be worth the wait if it's going to take some time.

[22:03] And there's a hopeful expectation too, that we can have God's promises. We can trust his intervention. In Habakkuk 2, it talks about how there's an appointed time, that God has got an appointed time.

[22:19] Sometimes we want time to fall out according to our own schedule and our own impatience. I know I can naturally be impatient, but we've just got to have that thought, hey, God's got to work it out in his time, in his appointed time.

[22:37] And his timing is the best timing. So learn that patience. You know, don't be in a rush. Don't feel like if you don't get answers to your prayer straight away, that you've got to sometimes quietly wait, patiently wait.

[22:51] Have that enduring expectation, that hope, that keeps on hoping. It's like Simeon, he waited for years for the Messiah in Luke 2. God spoke to his heart that he would see the Messiah.

[23:06] And it took some time, but he did see the Messiah. He did see the wonders of God. And he looked forward with confidence. It's like a farmer who plants seeds.

[23:19] He waits, he waits for the harvest. And he tends the soil with care. He doesn't dig up the seeds to see what's going on. They're not growing fast enough and digs them up and helps to look them.

[23:29] He's got to wait and leave them sitting in the soil. It's like that for us too. We can want quick fixes for our spiritual life, can't we? For our walk with God, we sometimes get impatient and we're in a hurry and we wonder why is God taking so long?

[23:44] But sometimes he's just teaching us patience, that we might learn patience. So brother, sister, we have to learn, learn to wait on God.

[23:55] And it's an act of trust. It's faith. It's faith that, hey, God's going to work that out in his time and I'm going to trust in his timing. And there's blessings in waiting.

[24:07] Notice what it says in our verse there. It tells us that they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. And it's a promise there of renewal.

[24:19] This word renew, it means to exchange or transform. So God doesn't just patch us up. He trades our weakness for his strength. He doesn't just manufacture something of our own making.

[24:36] He gives us a whole new, a whole renewal, a whole exchange, a new strength that is his making. As we read before, he says, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

[24:55] And then Paul says, most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. We can actually find that our infirmities, our weakness, it actually makes us want to glorify God.

[25:09] that he should deign to bless me, that God should deign to save me for one thing. And in all of my weakness, I can give him glory.

[25:25] In all of my weakness, I can trust his power. In all of my lack, I can lean upon his strength. And his strength is made perfect there. His strength is made perfect there in your very weakness.

[25:38] And we see this renewal. That it affects all of our life. And then we see this picture of soaring like eagles. It says that they're going to soar like an eagle. Think of that picture for a minute.

[25:50] And you think of how eagles soar. You might see them out in the countryside where they're just soaring effortlessly. They just spread out their wings and the thermals lift them.

[26:05] And they rise above the storms. And it's like that for you and me. It says when you wait upon the Lord, you're going to be like that eagle that just stretches out its wings. And the thermals are going to lift you.

[26:17] And it's when you wait upon God that he's going to lift you. He's going to lift you above your circumstances. And he's going to give you his perspective. You think of an eagle catching the updraft.

[26:29] It's not like some bird trying to flap around by their own effort. Think of human effort trying to flap our wings. The eagle just soars.

[26:40] And the thermal lifts the eagle. That's the picture for us. And it says that these ones are going to run and not grow weary.

[26:51] Think of, I know we've referred to it a few sermons lately, of that running race of the faith. Amen. Running with patience. There's that endurance again. That waiting. That time of stretching.

[27:06] Of that patience. The patience of waiting. Think of that running. The race. We see the trials. That there's an eternal purpose. We see that running and walking without fainting.

[27:19] This endurance event. That is life's marathon race, isn't it? This long race. This race that we run where we have testings of trials, of weakness, of challenge.

[27:37] We think of this walking. That it's this faithfulness, this daily grind, a walking one step after the other. And sometimes mundane at times, that walk and you wonder how long have we got to keep this walk going on?

[27:53] And the good thing is that God walks with you. I love this one here. Micah 6 verse 8. What did the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God?

[28:08] Now there's the running, that endurance event, and then there's the walking. Again, that daily walking and walking with God. We think of this waiting. It's like what happened with Abraham and Sarah.

[28:20] They waited. They waited decades for Isaac. They faced doubt and temptation, taking matters into their own hands, yet ultimately God fulfilled their promise, his promise, proving his faithfulness to Abraham and Sarah.

[28:39] Think about Elizabeth and Zechariah. They waited for John the Baptist and God's timing brought a miracle. It's like Joseph. He waited years, sometimes in prison.

[28:52] Joseph, he waited for God's purpose to unfold and then he went ultimately from the prison to the palace and we see God intervened.

[29:04] Joseph waited and God supplied. We see David, he waited years through persecution and exile before he was king.

[29:16] David, learned about waiting, years of waiting through persecution. Think of Noah. Noah waited. I'd imagine it would have been pretty hard for Noah when you think about it as Noah there in the, in that dry place where he's building this massive vessel and people would have thought what a cuckoo idea this is.

[29:39] You know, Noah building this ark. What are you putting all your energy and time into that for? You know, you can imagine how others could have built a mansion for themselves on the, in the desert there with all the labour and resources and the time and effort that Noah put into building this ark.

[29:58] How he would have been mocked and scorned for this project and yet Noah waited. He knew that that was God's plan. That was God's direction for him to build the ark and so Noah waited and then we see that God intervened and God used Noah's obedience to bring a blessing.

[30:21] We see Jacob waited for Rachel. He worked for his uncle Laban for 20 years working and working for ultimately his wife Rachel.

[30:32] See Job waited, didn't he? He waited sometimes on the ash heap, didn't he? Scratching himself with broken pieces of clay and we see Job waited and ultimately God answered.

[30:46] We see Jonah waited for God to deliver him and we think of Jonah, he prayed for three days in the belly of the whale. Think of it, the belly of the whale. Can you imagine being in the belly of a whale with all the slime and seaweed and the stench of it and the belly of the whale became a holy place?

[31:05] Amen? The belly of the whale became a place of prayer, a place of worship, a place of calling upon the Lord and the Lord answered, Jonah, he waited.

[31:15] We see the church waited as they tarried in Jerusalem for the power from on high. What about you and me? Think about some areas where maybe God is asking you to wait and you might feel could God hurry up and answer my prayer?

[31:32] You know, have I got to wait a hundred years like Noah? How long have I got to wait? It's going to be worth waiting for. All right? That God is asking you to wait.

[31:42] Maybe it's for a job, a relationship, a spiritual growth, whatever it be, these situations of life that we've got to wait. How can we wait? Pray.

[31:53] Learn to pray. Use that time of waiting to pray, to pray through. We see scriptures like Isaiah 14 verse 31, you know, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

[32:05] We see Psalm 130 verse 5, I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait and in his word do I hope. That's a confession, isn't it? I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait and in his word do I hope.

[32:19] Think of words like this, scriptures like this that can help us to, hey, keep on waiting. You know, sometimes I know it's human nature, isn't it? I know often I get people contact me and saying, oh, they're throwing their hands up in the air and life's difficult and that's not to negate, that can be real for you, but hey, just try to get hold of scriptures like this one and learn to wait, learn to believe, learn to have the faith that goes through the pressure, learn to have that prayer that prays through the situation where you have to wait and trust in his word and that can fill your hope as you wait for the Lord, that your soul does wait.

[32:57] You've got that waiting that's the right kind of waiting upon the Lord and then we see how, again, we see that we have need of patience. We've got need of patience and let others encourage you in that waiting.

[33:12] Hey, we're all waiting. We're all waiting. We're waiting for his coming. We're expecting it. We're trusting in the blessed hope, the glorious appearing and for the meantime, we've got that blessed hope. We've got that waiting.

[33:23] We're waiting together and we're getting together all the more before we see his coming. We have the working together, the fellowshipping together. There's an encouragement from getting together with God's people that we can encourage one another in our waiting and we can ask God to help us in those times where we've got delay to trust that his perfect plan is what counts.

[33:47] So waiting on the Lord is kind of this spiritual discipline that we can all learn to have that intentionality to decide to wait, to determine to be one who's waiting, to submit to God's timing and his purposes and to rest in his timing.

[34:04] Waiting on the Lord, it means acknowledging that his timing is perfect. Really, isn't it? He's the everlasting God. After all, he's your creator. All right? And he never gets weary.

[34:15] He doesn't get tired of watching over you and it says that he has made everything beautiful in his time. In his time. All right? He's got the answer for you.

[34:26] I know, I read a quote which I love too. Waiting is often God's schoolroom for sanctification. Well, that's a good quote. God's schoolroom for sanctification.

[34:38] When we're waiting, God's refining us, God's shaping us, God's guiding us and growing us and making us more like him. He's building our faith. He's helping us get stronger to have more humility, to have more dependence upon him, to have a stronger faith, to trust him and his character and we can rest in his character.

[35:00] When doubt comes, can we trust that he is God and he is the everlasting God? Can we trust him? Can we trust him? When we're weak, can we find his strength to be the answer, to rest in who God is, to recognise that and meditate on his attributes?

[35:19] I know we've had some Bible study sessions on the attributes of God. Think about the attributes of God. I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely I will remember thy wonders of old.

[35:31] I will meditate also of all thy work and talk of thy doings. When we're waiting, we can talk about our God. We can trust our God. We can be moved by the wonder of who he is and remember that he is the everlasting God and we can yield our will to his will.

[35:49] We can trust his faithfulness as we've recounted it of old and it's in the present too. Like he delivered Israel from Egypt. Like he provided for Elijah.

[36:01] We have the same God. He's from everlasting to everlasting and he's your God by faith. We think about this waiting, it's faith. It's not a passive thing.

[36:12] It's we're pursuing God. We're cleaving unto God through prayer, through worship. We're drawing closer to the everlasting God and there's a patience that comes as we talked about like a farmer waiting for the precious fruit of the earth.

[36:31] He has long patience for it and James says, therefore be patient, be patient, therefore brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. So learn to be patient, learn to wait, learn to trust him, learn to rest upon his promises, learn to fellowship and encourage one another to this waiting, to trust his purposes.

[36:54] It's like what happened with David. As we say, David waited years to become king. Meantime, he was fleeing from Saul, facing trials, yet the Lord strengthened him through prayer and he learnt to wait upon the Lord.

[37:09] So think of it as you reflect on this thought of waiting in your decision making. Don't rush. Learn to wait. I know sometimes that's a mistake I can make.

[37:22] I can sometimes rush ahead and not always take the time to find, hey, what's God's will? Learn to wait. It's a good practice, isn't it?

[37:34] Wait for that peace. Through his word, through prayer. Don't rush when you're making decisions, when you're going through suffering or tests. Trust that God's working behind the scenes.

[37:46] Don't throw in the towel with the least little thing. There's suffering, there's trials, there's tests. Hey, who knows whether you might have a, God forbid, but a Job experience and you think, well, I've got to go the distance.

[38:01] This is a long haul. This is not a quick fix. I've got to hang in there with God in those times of tests. Dig in and be firm and keep on.

[38:15] we think of ministry, of our life's calling. Wait for the open doors. Sometimes we might want to rush into this or that without waiting and being clear what God's will is, what God's direction is, to have that maturity, to trust God's timing.

[38:33] And this is for any decision of life really, isn't it? Can we learn to, hey, maybe you ought to pray about it first. It's a good practice, isn't it?

[38:46] Growth takes time as well and that waiting is going to grow you. It says that those young men are going to get the renewed strength. It's saying that you're going to soar like an eagle.

[38:59] It's when you wait upon the Lord, He's going to renew your strength. There's a promise there. So don't rush through those waiting seasons. Learn to pray.

[39:09] Learn to grow your faith. Learn to cultivate faith when it's hard, in the hard times. And then just to, again, consider this truth that they that wait upon the Lord, it says they're going to renew their strength.

[39:27] Trust that God is working in you. He's working for you. And waiting is a season of preparation. It's not punishment. It's preparation. He's doing something.

[39:39] And we know it tells us the promise that all things work together for good. To them that love God, hey, that's you. To them that are called according to His purpose.

[39:51] It says all things are going to work out. And expect His breakthrough even when things are different from what you maybe want, different from what you'd imagined. And therefore, will the Lord wait that He may be gracious unto you.

[40:07] Sometimes God's waiting on you to get your act together, all right? To get my act together. Blessed are all they that wait for Him. Amen? God's waiting and He wants us to wait.

[40:20] He wants us to wait for Him. We can be like in a rush to do something and we're missing the point that sometimes God just wants you to, hey, just stop and pray about it.

[40:33] Just rest in me. Just rest in my time, my timing. And trust God. Know that He's faithful. He has been faithful. Amen? And He will be faithful.

[40:45] Won't He? You can trust God to know that He's faithful. Keep trusting. Keep waiting on the Lord and know that strength. He's the everlasting God.

[40:56] He never gets tired. You know, I know as parents we can get tired of our kids, can't we? We can lose patience. God doesn't lose patience with us. He's patient.

[41:07] He's long-suffering. He doesn't get tired of waiting for us to get things sorted. And He delights in empowering us. And when we wait, we exchange our weakness with His strength.

[41:20] What an exchange. We exchange our sin with His righteousness. It's the exchanged life, isn't it? That we in our weakness can find His strength.

[41:31] What a blessing for you. And we can rise above our circumstances like the eagle soaring. We don't have to be the chicken scratching.

[41:42] We can be like an eagle soaring. Amen? We can know the rising above. Not by our own flapping of our wings but just letting Him lift us. Amen? And we can run with endurance.

[41:54] We can walk with faithfulness knowing His sustaining power. He's the everlasting God. He's the creator of the ends of the earth after all. So brother, sister, can I implore you tonight to think about, hey, maybe I shouldn't be in such a rush and such a fretting and fussing and wanting things on my time and thinking, oh, why isn't God helping me with this or that?

[42:19] To rather trust Him. Trust His timing. And trust the Scriptures like they that wait upon the Lord shall, shall renew their strength.

[42:31] And like that eagle, just wait for that right thermal and let it rise you up. Rather than flapping frantically or scratching like a chook, trust the wind to lift you as the Spirit of God would lift you when you wait upon Him.

[42:52] I pray that be encouraged. And you think about there's times we could think of examples, I'm sure, for ourselves of our own lives or people we know of those that have prayed and God answered.

[43:03] God answered. Might have taken some time of waiting but God answers. And that waiting isn't wasted because we can know God's faithfulness will come through.

[43:16] So brother, sister, think, wait on the Lord, wait on the Lord. There's so many verses you could look in your concordance at others and really it's a theme through Scripture, wait on the Lord.

[43:30] And be of good courage. And He shall strengthen thine heart. There's a promise again. There's promise after promise in the Word. He shall strengthen thine heart.

[43:43] Wait, I say, on the Lord. And rest in the Lord. Wait patiently. Sometimes waiting is testing our patience. We can get frustrated waiting but it tells you wait patiently.

[43:58] Wait patiently for Him. 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.

[44:11] Let us pray. Our Lord God, You are the everlasting God. Help us, Lord, to put life into perspective that this is just a speck of time, our lifetime.

[44:24] Lord, help us to realise that You're working from everlasting to everlasting. You're our creator. You're always faithful. You never tire. You are patient with us, Lord, in at times our errors and faults, our sin.

[44:42] You show grace, You extend it and You keep on extending it. Lord, we thank You that You are patient with us. Lord, help us to be patient when life's trials come and we want answers and we want a quick fix.

[44:56] Lord, we get frustrated when life isn't how we want it. Lord, help us to wait. Help us to patiently wait. Help us to quietly wait. Help us to prayerfully wait.

[45:06] Lord, to wait upon Your timing. To wait in that trusting of who You are and of Your great power that's for us in all of our weakness, in all of our lack.

[45:17] We can know that as eagles rise above, we can know Your strength will lift us over all of these things. We can know that our waiting is going to glorify You as ultimately it will be a testimony of Your grace that You have waited so patiently for us to seek Your face.

[45:38] Lord, we pray each one here tonight might know the grace that saves that, the wonderful gift of salvation, of Your bleeding and dying on the cross, Your rising again, Your forgiveness of sin by Your mercy to all who will call upon Your name.

[45:55] Lord, we pray each one might have that heart's trust today. And Lord, help us to walk in that truth that even though we might be weary and failing, we know that we can wait on You and we're going to renew our strength.

[46:09] Lord, we thank You. Help us, Lord. We know there's circumstances amongst us, there's situations, there's stresses, there's tests, there's arduous things for some going through, waiting for this or that, wondering when You're going to answer our prayer.

[46:28] Lord, help us to be patient, to keep prayerful, to keep trusting. And Lord, to know Your faithfulness is for us, You never leave us nor forsake us. Lord, Your plan is perfect, Your timing is perfect.

[46:42] Give us wisdom, Lord, that we might see that even in our weakness, You can be strong and You can be our strength. When our own strength fails, we know that Your strength is unfailing.

[46:54] Bless us, Lord, bless each one. Minister, Lord, as we continue our walk, that we'll walk and not grow weary, we'll run and not faint, and we'll soar like eagles, Lord, when circumstances threaten, we can rise above the scratching chooks and be like that eagle that's soaring, lifted up by You and seeing things from Your point of view.

[47:20] Lord, bless each heart, each home, every family, every soul, that each one might put their trust in You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you.