WAITING FOR GOD
This scripture came before me prior to the meeting tonight, beloved brethren, and I was confirmed by our hymn. This part of the verse came before me, “for him that waiteth for him” – that is for God. There are tests and trials that the brethren are going through at the present time, but we should know what it is to wait for God. I think you can see this in Noah in relation to building the ark – he waited for God. You can see it too in Abraham. He did not know where he was going, but he waited for God. You see it in perfection in the Lord Jesus. At twelve years of age, He was in the temple hearing and asking questions; the time of His public service had not yet come.
Beloved brethren, it is a test for me. We may pray about a thing, but do we wait on God to get the answer? It is not just a request, it is prayer. You pray to God that He may answer. What I am concerned about is to prove what it is to have patience while we are waiting for God for an answer to our prayers. We have concerns in relation to our health or our families; there are many things that we pray for, but do we have patience to wait for God in relation to them? I was thinking of believers in past generations who faced tests and trials, brethren who went through assembly sorrows, and how did they get the answer? They waited for God, and God answered them. How testing it is at the present time to wait on God for an answer. I am tested myself. You may pray for certain things, and you wait and wait, before God answers. There is nothing impossible with God. God will not leave you, He will give His answer, but the test for each one of us, dear brethren, is to wait for Him. Many are passing through suffering at the present time, and we feel what our brethren are going through in relation to their health, in relation to their families, in relation to other matters. We do not know all that each one carries, but the Lord knows everything. We should prove what it is to wait on God; He will answer us, if we have patience to wait for Him. We are tested as to how much influence we have with God in our private lives, in our household lives. How often do we go into our room and pray to God in relation to our exercises. They may last for weeks, they may last for months, they may last for years; nobody knows, but God will answer us if we have patience to wait for Him. The Lord will not leave us; He says “I will not leave thee, neither will I forsake thee”, Heb.13:5.
We are waiting for the Lord’s coming very soon. We are looking for Him, and He will not let us down, He really will come. We need patience in the present time, which is the waiting time. May we be encouraged to prove what this verse means, “Never have men heard, nor perceived by the ear, nor hath eye seen a God beside thee, who acteth for him that waiteth for him”. May we be encouraged to wait for God, and may there be greater praise and worship to Him in the assembly in the little time we have left here.
May God bless the word.
Word in a meeting for ministry, Glasgow
11 November 2014
J. Newberry