What does it mean to wait on the Lord?

The word “wait” in Isaiah 40:31 has the thought of simply and singly looking to Him. It also embraces waiting for Him, and expecting from Him. It is a very full word. That accounts for it being variously translated. One word in English does not give the fullness of its meaning. It is upon God alone then we are to wait. We are to look to Him; to wait for Him; and to expect from Him only. In this exercise we deepen in the knowledge of that which is before the mind of God; and that displaces things which have been before our own minds that are not according to His. Who has been HIS counsellor? Who showed HIM the way of understanding? HE makes known to us HIS counsels, and directs our minds in the way of understanding, as we wait upon Him. His thoughts, not those that originate in our minds, are to abide! His strength, not ours, will prevail! and it is this which He would have us to possess. He says, The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it; and again, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew (change) their strength (40:5, 31). The word of our God shall stand for ever (v. 8). Let the eyes look up to the heavens—He created them, and all their starry host. Let them look abroad upon the earth beneath—He weighed the mountains; He meted out the dust of the land; and the waters of the sea; He measured in the hollow of His hand! They all manifest His eternal power and divinity. Even the nations, so prominent now by their strifes and ingenuity in destruction, are to Him as the small dust of a balance. “All nations before Him are as nothing,” and vanity! They are counted to Him less than a cypher (v. 17)! WAIT UPON HIM!

How He values those who do so, both old and young. They are spoken of as His flock in this very chapter, which describes the majesty and might of God so magnificently. He feeds them as a shepherd, and gathers the lambs with His arm, carrying them in His bosom; gently leading those that are with young. With what confidence then we may WAIT UPON HIM. His mind and strength are to be ours. We thus change our strength.

Fourthly, we are instructed that if we are to receive strength it will only be as we “wait upon the LORD.” Does not waiting upon the LORD imply prayer, and yet more than prayer. In prayer we make known our needs, in waiting we seek to learn His mind in His presence. In prayer He hears our words; in waiting we sit in His presence and hear His words, like Mary of old who sat at His feet and heard His word.

Psalm 62. Waiting on God is the subject of this psalm. it implies dependence, confidence; and both in such sort that we abide God's time: dependence, because we cannot do anything without Him, and ought not, because what He does is what the soul alone desires, because action without Him, even in self-defence, is only the action of our own will, and so our being without God so far. Saul did not wait upon God. He waited nearly seven days; but if he had felt he was dependent, and nothing could be done without God, he would have done nothing till Samuel came. He did not; he acted for himself, and lost the kingdom. Deliverance from God is sweet; it is love; it is righteous, holy deliverance; it becomes the revelation of the favour and grace of God. It is perfect in time, way, place. So where the soul waits for it, will not being at work, it meets and enjoys the deliverance in this perfectness; and we are perfect and complete in the will of God. But it implies confidence too; for why should we wait if God would not come in? The soul is thus sustained meanwhile. And this confidence is such that we tarry the Lord's leisure. Patience has its perfect work, so that we should be perfect and complete in all the will of God. There is too an active reckoning upon God. But this leaves the soul absolutely and exclusively waiting on Him. It is not active for itself; it waits only upon God. ("Truly" in verse 1 and "only" in verses 2, 4, 5 and 6 is the same word in Hebrew.)

A fourth instruction follows in verse 7. "Rest in the Lord," or, as the margin says, "Be silent to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." This follows in obvious sequence. Having rolled our way upon the Lord, so that the responsibility and weight of it are now His, we rest in Him and wait for Him to act. The wicked may still appear to flourish and bring his wicked devices to pass, but that no longer frets us. God is wholly competent to deal with all that, in His own time and way. We wait patiently for Him and rest the meanwhile. We are relieved of the whole business, it is His, not ours.

The Hebrew idiom, "Be silent to the Lord," is very expressive. The inference seems to be that we have so really committed our way to Him, and are so fully prepared to wait patiently for His intervention, that we have nothing more to say. When faith is low we become like querulous children, fretful because others seem to be more favoured than ourselves, and constantly interrupting our parents with questions and complaints. We are happy indeed when faith is vigorous, and as far as questionings and complaints are concerned we are silent to the Lord.

Verse 34 adds one further thing. We are not only to wait patiently for the Lord, but also to "wait on the Lord, and keep His way." Waiting for Him means exercising trustful patience until He intervenes. Waiting on Him means the maintaining of that holy intercourse and communion with Him that ensures obedience to His will, while we wait for His intervention.

In verse 2 we have set forth the completeness and intensity of the expectation of faith: "Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that He have mercy upon us." This is supremely beautiful, telling, as it does, of unfaltering confidence, and of the perseverance of faith. These pious souls fix their eyes on the Lord their God, just as servants wait on their masters for the indication of their will by the motion of their hand. This is to be will-less in the presence of God, and to be consequently it His absolute disposal. Suffering scorn and reproach, they will not be impatient, and will not retaliate; nor will they seek any alleviation of their trouble from any human sources, but they will just quietly wait on until the Lord, in the compassion of His heart, shall interpose on their behalf. Is there no, lesson to us in our troubles from this exhibition of immovable trust in God as a known refuge? Many of us "lift up our eyes" to Him in our distresses, but we fail in waiting on until the succour comes. We do pray, tell out our griefs. but this unconquerable perseverance of faith is often lacking. Let this example afford us both guidance and encouragement.

The first requisite then for it is quiet or stillness of soul. Unless we are freed from care and anxiety, and indeed at rest about ourselves, we should scarcely be in the spiritual condition for waiting on the Lord. Alas! that so many of the Lord's dear saints are so filled with unrest; affected, it may be, by the spirit of a restless age. Such are not happy if they are not busy with various activities, or borne up by the excitements of meetings. They are the Marthas of the church of God - and lacking in the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price. The next desirable thing is the opened ear, and this can only be enjoyed where there is realised dependence. This was seen even in our blessed Lord, who, speaking in the prophet Isaiah, said, "He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear to hear as the learned" (the "learner"). Thus quietly before His God, as the dependent One upon the earth, His ear was attentive to catch every indication of that will which He had come into this world to do. Ah! how much we miss because we are not thus quietly waiting, looking up, and meditating in the sanctuary.

A well-known labourer in the work of the Lord was once told that a large amount of extra work awaited him. He answered, “I shall therefore need to take more time to wait upon God before attending to it!” There lay the secret of the success of this much used servant of the Lord. Strength, grace and wisdom, along with peace of mind by the Spirit, become ours experimentally as we wait upon God.

We are told that they who wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. How often we have experienced this. Moments of depression come, weakness asserts itself, circumstances seem too difficult for us to grapple with. In our feebleness we wait on the Lord, we bring our depression and feebleness into His presence, and they pass away, they cannot remain in such an atmosphere. We rise up from our knees, our strength is renewed, not perhaps physically, but spiritually, though even a cheerful mind is good medicine for a sick body.

The Apostle Paul bowed his knees before the Father on behalf of the saints at Ephesus. He asked that they might be strengthened (Eph. 3:14-16). He had told them in chapter 1:3, that they were blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ; but they needed strength to enter into this, and to be for God’s glory here. We are blessed up there; but we need strength down here. We know where to find it. Strength belongeth unto God! What then is to be done? “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Pray? Yes: only we must WAIT UPON GOD!

(v. 2) The one who thus turns to the Lord takes the place of subjection, looking to the Lord for His guidance, even as servants wait upon their Master to direct them by a motion of the hand. With this subjection there is the perseverance that waits for the Lord's gracious direction; for the godly look to the Lord, “until he be gracious to us” (JND).