What he actually said was, "Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there." Of course, by only saying, "Lazarus is dead, and I am glad," my friend thus intends to emphasize the fact that, oftentimes, though we may perceive crisis or tragedy in circumstances, if we truly are waiting on the Lord (as Mary and Martha were) and looking to God for our help, we will not be disappointed. Lazarus is dead, and I am glad: because, now we are going to see the glory of God shine through those very circumstances which seemed to be against us.
That same friend of mine also says: "You may not like how God does it, but you're going to love the outcome." How true. (Trust me, it pays to surround yourself with godly friends!)
Another precious friend of mine has often said: "Nothing we can do gives God more honor, than to wait patiently on Him, especially when we are going through a hard trial." Those are the times when the devil most wants to come against us and give us every reason he can think of why we ought not to believe God's Word.
But, Brother, Sister, if you can't trust God, who can you trust? If we will just stop long enough, in the midst of our wrestling and questioning and fretting, to consider just who God is and what He has already done for us, according to His own good will and tender mercies; we will quickly come to our senses and get a grip on "reality." For the believing Christian, our perception of reality ought never to be based merely upon what we see with our eyes or hear with our ears, nor yet according to what we may imagine in our own minds. But our perception of reality must always have reference to a right understanding of, and genuine faith in, the Person and the promises of God.
Isn't it comforting to know that the Bible has so much to say about the importance and value of waiting on God? If it didn't speak so much to that issue, then we would almost certainly fret ourselves much more than we do when we seem to be confronted with trouble. But knowing that the Bible supplies such wealth of instruction and encouragement to those who will put their trust in the Lord and wait upon Him, gives us the spiritual strength we need actually to do just that, to trust and wait on God. For, we thus understand it is God's will that we should be willing to wait on Him.
Scripture also reveals that God furthermore rewards those who wait on the Lord. God does have what I like to call "an incentive program:" whereby, those who give more of themselves to God should expect to receive more from God. "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).
Waiting (in faith) on God to deliver from trouble, in answer to prayer, is to give God the "high praise." In contrast to what I call (though Scripture does not call it) the "low praise" ~ which consists of thanking God after that He has wrought deliverance; the "high praise" consists in trusting and thanking God and waiting patiently on Him, before the promised deliverance appears.
We are also given to understand, by Scripture, that there is a "flip" side to the 'coin,' so to speak. Whereas there is honor to God, by reason of those who will trust and wait on God. There must also be dishonor to God, by reason of those who will not trust and wait on the Lord. Moreover, as there is blessing and reward to those who will wait on God; there is contrariwise shame and loss (at least spiritually) to those who will not trust and wait on God. That's why the Scripture says:
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28)
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season , if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: [so] that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7)But for those who will wait on the Lord, there is great reward:
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while , make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. (1 Peter 5:10)
And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go ['out of Egypt,' after your trial and suffering], ye shall not go empty (Exodus 3:21)I don't know about you; but I am very glad that the Holy Ghost included the two phrases, above: "for a season," and "a while." The Lord knows how to deliver. And He knows when:
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished (2 Peter 2:9)Not least, the ability to wait upon the Lord, in the midst of great trial, is not in any measure a manifestation of the flesh; but it is evidence of the deep inner working of the Holy Ghost in the spirit of such an individual:
...strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness (Colossians 1:11)"Waiting" is not, however, passivity of the spirit. But it involves conscious, active warring in the spirit ~ in the face of opposition of circumstances and of demonic powers, to lay hold of the promises and the faithfulness of God. "Waiting" means not giving in to discouragement and unbelief. That is rarely if ever easy; as the following passage suggests:
I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. (Psalm 69:3)About 100 years ago, James Fraser, a great missionary to China, said that to give in to discouragement, despair and depression, is just as bad as to give in to sin. For, either way, the soul is thus in a place of defeat and unfruitfulness. (Like I said, it pays to surround oneself with godly friends ~ even if they've already been in heaven for a century or more.)
I will conclude this brief essay, by including a number of passages which encourage us to "wait" on the Lord:
Psa. 25:3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
Psa. 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
Psa. 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
Psa. 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psa. 37:7 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.
Psa. 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Psa. 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
Psa. 39:7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
Psa. 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psa. 52:9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
Psa. 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
Psa. 69:6 Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
Psa. 123:2 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.
Psa. 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
Lam. 3:26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
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