Date: 03 Sep 2000
Time: 08:43:28
[Taken from "Waiting on the Lord]
Waiting Sustains and Satisfies--(or Allows the Lord to Do So) Psalm 145:14-16 The LORD sustains all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to Thee, And Thou dost give them their food in due time. 16 Thou dost open Thy hand, And dost satisfy the desire of every living thing.
While the word “wait” is not found in this passage in the English translation of the NASB, the concept is clearly here. Note the words, “The eyes of all look to thee.” “Look” is sabar which means, “look, wait, hope” and is so translated in the KJV. Compare its use in Psalm 104:27-28 where it has the idea of “be dependent on.”
But can’t the words of Psalm 145:15, “in due time,” perfectly describe those periods in our lives when we are sitting in one of those places God has marked with the words “Waiting Room”? But how does it describe us? As fallen, bowed down, yet looking, waiting on the Lord to supply and sustain, but in His season, in His time! Every time we encounter one of the variegated problems of life, we are faced with a very important choice—to look up and wait, or focus on the problem and choose our own strategy—to worry, to run away, throw in the towel, or run ahead of the Lord.
When we react rather than respond by waiting (seeking, trusting, focusing, praying), we suffer various kinds of serious consequences. It is the law of sowing and reaping:
(1) Some are physical and we become prime candidates for ulcers, migraines, high blood pressure, etc.
(2) Others are financial (like the burden of debt or bankruptcy).
(3) Others are relational (like the heartache of a marriage in turmoil, divorce, or rebellious children).
(4) Still others are geographical and situational placing us in difficult circumstances and places.
(5) But always, when we refuse to wait, there are spiritual consequences—loss of fellowship with the Lord, loss of spiritual strength and wisdom, loss of our witness, loss of eternal rewards, and being out of the Lord’s will.