Scripture: Isaiah 40 v 31: "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."
When we wait upon someone it is to do them a service, to serve them in some way, as, perhaps, in a restaurant. A waiter takes your order and returns with your meal order.
If we wait upon God it means we are ready to receive instructions which should be carried out to His exact requirements. If your waiter brought you lamb chops instead of beef curry it would go back to the kitchen uneaten, and you may go elsewhere for better service.
Our God is patient, loving and kind but He has a plan and wants it carried out by dependable "waiters". His plan is simple. He created Adam out of clay, Eve was taken from one of Adam's ribs. He now had a man and a woman and He called them husband and wife and said, Go forth and multiply!
Eve had all the seed of unborn billions in her ovaries. They appeared at first to have no lifespan. They were eternal in Eden. Until sin, death and disease brought on by submission to Satan, wrecked that plan.
So we are the remnants of the last billion of her seed. We are submitted to Jesus Christ to do the will of God, to wait upon Him and do His bidding. There is One Church, the Body of Jesus, but it is still shattered into millions of pieces. Most with different or even opposing ideas on the actual reason for their existence.
We need to take stock of where we are headed because we want to go home to Heaven as soon as possible because this planet is unsafe. Elon Musk, that great thinker and planner, wants to colonize Mars, because Earth is dying, people are in peril, and there seems no hope to fix what's wrong. But God has a workable plan, and we need to listen to Him to carry it out.
Some years ago it was revealed that the word WAIT could be interpreted as Wisdom, Anointing, Instruction, Timing. When we understand the depths of what Jesus is busy building in us and for His kingdom, it makes it essential to keep this in mind.
Wisdom: Our best sources of wisdom are the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit. When the Lord gives you a project or task your confirmation will come from the Bible. When you know the Word, you will know that what has been suggested flows with the goals of the Bible.
The overall theme of the Bible reflects God's will to save souls and disciple them to enable them to save others. It started with the marriage of Adam and Eve, it ends with the rebellious Bride finally saying, Come Lord Jesus. Long after the Rapture!
The Holy Spirit firstly witnesses with your spirit to the truth. If the project is not from God and will waste time and money, you will get a very uneasy feeling within. This will grow to bring doubt and a mental block. Pray to make sure the enemy is not trying to deceive you, and make sure the Lord has initiated it for His kingdom to grow.
Anointing: When you are filled with the Holy Spirit and experience His wonderful gifts (1 Corinthians 12), you will understand His anointing. It's almost like a rider guides a horse. You get a nudge, feel His warmth, feel pulled in a certain direction. Prayer groups get into the flow of the Holy Spirit which is a 'corporate anointing'. The more you pray and fellowship together the more abundantly the Holy Spirit flows with you. With His guidance and your obedience your project should prosper.
Instruction: Whenever you build some thing for God, He already has the plan of it ready to download to those He has chosen to execute it. He has those who will finance it, provide material for it and have the know-how to do it to His satisfaction. So do not try to superimpose your own ideas over His plan! Wait for instructions. Moses needed just such instructions to build the mobile Temple in the Wilderness. Noah needed exact dimensions to build an ark.
So if you are planning to build a ministry, church, family or anything else you believe God is needing, don't go solo, or even in a committee, unless He is directing operations. Wait Upon the Lord to reveal His perfect plan. Many great ideas have floundered because the Lord's instructions were not sought or followed.
Timing: The Lord God Almighty is seldom in a hurry. He does not often do rush jobs. He plans way ahead of the finest human minds on everything needed to make a successful project work. He has the exact day and hour in mind to achieve this. He does not need our schedule to override His. He does not like being insulted but He is very patient.
To be a great asset on His team your best plan is to fully submit to His will. Pray for the ability to wait until He is ready and you will be filled with joy at the outcome. Noah was told to build an ark to withstand the worst ever flood, hundreds of miles from the coast in an area where it had not rained for a century. He was mocked and scoffed at until God had filled his ark with animals, birds, insects, plus Noah and his family. Then the devastating rains, geysers, tsunamis and floods came and the mockers were locked out by God. His timing is always perfect. The mockers of the Rapture will be likewise dealt with.
God has planned for the chaos and mayhem of these last days before Jesus returns. Jesus told us the sequence of events in Matthew 24 that would herald His coming. Only God the Father knows the day and hour. Not even Jesus knows. So all those who claim to know are lying. Just wait on the Lord and worship Him in Spirit and in truth. He will reveal all you ever need in good time.
If every Christian was being totally obedient to our Father, we would have been home by now. Let's start now to find out from God what His real plan is for our own selves. How can we be in One Spirit, One mind, One direction, going forward? Unity is forged in tribulation, and we are already in that these days, so don't kick against it but use it to build the Kingdom of God around you.
James 1 v 1 - 7: "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."
We need this patience and wisdom to stop us from the eagerness to help God out with our own ideas. If we wait upon the Lord our strength will be renewed and we will fly like eagles.
The Heavenly Wedding Feast that lasts for seven days starts without the Bride. It is mirrored in the ancient Jewish ceremony which spreads over a week during which the bridegroom fetches his bride at an undisclosed moment after enjoying a sort of bachelor party at the start.
After the original Marriage Feast of the Lamb has been going a few days, the Bride is fetched by the Bridegroom. Before the end of the Great Tribulation, Armageddon will happen and before Israel is destroyed, The Bridegroom, with all His saints that make up His Body, will rescue Her. This is God's only plan, and it will happen. He has an everlasting covenant with Israel His Chosen. He will not fail Her.
John 3 v 28 - 29: "Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled."
John the Baptist rejoiced when he recognised by divine revelation that Jesus is the Bridegroom at last being able to speak to His Bride, Israel, which fulfilled his mission.
When we see how earnestly Satan is trying to destroy Her we realise how close to the finish line we are. Jesus loves His own Body as much as He loves Her. We will be seated at the Marriage Feast and be part of the rescue of Her when she cries out for Her Bridegroom to come.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach us to be patient and to wait for Your wisdom, anointing, Instruction and timing to fulfil all Your perfect will. Let us not exceed Your wonderful plans with our own finite ideas that are not endorsed by You, and will fail. Thank You for all You have already achieved for us. In Jesus' name. Amen.