In our world, everything is moving quickly. People seem to be in a continual hurry. “Speed” is a key word today. Cars, airplanes, and trains are made to go faster to save time. Every minute seems so precious. Even Christians seem to be caught in this mad rush. So many things to do, and so little time to do them all.
In the business world, everything is in a great hurry. It is a common saying, “I need this yesterday.” New machinery and equipment are constantly being invented to save time, to do the work faster. One of the goals of each new computer upgrade is so that it can function at a faster speed. This feverish pace seems so catching that even when there is no rush, people do not seem to be able to slow down. The golden attribute of patience is not seen anymore. Yet, what does the Bible say? “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. Another translation states, “Here patience is required of the saints.”
How important is patience? “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:36
“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” Luke 8:15. The only way to produce fruit is with patience; there is no other way. Without divine patience we cannot bear fruit for the Lord.
Often, we think that the Lord is slow in answering our prayers, in providing justice for us. We then get impatient and do something about the matter ourselves, or we seek human help. This is because our faith is not strong enough to wait for the Lord for so long.
The Israelites, while traveling to Canaan, constantly murmured against the Lord. They complained and became impatient, often to the point of wishing to return to Egypt. And, why? Because 40 years in the wilderness was too long for their liking. They murmured about the lack of water and food, and their need for protection. Yet, all this was provided. They did not go thirsty or hungry, but they were afraid of the future, the next day, of the next month. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” He did not teach us to pray for tomorrow, but just for one day at a time. God led His people into Canaan, but most had decided it was too long to wait, and they were not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.
At the Red Sea, the Lord purposely allowed the Israelites to see the Egyptian army right behind them, and the sea in front of them, to test their faith. In the last moment He opened the way. He could have done it sooner, but they would not have learned the lesson of patience and trust.
Noah was in the ark for seven days, and yet no rain had fallen. God could have caused the rain to fall on the first day after He closed the door to the ark. But, no, He had to test the patience of Noah and his family.
Abraham could have had the promised son when he was younger. But, the Lord purposely waited until Abraham was 100 years old, and his wife, Sarah, was 90 years old. The promise had been given to Abraham. “Thy descendants shall be as the sand of the sea.” And yet, at the time of the promise, he had no son. Abraham thought, “Things are going wrong, I must help God.” And he took to himself another wife. Much grief and sorrow resulted from this mistake, to him as well as to his wife. Abraham lost patience, he did not wait for the Lord, and chose to take matters into his own hands.
Jacob thought, “things are going wrong, my brother Esau will receive the firstborn blessing, and I will be left out. Should Esau inherit the spiritual blessing, who is so careless and indifferent?” In order to help God, he lied to his father and deceived him to obtain the blessing. Was this necessary? Did Jacob have to do this in order to inherit the blessing? Who gave the blessing? Was it not God by the Holy Spirit who inspired Isaac to pronounce the blessings to both of his sons? God did not need Jacob’s deception to give the firstborn blessing to him. But, much sorrow came to Jacob from this mistake. For 20 years he had to suffer in a strange country, because he chose not to wait for the Lord.
David writes, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Psalm 27:14
David had learned the lesson of patient waiting. He had been anointed as the future king by Samuel yet for 20 years he had to suffer, in danger of his life, as a fugitive seeking protection in the mountains. Until finally, he was called to the throne of Israel.
Often God’s people become impatient as we find in 2 Kings 6:24–25. “And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.”
The enemy had besieged the city of Samaria, and no food could be brought in from the country. The donkey was an unclean animal to the Samaritans. Yet, in an emergency they ate anything. The head of a donkey sold for three pounds of silver. The people lost their patience. King Jehoram wanted to kill Elisha because he felt that Elisha was to blame for the calamity that had befallen on them. He sent a messenger to Elisha with a specific message. “And while he Elisha talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?” 2 Kings 6:33
“Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for shekel, in the gate of Samaria. Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.” 2 Kings 7:1–2
The king’s messenger did not believe it. If the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be a slight improvement? Perhaps, but that drastic of a change?
“And they rose in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the LORD had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.” 2 Kings 7:5–6, 16. The Lord could have done it earlier, but He tested their patience—would they wait for Him?
“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. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 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.” Psalm 37:7, 9, 34
For many years the unfaithful King Saul reigned and prospered, while also persecuting David. Then at the right time, David was exalted to the throne, and Saul and his house were cut off. Therefore, David knew what he wrote about in Psalms. All that he had, he received from the Lord by patiently waiting.
David learned several lessons from his experience.
The first lesson is found in Psalm 59:9, “Because of His strength will I wait upon Thee: for God is my defence.”
Also, Solomon adds: “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and He shall save thee.” Proverbs 20:22.
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the LORD. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” Romans 12:19–20
To us is not given to judge and to recompense evil. We are to do good to our enemies, to love them. Many times we suffer because those who do not like us make plans against us because of jealousy, hatred, and covetousness. And those who hurt us seem to get away with it. Yet, in due time, God will judge and repay to every man according to their deeds.
Daniel was cast into the lion’s den, but the Lord turned it into a victory for Daniel and a defeat for his enemies. Daniel continued to pray three times daily as was his custom, trusting the Lord to protect him. Those who plotted to kill him were subsequently fed to the hungry lions and were devoured instantly. The Lord exacted vengeance on Daniel’s enemies.
Mordecai, who sat at the king’s gate, was hated by Haman because he refused to bow down to Haman according to the king’s decree. He made plans to destroy Mordecai. “Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman, and he caused the gallows to be made.” Esther 5:9, 14
“So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?
And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: And let this apparel and horse be delivered into the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.” Esther 6:6–10. The plot that Haman devised in order to destroy Mordecai instead resulted in Haman having to honour Mordecai.
As part of his plot to destroy Mordecai, Haman convinced the king to make a decree to kill all the Jews in the land. Did his plan work? What was the end of Haman? “So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.” Esther 7:10. God had not forgotten His faithful servant, and the plans of the wicked Haman fell upon himself.
“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:3. “Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.” Deuteronomy 23:5. God protected His people from the curse to be pronounced upon them by Balaam, and instead turned it into a blessing. Balaam was eventually killed in battle when the Israelites went to fight against the Midianites.
Many hundreds of years later, the enemies of the Israelites took them into captivity to Babylon. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple burned up, and the walls pulled down. Filled with sorrow and sadness, the people of God mourned; they wept beside the rivers of Babylon. They were homesick, longing to be in the city of their God. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, and wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the rood of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” Psalm 137:1–6. Afterwards, the time came when their mouth was filled with laughter and singing, as they returned to their beloved city.
God’s people could not understand why God permitted this misfortune to fall upon them. Abraham could not understand why he had to sacrifice his son. The disciples did not see why Christ had to suffer and die. Moses saw no purpose in spending 40 years caring for sheep in the land of Midian.
The second lesson that David learned was about God’s expectations. “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation. My soul, wait thou upon God; for my expectation is from Him.” Psalm 62:1, 5
What is our expectation from this world? We can expect very little. We are in the enemy’s land. The little that the world is offering to us is often a deception to turn us away from God. From Him only can we expect salvation, hope, protection, and eternal life. David had been let down by his own brother, his own family, his friends. His only help was from the Lord.
The third lesson that David learned was that he waited for mercy. “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.” Psalm 123:2
David had sinned against God and against his fellow man. He had pronounced his own death penalty. Yet, he waited for mercy. He continues in verse 3, “Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.”
The fourth lesson that David learned was that God provides our daily food. “The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season.” Psalm 145:15
The Israelites in the wilderness did not starve, they had plenty to eat. For 40 years God knew well their need and He provided. Will He not also provide for us if we wait upon Him?
There is wonderful power in patience, in waiting for the Lord. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 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.” Isaiah 40:29–31
The same God who tested the patience of Noah, Abraham, the people of Israel, and of David is today testing our patience. Are we patient to the end, to the right time? He will save. He will execute justice. He will deliver His people who patiently wait for Him, yet hasten to obey His calling. May the Lord help us all to wait for Him. Amen.
An adaptation of a sermon by the late Timo Martin