Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, July 8th. If you find it hard to be patient, today's lesson continues the Life Principles series. Let's learn how waiting on God is the fastest and best way to get where He wants you to be. I don't know of a more important lesson that God's people ought to learn than what we're going to talk about in this message. It's one of the most important lessons in the Scripture. Every believer needs to understand it. And I think about how many people go through life and never understand this simple principle of the Word of God. And as a result, they don't experience God's best.
They experience His second best because they violate a very, very important principle. Now, it's stated in the Scripture in one single verse, but it's illustrated many times throughout the Word of God as God works and deals in individual people's lives. And so, when I think about how important it is, I want to encourage you to take notes. You will not remember all this because it's not just a matter of saying it. I want you to hear it, to record it, to apply it to your heart because God can make a difference in your life if you'll just practice this one simple principle. It isn't difficult sometimes.
And it's simple, but sometimes challenging. So, I want you to turn to Isaiah sixty-four. And I want us to read these first couple of verses or so here. Isaiah sixty-four. And I want us to read verse four primarily, but let's start with the beginning in verse one. He says, He says, He says, He says, He says, Now listen to this fourth verse. He says, And you had to go and walk in wherever you're buying something and you had to pay cash.
Probably not nearly as much as people do purchase. There's something about waiting we don't like. In other words, we don't like long lines to wait in and when somebody in front of us sits for ten seconds and the light's been green ten seconds, they haven't moved, we don't like that very much. And so, we naturally become impatient because we're living in a world where not only do we want it now, we can have it now.
Most of the things we can have now. But that's not the way it is with God. And the violation of this principle can be very, very expensive. And so, I want you to listen carefully what that Scripture says. The Bible says that God acts in behalf of those who wait for Him. That is, God is a God of action.
He does act. And if you'll think about it for a moment, in the book of Genesis when God had created the heavens and the earth, and the Scripture gives us that account, it finally says that after He finished His creation, He rested on the seventh day. Have you ever thought about this? What was God doing before He created the earth and the heavens and all of us? What was He doing? You say, well, He must not have been doing anything. He was doing nothing.
Oh, no, no, no. He was doing something because God is not a nothing God. He's always working.
He's always at work, working in people's lives. And so, when the Scripture says that He rested, that doesn't mean that He got so tired after six days that He finally decided to rest. It simply meant that He ceased doing what He was doing and then He rested. Somebody says, well, resting's doing nothing.
No, it's not. Resting is a deliberate, willful being still. It is an action, but it's a different kind of action. So, when I think about the fact that God created all of this, He created it with purpose, and He has principles by which He operates. In fact, if you'll think about the fact that God creates, He works, He operates with a sense of direction and purpose in mind, not only for individuals, but a universal purpose. For example, when I think about the fact that He is sovereign, that He can create by simply speaking a word, that He is in control of all things, and that He knows all things, God is this awesome God who has a desire to work in your life and my life, and that's why He works personally in our lives, not just universally in creation, but He works personally in our lives.
And you say, well, how does He do that? Well, first of all, He has a plan and a will and a purpose for your life. He's willing to reveal that purpose and plan for your life. And in order to make it all personal, He decided to come to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, taking upon Himself the form of humanity, and living among us to reveal to us exactly who God is and what He's like.
Not only did He come to reveal the Father, but He came to down the cross and to atone for our sins. And the Scripture says He's given us the gift of eternal life. He is a God who is personally involved in our lives. And so often people say, well, I believe in God, but God is just, He's just out there doing something. No, God works in our lives in a personal way. So, when we talk about what the Scripture says, when He says He acts in behalf of those who wait for Him, He's talking about those of us who are His followers. He has something very specific in mind.
So, I want you to listen carefully because one of the reasons that some of you are in the situation you're in is because you fail to keep this principle. That is, He acts in behalf of those who wait for Him. Now, the question comes, what is God trying to say to us in all of this? Well, not only does He become personally involved in our life, but the question is, is what ways does He become personally involved? In other words, we know He saves us and so forth, but think about this.
These are some of the ways this God who tells us to wait upon Him becomes involved. First of all, He reveals His will to us. Secondly, He gives us clear direction when we need it. Thirdly, He guides us to do what? He guides us to make wise choices in our life. All through our life, He's encouraging us all along the way.
And what is He doing? He protects us. He protects the outcome of our obedience to Him. He shields us from situations and circumstances we're not even aware of. And I think about how He heals us, He comforts us, He teaches us, He answers our prayers. That's one of the ways you and I know that He's a personal God. He answers our prayers.
If you didn't believe He was personally involved in your life, you wouldn't pray. And so, when I think about how He empowers us, whatever God calls you and me to do, He's there to empower us, to enable us, to strengthen us, to give us that guidance we need in order to do that in a fashion that's pleasing and honorable to Him. And not only that, when I think about all the music we hear and so forth, does He not rejoice our hearts? Does not your heart, does it not leap?
Does it not, is it not lifted up? Do you not want to sort of join in all of that? What is the source of our joy and our happiness and our peace? But it is God. And He says, don't be anxious about all these things, but in everything by supplication, prayer or thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Our God will grant us what?
Peace. He will garrison us about in such a way. He will protect us in such a way that we'll have peace that is so awesome it's past our understanding because He's personally involved in your life.
Now, think about this. He's a God who is awesomely all-powerful. That is, He doesn't have to ask permission to do anything. He doesn't have to go to someone and ask, may I do this or may I not do that? He's a God who's not only sovereign, but personally involved. And so, because He's personally involved, here's what He's looking for. He's looking for what's best for your life. That is, how can He work in your life personally?
What's the best thing He can do? He always has our best in mind. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we make choices that are devastating. Sometimes we make choices, we say, well, I made a mistake here. I do understand that. But God is a God who's working in our life in many different ways. And because He is and because He's personally involved, He has the wisdom and the right and the power to say to us, not now. This is not the time.
That's not the direction. I want you to wait. Just wait. I have the best in mind if you will wait for me.
And yet, many people just absolutely ignore that idea. If I want it, I want it now. Why can't I have it now?
Other people have it now, and because they have it now, I should be able to have it now. Not necessarily. So, I want you to think about some things that are so very important because there are some things that God wants to do in our life. There are some actions that He wants to take in our life. He wants to work in our behalf in some things that requires us to wait. It doesn't mean that God has forgotten.
It doesn't mean that God's not doing anything. He requires us to wait. And so, I want to talk about why and what it is we wait for and this whole idea of waiting.
Because this is a major principle of the Word of God. To wait for God's timing and to wait for God's direction. Those two things we must learn to wait for. So, we think about waiting.
Let's answer this first question. First of all, what does it mean to wait upon the Lord? What does it mean to wait upon God? Well, when you think about what patience is, waiting upon the Lord means I'm being patient with Him at this time because He's not seen fit to answer my petition to grant me what I want. And so, I'm being patient with God. And patience is simply what? It's the will to wait. If I say I'm going to be patient about it, I'm saying I'm willing to wait.
It also means to pause for further instruction. If I'm going to wait upon God for something, I'm going to pause where I am in this situation and I'm going to wait till He gives me further instruction as to the timing or the direction. Will He always tell me why I'm waiting? Not necessarily, but I want you to think about that thing in your life that you want.
Those things or relationships, whatever it might be. And you're tempted to go ahead and make it happen. But think about this verse. God, in all of His sovereign power, acts in behalf of those who wait for Him. And waiting means to be patient, to pause as we say, waiting for further instruction. It doesn't mean to do nothing. Because listen, waiting is not doing nothing.
Waiting is specifically and deliberately doing what? Pausing and waiting for God to do something which is an action. Now, it means also that I am willing to have a calm acceptance about whatever God's doing in my life.
And what we do oftentimes, we get very anxious, we get upset, why aren't you doing anything? But a calm acceptance says I'm willing to wait for God's timing. I'm going to trust Him that He knows better than I do. And it also means that I am waiting for God to intervene in my personal circumstance to bring this about.
Because we've said in the very beginning, He's personally involved in our life. And He's always acting in righteousness. That is, God is not going to ever do anything that is not righteous, so you and I don't have to worry about making a, God making a mistake. God doesn't forget anything but our sins after we've confessed and repented of Him. So, He hasn't forgotten our request.
And He's not busy, so busy doing something else that He can't remember what you ask Him for. And so, we're to wait for His intervention. That is, if I'm willing to wait upon the Lord, I'm just not just waiting, I'm waiting for God's intervention in my life to bring to pass what I believe and what I'm convinced and persuaded of is the will of God for my life. So, this waiting business is very important because, you see, it's God's way.
And I'm going to say in a few moments why we have to wait. But I think about it in this light also, and that is, sometimes it means to have the ability to let go of what I think is an immediate need. That is, oftentimes we want gratification now. And oftentimes because we want to have it now, we've got to have it right now, we make mistakes that are, listen, that are devastating in a person's life.
And the reason we do it is because we think, well, you know, if it doesn't happen now, it's not going to ever happen. We forget who God is. And you remember, Jesus came to reveal Him. God would not have taught the apostle Paul. He would have not taught the people of the Old Testament the value of waiting upon Him if He didn't know that was best. And so, when I think about how He intervenes in our life and think about patience simply means this, that I am willing to wait upon God and remove all the deadlines. You've heard people say, well, listen, I know what God wants to do in my life and I'm going to give you about thirty days and that's it. Think about giving God a deadline. I mean, this is a sovereign of the universe and you're going to give Him a deadline. If He doesn't operate and He doesn't act on your schedule, it's all over. Think about what kind of relationship you have with God that you're giving Him, the One who knows best for you, the One who's committed to always acting for what's best for you. And you're going to give Him a deadline that if you don't get it now, you're just going to turn Him off very unwise. Waiting upon the Lord means I'm willing to lay aside my gratification. I'm willing to wait for His intervention.
I'm not going to have any deadlines. I'm going to put on Him and recognize that this isn't fatalism, it is directed, purposeful, anticipating. Listen, it's something very specific that God's doing and it's going on in our life at that particular time. So, think about it in this light. Now think about what the psalmist said about waiting on the Lord. And it's interesting people say, well, I believe the Bible. Well, how do you believe it? Well, I believe it from cover to cover.
Is that right? Well, what about those verses that have to do with waiting upon the Lord? Well, that doesn't apply to me. Oh, yes, it does apply to us. It's one of God's most valuable principles.
And listen, the reason for it is to protect us from self-destruction. So, let's think about for just a moment and think about some of the psalmists. Listen to this, wait for the Lord, be strong. Let your heart take courage, wait for the Lord. Now, why does He say, why does He use the word strengths and take courage? Because it takes a strong man or woman or young person to face temptation for something that God has for them later and to say, I'm willing to wait.
It takes strength and it takes courage. Another verse you'll notice here is the twenty-fifth chapter of the Psalms, the third verse. None of those who wait for thee will be ashamed. None of those who wait for God will be ashamed. That is, if you're thinking, well, if I don't get it now, then I may not ever get it and therefore I'm going to look like that I failed. Listen, you don't ever have to worry about what people say and think when you're being obedient to God.
It doesn't make any difference what they think. So, what we have to do, we have to decide whether we're going to be strong enough to wait for God's timing. And listen, when you're waiting for God's timing, mark it down, you're waiting for God's very best.
That's the only kind He gives, His very best. Listen, He's a righteous God. Would God give you less than what's best for you? Now, you may think, well, no, here's what's best for me.
Here's how much is best for me. God only acts in our behalf in the right way, the best way. So, we're not thinking about what we're waiting for. We're waiting for His timing, waiting for His direction, and waiting for His way. We're waiting for His way. And we're waiting for His way. And we're waiting for His way.
And we're waiting for His way. Now, I want to give you, and I'll think about these psalms. I want to give you my favorite psalm in just a moment. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Now, resting and, you see, rest in the Lord, wait patiently.
They're all verbs, there's action going on. Now here's my favorite verse about waiting upon the Lord. Psalm thirty-seven, thirty-four, now you say, if you will, don't be impatient for the Lord to act. Keep traveling steadily along His pathway, and in due season, He will honor you with every blessing.
Isn't that a beautiful way to tell us to be patient? Don't be impatient for God to act. Keep traveling steadily along His pathway, and in due season, He will honor you what?
He will honor you with His blessing. Because that's what He's planned for us. He's planned, listen, you say, well, I don't know that I deserve the best.
That's not the issue. God has planned the best for us in light of His will and purpose. He's planned the best for us. So, if I'm wise, I will wait. Now somebody says, all right, now wait a minute.
Wait for what? Wait for two things. Wait for His timing, wait for His direction.
It's really that simple. I'll wait for His timing and wait for His direction. Thank you for listening to God Acts on Our Behalf. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
