Your Daily Devotional for June 24, 2006

 

June 24, 2006

 

Wait on the Lord
by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”

Psalm 25:5

 

Joshua was chosen and was able to be used of God because he was a patient man. He had learned how to wait on the Lord and on the man of God. Joshua learned that the harder the course was, the more rewarding the triumph. Joshua remained faithful throughout the course of his life. In Exodus 24:18 the Bible says, “And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.”

 

The Bible says in Exodus 32:15 that while Moses was meeting with God and receiving the commandments, Moses turned and went down. Joshua was waiting for him and heard the noise in the camp. While Moses was communing with God, Joshua was somewhere at the foot of the mountain waiting patiently for the man of God—forty days and forty nights of waiting. I do not know about you, but sometimes I struggle with patience. When I want something, I want it right now. That is probably a true reflection of our culture at large. We want instant coffee, instant copies, instant marriage, instant divorce. We live in an instant day. In God’s economy, not everything is instant.

 

Several years ago we were getting ready for our family vacation. I told my wife to make sure everything was packed and ready. My plan was to leave by 4:00 A.M. so we could reach Barstow by 6:00 A.M. and Flagstaff by 2:00 P.M., in order to miss the desert heat. My sweet wife began to pack and get things ready. I preached Sunday morning and Sunday night. We went home and got into bed about midnight. We were all ready to leave for vacation that next morning at 4:00 A.M. as I had instructed the family.

 

There was only one problem—we did not wake up until 8:00 A.M.! We rushed everybody to the car, some still in pajamas. I threw some bags into the car, and we hit the road, somewhat frazzled! After a while, I asked, “Where are my sunglasses?”

 

My wife said, “They are in the blue bag.”

 

I called to the back seat and said, “Danielle, could you get the blue bag for me? I need my sunglasses.”

 

After a few minutes she said, “Dad, there is no blue bag.”

 

I calmly said to my wife, “Sweetheart, what blue bag are you talking about?”

 

She said, “The one that was at the top of the stairs that I told you to get as you were locking the house.”

 

“Oh, that one…”

 

If you are ever out West, it may be helpful to know that there is a Wal-Mart in Flagstaff, Arizona. We spent a good amount of money there that first night of our vacation—for one reason: we struggled with patience.

 

Oftentimes, there is waste in the work of God and in our spiritual lives because we do not wait on the Lord. We fail to be patient as Joshua was. We fail to remember that our present choices many times will determine our permanent outcome. When we fail to wait on the Lord, we will make mistakes every time. Psalm 27:14 simply says it this way: “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

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