Listening, Waiting, Serving

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. (Isaiah 40:28)

Yesterday we talked about the first way to find success amidst the stress in your life. Today, I want us to look at two more ways we can accomplish that goal.

The first way we discussed yesterday was to look up at the unequaled God. We fall into the trap of thinking we can put God on our clock and that God has to work according to our timetable. We try to put God in a box. We think God has to do what we want Him to do, at the time we want Him to do it, and in the way we want Him to do it.

We really want this to happen when we don’t understand what is going on or how to handle our current circumstances. Then Isaiah reminds us that God’s understanding is unlimited. The last part of Isaiah 40:28 can be translated, “His understanding has no limits.” There is one “know it all” in the universe and that is God! We may not always know what we are doing, but God always knows what He is doing. We may not understand why things are happening the way they are, but that doesn’t mean there is not a reason why. Therefore we need to listen to Him because His understanding is always greater than ours.

Finally, the third way we can find success amidst our stress is to linger with the unfailing God. While you are waiting on God, you are simply telling God, “I am totally dependent on you. I am helpless and hopeless without you, but I absolutely have an unshakable confidence that you are the everlasting God that you are going to work this out for my good and that your purpose is going to be fulfilled in my life and your will is going to be done in such a way that I get the good and you get the glory.” Waiting on the Lord also means you continue to serve the Lord, live for the Lord, and obey the Lord.

Waiting on the Lord doesn’t mean just waiting on Him to do something for us; we continue to do what we need to do for Him. Have you ever gone into a store and have someone come up to you and say, “Has someone waited on you?” What they mean is, “Has someone served you? Has someone tried to help you? Has someone met your needs?” When you are stressed out and you don’t know what to do, do what you know to do - stay in the presence of God and continue serving God.

Dear Lord, thank you that I can always trust you and your unlimited understanding. I pray that as I am facing stressful circumstances right now that I would listen to you, that I would wait on you, and that I would serve you in the meantime. And all the while, help me to remember that you always have my best interest in mind. In Jesus’ name, amen.