The Weapons of the Righteous - Waiting on the Lord

Recently, as I mediated on Psalm 37, it dawned on me that God had inspired David to write a psalm that outlined some of His weapons against the enemy.  I wish I really understood this earlier as it would have saved me years of heartache.  Over twenty years ago God gave me this psalm as a gift. While playing what I call Bible Roulette, I “by chance” opened my Bible to Psalm 37.  I started reading this chapter and about half way through, I stopped and wondered what this psalm had to do with the purpose of my flipping the Bible open.  Then it happened, I heard a calm strong male voice say, “It’s a gift.” No, I did not flip out, neither was it normal for me to hear voices, but for some reason I kept on reading.  I didn’t get it.  I was far from being a Christian at that time, even though my Bible was always close to me. 

After becoming a Christian a few years later, this psalm started having a great impact on me, and since then the words in this chapter have carried me through many difficult seasons of my life.  Now, I am starting to comprehend the power of these words against the enemy of our soul.  Not fretting, trusting the Lord, delighting in Him, committing our ways to Him, resting in Him and waiting on Him throws the enemy off kilter when he and his demonic minions come against us with all the forces of hell.

I will be writing a series on The Weapons of the Righteous derived from Psalm 37.  In this first post, I will expound on how Waiting on the Lord gives us ample ammunition to combat our formidable foe.

Waiting is not something many of us would look forward to, however when a woman is expecting she is expectant and excitedly prepares for the coming of her bundle of joy.  Waiting means that we are in a period of preparation for the Lord’s promises.  Whether it is a child, a spouse, a job, a house, moving to another city or country, a promotion, or even a vacation, we must be prepared. The Lord is a good Father and will not give us something we are not ready for as it might hurt us and others.  So it is best to wait on Him, even if He takes us through the wilderness to get to our Promised Land.  We need to understand God is working on taking the mess out of our lives so we will be emptied of things that are not of Him, then, we will have room for Him to fill us with His blessings.  Therefore, let us allow God to have His way in our lives and try not to manipulate to get our way.  Remember Sarai, whose impatience brought about Ishmael, the child of the flesh, whose birth has caused much grief through hundreds of generations?  Her life teaches us a lesson on waiting on the Lord.  God will do what He says He will do as He is not a man that He should lie, so wait patiently on Him.  There is purpose to this preparation period. 

We need to still our souls and wait, instead of allowing our emotions to dictate our impetuous responses, which could hinder the fruition of whatever we are waiting on.  It is important to be alert and of sober mind as our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for an open door to devour us (1 Peter 5:8)  The devil likes it when we are confused and flustered, so He will design devious devices to derail our destinies.  Don’t give in to Him, we need to be still and wait for the fog to clear in our minds before we make a detrimental decision that could deter our God-given desires. Let us take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), while we wait on Him.  Don’t forget the enemy wants to make our minds his battlefield, but we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). 

Stilling our soul and waiting on the Lord, enables us to get our will in alignment with God’s will.  Hence, as we wait we should be in the Word of God and let it flood our spirit and soul, so that we will be able to discern God’s will for our lives.  Know though that the enemy uses the scriptures to throw us off God’s path.  He did it with Jesus, and He will do it with us.  Consequently, we must not just have a peripheral knowledge of God’s Word, but we must get in the Word and let the Word be in us, ready at all times to disarm the enemy.   

By now, you should have come to the realization that waiting is by no means passive.  As we wait on the Lord, we should be praying (Communicating with God is essential as it is all about our relationship with Him), praising the Lord (He inhabits to the praises of His people), preparing for the promise (Don’t be like those five oil-less virgins), practicing the Word (We must live out our faith), and preach the Word (Even if it is just to ourselves, speak the Word as faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God). 

Now go and wait on the Lord, it is a weapon of the righteous.

Being Still

"Be still and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10

A day before dislocating my shoulder in June, 2016, I heard God's voice clearly, "Be still."  For weeks before that the message of being still repeatedly came up in Bible verses, songs and just speaking to folks.  I knew without a doubt God wanted me to be still and that dislocated shoulder made me be still.  This happened just a few weeks before hearing that the short documentary, which I had submitted to a film festival was being nominated for an award.  The nomination was a big deal as it could be used as a selling point in raising funds for the film.  But, alas, the production of the documentary had to go on hold.

I was diligently doing my physical therapy when this dislocation occurred.  My physical therapist was very concerned as I was doing really well in my sessions and in my progress.  Consequently, I had to bite the bullet and go to an orthopedic surgeon.  After a couple of tests he discovered that my shoulder socket was worn in the front and so it caused instability in my shoulder.  I had to do surgery.  Being a local missionary with no other income and no health insurance, I had to raise funds for this procedure.  I still am raising funds.  This meant I had to not only be still, but I have to wait.  

I have had to be still physically, because the slightest movement in a certain direction could result in a dislocation.  And, I also have to be still in my soul, so that I am not always anxious as I wait for the surgery while the funds slowly come in.  However, I believe that God is using my stillness and waiting as a period of preparation for the next level He wants to bring me to in Him.  I have had time to ask Him to search me and see if there is any wicked way in me (ref. Psalm 139:23-24) and to create a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me (ref. Psalm 51:10).  I have looked upward as I know I need to look inward and become who God wants me to be.

This season of waiting has been quite fruitful.  I wrote a book, Purpose to the Pain, to help raise funds for the surgery.  But, more important is the fact that while I expounded on the blog entries that comprise this book, I was able to evaluate my life and God's work in me.  I am not where I want to be, but I am definitely not where I used to be, or who I used to be.  God has been transforming me through a series of struggles and my dislocations are no different.  

My arm is in a sling as I wait for Usain Bolt to run in the Olympics

I can now be thankful in extreme pain, knowing that God is still with me and loving me.  My surgery will be in His timing.  The funds will come just when it needs to and when I am not dislocated spiritually.  Slowly but surely, I am getting there.  God does not want me to be spiritually dislocated or else I will not be able to handle what He has purposed me to do.  This period is preparation for a purpose, so I must persevere through the pain.  Therefore, I am still and I wait as God teaches me to be who He wants me to be.  

Do I Really Want To Wait Patiently?

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7


Waiting patiently has never been one of my strengths. When I take an even closer look at the above verse, it becomes even more unappealing.  Meanings for "wait patiently" are fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained, writhing, suffering torture, and to be distressed. Consequently, waiting patiently doesn't seem like something that I would like to do.


Nevertheless, God tells us to do so, because He wants us to know Him better. Psalm 46:10 says "Be still, and know that I am God". When we know more about God and His nature, we then get a deeper understanding that although we may face distressing circumstances they are no match for our Mighty Loving Father, who will be exalted among the nations and the earth (Ps. 46:10).  For this reason, David tells us "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." Psalm 37:7


David understood waiting for God's promise while suffering.  It took 13 years from Saul's anointing him for this young shepherd to become king.  He was on the run like a fugitive, slept in caves and experienced loss and other horrific situations.  There are times when David felt like losing hope as he cried out, "Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed." Psalm 119:115, yet he knew, "No one whose hope is in you (the Lord) will ever be put to shame". Psalm 25:3


The Lord also waits on us.  Gideon asked the Lord not to leave before he brought back his offering to set before Him.  And the Lord said, "I will wait until you return." Judges 6:18 

Can you imagine? My All-Powerful God will wait on me.  Hey, if He waited on Gideon, He will wait on me.  His purpose for waiting  on Gideon was not only that He was expecting an offering, but that Gideon desired to know that it was really God speaking to Him so he could do His will.

God wants to reveal Himself to me, but it seems that most times I only draw closer to Him when I am in anguish.  During periods of prosperity, I tend to forget Him. However, in my difficult situations I seek God out for answers.  

God is love and 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 describes God as it characterizes love.  The NKJV begins with love suffers long. Breaking it down, this means if God is love and love suffers long, then God suffers long as He waits on me to be aligned with His will for my life.

When you love someone you never want to hurt them and you want to move heaven and earth to make them happy.  So if I love God, I will do the same, even if I have to suffer long and endure all things even if they cause me to writhe in misery.

The good news is that God has purpose for this travail.  There are other meanings for "wait patiently" such as to dance, to be brought forth and to be born. Hallelujah!!!  God tells us to wait with expectation because something is being born within us. Like a mother we labor in pain, giving birth to our expected promise. Then, God would have turned our "mourning  into dancing" Psalm 30:11 


David experienced this. 
¹ I waited patiently for the LORD;
   he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
   and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
   a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
   and put their trust in the LORD.  Psalm 40:1-3


Your wait is not in vain,
No matter how much the pain.
God knows the plans
So, put your life in His hands,
That long seemingly unbearable wait,
Is actually your way to an open gate
Don't give up, keep the faith
It may look like God is late
But, just you wait...the reward is surely great!!!
--- Me

Your Wait