Wait on the Lord

 There are lots of verses that say, “wait for the Lord”.  We have discussed this many times before and all agree that it is not waiting “for” the Lord but rather waiting “on” the Lord.  There is a big difference.

If we go to a restaurant, the customer sits down and the waiter comes to the customer to “wait” on them.  The waiter asks the customer, “How can I help you? Would you like something to drink? Would you like to order your meal now?”  The waiter waits for the answer and then does what they are told.  It would be a disaster of the waiter came back with fish when the customer asked for lamb, especially if the customer was allergic to fish.  Everyone would wonder whether the waiter doesn’t listen or if they are careless. 

It is the same with God.  He is sitting on His throne and we come to Him to wait on Him.  Sometimes we might have to wait a while before He tells us what to do.  Sometimes we might ask questions, “Shall I do this or that?”  God gives us directions and we must obey.  We obey because we know it will be a disaster if we don’t.

It’s different with a café.  When we go to a café, the customer stands up and orders their meal at counter.  The customer goes to the shop assistant rather than a waiter coming to the customer.  The shop assistant waits for the customer.  God doesn’t work that way.  We don’t wait for God to come to us.  God is on His throne.  He doesn’t leave His throne to wait on us.  We have to come to Him.  “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (John 4:8).

We sometimes think that we can do what we want and God will come down and intervene.  We sometimes think that we can sit down and wait for God to come to us.  God won’t.  We have to make an effort to go to Him like a waiter.  We are His servants not the other way around.  We have to make the time for Him, to pray, read His Word, to listen to His voice.  He is the King above all kings.  We wouldn’t expect the Queen of England to come to us, we go to her.

In Ruth 1:1, “In the days the judges ruled”.  In the days that the judges ruled, “everyone did as they saw right in their own eyes” Judges 21:25.  Sometimes we do what we want instead of waiting to know what God wants.  Imagine a waiter at a restaurant bringing you something and you didn’t even ask for it.  You won’t be happy if the waiter brings you something you can’t stand to eat and then demands you pay for it.

In Ruth 1:1, Naomi and her husband left Bethlehem.  Bethlehem means the house of the bread of God.  Naomi and her husband left God’s house to do what was right in their own eyes.  We have to be careful not to leave God because that’s where we are fed spiritually.  We have to be careful not to do what is right in our own eyes but to seek God and wait for Him to lead us.

Once in Moab, Naomi’s sons married Moabite women which is against God’s law to marry a non-Israelite.  When we leave God’s house of bread (Word of God) and His presence, it is easy to make wrong decisions that are against His law.

Once Naomi’s husband and sons died, Naomi had to go back to the Lord’s house of bread.  The Lord’s bread didn’t come to Naomi.  She had to go back to the Lord.  We must always go back to God.  We must always be in His presence waiting on Him.  When we make the mistake of leaving and doing what is right in our own eyes, we have to make a decision to come back to God.  He won’t come after us.  Just like the prodigal son.  The father didn’t go after him, the son had to come back to the father.

Let’s wait on God.