what Paul needed to deepen his spir itual life. Then again, the Lord met His dis ciples in His resurrected body. They were instructed in no uncertain terms to wait in Jerusalem. Now this doesn’t make sense to me. We would have said: “We’ve got a job to be done. Jesus Christ has just come back from the dead. Let’s get the word out!” But the Lord says, “No, wait and tarry in Jerusalem.” The tarrying was for the Day of Pente cost and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Do you comprehend what we’ve been saying? Wait on the Lord! In Hebrew that word wait is qawah. It simply means to interweave or to intertwine. It speaks of that which is woven in strands like a thread so powerful that it becomes a cable no one can break. Weave in the promises of God throughout life. Weave in the doctrines of the Word. And, as you weave, remember that without the faith, it is impossible to please Him. If, but one message, I would leave behind One single word of courage for my kind, I t would be this: “Oh, brother, sister, friend; Whatever life may bring, whatever God may send . . . No matter whether clouds lift soon or late, Take heart and wait!” Obstacles are those frightful things one sees when he takes his eyes off the eternal goal. One trouble most of us experience is that all too soon our train of thought will reach the caboose. It’s already been settled. No man has to institute a lawsuit in order to collect the wages of sin. A lot of people who wouldn't talk with a full mouth go around speaking with an empty head.
my mother vouched for that fact in suggesting that perhaps the old ves sel had been scuttled long before it reached harbor. I’ve stopped look ing for that ship. There never really was one. But I don’t need it in actu ality. God is already there. The Psalmist isn’t saying that He may strengthen, or that He can strength en, but that God will strengthen thine heart. This promise, as well as all others in Scripture, is based upon our keeping all of the conditions. The Lord Jesus taught us that men ought always to pray and not faint. The fact of the matter is that a prayer less man cannot be said to be wait ing on the Lord. In Psalm 37:5 we read, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” God can only keep that which you are willing to commit. Your responsibility is to turn it over to Him unreservedly. This entire Psalm teaches us that eternal relationship with God can only be obtained through faith in Jesus Christ. Wait on the Lord. Moses was forty years at the back side of the mountain. He attended the College of the Desert. He didn’t get out of the class very soon either. In later years, another distinguished leader attended the College of the Desert. His name was Paul. Just after his conversion he was led of God’s Spirit into Arabia. Some Bible teachers believe this could have been for a period of as much as three years. This was before he went on to Damascus. In any case, the Chris tian’s arch enemy, Paul, was con verted. In these times Christian lead ers would say, “Let’s get him on the circuit. Let’s bring him into the Youth for Christ meetings, and the Sunday evening service, and the Christian Women’s Clubs, and the rescue missions. Let’s publicize this and get as much ballyhoo out as possible!” But, no, this wasn’t the Lord’s timing. Personal communion with the Lord, not publicity, was 16
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