“Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength” Isaiah 40:31
Our Motto Text for 2026 encourages us to be patient as we wait for God to fulfill His purposes, and holds out to us the unshakable promise of help and strength to those who put all their confidence in Him.
But waiting is not easy; in fact it is one of the hardest things to do well! Why is this? Why do we find it so hard to wait? And how does our Motto help us?
We can think of a number of reasons why we struggle with waiting:
1) The anticipation of a good thing
Perhaps there is something we are really looking forward to – a happy celebration or the visit of a loved one – the anticipated joy makes us long for it to arrive. There is nothing wrong with this, provided we keep our desire within bounds; after all, as Christians, we ought to have a holy longing for the return of Christ, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
But we must remember that there is a good purpose in every day and stage of life. Nothing is wasted in the plan of God; there is a ‘time for every purpose’ (Eccl 3:1). Joyful anticipation must be tempered by waiting for God to accomplish His plan. We must avoid the sin of overlooking the good we have from Him in the present. Patient waiting helps us with this.
2) Unpleasant circumstances
This can make waiting very difficult! When we are unwell, passing through sorrows, and particularly when we are in pain, we can find waiting excruciating! At such times, all we want is to escape the trial and be at ease again. The temptation is to become vexed, impatient, or even entertain hard thoughts of God: ‘God has taken away my justice.’ (Job 27:2) If godly Job gave way, we dare not think we would never slide into such a sin.
Again, the remedy is to wait, trusting in the good character of our God. God is too wise to err, too strong to be thwarted, too loving to be unkind. Oh, to believe this in the hour of pain, and to say, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done.’ Christ is our perfect example here.
3) Extended trials
Sometimes it’s not the intense moments, but the seemingly endless difficulties we are facing that trip us up. Perhaps we patiently endure several trials – a loss, a set back, an obstacle in our way – and in it all we are trusting God, then one more thing comes in and we’re thrown into despair! David had seen God deliver him many times from Saul, but then one day he breaks: ‘Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul … I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines.’ (1 Sam 27:1)
What should he have done? What should we do? Wait on God. Wait on Him remembering all the help He has already given us, and assuring our hearts of the certainty of this promise that ‘Those who wait … shall renew their strength.’ Our heavenly Father has staked His reputation on it. He cannot fail us. There will be an end to our trials, and one day we shall ‘enter into the joy of our Lord.’
