And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.
—Isaiah 25:9
In this passage are two thoughts. The one, is that of God’s people who have been unitedly waiting on Him. The other, that the fruit of their waiting has been that God has revealed Himself, that they could say, “Lo, this is our God…this is the Lord.” The power and blessing of united waiting is what we need to learn.
This phrase is repeated twice, “We have waited for Him.” In time of trouble, the hearts of the people had been drawn together, and they had set themselves to wait for their God. Is this not just what we need in our churches? Are there not in the church of Christ evils to which no human wisdom is equal? Have we not formalism and worldliness, robbing the church of its power? Have we not culture and money and pleasure threatening its spiritual life? Are not the powers of the church utterly inadequate to cope with the powers of infidelity and wretchedness in the world? And, is there not, in the promise of God and in the power of the Holy Spirit, a provision made that can give the church the restful assurance that she is doing all God expects of her? And would not united waiting upon God for the supply of His Spirit most certainly seem the needed blessing? We cannot doubt it.
The object of a more definite waiting upon God in our gatherings would mean a deeper conviction that God must and will do all. It would require a more humble and abiding entrance into our deep need of entire and unceasing dependence upon Him. We must have a confident expectation that to those who wait on Him, God will, by His Spirit, give the secret of His acceptance and presence, and then, in due time, the revelation of His saving power. The great aim would be to bring everyone in a praying and worshipping company under a deep sense of God’s presence, so that when they part there will be the consciousness of having met God Himself, of having left every request with Him, and of now waiting in stillness while He works out His salvation.