Wait on thy God continually

Hosea 12:6

Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

The Lord’s message to Israel and Judah is very clear, very simple, and very unequivocal. There is no ambiguity, uncertainty, or opacity in the call. The call is turn to thy God! Turn back! You have thrown off mercy and judgment, the two mutually compatible and complimentary virtues! Mercy and truth have kissed each other, so says the psalmist. These two live in harmony and they coexist as a perfect union. They must both be practiced. And when a nation turns from either of them, they must be called back by the Lord. And that is what He does through Hosea, as well as a multitude of other prophets. The prophets were given dreams, visions, and pronouncements to declare to the people. And those pronouncements seem to cry out in unison, “come back to God!” And He further says to wait on thy God continually. Wait on thy God! This is of utmost importance. These Israelites had gone to other substitutes and other idols because they had ceased to wait on the Lord. They did not hear the words of the prophet who said, “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” They wanted it their own way and in their own timing. They were stubborn, and relied on their own thinking, their own works, and their own feeble wisdom.

And is this not, my dear friend, what we have the inveterate tendency to do? Is not our propensity to manufacture our own solutions and calculate our own conclusions? We do not want to wait on our God! But we must wait on our God! He will make it plain. He will make it right, and He will make it right in His righteous timing. And furthermore, we must wait on our God continually. Continually! That means we will never stop looking to Him, waiting on Him, anchoring our hope in Him, and resisting the urge to rush ahead, to solve it ourselves, or to use our intellect alone to determine the will of God. We must wait on Him! And we must do this continually. It will become a daily habit, and a perpetual lifestyle.

Whatever it is that you are tempted to solve and bring to pass in your own effort, give it now to the Lord. Wait on thy God continually. He shall bring it to pass, for so has He said, if you will commit your way unto the Lord. Trust in Him alone, and wait on Him always.

“Father, we thank you that your Word continues to help and encourage us in the challenges and weaknesses that we continue to face each day. May we wait on you for all things, knowing that you shall accomplish your will in your time. May we not be weary in waiting, for we are told to not be weary in well doing. In due season, we shall certainly reap, if we faint not. Keep us strong, as we lean heavily and rely upon Thee. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”