Psalms 33:20

Psalms 33:20

Psalms 33:20 says, “Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.” One very important principle that it emphasized in the book of Psalms is waiting upon the LORD. In some ways the book of Psalms is like a condensed version of the New Testament. Psalms is one of the 3 most quoted books in the New Testament. Therefore we know that the principle of waiting upon the LORD is a very important principle to learn to follow Jesus and too accomplish his will.

The more you learn how to wait upon the LORD the better you will serve him in this life. There are two reasons given here in Psalms 33:20 as to why Christians should wait upon the LORD: He is our help. And He is our shield. Before looking at these two things let us answer the question what does it mean to wait upon the LORD? To wait upon the LORD means that you do not make decisions in life without first seeking God’s will in those decisions. To seek God’s will you must go to the Word of God and prayer. To wait on the LORD means to do God’s will not your own will. To wait on the LORD means to do God’s will in his timing and not your own timing. The word here that is translated, ‘wait’ means to tarry or to long for. This is the exactly the reason many times Christians fail to wait on the lord. A person has something they long for and so they go after it. This is why the philosophies of the world are so contrary to the word of God. The world teaches that it is a good thing for man to have a strong will in going after the desires of one’s own heart. Both Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 say, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” The philosophy of the world which says, ‘follow your heart’ is the wrong philosophy because just as teaches in Jeremiah 17:9, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

Psalms 37:4 says, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Waiting on the LORD is part of the Christian life. Waiting on the LORD is serving Jesus. The best example of this is in regards to the promises of God that have yet to be fulfilled. We are waiting on the LORD Jesus for His return. We are waiting on the LORD Jesus for the full redemption of our bodies. We are waiting on the LORD Jesus for the day he will take us home to heaven to be with him. Do Christians go out and commit suicide so that they can leave this earth and be in heaven? No. They wait on the LORD until God decides it is their time to be home in heaven. This same principle should be true for any other decision in life. Any time you a make a decision in life without seeking God’s will in God’s timing you are not waiting on the LORD and it is almost as bad as committing suicide. Do not throw away your opportunities to serve Jesus in this life, learn to wait upon him. How important it is to wait upon the LORD.

Isaiah 26:8 says, “Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.” In the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee. By learning God’s Word, you will have the wisdom to recognize God’s will and God’s timing for decisions in your life. A great example is the decision of marriage. Most people in the world fail to trust in Jesus and let Him guide them when it comes to who they marry and when they get married. It can be hard to wait on the LORD. Romantic love is a need most humans have. To wait for it can be a trial and a suffering. But to fail to wait on God will result in worse suffering especially if a person marries the wrong person. Those whom have failed to wait on the LORD in regards to who and when they marry have caused themselves great suffering. How many other decisions in life are people failing to wait on God for? If you are failing in the big decisions you are probably failing in the small decisions too. He that is faithful in little is faithful in much. Learn to wait on God.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” In the way of judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee. They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength. Thankfully the Christian life is based upon the grace of God which is found eternally in Jesus Christ. Psalms 37:23-24 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.”

If you fail to wait upon God today then tomorrow is a new opportunity to learn to wait upon Jesus. Waiting upon God is probably one of the greatest challenges in the Christian life. It is a day by day challenge. You will not wake up on day and be able to say, ‘I have waited upon God successfully and there is no more waiting to do.” The Christian life is about waiting upon God. Jesus leads us and we follow. We who have turned from our sins to Jesus pick up our cross daily and follow him. In fact another way of saying to wait upon God is to say Luke 9:23, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

This is the reason most people do not wait on God because they are not even seeking his will. If you have never repented of your sins and turned to Jesus Christ for salvation then you have never learned to wait on God. Forgiveness of sins in Jesus by grace through faith is the beginning of waiting on God because the full redemption from sin does not come in this life but will come when Christ returns to take his children from the earth. Waiting on God begins at salvation.

Psalms 33:20 says, “Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.” To learn to wait on God remember these two truths: Jesus is our help. And Jesus is our shield. Jesus is our help. To bring out the meaning of the word help consider its use in Genesis 2:18 which says, “And the LORD God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” The word, “help meet” is the same word used here in Psalms 33:20, “Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help.”

One of the greatest sufferings that you can cause yourself in this life is to marry the wrong person or to marry at the wrong time. The will of God for man is that the person they marry becomes their, “help meet.” Most importantly the person that you marry should be your help meet in regards to serving Jesus and growing in your faith in Christ. This is why it is so important to marry to person God wants you to marry. Even if you fail to marry who God’s wants you to marry at least you know Jesus is your help meet and He will never leave you or forsake you. Marriage is after all symbolic of the Christians relationship with the LORD. Physical marriage is not as important as spiritual marriage. If you fail to wait on the LORD and to marry who and when God wants you too just remember that Jesus is your, ‘help meet’ more than any husband or wife could ever be.

The Bible says in Romans 11:29 says, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” A divorced person or a person who has failed to marry the right person is not someone who cannot serve God. They may however suffer many things they would not have suffered if they had waited on God. Serving Jesus in this life is not dependent upon who your ‘help meet’ is physically but who your ‘help meet’ is spiritually. You should not have the attitude that divorced people cannot serve God or are in some way limited in serving God this is not true. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

“Our soul waiteth for the LORD.” Jesus is our shield. In the New Testament concerning the armor of God it says in Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” The devil is going to attack you. If you trust in Jesus and cling to the promises of God, Jesus will not only be your, “help meet” He will be your shield and you will be able successfully wait on him. I can wait on Jesus because He is my “help meet” and he is my “shield.”

Waiting on God means waiting on God to fulfill his promises. Waiting on God means seeking to do God’s will in His timing. God has a way of working in men’s hearts. God prepares men and women for each other. God prepares us today to face tomorrow. God opens one door and shuts another. God is the one who gives and takes away opportunity. Do the practical things of life and learn to wait on God. Be faithful in little and you will be faithful in much. Moses was 80 years old when He led the children of Israel from Egypt. Abraham was 100 years old when God fulfilled the promise given to him and Sarah by giving them a child.

The story of Abraham and Sarah is an excellent example of both learning to wait on God and failing to wait on God. God promised them a child. God did not fulfill that promise until Abraham was 100 years old. Abraham had to wait on God to fulfill the promise. However because of a lack of faith Sarah influenced Abraham to go in unto her handmaid Hagar and have a child with her. This is an example of a failure to wait on God. This is also an example of how the person who you marry can and will influence your faith. Sarah because of her lack of faith influenced Abraham to commit adultery with her handmaid. Even though Abraham and Sarah failed to wait on God, God still fulfilled His promise in His timing. Even if we fail to wait on God, God keeps his promises. Don’t do God’s will in your timing do it in His timing and in His way otherwise you will cause yourself great suffering in life.

Genesis 15:1says, “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” “Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.” If you have never learned to wait on God, if you have never repented of your sins and turned to Jesus for salvation you can do so now and He can become your help, your shield, and your exceeding great reward.

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