​Author and clergyman E. M. Bounds teaches on the "lost art" of waiting on God and describes it as "an active discipline." It does not happen quickly and requires perseverance, spiritual endurance, and focus on God. He says that it is a discipline that must be learned and an art that requires skill.
 
The power that comes from waiting on the Lord is conditional as described in Isaiah 40:31. "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (NKJV) The word wait in Hebrew is kavah or qavah. The Hebrew word kav is a cord or measuring line. The root of quvah is a picture of twisting or binding strands together to make a strong rope. The purpose of waiting on the Lord is so that we can be spiritually intertwined to God and become one with Him. The waiting requires our undivided attention.
 
By waiting on the Lord, we are weaving our hearts and thoughts in God's character and promises. Our single strand becomes a part of a cord that is unbreakable. Psalm 27:14 gives us some encouragement for what will happen when we wait upon the Lord. "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord," (NKJV) The Hebrew word for strengthen in this Psalm is Chazak which means to strengthen or fortify. This was the word that God used with Joshua when He told him, "Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9 - NKJV)
 
We are to position ourselves before God until He speaks. The objective is that we will be transformed through the presence of God. the quality of the transformation will depend on the time invested in the waiting. E. M. Bounds tells us, "Apparent delay is not divine neglect; it is divine precision." God knows precisely how He wants to mold us as we are in the waiting process.
 
I am sure that we can all agree that silence is uncomfortable. We live in a world where everyone is connected to a cell phone or sitting in front of a TV. Even with no external sounds, when we seek to wait in silence an internal "noise" begins. Our minds start to think about activities that have taken place or that will commence. The "to do" list interrupts our silence, and we must intentionally discard it and begin again to practice the art of waiting in silence.
 
The Church talks about revival but misses a key ingredient to bring it on. E. M. Bounds points out how the disciples had to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from the Spirit of God. Evan Roberts of the Welsh revival waited privately for months before revival hit. The same kind of waiting was required before the Azusa Street revival was birthed. Bounds is firm in his belief that the Church needs more silence and a new seriousness about waiting. He says, "Waiting is the oxygen of the spiritual life. The only way to become a person of God's presence is the costly discipline of waiting. Tell Him you are His and then stay!"

​Have you ever asked yourself, "What is the most significant legacy I can pass on to the next generation?" Strategic advisor, Peter Strople, says, "A legacy is not leaving something for people; it is leaving something in people." Isn't this an interesting way to look at legacy? Jesus, when He walked the earth, had a mandate to glorify His Father in heaven and draw others to Him. He completed His assignment and said, "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given Me to do." (John 17:4 - NKJV) An inheritance can be a physical transfer of wealth to descendants that may include property or financial gain. A legacy could include a shared identity, cultural tradition, work ethic, or spiritual distinctiveness. In my opinion, one of the most impactful legacies we can leave is our generational faith. This is left through a demonstration of faith that consistently shows others a worshipful and respectful attitude and lifestyle of glorifying God. This would be done as we live a life like Jesus lived.
 
A legacy focuses on what will endure and passes on to the next generation something of lasting value. Recently, August 18 to be specific, my husband remembered the legacy that his first wife left to her family and friends. Maggie, I understand, quietly lived her life of faith before others. She carried the peace of God that made those who surrounded her sense a deep faith. While visiting her "sweet spot," relaxing on the huge rocks along the coast of Maine, she slipped and feel to her death. My husband found the journals she kept where she shared her deepest thoughts with her Lord and Master. The last sentence she wrote, eight hours before her death, was, "May I glorify You while I still have time."
 
Maggie's family agrees that with this one sentence she left them a legacy that will never be surpassed by any other inheritance that she left. She placed in one sentence the core reason for life. All of us were placed on earth to glorify God. Each of us was given unique qualities and characteristics meant to exemplify our Lord, Jesus, and draw others into relationship with our Father in heaven. This legacy is so simple and yet so profound!
 
The Bible has some things to say about generation transfer. "One generation shall praise Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts."  (Psalm 145:4 - NKJV) "We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power and the wonders He has done." (Psalm 78:46) When the apostle Paul was writing to Timothy, he wrote, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."  (2 Timothy 2:2) The instructions God gave to Moses for His people show the importance of leaving a legacy to the next generation: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your houses, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 - NKJV)
 
We live in a world filled with uncertainty, chaos, and destruction. I must ask, "What kind of world will our grandchildren and great grandchildren live in?" How can we impart stability and love of the Lord to the next generation? I believe Isaiah 33:5 and 6 give us help in answering this question. "The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. He will be a sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure." The responsibility to leave the next generation a legacy of loving the Lord belongs to us. It can be done very simply, as Maggie demonstrated: "May I glorify you while I still have time."

We have entered the final month on the Hebrew calendar in the year 5786. And quite a month it is because there is so much encouragement coming our way! Yet, it is also a time of preparation for the new year. The name of this month, Elul, is associated with the Hebrew letter YOD, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Its curved position depicts humility and means that mercy is appointed from the hand of God. The forty days from Elul 1 to Tishrei 10 (Yom Kippur) have been assigned as days of repentance and restoration.
 
The beauty of this month is that it is a time when God wants to meet us in a special way. He comes to help us prepare for being in His presence. The Jews say of Him: "The King is in the field." By making Himself more accessible, He helps in our everyday affairs. As we wait upon Him, He reminds us of His loving kindness. The forty days until Yom Kippur are called Teshuvah. The word essentially means we return, repent, and turn our faces toward the Lord.
 
Psalm 27 is a significant Psalm for the days of Teshuvah. The Jewish people believe that hidden within it are references to the festivals they will celebrate in the month of Tishrei. According to the Midrashim (Oral Torah), the words light and salvation in verse 1 refer to Rosh Hashana (The Festival of Lights) and Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Verse 1 - NKJ) The secret place of His tabernacle in verse 5 refers to the Feast of Tabernacles. "For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle, He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock."
 
The expressions of David in Psalm 27 are what every Christian needs to adopt. "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple."  (Verse 4 - NKJ) "Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies." (Verse 11 - NKJ) "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!" (Verses 13 and 14 - NKJ)
 
Waiting on the Lord is exactly what we want to do, especially during Elul when the barrier between heaven and earth becomes thinner. Let us embrace this time of reflection, redemption, and renewal as we prepare for a new year of walking with the King of kings. 

If you keep your eyes open to the edge of wooded areas in the northeast United States, you may see a fawn or two without its mother. Recently, I saw a mother deer walking with her twins. I watched her nuzzle each one of them and saw them lie down in the grass immediately. My research indicates that the mother will gently touch her babies with her nose, pressing down toward the ground. They instinctively know they are to stay low and wait while she goes to forage. Their spots and lack of scent help them stay safe from predators. The mother will return to her fawns a couple of times during the day to nurse them or if she hears them bleating. Even animals are told to wait for their own benefit.
 
In hindsight, as I remember several times when I have had to wait for the Lord's perfect timing to see something happen, I realize that He has His reasons for the waiting. Scripture is full of examples of people of faith who have had to wait. Abraham, the Father of Faith, waited until he was one hundred years old for his son Isaac to be born. He learned the lesson of faith over sight by looking at the stars and relying on God's word. Hannah desperately wanted a son. She learned to pour out her pain on the Lord and trust Him in the delay. Year after year she prayed and then made a vow to dedicate her son to the Lord's work after his birth. It appears that the timing of Samuel's birth occurred just at the right time when God was looking for a new priest at the Temple.
 
David, son of Jesse, was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king of Israel but waited for fifteen years until he was crowned King of Judah. Seven and one-half years later he was able to reign over all the tribes of Israel. By reading the story of David's life we can see that God had much to teach him before he would be ready to take the reigns as king. He must have learned that God does not deliver on His promises instantly. As he waited David learned to depend on the Lord, a practice he would need when he finally became king.
 
One of the Hebrew words for wait in the Bible is "quvah" (kaw-vah). It is defined as an active waiting that means one waits with hope or entwines oneself together with the Lord. This is what is used in Isaiah 40:31. Different translations of the verse use different English words. The New King James says, "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." The New International Version says, "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint."
 
The imagery for this word "quvah" is the twisting or binding of strands together to make a strong rope. It is an action word and implies that the intertwining represents trust. God loves this! He uses our waiting to draw us closer to Himself. This begs a question: What is our posture toward God as we wait? Knowing that the Lord has a perfect time for our desires to manifest, we should be encouraged that He will reward us for the waiting. This is what is says in Psalm 37:34. "Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land..." (NKJ) All of us have territory we desire to take. We should intertwine ourselves more tightly to our God, so we become even more like Him. 

​We can find a discourse on faith in Romans 4. The author is reminding us that "Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness." (Verse 9) We are told that the promise Abraham believed in is for everyone. "The promise comes by faith, so that it may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is father of us all. As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations.' He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." (Verse 16, 17 - NIV) The NKJV says, "Calls those things which do not exist as though they did."
 
The key to Abraham's faith came as he gave God glory. Romans 4:19-21 in The Passion Translation explains it well: "In spite of being nearly one hundred years old when the promise of having a son was made, his faith was so strong that it could not be undermined by the fact that he and Sarah were incapable of conceiving a child. He never stopped believing God's promise, for he was made strong in his faith to father a child. And because he was mighty in faith and convinced that God had all the power needed to fulfill His promises, Abraham glorified God!" When we take action in the same way that Abrham did God will reward us." "And this declaration was not just spoken of Abraham, but also over us. For when we believe and embrace the one who brought our Lord Jesus back to life, perfect righteousness will be credited to our account as well." (Romans 4:23, 24 - TPT)
 
Romans 5:1 goes on to tell us that because of our faith in Jesus His righteousness is transferred to us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 confirms this by saying, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (NKJ) We must conclude that faith is an action word. The Hebrew word for faith is "emunah" (em-oo-new) which means to act with firmness according to the will of God. “So, then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
 
Real faith defies all contradictions in circumstances and stands on God's promises. It places God's promises before facts, because facts can change but "God is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) The prophet Habakkuk realized the importance of faith. He is the one who wrote, "The just shall live by his faith."  (Habakkuk 2:4 - NKJ) This was declared after he asked the Lord several questions: "...Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?" (Habakkuk 1:3) "Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” (Habakkuk 1:13) He learned that a day of calamity would come to his people. Yet he made a declaration in faith: "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:17, 18)
 
How many of us are waiting for the manifestation of a promise that God gave us? I imagine that this applies to us all. Here is our mandate: Stand on your promises and glorify God in the waiting. Share your faith and remember that righteousness will be credited to our accounts.