The Reward Of Patience: Waiting On God Guarantees Success

Shared on February 9, 2025

Introduction

Throughout January, I focused on the success story.  We’ve seen that God must be in the mix if we desire to be successful.  Because success won’t come easy, we’ve also seen that we must remain determined.  Lastly, through all that life throws at us, we’ve seen that we must rest assured in God’s hands.

I’ve asked in recent sermons, do you believe that God will prosper you?  However, I must ask another question to you this week:  Are willing to wait for God to prosper you?  So, I want to focus on patience and waiting on God in this week’s message because good things come to those who wait. 

The Promise of Patient Faith

There is a promise from God to those who choose to be patient and wait on Him.  In Isaiah 40:31, God promised through the prophet that those who wait on Him will be renewed in their strength.  Not only is there a renewal of strength but the Lord promised that those who wait on Him will mount up with wings as a eagle.  God promised that those who are patient won’t grow weary nor will they faint.

Now, what I want to point out about this promise of patient faith is that these benefits are for us as we live in the world.  Sure, we have the heavenly promise of faith but we’re on a journey to heaven and part of that journey is living in the world.  Life, as you likely know, can wear us down, but God doesn’t want that to happen!  To endure life, we should wait on the Lord.

Is Life a Race?

Now, as wonderful as the benefits sound of being patient, we won’t do it!  You see, there lies a problem and that problem isn’t found in the word of God.  No, the problem lies within us!  

Waiting is something that many of us cannot do.  Being patient is something that many of us refuse to do.  We are impatient beings as success must be immediate for many of us.  For example, when some of us pray, we expect the blessing of success to appear out of thin air.

Why must success come immediately?  Why is it impossible for us to wait on what God is cooking up for us?  Are we in a race?

Some of us are in a race.  Some will say they have been waiting on God to prosper them for all of their life – 30, 40, 50, 60, 70+ years.  Today, they have chosen to stop waiting because the clock is ticking.  Let me just say that you will never beat that clock in a race!  Choosing to race against the clock moves against waiting on the Lord, and therefore, true success still won’t come.

Some of us aren’t racing that clock, but we’re in a different race.  Many are looking to their left and right today because they believe they’re in a competition with those around them.  Yes, many of us believe that we’re in a race for success with our neighbors and we have to win.  Winning could mean us having success before them or having more success than our neighbors.

The notion that we are competing against each other is one that’s been bred in our society.  Frankly, it’s a notion that is completely unhealthy for the soul.  The notion that you have to either have more than me or beat me to success gives birth to fear, anxiety, and stress.  Again, as you have heard me say before, fear, anxiety, and stress are harmful to the soul.

The notion that you have to beat your neighbor in a competition about success is what gives birth to despair and depression.  You see, many end up in such a terrible place in their spirit because success hasn’t come immediately.  We often end up looking at what others have, or what they’re doing, and we will begin to envy them.  When we feel that someone is enjoying success, and we’re not, jealousy is born.

I get it, society – the world – will disagree with me about this but comparing yourself to others is unhealthy.  Life, you should understand, isn’t a race or a competition!  Have we forgotten the moral of the story about the tortoise and the hare?  I believe that we have, and we are messed up today because of that!

Advice from a Successful Man

So, I want to share scripture with you from Psalm 37, a psalm of David.  

Regardless of what others may think when they think of him, David was a successful man.  While David had his missteps, he was a man who sought the Lord (Ps. 63:1), rather than be carried about the riches that others sought.  David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14) and was chosen by the Lord (1 Sam. 16:1, 11-13).  So, I encourage you to heed the advice from a successful man so that you can find true success.

Stop paying attention to others, especially the wicked

The first piece of advice that David gives is about focusing on others.  Let’s notice that David even points to a specific group of people that we shouldn’t focus on.  In Psalm 37:1, David said, “Do not fret because of evildoers.”

To fret could take on quite a few meanings.  For example, we could consider “to fret” to mean that one is worrying or stressing about something or someone.  However, in this instance, David was speaking of being aggravated, annoyed, angered, and upset by evildoers.  To understand why David said this, we must consider the evildoer.

The evildoer, of course, does not do what is good.  But, what is good?  Many would say that good is subjective but good is not subjective in the eyes of God.  God defines good as loving others.  Love, we should know, doesn’t think evil, doesn’t behave rudely, nor does it rejoice in iniquity (1 Cor. 13:4-7).

The evildoer thinks evil, does evil, behaves rudely, and rejoices in iniquity – they love inflicting hurt and harm.  We see these things in the world today as the wicked and evil “flood the zone” causing as much chaos as they can.  Why does the evildoer move in such a manner?

Again, they rejoice in iniquity – it brings them joy.  As the move in wickedness, they know that all eyes are on them.  Yes, they move in such a manner to distract all of us who are trying to do good from being successful in doing so.  We have to understand that the wicked desire to paralyze us in our souls.  

Many of us are annoyed, aggravated, and filled with great anger in our soul because of the evildoer.  Many of us are having to try to shake off hatred in our heart for the evildoers.  As James said, we can’t be successful nor produce the righteousness of God if such emotion is building up in our hearts.

So, David understood that success can’t be achieved if we become paralyzed in our soul because of the schemes of the evildoer.  You can’t reach your goal of success if you’re focus is not on success!  So, those of us who desire success, sure, glance at what the wicked and evil are doing but don’t get hung up on them!  Don’t let what the wicked and evil are doing get to you!

Stop envying others, especially the wicked

With more advice, David advised us not to be envious of the workers of iniquity.  Iniquity is sin and wickedness (Ps. 37:1).

David brings up a thought that believers battle against to this day.  Many believers compare what they have, or don’t have, to those of wickedness.  In doing this, we open the doors to thoughts that aren’t healthy and won’t ever lead to success.

Many believers will look at what the wicked have and will become frustrated and angry.  I want to be clear when I say that their anger and frustration aren’t pointed at those who are wicked.  No, many believers will grow angry and upset with God!  Some of us will ask:  Why do the wicked and evil prosper when we, the child of God, are left suffering in the world?

How many of you have ever thought this before?  I won’t you to understand just how terrible and ridiculous this thought and question is.  You see, the question implies that God isn’t blessing us at all while pouring out blessings on the workers of iniquity.  Yes, the implication is the thought that God doesn’t love His children!  Do we really believe that God blesses the sinner more than His own children because they appear successful?

Have you not confessed faith with your heart?  If you have confessed faith in God in your heart, you have expressed your desire for success that is of the Lord!  The success of the wicked is not of God!  The success of the wicked is of the world!  Your success is not of the world but of the Lord – your success is of above— of Heaven!

Do you no longer desire the success that is from above?  Do you no longer desire the success that is of Heaven?  I would hope that you still desire the success that is of God’s kingdom!  If that is the case, then you ought not to envy the evildoer for the success that is in this world!  You desire better than this world!  

David tells us not to envy the workers of iniquity because they will be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb (Ps. 37:2).  They will be cut down and wither because this world is going to be cut down and wither one day.  God is going to move upon this world and its riches will perish.  I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be cut down and perish along with this world!

Secure Your Heart

We’re living in a climate today where we need to start moving to change our mindset.  Again, if you believe success is of the world, feel free to move to enjoy it.  However, if you desire the greater success, your focus needs to be on heaven!  You must learn to wait for the greater rather than looking for the immediate.  You must also find solace in waiting for the Lord, rather than turning to unhealthy thoughts.

In Proverbs 4:23, we are encouraged to keep our hearts will “all diligence”.  To keep means to secure, to protect, and to care for.  In today’s climate, you must secure, protect, and care for your soul at all costs and with great discipline to find that much-needed solace.

Like his dad, Solomon stated, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you (Prov. 4:25).”  You’re not going to find solace looking to your left and looking to your right!  Again, you’re not going to find success by being distracted by what others are doing or by what they have!  Your eyes should remain focused on the goal and the goal is righteousness – the kingdom of God!

Solomon then stated, “Ponder the path of your feet (Prov. 4:26).”  You must consider the path that you’re taking:  is it leading to success or not?  You must consider those who are around you as well as you walk the path:  Are they sharing in your walk or are they trying to take you down another path?  Many of us are surrounded by those who still view life as a competition and they’re in a rush to “win”.

Solomon then said, “Let all your ways be established” (Prov. 4:26).  When Solomon says this, he’s speaking to God establishing your ways.  As we have seen, we may make our plans but the Lord establishes our steps (Prov. 16:9).  This is how we find solace in a world where it may seem like the wicked are prospering while we are “struggling”.

Wait on God

This brings me back to David, who in my key verses for this message said, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”

You are not in a race against a clock, nor are you in a race with others.  Even more, you’re not in a race against God and His timing!  You see, God will bless you and He will do it when He chooses!  You don’t need to be rushing God!  You don’t need to be rushing what God has in store for you!

One of the major issues that we believers face today is that we’re too busy trying to beat God!  Rather than waiting on Him, many of us in our impatience try to make success happen.  We will rush ahead of God, thinking God hasn’t heard our prayer or isn’t moving fast enough, and we find nothing.  Why is nothing there?  Well, success – the blessing – is with God and we moved ahead of Him!

You see, this is why so many of us think that God isn’t blessing us— we couldn’t wait on the blessing and blew past it.  Racing God is something you should never do because, again, you will never win.  The only thing you will end up doing is creating fear, anxiety, stress, and even doubt in your heart.

Slow and steady wins the prize

The moral of the story of the tortoise and the hare was that slow and steady receive the reward.  Yes, as God promised, good will come to those who wait on Him.  

Will you wait on the Lord today or will you continue to be impatient and go without success?  David’s advice is to wait.  David said, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desire of your heart (Ps. 37:4).”  David added, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it (the blessing/success) to pass (Ps. 37:5).”

Your success story won’t be written in a day.  Your success story also won’t be easy.  Consider that it took hundreds of years for Noah to build an ark that would help him and his family to survive.  Consider that it took Joseph 20 years to fulfill his calling after being sold into bondage by his brothers.  Consider that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before they entered the promise.   (The children of Israel also lived in bondage in Egypt for generations).

Though the journey to success may take time and won’t be easy, the vision and the promise are true.  As it’s promised, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry” (Hab. 2:3).  Slowly and steady and all of us will receive the prize of God.