The Wait/Seek Duality

Everything Cometh to Him Who Waiteth,
So Long as He Tirelessly Seeketh While He Waiteth!

Lamentations 3:25

“The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”

Context: The Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, 586 BC.

The wait-seek duality… Should I wait for the Lord, should I seek the Lord, should I act or not?

 

Psalm 137 - Longing for Zion

By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How shall we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
If I do not remember you,
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.

Wait vs. Seek

‘Wait’ Involves:
Lack of motion or action. Refraining from activity, generally with an expectation of an occurrence after the wait. Alt. = To serve.

‘Seek’ involves:
To look for, to journey in hope of finding, to ardently search (quest), to spare no effort to discover a sought-after object…. Duality?

The Definition of Philosophy

“Philosophy is a blind man in a dark room chasing a black cat that isn’t there.”
-- William James

What We Believe

That salvation is by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. We affirm regeneration by the Holy Spirit, repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as necessary to salvation.

To Act, or Not to Act?

Whether to wait or act is a central dilemma of life… for believers and for non-believers…

To Be or Not to Be?

To be, or not to be--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished.

Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Lyrics – Caught in the Crossfire -SRV

Day by day, night after night
Blinded by the neon light
Hurry here, hustling there
No one's got the time to spare
Money's tight, nothing free
Won't somebody come and rescue me

I am stranded, caught in the crossfire
Stranded, caught in the crossfire

Tooth for tooth, eye for an eye
Sell your soul just to bop on by
Beggin' for a dollar, stealin' a dime
Come on can't you see that I'm
Caught in the crossfire

 

Biblical Waiting v. Seeking

Wait:                             Seek:
Prayer                          Mission work
Bible Study                  Ministry – r u called?
Meditation                    Evangelism
Fellowship                    Church planting
Worship                        The Great Commission

Jesus Says … ‘Seek’

Matt 28:18

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Jesus says … Wait on it

Luke 24:49

“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye [remain] in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Lamentations 3:25

“The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”

“Good,” “Wait,” and “Seek” – what do these words actually mean?

Lamentations 3:25 [Hebrew]

Towb is Yahweh to those who leqowaw, to the person who tidresenu Him.

Towb [good] is Yahweh to those who leqowaw [wait], to the person who tidresenu [seeks] Him.

Towb = Good

Genesis 1:4
“And God saw the light, that it was good [Towb], and God divided the light from the darkness.”

Genesis 1:10
[dry land/water], Genesis 1:18 [day/night], Genesis 1:21 [creatures], Genesis 1:25 [‘earth creepers’].

Genesis 1:31
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

 

God’s Goodness

“Good [towb] is the Lord unto them that wait [leqowaw] for him, to the soul that seeketh [tidresenu] him.”

This goodness:

• Comes directly from God.
• Is part of God’s essential nature.
• Was an original characteristic of Creation.

Leqowaw = Wait

Qwaweh – To Wait

Psalm 27:14, Psalm 37:34, Proverbs 20:22

Each ‘waiting’ is accompanied by a promise.

Let us look at each example.

Quaweh Psalm 27

King David’s Mission Statement [Why He Waits]
“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; 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 enquire in his temple.”
[Psalm 27:4]

-- What is your expectation from waiting for, or waiting on, the Lord???

Quaweh Psalm 27:14

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.”

[David expects that waiting on the Lord will bring strength.]

Quaweh Psalm 37:34

“Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land, when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.”

[David expects waiting will lead to God exalting him and defeating his enemies.]

Quaweh Proverbs 20:22

“Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and He shall save thee.”

[Solomon expects that waiting on God will bring deliverance.]

Now let’s look at Lamentation 3:25 again…

Lamentations 3:25

“Good [towb] is the Lord unto them that wait [leqowaw] for him, to the soul that seeketh [tidresenu] him.”

 

What Is ‘Qwaweh Waiting’?

• It is active, not passive. It is an affirmative choice rather than an external circumstance.
• It is a God-focused, faithful act. That is, it is done in submission to, in service to, God.
• It is not idle, not lazy. It is purposive. David waits with an end goal, an objective, clearly in mind: Waiting in service to God will bring favor and blessing, accomplishing the purpose at hand.

So … what are YOU waiting FOR???

 

Tidresenu -- Seek

Used Three times:

• Deut 4:26-31
• 1 Chron 28-9

Read Deut 4:29 please….

Deut 4:29

“But if from thence thou shalt seek [tidresenu] the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek [tidresenu] Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”

1 Chron 28:9

“If thou seek [tidresenu] him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever.”

 

What Sort of Seeking Is Tidresenu ?

• It is felt wholeheartedly & sincere.
• It is utterly committed.
• It is single-minded [James 1:5-8]. Example:
• It is performed with a sense of urgency.
• It is quite possibly a matter of life and death.
• It is seeking ‘in extremis.’

 

Biblical Waiting, Biblical Seeking

Neither word, waiting or seeking, means what we commonly think of.

The Bible offers plenty of examples of right and wrong waiting….

Biblical Examples Of Wrong Waiting

• Martha & Mary – “But few things are needed--or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
• Luke 10:42
• Paul’s redeemer Ananias
• Abraham & Ishmael
• David & Bathsheba
• Saul usurping the priest

-- Other examples?

Biblical Examples of Good Waiting

• Joseph in prison
• Daniel in Babylon
• The disciples in Galilee

[In all three cases, they had a clear idea of why they were waiting. They KNEW their objective!].

-- Other examples of good waiting???

Biblical Examples of Wrong Seeking

• Pharoah
• Herod
• The barn builder
• The men of Athens
• King Felix at Cesarea (Paul)

-- Other examples of wrong seeking?

Biblical Examples of Good Seeking

• Peter & the Gentile Centurion Cornelius
• The disciples go to Galilee

The Wait-Seek Duality, Revisited

Godly waiting and Godly seeking both have God as the object & the objective.

Both are to be pursued eagerly, ardently, whole-heartedly. Let’s go all in!

Neither is self-seeking….

So How Can We Better Seek/Wait?

‘Shall I seek or shall I wait?’

Biblical Waiting v. Seeking

Wait:                             Seek:
Prayer                          Mission work
Bible Study                  Ministry – r u called?
Meditation                    Evangelism
Fellowship                    Church planting
Worship                        The Great Commission

Biblical Waiting AND Seeking

Waiting & Seeking Together:

Prayer
Mission work
Bible Study
Ministry
Meditation
Evangelism
Fellowship
Church Planting
Worship
The Great Commission

A Wait/Seek Self Inventory…

• Are you better at waiting, or at seeking?
• In which realm is the temptation greater for your self to prevail over God-centeredness?
• When you wait, do you REALLY know what you’re waiting for? What is your expectation? Is it Godly?
• When you seek, whose approval are you seeking?... Jesus, or someone else’s?
• Are you praying like your life depends on God? When you seek, are you seeking as if it were a matter of great consequence?
• Have you prayed, and joined with other believers, in asking the Spirit of Truth to show you His Will?
• Are you falling on your face and recognizing that having the grace to hear the call, and having the strength to answer the call, are totally dependent on God’s grace to empower you to do His work? Is there any part of you that DOESN’T want God’s help, or that DOESN’T want God to get all the glory from whatever He wants you to do?

I Corinthians 3:5-23

For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's;
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your's;
23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.