Look and Wait
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Scripture: Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. Micah 7:7 (NKJV)
Observation: Therefore I will look unto the Lord—as if no one else were before mine eyes. We must not only “look unto the Lord,” but also “wait for Him.” Having no hope from man (Mic 7:5, 6), Micah speaks in the name of Israel, who herein, taught by chastisement (Mic 7:4) to feel her sin (Mic 7:9), casts herself on the Lord as her only hope,” in patient waiting (La 3:26). She did so under the Babylonian captivity; she shall do so again hereafter when the spirit of grace shall be poured on her (Zec 12:10–13). [Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.]
Application: I read once that a young girl, when she starts to think about the things she would like to see in a future mate, makes a list of qualities and characteristics that are desirable for her. For instance, she will write things such tall, hair color, eye color, educated, good job, spiritual, from a good family, etc. They may come up with a very long list, somewhat unrealistic. But as the years go by and she finds herself growing older and still single she begins to dismiss some of the things on her list and the list gets shorter until she gets to be in her early thirties and the list only contains two items – warm and breathing. Obviously this story is somewhat humorous, but it illustrates the urgency with which some singles approach their social situation as the years go by.
I like the three things that Micah speaks about in today’s verse as a plan for singles to adopt for their lives. First of all, Micah writes “I will look to the Lord.” The focus all of us should have in life is not to make money, have prestige, or even be married, but to have a relationship with God such that when Jesus returns He will recognize us. The advice for singles in this verse is that instead of looking for life happiness in a relationship with others they must look at God for fulfillment and satisfaction regardless of their social state in life.
The second word from Micah is to “wait for God.” Society teaches that time is short and therefore the sooner one marries the better. On the other hand, research has shown, among many others, two things that young people should keep in mind. (1) Marriage before the age of twenty increases the chances of divorce within the first fifteen years of marriage. In fact, people who marry before the age of 20 are two to three times more likely to divorce. (2) The average age of marriage in the US currently is about 27 for women and 29 for men. By this time, they have completed their education and have a job. Incidentally, Women with higher IQs tend to go to college, and women who go to college tend to marry later. My conclusion is that it is better then to wait to get married until a little later in life and to wait on God to put them in touch with the right person rather than rushing to find someone, anyone to marry.
The final important word from Micah is a promise: “God will hear me.” What that is telling me is that when we pray, when we look to the Lord for guidance, and when we wait for God to show us the right partner, He will hear our plea. Now, that may mean that we may have to remain single for some time, or even for the rest of our life. As one of my daughters told me once, “I’d rather be alone and single, than alone and married.” The wrong relationship can bring a lot of pain and unhappiness to a marriage and to the individuals involved.
So let’s take the three words from Micah to heart and “Look to the Lord,” “Wait on the Lord,” and “He will her us.”
A Prayer You May Say: Father God, a single life can be a lonely life, but we commit ourselves to look at You for guidance and fulfillment, wait on You for an answer to our plea, and eagerly await to hear from You what You know is best for our lives.
Observation: Therefore I will look unto the Lord—as if no one else were before mine eyes. We must not only “look unto the Lord,” but also “wait for Him.” Having no hope from man (Mic 7:5, 6), Micah speaks in the name of Israel, who herein, taught by chastisement (Mic 7:4) to feel her sin (Mic 7:9), casts herself on the Lord as her only hope,” in patient waiting (La 3:26). She did so under the Babylonian captivity; she shall do so again hereafter when the spirit of grace shall be poured on her (Zec 12:10–13). [Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.]
Application: I read once that a young girl, when she starts to think about the things she would like to see in a future mate, makes a list of qualities and characteristics that are desirable for her. For instance, she will write things such tall, hair color, eye color, educated, good job, spiritual, from a good family, etc. They may come up with a very long list, somewhat unrealistic. But as the years go by and she finds herself growing older and still single she begins to dismiss some of the things on her list and the list gets shorter until she gets to be in her early thirties and the list only contains two items – warm and breathing. Obviously this story is somewhat humorous, but it illustrates the urgency with which some singles approach their social situation as the years go by.
I like the three things that Micah speaks about in today’s verse as a plan for singles to adopt for their lives. First of all, Micah writes “I will look to the Lord.” The focus all of us should have in life is not to make money, have prestige, or even be married, but to have a relationship with God such that when Jesus returns He will recognize us. The advice for singles in this verse is that instead of looking for life happiness in a relationship with others they must look at God for fulfillment and satisfaction regardless of their social state in life.
The second word from Micah is to “wait for God.” Society teaches that time is short and therefore the sooner one marries the better. On the other hand, research has shown, among many others, two things that young people should keep in mind. (1) Marriage before the age of twenty increases the chances of divorce within the first fifteen years of marriage. In fact, people who marry before the age of 20 are two to three times more likely to divorce. (2) The average age of marriage in the US currently is about 27 for women and 29 for men. By this time, they have completed their education and have a job. Incidentally, Women with higher IQs tend to go to college, and women who go to college tend to marry later. My conclusion is that it is better then to wait to get married until a little later in life and to wait on God to put them in touch with the right person rather than rushing to find someone, anyone to marry.
The final important word from Micah is a promise: “God will hear me.” What that is telling me is that when we pray, when we look to the Lord for guidance, and when we wait for God to show us the right partner, He will hear our plea. Now, that may mean that we may have to remain single for some time, or even for the rest of our life. As one of my daughters told me once, “I’d rather be alone and single, than alone and married.” The wrong relationship can bring a lot of pain and unhappiness to a marriage and to the individuals involved.
So let’s take the three words from Micah to heart and “Look to the Lord,” “Wait on the Lord,” and “He will her us.”
A Prayer You May Say: Father God, a single life can be a lonely life, but we commit ourselves to look at You for guidance and fulfillment, wait on You for an answer to our plea, and eagerly await to hear from You what You know is best for our lives.
Used by permission of Adventist Family Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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