Wait on the Lord / Partnership Sunday 8/23/26

Devotional

Day 1: Waiting as Wings – Letting God Set the Flight Plan

When life feels like frantic preparation, Isaiah 40:31 offers a counterintuitive rhythm: waiting as active surrender. This isn’t passive idleness but positioning oneself to receive divine momentum. Like eagles catching thermal updrafts, those who wait on God exchange human striving for holy energy. The struggle comes when we demand messages, plans, or answers on our schedule rather than trusting God’s timing. True renewal begins when we stop treating prayer as a transaction and start embracing it as communion. [01:22:07]

But they who wait for 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.
(Isaiah 40:31, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you forcing outcomes through human effort instead of waiting for God’s wind beneath your wings? What practical step can you take this week to shift from striving to surrendering?

Day 2: The Unhurried Chair – Choosing Mary’s Posture Over Martha’s Plates

Jesus defended Mary’s “unproductive” sitting because presence fuels purpose. Like a power cord plugged into a source, our doing must flow from being. The modern church often celebrates busyness, but Christ prioritizes the quiet chair at His feet. This isn’t neglect of responsibility but recognition that true effectiveness begins when we let God define our assignments. Burnout creeps in when service becomes a performance rather than an overflow. [01:28:05]

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving.
(Luke 10:38-40, ESV)

Reflection: What “good work” in your life might Jesus gently redirect you from today? How can you create physical or mental space to sit at His feet this week?

Day 3: The Headache of Self-Reliance – When Stress Becomes a Spiritual Symptom

Chronic stress often reveals where we’ve stopped relying on God’s strength. Like the pastor’s tension headaches that began with church planting, our bodies and spirits sound alarms when we carry burdens meant for Christ. Waiting on God isn’t spiritual laziness—it’s the discipline of letting divine energy replace human adrenaline. Every headache, sleepless night, or irritable moment can become a prompt to ask: “What am I carrying that You never asked me to bear?” [01:24:48]

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
(1 Peter 5:6-7, ESV)

Reflection: What recurring stressor in your life might God be inviting you to hand over? How would your week change if you saw anxiety as a reminder to cast cares rather than carry them?

Day 4: Grace’s Jet Fuel – Soaring in Assignments God Anoints

Human effort without God’s grace is like sprinting through molasses. The difference between burnout and breakthrough isn’t skill but surrender to the Holy Spirit’s momentum. Just as eagles don’t flap harder but ride unseen currents, believers thrive when they discern where God’s favor is flowing. Ministries, jobs, or relationships lacking divine grace will exhaust us. But assignments anointed by Him come with supernatural endurance. [01:30:45]

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”
(John 5:19, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you feeling persistent weariness? How might you discern whether to persevere or ask God if He’s redirecting you?

Day 5: The Unforced Rhythm – Making Life a Continuous Conversation

Walking with God means turning prayer into an ongoing dialogue rather than a daily monologue. Like the pastor learning to receive sermons during worship rather than study sessions, we’re called to sensitivity in the mundane. This looks like pausing to pray over a frustrating email, whispering thanks while driving, or listening for guidance in grocery store aisles. Divine direction flows when we stop compartmentalizing “quiet times” and start living in constant communion. [01:36:30]

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
(Exodus 33:14, ESV)

Reflection: What ordinary moment this week can you turn into a conversation with God? How might you practice pausing to listen before reacting today?

Sermon Summary

Isaiah 40:31 calls those who wait on the Lord into renewed strength, eagle wings, running without weariness, and walking without fainting. The promise is not given to people who keep pushing in their own strength. The promise is given to people who learn how to be with Jesus.

God is doing something new by pulling His people away from coming to Him only for what they need. Ministry cannot just come from trying to prepare a message, solve a problem, get wisdom, or find the next thing to do. Ministry has to flow out of overflow, out of a daily walk with the Lord where His voice becomes personal and His Word becomes alive.

The Bible is not meant to be replaced by secondhand revelation. Books, videos, prophetic words, and gifted ministers can encourage what God has already said, but they cannot substitute for getting alone with God. The Holy Spirit wants to teach the Word directly, father His people, help them, talk with them, and lead them step by step.

Waiting on the Lord does not mean doing nothing. Waiting looks like sitting in His presence, reading Scripture, praying in the Spirit, listening, and obeying what rises up in the heart. God may say to call somebody, pray for a family, take a vacation, leave a job, or wait before saying yes. Every opportunity, relationship, job, and decision has to be brought to the feet of Jesus.

Mary and Martha show the difference between working for Jesus and working with Jesus. Martha had pure intentions, but she was busy while Jesus was sitting in the house. Mary chose the good thing, the best thing, because sitting at His feet keeps a person from becoming a sheep without a shepherd, going here and there and everywhere without getting anywhere.

God’s grace rests on what He leads His people to do. Busy is not always productive, and good is not always God. Organizations can be built through performance, marketing, and human strength, but the kingdom is built where people are saved, delivered, healed, and filled with the Holy Ghost. Those who wait on the Lord soar because His grace does the work.

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Key Takeaways

1. Waiting comes before renewed strength. Isaiah’s promise connects strength to waiting, not striving. Burnout often reveals that a person has taken on cares that belong to God and tried to carry an assignment without His present direction. Waiting brings the heart back under God’s leadership, where strength is renewed instead of drained. [84:48]
2. Being with Jesus shapes the doing. Activity for God can still become activity without God. Mary’s place at Jesus’ feet shows that intimacy is not wasted time or a break from productivity. The right work flows from communion with Christ, not from pressure to keep moving. [87:25]
3. Good opportunities are not always God. A job, relationship, or open door may look good while still pulling a person away from God’s will. Every opportunity needs to be laid at the feet of Jesus and held there until He gives an answer. Obedience may require waiting longer than other people want. [89:30]
4. Grace rests on God-led assignments. God’s grace does the work that human effort cannot accomplish. When God leads, His anointing draws what is needed for the assignment and enables endurance in it. When His grace is absent, even sincere effort becomes wearying and heavy. [90:45]
5. God wants direct fellowship with His people. Prophetic encouragement, books, and other believers can be valuable gifts, but they cannot replace hearing God personally. The Holy Spirit desires to make Scripture living and personal in the quiet place. A mature walk with God learns to receive from Him firsthand.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[66:42] - Expectation and Revival
[68:41] - Isaiah 40:31
[69:18] - God Is Doing Something New
[72:21] - Coming to God to Be With Him
[75:36] - Hearing God Through His Word
[78:23] - Learning to Wait on the Lord
[81:24] - God Gives the Message
[83:17] - Burnout and Carrying Cares
[85:44] - Building the Kingdom, Not Organizations
[86:44] - Mary, Martha, and Sitting at His Feet
[89:03] - Bringing Every Decision to Jesus
[90:13] - Soaring by God’s Grace
[91:41] - What Waiting on God Looks Like
[94:29] - Practicing the Presence of God

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Isaiah 40:31
“But they who wait for 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.” [01:08:41] [01:21:17]

Luke 10:38-42
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.'” [01:27:25]

John 5:19
“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.’” [01:25:22]

Observation questions

What promises are connected to waiting on the Lord in Isaiah 40:31, and what do those promises show about the kind of strength God gives?
In Luke 10:38-42, what was Martha doing while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, and what words describe Martha’s inner condition?
What did Jesus say Mary had chosen, and what did He say would not be taken from her? [01:27:54]
What examples show that waiting on the Lord can include Scripture, prayer, listening, praying for others, and obeying a specific instruction? [01:32:34]

Interpretation questions

Isaiah says strength is renewed for those who wait on the Lord. How does this differ from simply resting after a person has exhausted himself or herself by striving?
Martha’s serving was not presented as evil, but she was distracted, anxious, and troubled. What does this reveal about the difference between doing work for Jesus and doing work with Jesus? [01:27:25]
Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. How might this shape the way a believer responds to a busy schedule, a ministry need, or an unexpected opportunity? [01:25:22]
A job, relationship, or invitation can be good but still not be God’s direction for a particular person. Why is waiting for God’s answer important when others are demanding an immediate answer? [01:29:22]

Application questions

Where has busyness recently drained your strength—at work, at home, in church, or in relationships? What care might you be carrying that belongs in the Lord’s hands? [01:25:01]
What does “sitting at Jesus’ feet” realistically look like in your current season? Is there a specific time, place, or habit that could help you read Scripture, pray, listen, and simply be with Him?
Have you been coming to God mainly because you need an answer, a solution, wisdom, or help with a problem? How could you begin approaching Him more simply to know Him and walk with Him? [01:12:42]
Is there an opportunity, job decision, relationship, commitment, or major purchase that needs to be brought again to the feet of Jesus? What would it look like to wait for His direction instead of moving because of pressure? [01:29:30]
Think about one responsibility you have taken on. Do you sense God’s grace and peace in it, or mostly heaviness and weariness? What might the Lord be inviting you to ask Him about that assignment? [01:30:24]
What are some “good” things in your life that may be crowding out the “one necessary thing” of being with Jesus? What is one practical adjustment you could make this week?
During the day, what could help you keep your heart turned toward the Lord while you work, drive, care for family, or handle responsibilities? [01:36:17]

Sermon Clips

50s

“when you're sitting at his feet, we see, every opportunity that comes our way, we have to take that and we have to bring it to the feet of Jesus and saying, god, is this what you want for me? And let and wait on him to give you an answer. And if people say, hey, I need to know something. You say, well, I'll tell you when I get an answer. Amen. But we had to bring it all to God. Every job, every everything, every relationship. Those of you in dating, believing God for your your husband or wife, you have to bring that person to the feet of Jesus and say, Jesus, is this what you want from me? And then our doing has a flow from our being. Amen.”

36s

“There's nothing wrong with receiving a revelation from God second handed. But it's it's not as good as receiving revelation straight from God. Where you take your bible and you get in a quiet place, and you and God are one, and you read your scripture, and you ask the holy spirit to give you revelation and teach you the word. There's there's nothing like that, and that's where God wants us living. As we come closer, the Lord's been dealing with me to the end times.”

38s

“And people come in and leave the same way they come and say, man, that was a good experience. You're not building the kingdom of God. Hallelujah. But to build the kingdom of God, it requires us waiting on the Lord. And ministry and our actions and what we do, what we say has to flow out of our being with Jesus. Come on. Because we're taught to do. If you perform well, you you you you you you get good. You'll do well. You know, perform performance performance. But God's more concerned with our being. Our being.”

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