Learning to Wait and Waiting to Learn

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
Psalm 27:14

“Hurry up and wait!”
When we hear that phrase we may chuckle a bit because we have all found ourselves in that predicament. Just mention the initials “DMV” and there is instant recognition for most New Yorkers of the Department of Motor Vehicles. There is also a universal “wince” as we all remember our personal “horror stories” of having to wait in line at the local DMV office. The last thing you want to hear when you walk out of that office (maybe having celebrated a birthday and the turning over of a page on the calendar – just kidding) is that you are just being taught patience!
Believers often are in a “waiting’ mode after receiving a word from God. It may, in fact, be a time when God is developing patience in you but to limit it to that is to minimize what God is doing.
Far too often God speaks to us and we take off running.
We fail to wait at His feet and get His counsel.
We fail to get counsel through others, wiser and (perhaps – could it be?) more mature than us. Some of the words spoken by God were fulfilled before the sun went down on the day they were spoken but far more often there was a long span of time. Some words spoken thousands of years ago are unfolding today or are yet to be fulfilled.
Do not read what I did not write: we are to wait but it is not to be an apathetic or inactive wait. We wait in hopeful and faith-filled expectation of that word. We actively (and not passively) wait. It is a ‘drawing near’ and not a ‘drawing back’ wait.
It is an advancing wait and not a retreat.
We wait because it is not simply the “working out” of that word in our lives but more importantly it is the “working in” of His word to our lives.
We may not fully understand the word when we receive it
but let that word be formed in you….

“Really, LORD?”

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.”
Ezekiel 37:9-10

The Bible is filled with the records of individuals who received a word from the Lord concerning their lives. In some cases, like Sarah and Abraham, the word was received well past the ‘normal’ expectation of fulfillment.
What do I mean?
Sarah and Abraham had a child in their old age.
Not what might constitute ‘old age’ for giving birth today – say 50 or 55 years old – but well past that.
Sarah was ninety and Abraham was a hundred years old.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, received a word form the Lord through an angelic visitation. The word she received was not received after the ‘normal’ expectation of fulfillment, as was the case with Abraham and Sarah, but before it.
That is to say, she became pregnant while a virgin and not after being married; which would have been ‘normal’.
The word that was given and fulfilled for Mary, some might say, put her in a very untenable position. So often in scripture, and in our lives, Gods’ word is fulfilled at the ‘least opportune’ time or in the most unconventional ways.
Why is that?
Sarah showed us the answer to that question when she had her husband sleep with her handmaiden. His name was Ishmael. If there is any way for us to fulfill the word absent the power of God we will, more often than not, try it.
Let me ask you then, if we do ‘fulfill’ the word, who gets the credit and the glory?
God gives us the impossible to do and then it is His enabling power by the Holy Spirit that brings it to pass. Could Ezekiel prophesy to that valley of dry bones and see them come to life without the command of the LORD to do so? How many things have you spoken or attempted to do in vain because it was just a ‘grand’ idea and not the Word of the LORD to you?
Wait for His word and allow it to come to pass in His way, in His timing and by His power working in you!

Let God Uniquely Equip You

“Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”
Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.”
I Samuel 17:36b-40


We all know the story well.
David hears the taunts of the giant Goliath and is prepared to come against “…this uncircumcised Philistine…”
King Saul says: “Go, and the LORD be with you.”
Then, following the kings blessing, David is dressed in another mans’ ‘armor’.
What does David do next?
He refuses the armor and picks up the tools he is ‘used to’.
What about your life?
Are you trying to accomplish the word of the LORD for you with another mans’ equipping? To David’s credit he recognized that he could not do what he needed to do wearing armor and using tools made for another man.
Neither can you.
God is well able to equip you for the tasks He has called you to do.
Think of it as a custom fitted suit.
It is made just for you.
Some of David’s ‘tools’ used over the course of his life included a harp, a sling with five smooth stones and, as an author of much of the Book of Psalms, a pen.
What tools has God placed in your hand to do what He has called you to do?
Make no mistake, a harp, a sling and a pen are nothing more than a harp a sling and a pen unless God places them in our hands and anoints them for His purposes.
So today put down another mans’ ‘equipping’ and pick up what God has given you.
Only as you do that, will you find ‘success’. The sword David strapped on may have been quite impressive but, at least in David’s case, it was not
“…mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.”
Today, take up what God has for you.

Draw Near and Trust God

“We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
Genesis 37:7
“Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people.
So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him
with their faces to the ground.”
Genesis 42:6


The two verses above paint a picture for us of Joseph receiving a word from the LORD through a dream and then the fulfillment of that word. Despite the two verses being separated by roughly only five chapters in the book of Genesis, the time from the word being received until its’ fulfillment was actually separated by several years.
Most of us are familiar with the story so isn’t it interesting that the word to Joseph said nothing about the journey to get to the place of fulfillment? God left out the details about the angry and jealous brothers, He failed to mention the pit, Potiphar’s house, the prison and the palace. He was silent concerning betrayal, slavery, false accusations, and the details of promotion. He made no mention of Egypt and Pharaoh. Joseph was left with a word and a choice.
In our lives, as God speaks to us, we too are left with a word and a choice.
We can choose to trust God or not!
God had a greater work to do in the heart and character of Joseph than anything external He wanted to accomplish through Him.
I would have to say that what God wanted to do in Joseph was far greater than what He wanted to do through Joseph.
The same is true of us.
God is transforming us. Maybe He has spoken to you and you have doubted that word because you find yourself in a pit, in a prison or in a place far removed from that word being fulfilled. Draw near to God and trust Him to complete His work in you despite any betrayals you may face; trust Him through the long seasons of testing, through the changes all around you. Remember He watches over His word to perform it.
In the in-between time, just as Joseph did, draw near and trust God.

No Other gods

“You shall have no other gods before me.”
Exodus 20:3

We have been looking at our need to respond, in obedience, to the Word of God.
Let me ask you something.
What other things (granted some of them may be good) do we respond to that may compete with Gods’ purposes for our life?
Some of the huge ones that often draw us away from the plans of God are:
Career
When we choose career over Christ we have selected something we only think can satisfy us. There is no eternal satisfaction in a successful career. Jesus asked in Mark 8:36
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
So are successful careers evil? Not at all, only when they impede my relationship with God and obeying His plans for my life.
Money
We are cautioned concerning money: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many griefs.” I Timothy 6:10
So we note that money itself is not evil. It is when we love money more than God.
We cannot serve two masters.
Family
This can be a difficult one for so many because we are certainly to love our family and to provide for them. However, when our affections and attention are given to family exclusively and God is left out of all that we do there is a problem.
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
We often bristle at this statement of Jesus’ and yet He clearly says the
words: “…more than me…” helping us to understand that it is normal and right to love family but it too can reach a point where that love keeps us from obediently following Him.
Again, I want to reiterate that careers, money and family are not, necessarily evil. When we magnify and exalt those, or any other things or people, do we have a problem Examine your values today and put first things first!

Confidently Answering Yes

“And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word.
And the angel departed from her.”
Luke 1:38 KJV

Mary’s response to the angel was: “…according to thy word.”
Her response is as remarkable for what she didn’t say as for what she did say.
She didn’t say: “Can I get back to you?”
She didn’t say: “I’ll have to think about it!”
She didn’t say: “All good except that ‘…be with child…’ part.”
Her response (an indication of her faith) was immediate, obedient and unequivocal.
How do you respond to the word spoken to you?
Is your response also immediate, obedient and unequivocal?
I must confess that I don’t always respond as I should.
I don’t always respond as Mary did.
To be sure, what Mary heard would tend to raise more questions than it did provide answers. As the pregnancy advanced I am sure the stares, the questions from busy-bodies and the innuendo’s increased. Despite this we find nowhere in the record of scripture where Mary expresses regret for her decision to say yes to God. She said to the angel: “…be it done unto me according to thy word.” And then she stayed the course and saw that word fulfilled in her life. As God speaks to you and you respond; do you list caveats? Do you try to ‘bargain’ with God as to the timing or the nature of what He has spoken?
But you protest and say: “Aren’t we supposed to count the cost of something before we agree to it? Isn’t it wrong to make hasty decisions?
Yes and Yes.
But here is the difference.
I respond to God (unlike how I would respond to the propositions of man) out of the knowledge and understanding that His plans and His purposes for me are always good and never evil.
I cannot ever look back and point an accusing finger at God and say: “You did this to my ruin and to see me destroyed.” That is contrary to His nature and His character. I, and you, can confidently say yes to God knowing that His way is always best.
I did not say it is always the easiest but it is always best!

Can I get ‘There’ from ‘Here’?

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
Proverbs 16:25

Maybe I put the cart before the horse yesterday.
I should have asked you to be sure that, first of all,
you are on the right road to your calling in God.
You see, there are many different opportunities in life for all of us and they may be found on different ‘roads’ we may choose to travel.
Despite ‘conventional wisdom’ and the ‘politically correct’ view, not all roads lead to heaven, let alone God’s plans for my life or yours.
Jesus didn’t hesitate to offer this absolute:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Jesus did not offer alternate routes or other ways.
His statement was exclusive and adamant: “…no one…except through me…”
In holding fast to that belief, you may be considered ‘polarizing’ and certainly not ‘inclusive’.
Taking the only road that leads to heaven and answering to the call of God for your life will sometimes offer some surprises. Sooner or later, you will likely come to an exit ramp that offers an easier route and one that does not demand a cost.
Don’t take that off-ramp.
Yesterday I likened the road you find yourself on to a
toll road and pictured a toll booth from a clip art file.
Listen carefully.
Jesus is the gate through which you gain entry to that road that leads to heaven and to your destiny in fulfilling His purposes for your life.
When you reach the gate (the toll booth?), you will find that the cost of your entrance has been paid on the cross – the blood of Jesus Christ made it possible. I don’t want to presume concerning anyone reading this blog.
There are not many ways to God.
There is only one.
His name is Jesus.
Once you enter through that gateway of Jesus Christ, your journey may not match the next persons but rest assured they are also, only on this road
after entering through the same gate you did.
Stay on that road!