Wait is defined as hopeful anticipation.
As in I’m waiting for The Mister to come home so we can start our Uno game, or I’m waiting for the Boy to get his shoes up, or I’m still waiting for God to move in my life.
Guess which one I’m really feeling?
The Good Reverend Doctor didn’t preach yesterday. He handed the reins to the Associate Pastor, a man who preaches well, but he isn’t the GRD.
Anywho, the message yesterday was
” Who do you call when your prosperity needs a bailout?”
I looked up prosperity when I got home. Dictionary.com defines it as:
–noun, plural -ties.
1. a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition, esp. in financial respects; good fortune.
2. prosperities, prosperous circumstances.
Referencing Isaiah 40, the young pastor preached that God’s greatness and vastness is everlasting, eternal. When life hands us lemons, rather than make lemonade, we as people begin to be like the Israelites. We romanticize our past and begin to long for the things we know rather than wait on God for the greatness he has promised, or the unknown.
Being a Christian means salvation, but it doesn’t mean being SAFE.
I’m taking it a step farther. From a young age, we are taught to orchestrate our destinies. We are told to do A B C do that D E F will happen. As we all know, life doesn’t fall into place. In yesterday’s daily Bible reading, Numbers chapter 22, we read about Balaam’s talking donkey.
In verses 27 & 28:
“When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
Mike of the One Year Bible summarizes it this way:
I think one thing for us to pay attention to here is how we are sometimes saved from a bad situation by what at first glance appears to be an “inconvenience.” A donkey laying down and starting to talk is inconvenient to Balaam. But, this talking donkey saved Balaam from an angel with a sword in hand that Balaam could not see. Are there perhaps “inconveniences” in your life today that are maybe saving you from a bad situation? Or, do you recognize inconveniences in the past that saved you from a bad situation? I know I have. If my car breaks down or I get sick or I miss a flight – all inconveniences – I try to remind myself that it might just be possible that this inconvenience was meant to be. It may have saved me from something much worse happening. The inconvenience – the “talking donkey” – may have actually saved me from something I could not see. Keep your eyes open for inconvenient “talking donkeys” in your life – and praise God for them when they appear!
We need to learn patience or…wait. Continue to seek God constantly, and then learn to wait for God. He is never late, but ALWAYS right on time.
A succinct blog post about waiting from Ron Edmondson:
What should you do when it feels like God has forgotten you? Here are 7 things to remember or do in those times when God appears silent.
1. Be honest with God, those closest to you, and ultimately yourself about your fears. We are not meant to be silent sufferers.
2. Keep in mind that you are not alone. All of us go through times of uncertainty. Even the great heroes of the faith had times of doubt. Don’t beat yourself up emotionally because you are in one of those times now.
3. Remember that just because you feel a certain way does not mean the way you feel is truth.
4. Recall truth:
That God has promised to “never leave you nor forsake you”. Even when you feel
abandoned by God, He is closer than you can imagine…and, He cares!
That God has promised to work “all things for good”. That means He has a plan,
even when it doesn’t seem that He does.
5. Don’t sit still for long without doing something you already know to be doing. Volunteer, help others, stay busy, pray, seek His face. Be active in living out your faith during this time. Idleness is one of Satan’s best friends.
6. Know that God prepares for some of His best work as He makes you wait.
7. Read Psalm 27 and 121.
Though of the Week:
I need to have faith in the faithfulness of God.
Keep the conversation going. Comments welcomed!