Wait on the Lord

 

There is a fallacy in the teaching of the modern church, which states that God can only use us, if we are already moving. If we read God's Word and the biographies of great men and women of God, this is not the case.

Contemporary teachers say that only as we do God's work can we discern His will. However, the truth is that God can only use someone who is spending time on their knees in prayer (Isaiah 55:3).

If we make our own plans and goals, and pursue our own dreams, then we repeatedly walk outside of God's will. If we attempt to meet every need in every person's life, we often thwart God's plans in their life.

However, as we wait on the Lord, He will always hear us and respond (Psalm 40:1; John 16:24; Ephesians 3:20). He gives us courage and the strength we need to face the trials ahead of us (Psalm 27:14). We find our rest and hope only in God (Psalm 62:5).

We do not wait on the Lord by filling the minutes of our life with stressful activity and busy work. This distracts us from lingering in His presence and hearing from Him with our whole being (Psalm 130:5).

We do not even need to defend our self, when we are harmed or wronged. As we wait on the Lord, He avenges us (Proverbs 20:22). God's wisdom deals with the situation better than our human efforts ever could

It may take time to hear from God. We may wait for days, months or years to discern His direction and will for a certain situation (Jeremiah 42:7). If we rush ahead of God, we will undoubtedly fail.

Once we pray and hear from God's Spirit on the course of action, which He plans for us to take, then we can start moving in the direction in which He is leading us.

Prayer:

Father God, it is so hard for us to wait. We get so nervous and anxious when we wait in line or for some appointment at an office. In this modern era, we are constantly on our phone, checking messages, texting or listening to the news. 

We fail to make time to quiet our soul, enter into our spirit and hear from You. You desire to bring us into a deeper union with You, but this only comes as we wait on You.

Remind us that You love to spend time with us. You even enjoy long bouts of companionable silence with us. You delight in our praises (Psalm 147:1), and You rejoice over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). Help us to walk in Your Spirit and to wait on Your direction for each moment of our day.

Thought for the Day:

The Lord is good to those who hope in Him and seek His will and guidance in everything we think, say and do. - Lamentations 3:25

What is a Born Again Believer?

Prior to our salvation, we had a body and soul, but our spirit was dead in sin. As a Born Again Believer our spirit is now alive and contains the Spirit of God. We can enjoy constant quiet time within our spirit, regardless of what is occurring in our body or soul. With this regular fellowship, our soul abides in a state of peace, which causes our body to remain in better health and vitality.

This does not happen before we are Born Again. In God’s presence, we refresh our soul. Even if He remains silent, we enjoy the companionable silence of His friendship and lordship in our life. Regardless of our circumstances, we live in serenity in our spirit. As we focus on our connection with Christ in our spirit, He heals the negative feelings of our body and soul.

We look at life from a spiritual rather than an earthly viewpoint. We love Christ immensely; our soul draws nourishment from His existence in our life. His Word comes alive in our mind, His presence comforts our fears and His love pours over us like a waterfall as we keep our mind focused on Him (Isaiah 26:3). We do not need to see Him with our eyes, because we hear him with our inner ear (Matthew 11:14).

We feel His Spirit within us (Colossians 1:27). We float through life as the Spirit of God stirs the waters. We flow with the ebb and current of God’s will. People see God’s life-changing power within us. So many turn a deaf ear or blind eye, preferring to believe Satan’s lies. Others want our same experience, so we travail in birth pains with them. We desire to win people to Christ, so they can live in the love of God with us.

Prayer:

Father God, You are the author and finisher of our salvation. Jesus made this possible by His sacrifice on Calvary’s cross, and Your Spirit drew us to Your precious heart. Thank You for loving us, caring for us and helping us in our doubts and fears. We look to You to provide our daily bread and to lead us away from every temptation, which might bring dishonor to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

Taste and see that the Lord is good. – Psalm 34:9

 

Meeting God Face-to-Face

 

As we launch into adulthood, we focus on working hard and using our human talents to open doors to a better life. However, our humanistic worldview and our carnal work ethic often crumble in the face of life’s trials. Meeting God face-to-face leads to action of a different kind (Ephesians 5:8; Romans 8:4). It launches us into a life where every thought, word and deed is an expression of worship to our King. Nothing matters to us except living by God’s Spirit, and He provides us with everything we need (Galatians 5:16, 25; Matthew 6:33).

Encountering God does not occur by chance, nor is it planned or orchestrated by our human effort. We just sit in silence and wait. The human mind is so cluttered, that when we attempt to sit in silence, our mind will go in many directions at one time. We will have a very strong compulsion to jump up and do something before we forget to do it; but then...our time to wait on God is over. Instead, bring along a pen and some paper.

As these ideas pop into your mind, just write them down. This will make a great to-do list for you when you finish your time with God. So here you are, sitting in your comfy chair, under a tree, on the floor or any other place you feel led to wait. You are jotting down the thoughts that flow through your mind. Finally, your lists end and you can begin writing your prayers to God. Continue to wait as you write Bible verses or words to a song, which come to your mind.

Write down how you are feeling, what is worrying you and people you are concerned about. Express your full desires, questions and concerns. Write until you empty your soul of all of its petitions. Then, wait some more! Listen in the silence. Wait for God to speak. Wait for the waterfall of his love to pour over you and bring a refreshing to your soul. Wait until you sense the warmth of His smile beaming down on you, and luxuriate in the folds of His arms.

Write more notes if you want to, sing songs of praise, lift up in prayer the people that God brings to your mind. Sit in companionable silence with Him, and enjoy the presence of God enveloping you. Then, when it is time to go, spend your day walking in the Spirit, one moment at a time. Our life no longer depends on us to reach destinations. We simply walk in obedience to the inner direction of God’s Spirit and live as a brand new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:27; Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, my soul waits silently and patiently for You alone. My hope comes from You. You alone are my rock and my salvation. You are my fortress; therefore, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my glory are in You. You are my rock or strength and refuge. I trust in You at all times. I pour out my heart before You. I praise You for who You are and for all You do for me each and every day (Psalm 62:5-8).

Thought for the Day:

A fruitful life is born through an intimate relationship with God. - John 5:8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Divine Humanity

Read: Luke 6:12-13

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” - 2 Peter 1:3  

When Jesus heard that Herod killed John the Baptist, He withdrew privately by boat to a solitary place. He needed time to be alone in order to grieve the loss of His cousin (Matthew 14:13). He knew that He too would soon die, and He needed time to put this all into perspective and to fully embrace God’s will for Him. This amazingly human reaction makes it so clear that Jesus was not just some superpower with extra-human strength. Although He is divine, He learned obedience through the things which He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). In fact, He suffered in all points, just like we do (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15).

The crowds followed Jesus as He tried to get away, and they did not give Him much time for grieving, reflection and contemplation. Soon, about five thousand men, besides women and children gathered around Him, hoping He would perform a miracle for them (Matthew 14:21). As the day progressed, the apostles wanted to send the people away, telling Jesus that it was time for them to eat.

Jesus shocked the apostles, though. He told them to feed the people! After searching through the crowd, the only food the apostles found was five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:17). They brought the inadequate offering to Jesus and complained. What they saw as deficient, however, Jesus saw as the Father’s provision. He took the meager meal, prayed over it and fed the multitude with plenty of food left over!

 

Trying to get time alone once more, Jesus sent the apostles across the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain alone to pray (Mark 6:46). Again, He was called away from his quiet vigil. It grew dark and His apostles were in a boat. The waves crashed around them and swamped their boat. They feared for their lives. Suddenly, they saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. At first they assumed He was a ghost, and they cried out in anguish (Matthew 6:26).

Peter suddenly realized it was Jesus and asked our Savior to allow him to walk out on the water. Jesus told Peter to come (Matthew 14:28-29). After a few short steps, Peter realized where he was! His natural mind took over and fear got the best of him as he looked at the churlish sea and monstrous waves. He started to sink and cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus reached out and took his hand and walked with him back to the boat. At first Peter believed, but then Jesus had to help his unbelief (Mark 9:24).

We are like this too. We want to believe God and we step out in faith to accomplish some great feat for God. We are doing all right until we look at the circumstances around us. Then our soul starts to sink. Faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come to pass (Hebrews 11:1). We may experience overwhelming factors in our life with finances, relationships, emotional or mental turmoil, or what to do with our ministry for the Lord. However, no matter what is churning up the sea of our life, we can always look to Jesus to reach out His hand and guide us through.

Jesus used solitude to get closer to His Father. He recharged His spiritual batteries by drawing away by Himself (Matthew 14:23). From the very beginning of His ministry he used time alone to grow spiritually (Matthew 4:1-2). He sought a time of isolation just before He chose His apostles, getting away to unite with His Father before this monumental task (Luke 6: 12-13). He also sought solitude one last time before facing His crucifixion and death (Matthew 26:36).

There is value in following Jesus’ example here. In the hectic pace of our world, we often forfeit tranquil times of peace and quiet. We rush around getting everything accomplished on our to-do list. We have the noise of family and friends all around and on the phone. As we take time away in solitude like Jesus did and seek God’s direction, He will certainly give us the wisdom we need (James 1:5). He will direct our steps as we commit them to Him (Proverbs 3: 5-6).

Jesus’ divine nature in us gives us everything we need to live a godly life. When we come to faith in Christ, He allows us to share in His divine nature. Through Him we are empowered to escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. This divine nature increases in us and makes us effective and productive as we live our life through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ who dwells within us. (2 Peter 1:3-8; Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, to everything in our life there is a season. Help us to see Your purpose in our life as we: rejoice during times of birth, and grieve over the death of a loved one; plant in the springtime and reap in the harvest; take up our cross daily and pray for others to heal; break down the walls of fleshly resistance in our soul and take time to build up our spiritual life; weep with those who mourn and laugh with those who dance; renew our heart of stone into a heart of flesh; embrace our family and loved ones and erect boundaries between us and those who distress us; reap the harvest of what we sow and recover from times of loss; learn when to keep silent and when to speak; love the sinner and hate their sin; crucify our flesh at the same time we embrace Your peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus’ holiness within us makes us less human and more divine.