I sometimes believe that waiting on God is the hardest thing I have to do.
We live in an "instant gratification" world. We want something, and we expect to have it NOW. We hurt, and we want God to take the hurt away immediately. Sometimes, we forget that the hurts we experience bring immeasurable blessings that we cannot see in the moment.
I've seen people come together in prayer for someone who is sick or in trouble. Those times, when we forget what church we belong to and simply join hands and hearts with other believers and pray, I think that's when God is most pleased with us. Remember Jesus's prayer...
John 17:11
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
Jesus wants us to be one. We are the body of Christ, one church, one family.
Today is a big day for Luke Chisholm and his family. The procedure that is taking place today is the same procedure that created such havoc earlier this week when David and Rachael stood outside Luke's door as the medical team tried to bring him back after he crashed. The fear they experienced, the thoughts that went through their heads -- those things are sure to haunt them today as Luke goes through this procedure.
As they wait and pray, let us pray along side them in spirit. God is in control, and we can trust Luke to our loving Father. But waiting is hard. So please pray for David and Rachael to feel an overwhelming sense of God's peace and love and protection and provision... Pray that they will not listen to the lies of the Enemy as they wait.
Please pray without ceasing today, as we wait for Luke to come through this day with amazing victory through the power of our mighty God.
One of the most powerful tools we have is prayer. But there is also awesome power in praise lifted up to our great and good God. Praise Him for all He has done, all He is doing and all He will do today in the life of Luke Chisholm.
http://youtu.be/H-M7oGrOa2I - Waiting on You, Lord - John Waller
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who lives from everlasting to everlasting!
1 Chronicles 16:36
http://youtu.be/vJdWdZv-uRA - Everlasting God - Chris Tomlin
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord (repeat)
Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
Isaiah 40
To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19 As for the idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To prepare an idol that will not totter.
21 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a )curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
24 Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
25 “To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous )young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Waiting...
I believe God is faithful. I believe He will do what He says He will do. I believe He loves me. I believe He wants what's best for me for Eternity - not for just now while I'm on earth. Since I know all those things about God, why is it so hard for me to trust His timing?
God promised Abraham that he would have children. He promised that through Abraham's seed, all nations of the earth would be blessed. Abraham believed God, but he had to wait on God's timing.
Genesis 15:1-6 - 1 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
Abraham waited and waited.
Sarah - Abram's wife, waited and waited for God to give her a son. Finally, she just couldn't wait any longer. Sarah decided that since God was not doing what He promised, she would help the situation. After all, God promised Abraham a son, and that wasn't happening. She was too old to have a child, so she had this brilliant idea.
Genesis 16:1-3 - 1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. 3 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)
Sarah's plan created the foundation for a conflict that continues even until this day. Ishmael, the son of Hagar, and Isaac, the son of Sarah became enemies.
Conflict between the two sons of Abraham began from the very start. Genesis 21:9 says the conflict began just after Isaac was weaned: "Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking."
Galatians 4 tells us that Ishmael had been "born according to the flesh" while Isaac had been "born according to the promise". Isaac replaced Ishmael as the favored son and heir. This, of course, made Ishmael jealous and bitter. As a result, he mocked and disdained his half-brother. Eventually the situation became so intolerable that Abraham's wife Sarah demanded that Ishmael and his Egyptian concubine mother, Hagar, be expelled permanently from Abraham's family.
If only Sarah would have waited on the Lord.
No matter what I'm facing, I must learn to wait on God's timing and work within His plan. I don't always know what His plan is but I can learn much about it by reading His Word and praying for guidance and wisdom. The answer may not come right away. It may take years, like with Abraham and Sarah. But God is faithful and He will cause all things to work together for those who love Him - according to His purpose.
"According to His purpose" - We sometimes leave out that part of the promise. We expect God to work everything out the way we want Him to. But His promise is that no matter what happens in our lives, He has a plan and that plan is for our Eternal good.
This world is not our home. We're on a mission right now, to learn as much as we can about God, to live our lives so that others can see Jesus living in us and want to know Him as their Savior. That's God's purpose. He wants us to be in Heaven with Him for Eternity. If my heart's desire is for anything less than that, I do not have a promise that God will make my desires come true. He has bigger plans for me and I can trust that He will work all things together to give me a hope and future - maybe not on earth - but in Eternity.
Holy Father, You are so faithful and worthy of my complete devotion and praise. I can trust that You will do what You say You will do. You always have in the past and I've seen You work in my life so many times, redeeming those situations when I, like Sarah, didn't wait on Your timing. I love You Lord, and I want to be faithful in my obedience to You, even when it means waiting. Remind me, Lord, that You have a plan that is for my good - Eternally - not just for the little while I'm here on earth. Today, once again, I commit my life to You. I will trust Your promise to cause all things to work together for good according to Your purpose and plan which is so much greater than anything I could ask or imagine. In Jesus' Holy Name I pray. Amen.
http://youtu.be/VE0yUobk6TM - Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
It's not about me.
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