As I was thinking of a "catchy title" for this blog, thinking what I wanted to write about, a song came to mind. "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord..."
Waiting on the Lord is no easy task. I feel like I've been waiting forever! For the right job. For direction for my future. For the guy God has for me. Waiting for that moment where God hits me where I'm at my breaking point, and I succumb to His mighty love and power. Maybe you're at that place too. A place where you feel numb to what God has for you, because you've been waiting so long, you feel as if it will never happen. But that's the funny thing about God. No matter how soon I hope something will happen; no matter if I give God a "due date;" His timing is always perfect. I mean, really, God CREATED time. He is outside of time and space, so don't you think His timing would be pretty spot on?
I would say I have pretty good timing. I've narrowly avoided getting hit in the face by a flying bag of M&M's (not going to name names, but YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!), caught the bus at just the right time, and even checked my phone just as I was getting a text. Being at the right place at the right time... But, is it really controlled by us? I mean, really? You can choose when you leave, where you go, and approximately when you'll get there. But is there such a thing as "the right place and time?" Well, let's see what we already know:
1) God is outside of time and space. He very well could control when I get somewhere, for that matter, IF I get somewhere. So that means, yes, He has a reason for rush hour...
2) God has a plan for me. God has a plan for YOU! God already knows what sentence I'm going to type next, then erase, then write again, then erase the part that doesn't make sense, then fix it, and finally settle on what it will say. He knows what I'm going to do tomorrow, who I'll talk to, and what I'll eat. If God is a perfect God, and He is, then His plans are perfect. He knows exactly how to implement them and when - whether or not it's on our time.
You see, when we put two and two together, or in this case one and two (please excuse the lame pun, but I felt as if it were necessary in this case), we can see that God has the perfect plan to come into play at the perfect time! Often times, I have a plan for me. Now, if this plan actually played out like I had hoped, it probably wouldn't have worked out, or that "something better" that happened instead would never have happened.
Romans 8:28 - "For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
Knowing that, what can we take away? Well, let's see... God works for our benefit. He's on our side. We "have been called according to His purpose." He has a plan for us.
So, although waiting can be painful, and I mean PAINFUL, like "stepping on a Lego" painful, God DOES have a plan and He DOES know what He's doing. I've heard it this way... Each person has a faith muscle. When we're young, it's relatively strong. As we get older and form opinions, it gets weaker. We have to exercise our faith muscle daily so A) we don't injure it when we do use it, and B) so it can be strong so when it is time to have lots of faith, it seems easy.
How hard is it to have faith? It can be SUPER tough to have faith. Other times, it can be really easy. But no matter the difficulty it takes to trust God and His plan, at least know that it's the BEST plan for you, whether or not it's different than what you pictured.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Obedience with a Promise
So, I was going to write about the Beatitudes, since we've kind of had a mini-series going, but when I stumbled across this passage, I knew I had to write about it. The passage I'm talking about happens to be in the longest chapter in the bible: Psalm 119. This chapter has over 170 verses, and an incredible amount of blessings, so it's no wonder I would find the blessings of obedience in this chapter. Verses 48-50, specifically, I stumbled across while coloring with the two little boys I watch. I had colored a rainbow and wanted to add a verse to complete the picture. My first thought when I thought of "rainbow" is the promise God had given to Noah after he landed the ark on Mt. Ararat. The rainbow is a symbol of promise, so I decided to hop on blueletterbible.com and keyword "promise." I found numerous verses that contained that word, and a majority were from Psalm 119. But despite the amount of verses I was given, a small group stuck out to me.
Psalm 119:48-50: "I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and meditate on your decrees. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in suffering is this: Your PROMISE preserves my life."
In verse 48, the author praises God and His commands. He "meditates on" the Lord's commands, and he LOVES them. Loving rules, commands, decrees? Being obedient? The author loves being obedient to the commands of God. Wow. I want a faith like that: to be obedient, no matter what God commands, and to not feel like it's an obligation, but a privilege.
Verse 49: "Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope." When I really think about what the author is saying, my first thought is "why is he reminding GOD of what God said? That's silly! God doesn't need reminding!" But then I thought, "what if he's not reminding God, but himself?" He does say that God's word has given him hope. The author must have been going through a pretty rough period of time to need to remind himself of God's promises!
50: "My comfort in suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life." Here we see again, the author must have been going through a bit of a rough patch in his life. Yet, because of his obedience, we see he knows God will be the Faithful Father and keep His promises.
Now, that's just a small portion of Psalm 119. A lot of Psalm 119 deals with obedience to God and the promises that come with obeying. In all, however, I would say that obedience in faith should not be our obligation - it should be our lifestyle.
Psalm 119:48-50: "I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and meditate on your decrees. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in suffering is this: Your PROMISE preserves my life."
In verse 48, the author praises God and His commands. He "meditates on" the Lord's commands, and he LOVES them. Loving rules, commands, decrees? Being obedient? The author loves being obedient to the commands of God. Wow. I want a faith like that: to be obedient, no matter what God commands, and to not feel like it's an obligation, but a privilege.
Verse 49: "Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope." When I really think about what the author is saying, my first thought is "why is he reminding GOD of what God said? That's silly! God doesn't need reminding!" But then I thought, "what if he's not reminding God, but himself?" He does say that God's word has given him hope. The author must have been going through a pretty rough period of time to need to remind himself of God's promises!
50: "My comfort in suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life." Here we see again, the author must have been going through a bit of a rough patch in his life. Yet, because of his obedience, we see he knows God will be the Faithful Father and keep His promises.
Now, that's just a small portion of Psalm 119. A lot of Psalm 119 deals with obedience to God and the promises that come with obeying. In all, however, I would say that obedience in faith should not be our obligation - it should be our lifestyle.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
The BE ATTITUDES (part 3): Meekness is not Weakness
Matthew 5:5
"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
Meek (adj.): Showing patience and humility; quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive
Synonyms: gentle - mild - humble - submissive - tame - soft
When you hear the word "meek," what comes to mind? WHO comes to mind? Someone who might be a little more timid? Someone who isn't quite so strong? Someone who seems like kind of a push-over?
Many times we tend to think that, but they can be the most powerful people if you let them. They tend to see things beyond what everyone else does because they take the time to allow God to speak into them, giving them discernment. They observe and take caution when approaching a difficult situation. They wait for the moment where they can take action. Now, some people might look at a meek person and think they can take advantage of them or walk all over them. The meek person doesn't see it that way. They see it as service to a brother or sister in need. They care more about the needs of others than that of themselves! WHOA! I don't know about you, but I don't know many people willing to give up their selfishness in concern of others!
The question now is, how can WE be meek? It's tough to give up what we want and desire. I know that I have a hard time humbly and gracefully setting aside my desires for that of others. The only way to get better at it is to practice it. And don't hold grudges. Some people can be completely rude about it, but we can't let it get to us. That's not being meek. I don't know how many times in a week I look at someone and think "they're just a jerk, because they will do whatever they want to get what they want." Sound familiar? Does someone like that come to your mind? Pretty quickly, I bet! Why is that? It's because WE don't feel it's fair. But God never promised us fair. God promised us the Beatitudes! All of the qualities of the Beatitudes seem unfair! But with each one, there is a BLESSING! How cool!
So, here's the challenge for you, me.. For us. Have patience and grace when humbly giving up your desires for someone else. It's tough, but I think we'll be amazed at how good we feel and how we're treated after. Let me know how you do! ;)
Until next time...
"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
Meek (adj.): Showing patience and humility; quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive
Synonyms: gentle - mild - humble - submissive - tame - soft
When you hear the word "meek," what comes to mind? WHO comes to mind? Someone who might be a little more timid? Someone who isn't quite so strong? Someone who seems like kind of a push-over?
Many times we tend to think that, but they can be the most powerful people if you let them. They tend to see things beyond what everyone else does because they take the time to allow God to speak into them, giving them discernment. They observe and take caution when approaching a difficult situation. They wait for the moment where they can take action. Now, some people might look at a meek person and think they can take advantage of them or walk all over them. The meek person doesn't see it that way. They see it as service to a brother or sister in need. They care more about the needs of others than that of themselves! WHOA! I don't know about you, but I don't know many people willing to give up their selfishness in concern of others!
The question now is, how can WE be meek? It's tough to give up what we want and desire. I know that I have a hard time humbly and gracefully setting aside my desires for that of others. The only way to get better at it is to practice it. And don't hold grudges. Some people can be completely rude about it, but we can't let it get to us. That's not being meek. I don't know how many times in a week I look at someone and think "they're just a jerk, because they will do whatever they want to get what they want." Sound familiar? Does someone like that come to your mind? Pretty quickly, I bet! Why is that? It's because WE don't feel it's fair. But God never promised us fair. God promised us the Beatitudes! All of the qualities of the Beatitudes seem unfair! But with each one, there is a BLESSING! How cool!
So, here's the challenge for you, me.. For us. Have patience and grace when humbly giving up your desires for someone else. It's tough, but I think we'll be amazed at how good we feel and how we're treated after. Let me know how you do! ;)
Until next time...
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