Tag Archives: Waiting on God

GOD IS NOT REASONABLE OR LOGICAL

12 Nov

Wow! What a year! – I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this past year AND several other instances in my life that were “out of control” – my control that is. We are a people that like to have control. We would prefer our own way, most of the time – well ok, all the time. Somehow that never works out.

This past moth has been one of the most ‘out of control’ times I’ve had in a long time. (I’ll spare you the details, and if you knew me well – you would really appreciate that!) – Quoting Charles Stanley (in a round about way) – “After waiting on God for what seems like forever – he finally sends the GREEN LIGHT – GO!” The Pastor Stanley says, “When you get that GREEN LIGHT you’d better hold on!!” That’s been my life up to this day.

I journal so, just to let you know, I’m running out of journal pages AND journals! I try to see God in everything. Some would call me a fanatic. I finally decided that is ok. I guess I am. I am fanatic about God and His personal relationship with me. (Notice I didn’t say MY relationship with Him.)

I think much of the time we don’t really get that God actually wants a relationship with us personally, because He’s got bigger things to attend to. Well, that is just not true, my friends. My heart’s desire is that everyone, I mean everyone, would experience His part of the relationship. He isn’t just a “Suggestion Box” or a “Santa Claus” – He is the God of the Universe! He created it, He formed you, personally, in your Mother’s womb – and He knows every little bitty thing about you from when you were first conceived.

Psalms 137 (NIV)

  1. 1 You have searched me, Lord,
        and you know me.
    2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
        you perceive my thoughts from afar.
    3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
        you are familiar with all my ways.
    4 Before a word is on my tongue
        you, Lord, know it completely.
    5 You hem me in behind and before,
        and you lay your hand upon me.
    6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
        too lofty for me to attain.
  2. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
  3. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
        all the days ordained for me were written in your book
        before one of them came to be.

This particular Chapter and all it’s verses, give me great peace, most of the time. I do struggle some (for a few minutes usually), until I remember that He already knew I would be at that very place at that very time. He already had an answer – a solution BEFORE I knew I even had a problem.

I believe one of the biggest things we struggle with is REASONING. Here is the meaning of REASONING –

  1. the action of thinking about something in a logical, sensible way.

Friends – GOD DOES NOT DO THINGS IN A LOGICAL, SENSIBLE WAY!! (We think we do.) When we are faced with something – almost anything – our minds start REASONING – and, we begin to process the logical, sensible answers and begin our plotting, scheming, and planning. Trust me, it’s a waste of energy!

Sometimes, we dutifully “ask God about it” and then move right into making our own plans to fix the problem or plan which action to take first. No? You don’t do that? Hummm. You are special then! I don’t like to WAIT ON GOD! Who does? I know I’m supposed to, but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to like it. (I’ll ask God and get back to you on that one.)

SO – HOW DO WE PROCEED?

This is how we proceed –

  • SIT STILL
  • STAND STILL
  • BE STILL

Don’t like that? Me either. God does a lot of things I don’t like! He doesn’t ask us to like it – He just wants us to Trust and Obey – a lot easier to say than to do. HOWEVER, it works, and you can either submit to it or go around the mountain one more time! God isn’t being harsh, He’s trying to free you from so much that you don’t even know you need to be free of. (Ask me how I know.)

Next time, I will discuss “What If…”

Tags:

Deadlines – God Hasn’t Forgotten Your Address

25 Apr

God isn’t frustrated and moved that we have deadlines to face or threats against us for one thing or another. He does love us – even more than we can imagine. He wants what is best for us at all times. He knows we are not perfect and that we get ahead of Him sometimes – many times. Not only do we get ahead of Him, we go off in a totally different area than He wants.

We are the ones who think part of God’s duty to us is to make us happy. We are the ones that believe that if we miss a deadline, that is, if God doesn’t come through for us on or before that deadline – we’re done. It’s too late.  We have to understand that God is for us, so who can be against us?

  • Rom 8:31-32   31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us , who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? NIV

The Bible, God’s Word, His “Instruction Manual”,  holds the answers for us. It is simple, yet we are responsible for taking the necessary time to read and pray in order that we might stay on target. Our relationship with God is a lifetime commitment. Actually, it’s beyond a lifetime. It is throughout eternity. God doesn’t get in a hurry. We’ve all kind of figured that out.

Our part is to seek God, continually,to acknowledge Him in all things. Clearly, we are told from Scripture that if we acknowledge Him in all things, He will make our paths straight. He tells us not to give in to our own understanding. God is never, ever, late. He is always just in time. If a deadline is approaching and God hasn’t given clear direction, I do nothing. I wait. God is well able to work beyond the limits of deadlines. He wants our trust.  Meeting a deadline just for the sake of meeting the deadline sometimes really gets us in a mess.  If God has given direction and we are afraid – that’s different. Either way, it still means we don’t trust God.

  • Prov 3:5-6   5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  NIV

God knows what is beyond the deadline, we don’t. We must develop our relationship with Him to the point that we are certain we know Him and we recognize His voice. The only way to do it is to spend time with Him, praying and reading His Word. How else can we identify the many different “voices” we hear coming from within?

God can be trusted. He knows our address. He hasn’t forgotten us. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to acknowledge Him in all things. If we can do that, we can eliminate so much of the stress we face each day. Taking matters into our own hands may satisfy us for the moment. It may even last a little while. But, eventually, if God was not in the task or the decision, time has been wasted and we can find ourselves in an even more difficult situation.

It’s hard for us to tell ourselves, “no,” because we want what we want when we want it. We go so far as to think that we have the option of letting God know when we need Him and when we don’t. It doesn’t work that way. God is with us every moment if we belong to Him. Nothing is too insignificant that we can’t take it to Him. He will make it plain if He wants us to wait, or if the answer is just plain, “No”. He does it by putting a big “red flag” inside, an uncomfortable feeling that won’t go away. If that happens, there is a reason that God wants us to be still and call upon Him. He wants only the best for us and He wants to keep us from danger.

  • Jer 29:11-14   11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” NIV

Do we really believe His way is best? Or, are we guilty of just calling on Him when it’s convenient for us? He hasn’t forgotten where we live. He sees every struggle. He has a plan. Our part is just to trust Him and wait for His timing.

Tags: , , , , ,

Which Way?

24 Feb

In Seeking God’s Will – Paul was an apostle, yet he did not always know the direction God wanted him to take. He took steps, God closed doors, so he waited; and then God showed him the way.  Acts: 6-10 (Everyday Essential Bible Commentary)

We can all relate to this. The problem is sometimes we don’t take steps and/or we don’t wait. I heard our Pastor say “Don’t kick in a door that God may not want opened.”  Some doors need to remain closed. It’s hard for us not to go by what we see. And, in today’s world, we are accustomed to “instant everything”.

God is definitely not behind the times. Yet, He still doesn’t get in a hurry. Some things just cannot be rushed. God’s will should always be foremost in our hearts. That being said, let us not get ahead of God and take matters into our own hands. If we do, we may then be praying for God to rescue us!

Waiting is not easy for most of us. We have so many resources at our fingertips that we sometimes jump off the cliff and then scream out for God to save us on the way down. Selah, pause and calmly think of that.

As hard as it may be to accept, God isn’t as interested in our happiness as He is in our spiritual growth and relationship with  Him. Waiting is a virtue that we may as well adjust to if we truly want God’s best in our lives. God gives the very best to those who wait for Him! If you don’t wait for a cake to be baked – well, you get the picture.

The world moves so quickly around us. At times it just seems like God takes too long! But, friends, God is smarter than we are. He has the advantage of knowing what is ahead of us. He knows just the very moment we should take our next step.

Don’t settle for second best.  His timing is not always the same as yours.  Trust God and follow peace. If a deadline comes and goes, God has a better way. Wait until you have peace within – then take the step God has ordained.  That is the way to walk in God’s perfect will for your life.

Tags: , , , , ,

Are We There Yet? – Keeping Up With God

14 Nov

God’s Word tells us that He will guide us – He said He would shine a light on our path. That means that we can’t see too far ahead. Think about it. If it is totally dark and you had a flashlight, just how far ahead could you see? God wants us to trust Him and to walk by faith, not by sight. He will lead us, if we let Him.

Lately, I’ve been on a journey with an idea where I am headed yet not fully aware of everything I would like to know. I have a tendency to hear something from the Lord and then run with it. Oops! I’m finding out that I can get off track that way.

We have read in the Bible that there were many who didn’t seek God first. Sometimes, even when they did ask Him, they didn’t obey. They did it their way! Well, it seems that God  has been working that out of me lately. I recently wrote an article about not getting comfortable, yet I seem to do it all the time. (Do what I say – not what I do!!)

In the past few weeks I have been seeking God about some very serious decisions I need to make. I pray and wait. Wait some more. Pray some more. Get a little news. Change direction. Wait some more. Pray some more. Are we there yet? God, can’t this go a little quicker? How about doing it this way? Oh, you don’t need my help – I need yours? Oh, okay.

Things begin to pick up – move a little faster. Now we’re getting somewhere. Now I’m sure I know where He is leading me. Oops! Got it wrong again. I ran ahead again. Had to back up a little. Wait some more. Wait some more. Wait some more. Oh, well – I must have misunderstood. I didn’t really hear Him; or did I? Hummmm, okay, that does it. It didn’t work out after all. Heck fire. Guess I got it all wrong.

A few days later things turn around completely, God says “Go!” – and I’m not ready. I thought . . . Oh, I see. I’m sorry, Lord. It wasn’t time yet. But, it’s time now. Then, everything starts falling into place – one thing after another. There is no doubt God was at work behind the scenes. I couldn’t see it. I got weary and quit talking to Him about it. But, He was still faithful. He never gets weary. He was still working all things together for my good, because I love Him and He loves me.

The great news  is – He didn’t give up on me. He knew how to get my attention so that I didn’t miss one of His blessings. God is so smart. God is so good. Thank you, Lord, for loving me so much.

Tags: , , , ,

It’s Never Too Late

1 Jun

OK, I just couldn’t wait to point out some more interesting things about the story of Ruth.

The main thing is that this story should definitely let everyone know that no matter what our situation – no matter how much we may have messed up – it is NEVER too late for us to turn to God. We may not know we need to – Ruth didn’t. He will lead us out of our sin and into His amazing promised life. No, it won’t be a life without problems or bumps in the road – but if we will not get in such a hurry, He will show us how to straighten out those curves in the road.

We may not know how to get out of our mess! God knows. He doesn’t expect us to jump from one frying pan on the fire to another. He just wants us to recognize where we are and look to Him for answers. Remember, God isn’t a “microwave” God. It’s okay with Him that things don’t change in an instant. When His word tells us that “All things work together for good for those called according to His purpose” – nobody knows better than He does that it takes precious time for things to work out. Otherwise, we may jump from one mess to a bigger mess!

I also think that some of us believe that when we finally decide to “follow God” we have to “do something” – like some sort of event must take place. Not so. God just wants us to live our lives, acknowledging Him. That means we turn to Him with every decision and ask Him about it. That may involve searching His Scriptures, or seeking wise (Christian) counsel. When God knows our desire is to please Him, He will move mountains in our behalf. But, it is usually not in a big, attention drawing way. It is our daily step by step walking – in our daily choices. The hardest part is to move with focus, keeping our emotions under control.

Consider Ruth. She left all she knew. That was very drastic but she knew in her heart that with her new family she had witnessed the love of the living God. Oh, I’m sure she didn’t realize that at the time. She just knew that in the midst of her new family, things were different. She felt the love and compassion – the fruit of the Spirit. She knew she wanted more of it. It was different enough to cause her to leave all she was familiar with.

When you read and meditate on this story of Ruth, you see that her way was not easy. She didn’t take charge. She followed Naomi, meekly. She was first of all, a servant, which is what Scripture tells us that all followers of Christ must be. She respected the position of the older Naomi. She wasn’t afraid to work – to humble herself. Ruth died to her emotions – her fear and anxiety. She listened to her wise mother-in-law and followed her instructions. Ruth didn’t pretend that she knew more and that she had better ways to do things.

Well, guess I have to stop for now. I just see so much in this story that will encourage those who feel that they are in too deep – that there is no way out. God has an answer for that. Stay tuned.

Tags: , , , , , , ,