"And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you...blessed are all they that wait for Him." (Isa. 30:18)
How much difficulty we have waiting. We are used to "fast foods", instant grits, and road runner speed on the internet. "Wait" is not a word that we like to hear. But over and over again we are instructed to "wait on the Lord." But I actually want you to notice something else in this scripture. Did you notice that the Lord waits on us?
We know from the book of Galatians that God sent His Son into the world, "in the fullness of time." That is how God is. He is always exactly on time. He knows the perfect moment. Yes, sometimes He is waiting on us to line up with His will and His plan in surrender of ourselves to Him. But there are other times He is waiting for the perfect time.
Andrew Murray said, "God is a wise husbandman, 'who waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it.' He cannot gather the fruit till it is ripe. He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive the blessing to our profit and His glory. Waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen the soul for His blessing. Waiting under the cloud of trial, that breaks in showers of blessings, is as needful. Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious."
God is waiting. Will you wait in faith as well?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Healthy Faith
"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)
There are all kinds of faith. When we begin our faith is much like what we see expressed by Gideon. When God spoke he asked for a sign. He wanted to feel the fleece and see if it was wet. Immature faith requires some physical evidence of personal feeling to confirm its reality.
But then there is faith to endure when God is silent. Jesus had settled the matter in the garden of Gethsemane. He went to the cross and endured because of His incredible faith in the Father, even when He was absolutely silent. In that moment Jesus felt forsaken, but He endured.
There is also faith when the external evidence appears contrary to what you heard from God. After the encounter with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, Elijah told Ahab that it was going to rain. He immediately went into his prayer closet. Seven different times Elijah sent a servant to survey the sky, and for the first 6 he returned to say, "The sky is clear." And yet Elijah persevered and believed what God had promised.
Faith is not blind hope in something we want to happen. Faith is always built on the promises of God's word. What has God said is so? Can you believe God when every bit of the evidence externally is contrary to the promise?
There are all kinds of faith. When we begin our faith is much like what we see expressed by Gideon. When God spoke he asked for a sign. He wanted to feel the fleece and see if it was wet. Immature faith requires some physical evidence of personal feeling to confirm its reality.
But then there is faith to endure when God is silent. Jesus had settled the matter in the garden of Gethsemane. He went to the cross and endured because of His incredible faith in the Father, even when He was absolutely silent. In that moment Jesus felt forsaken, but He endured.
There is also faith when the external evidence appears contrary to what you heard from God. After the encounter with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, Elijah told Ahab that it was going to rain. He immediately went into his prayer closet. Seven different times Elijah sent a servant to survey the sky, and for the first 6 he returned to say, "The sky is clear." And yet Elijah persevered and believed what God had promised.
Faith is not blind hope in something we want to happen. Faith is always built on the promises of God's word. What has God said is so? Can you believe God when every bit of the evidence externally is contrary to the promise?
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