Post by Cindy on May 14, 2020 9:51:02 GMT -5
“We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.” (Psalm 33:20–22)
God’s promises are your hope as you wait on Him. Waiting on God does not mean being idle. It is active, daily obedience in the things you know to do with supreme confidence in His perfect, sovereign answer. Waiting on God means you know that He is at work when all appears silent and frozen. In His time, in His way, He will meet your needs and bring honor to His name. Admit your helplessness. In your weariness, cast your burdens on Him. Remember, nothing is too difficult for Him. Enter His gates
The correct way to hope and wait for the Lord is to steadfastly expect His mercy, His salvation, and His rescue, and while waiting, not take matters into one’s own hand. (compare Gen. 15:1-17:22). Hayford’s Bible handbook
Solomon wrote in Ecc 3:1: “There is an appointed time for everything”. Though not included in the list of appropriate seasons that followed, this principle rings just as true: “There is a time to wait—and a time to act.” How do you see the difference?
There are two conditions involved in determining the latter course. If you have done everything you know to discern God’s leadership—praying diligently, gathering facts, searching the Word, obtaining good counsel, submitting totally to Jesus’ lordship—and if a decision must be made now, then it is time to move forward.
If you want to please God sincerely, you must not worry about the consequences of your decisions. If it is the wrong decision, then He will forgive you & steer you rightly. But when a course must be charted, your confidence, faith, & courage are fully cast on the God who knows the future & has secured your relationship with Him. Wait on God when you can, but act boldly in faith when you must, entrusting yourself to a faithful God.
Heavenly Father, I need wisdom to know when to wait & when to act. Give me the confidence that You will use my decisions for Your glory. I rest secure in the knowledge that You know the future. Enter His gates
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” (Psalm 130:5–6)
Here’s a new kind of waiting. The psalmist holds loosely onto his personal dreams and tightly onto his God who, if he forgives sins, must be good. How do we wait? In our grief we rest in the promise of renewal that is packaged with the resurrection. Along the way we ask for prayer and search out companions from Scripture, such as the psalmists, who have learned the secrets of waiting on the Lord. Bad things certainly can and will happen, but there is a resurrection ending. So your task is not to transform into a superficial, sunny optimist. It is to grow to be an optimist by faith. The kingdom is advancing; God’s reign is spreading; there will be justice; and when we belong to Christ, it will end with joy.
As for me, I want to watch and endure, not worry. I want to be like the night watchmen who are waiting to see first light. God is the God of suspense, but it is a suspense that teaches us peace. He is the God of surprises, but the surprises are always better than we could have dreamed. I can’t put him in a box and assume that he should act according to my time schedule and according to my less sophisticated version of what is good. I need the mind of Christ. I can do with nothing less. Heart of the matter
Love produces hope. If we, in our misery, are absolutely persuaded of God’s love, we will be confident that he will deliver us. Therefore, we hope in him. We can wait as long as it takes, because we are sure that he hears us and loves us. He will come. He will deliver. In fact, he is on the move right now. God’s love inspires both an eagerness to be with him and a confidence that he is true to his word, so we know he will come. It is these two—eagerness and confidence—that combine to form hope.
The reality is that we are the watchmen on the last watch of the night. It is 4:30 a.m. We have seen the sunrise many times, and we are eager for it and confident it will come. What is the sunrise we are waiting for? In Psalm 130, the morning sun is a person. In that person are many benefits such as healing, deliverance, and love, but, make no mistake, it is a person. We wait for him more than for his gifts. We are like married lovers whose spouse is soon to return after a long trip. Just seeing the person is enough, whether he or she bears gifts or not. Heart of the matter
God’s promises are your hope as you wait on Him. Waiting on God does not mean being idle. It is active, daily obedience in the things you know to do with supreme confidence in His perfect, sovereign answer. Waiting on God means you know that He is at work when all appears silent and frozen. In His time, in His way, He will meet your needs and bring honor to His name. Admit your helplessness. In your weariness, cast your burdens on Him. Remember, nothing is too difficult for Him. Enter His gates
The correct way to hope and wait for the Lord is to steadfastly expect His mercy, His salvation, and His rescue, and while waiting, not take matters into one’s own hand. (compare Gen. 15:1-17:22). Hayford’s Bible handbook
Solomon wrote in Ecc 3:1: “There is an appointed time for everything”. Though not included in the list of appropriate seasons that followed, this principle rings just as true: “There is a time to wait—and a time to act.” How do you see the difference?
There are two conditions involved in determining the latter course. If you have done everything you know to discern God’s leadership—praying diligently, gathering facts, searching the Word, obtaining good counsel, submitting totally to Jesus’ lordship—and if a decision must be made now, then it is time to move forward.
If you want to please God sincerely, you must not worry about the consequences of your decisions. If it is the wrong decision, then He will forgive you & steer you rightly. But when a course must be charted, your confidence, faith, & courage are fully cast on the God who knows the future & has secured your relationship with Him. Wait on God when you can, but act boldly in faith when you must, entrusting yourself to a faithful God.
Heavenly Father, I need wisdom to know when to wait & when to act. Give me the confidence that You will use my decisions for Your glory. I rest secure in the knowledge that You know the future. Enter His gates
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” (Psalm 130:5–6)
Here’s a new kind of waiting. The psalmist holds loosely onto his personal dreams and tightly onto his God who, if he forgives sins, must be good. How do we wait? In our grief we rest in the promise of renewal that is packaged with the resurrection. Along the way we ask for prayer and search out companions from Scripture, such as the psalmists, who have learned the secrets of waiting on the Lord. Bad things certainly can and will happen, but there is a resurrection ending. So your task is not to transform into a superficial, sunny optimist. It is to grow to be an optimist by faith. The kingdom is advancing; God’s reign is spreading; there will be justice; and when we belong to Christ, it will end with joy.
As for me, I want to watch and endure, not worry. I want to be like the night watchmen who are waiting to see first light. God is the God of suspense, but it is a suspense that teaches us peace. He is the God of surprises, but the surprises are always better than we could have dreamed. I can’t put him in a box and assume that he should act according to my time schedule and according to my less sophisticated version of what is good. I need the mind of Christ. I can do with nothing less. Heart of the matter
Love produces hope. If we, in our misery, are absolutely persuaded of God’s love, we will be confident that he will deliver us. Therefore, we hope in him. We can wait as long as it takes, because we are sure that he hears us and loves us. He will come. He will deliver. In fact, he is on the move right now. God’s love inspires both an eagerness to be with him and a confidence that he is true to his word, so we know he will come. It is these two—eagerness and confidence—that combine to form hope.
The reality is that we are the watchmen on the last watch of the night. It is 4:30 a.m. We have seen the sunrise many times, and we are eager for it and confident it will come. What is the sunrise we are waiting for? In Psalm 130, the morning sun is a person. In that person are many benefits such as healing, deliverance, and love, but, make no mistake, it is a person. We wait for him more than for his gifts. We are like married lovers whose spouse is soon to return after a long trip. Just seeing the person is enough, whether he or she bears gifts or not. Heart of the matter
He also shows us how important waiting is all through the Bible, because He is constantly reminding us that we need to persevere, endure, etc. And what does persevere bring to mind? Something going on that's continuing for a long time... generally something we would think of as bad, or at least something that wouldn't cause us to jump for joy. Let's look it up to be sure it's not all just in my mind: Persevere - to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counter influences, opposition, or discouragement. Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. Ok, I think we got that one right then!
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