Learning to Wait
Isaiah 40:28-31 – “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is an eternal God, the Creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom. 29 He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy. 30 Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble. 31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.”
As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, GOD became my focus. Isaiah 40:28-31 gripped my mind and filled me with wonder, calmness, awe, and inspiration.
He is Creator, tireless, without equal, and He gives us strength and health. In the natural, even the young and strong get tired, but in God, there is a continual renewal and infusion of divine life. Those who learn to wait on God are renewed! The key is WAIT (trust).
God is THE LIVING GOD, Creator of All Things! He is our God (personal intimate relationship). He has, does, and will help us. He is our defense attorney. He is our HELPER! (Isaiah 41:10-13).
Isaiah 43:2 reminds us of His keeping power and promise.
Isaiah 48:10 is a needed reminder. “I have purified you in the furnace of affliction.”
We treat delay as denial, disfavor, and defeat. We do not WAIT, we WORRY. In John 11:6, we find that Jesus delayed 2 days before responding to the call to come help Lazarus. When He got there, death had occurred, and both Martha and Mary blamed Him, “If You had been here…”
The awesomeness of God quiets the fears of the heart. The WAITING heart is not troubled by delay or even apparent defeat. If we truly realize, believe, and embrace Him as THE LIVING GOD, nothing shakes us. Are we shaken? Why? Today is the day He has made, and He is the God of Renewed Strength! Believe and Receive!
LORD, teach us to wait and Trust in our Waiting!
The Way, Truth, and Life
John 6:29 – “This is the work of God, that you should believe in Him whom He has sent.”
As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, I was moved by the thought of what it means that Christ is in us. Many seek many things, but what we need most is Christ in us! If He is IN us, He will be manifested through us. If He is IN us, He will transform us. If He is IN us, we will know Him, hear His voice, and follow Him.
We tend to place the emphasis wrong. What we need most is JESUS! He is THE way, THE truth, and THE LIFE! He is the Word of God! It begins with being born again and then the transformation. This walk, call, and commission is a progression.
Jesus said something interesting and revelatory in John 6:29 – “This is the work of God, that you should believe in Him whom He has sent.” How we complicate this life. We seek deep revelations, gifts, abilities, exploits, and the like. God’s desire is for us to be one with Him through Jesus. The new birth is not the whole enchilada, but without it, there is no enchilada.
John 8:31-32 is powerful. “IF” That’s the key, “If you abide in MY WORD, you are truly My disciples. AND you will KNOW the truth and that very truth will make you free.” It is Christ IN us that enables us to live. It is Christ IN us that enables us to have the River of the Spirit flowing from our core being. It is Christ IN us that opens the door to LIFE!
A house is not built from the roof down, but from the floor up. What we need is more Jesus IN us! Christ IN us will bring us into EVERYTHING God desires! But He has to be IN us before He can be through us. The Holy Spirit comes to Christ IN us! Matthew 6:33 is the key!
If we have Jesus, we have everything that we need!
Coincidence?
Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, the mind was my first thought as I read Isaiah and Luke. Was that a coincidence? I do not believe in coincidences, so my answer is no! It was purposeful and important. How? That is the question.
Isaiah 5:13-14 speaks of captivity because of a lack of knowledge. In vv 20-21, we see a dangerous condition of the mind, which mirrors the heart, calling evil good and good evil (confusion and deception). In verse 21, a time when there is a prevalence of pseudo-intellectualism and self-righteousness. (Our day).
Luke 21 begins with an offering. It identifies how God views our giving and lives. It is based on proportionality. All give some, but some give all. In Luke 21:5-12, the Last Days are the focus. The key characteristic will be deception. That speaks of the mind, the thoughts, and the beliefs.
Jesus, according to Luke 22:42-44, in the Garden, was fearful and prayed earnestly (in desperation). In that state of mind and heart, the angel ministered to Him. After Gethsemane, on the Cross, seeing the big picture, Jesus could look beyond the perpetrators to the purpose and say, “Father, forgive them.” He knew!
In Luke 24:45, when Jesus appeared to the disciples, “He opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” Don’t diminish the importance or power of the mind. It is the gateway to the heart. A blinded mind has a dark heart. An enlightened mind has a liberated heart.
The mind is not the end or most important, but we will never have His fullness unless we have His mind. LORD enlightened our minds so we can understand. Read Luke 24:45-49. Notice the elements and progression.
Lord, help us to never relegate events of life to circumstances, but realize that You are God in heaven and LORD of All.
The Power of Wisdom
Proverbs 1:20, 31 – “Wisdom calls out in the street, she shouts loudly in the plazas…31 Therefore they will eat from the fruit of their way, and they will be stuffed full of their own counsel.”
As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the thought of wisdom, its purpose, and power filled my consciousness. Proverbs 1 begins with the declaration of the power and purpose of wisdom. To “know” is to become one with. We are to become one with wisdom, then, just as we become one with Jesus. It is transformational!
Proverbs 1:24-31 reveals the result of pursuing fleshly purposes and desires, thereby rejecting God’s purposes and correction. No answer to prayer and v 31, “Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own devices.”
Proverbs 3 reminds us of the benefits of keeping God’s commandments in our hearts (not just acts). We will enjoy peace, mercy, truth, favor, grace, and understanding, as well as length of days. In v 35, we discover that one of the fruits of pursuing God’s wisdom is perpetual calmness. “You shall not fear sudden tumult, neither the violence of the wicked, when it comes.”
The beginning or initiation, or launching of wisdom, is having reverential awe of God. You can’t be in awe of what you do not believe in. The fool (unwise) says there is no God. Wisdom calls for total surrender to Him. How much? Heart, mind, emotions, and strength – TOTAL!
Wisdom guards against deception. Wisdom corrects and disciplines. Wisdom guides and enlightens. Wisdom brings all of God to us and reveals how we get all of God in us. Wisdom pursues the pathway of peace. Wisdom trusts God.
Wisdom understands that the purpose of God is to bring whosoever will into the kingdom. Wisdom understands that the directive of Mark 16:15-20 is a life pattern that costs everything but provides everything. There is no ambiguity in it. The “will be” and “will follow” do not include “maybe.” Wisdom reveals that God is, and in that “isness,” we hope!
May the wisdom of God guard and guide us daily!
The Heart is the Key
Mark 7:21-23 – “ For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly. 23 All these evils come from within and defile a person.”
As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, the importance of the heart filled my consciousness. The heart I am referring to is not the blood-pumping organ, but the mainspring of the being. That’s the key. The content of the heart produces the fruit that is visible. The content of the heart is revealed in our words, thoughts, pursuits, passions, and actions. (Psalm 141:3-4).
Jesus addressed the heart in Mark 7:21-23. The content of the heart defines the character of a person’s life! What is our call? We are to Love God with all our heart and soul and our neighbor as ourselves. We are to be witnesses for Jesus through demonstrated godliness. We are to meditate on the LORD and to testify of Him.
My assignment and yours is not to be the corrector of everyone, nor the critic finding everyone’s flaws. We all have them. Our commission is to “lift up Jesus,” proclaiming the“Good News.”
If our hearts are filled with religious pride and we look for everyone’s flaws, it becomes hard to love as Jesus loved. His ultimate purpose was reconciliation and restoration, not exposure and rejection. If our heart overflows with love, we will always seek to restore. If our heart is filled with religious pride, we will seek to expose thinking it somehow elevates us and honors God. Jesus died for them, too!
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Remember Galatians 6:1-2 – “My brethren, if anyone be found at fault, you who are spiritual, restore him in a spirit of meekness; and be careful lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
What’s in our hearts? Out of the overflow of the heart come words, attitudes, and actions. Our hearts are easily read by our words, attitudes, and actions.
May our hearts overflow with Love for God and our Fellow man!
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