Being a Good Wait-er

Our Wednesday night group is working through a series about prayer called The Sacred Echo.  Every one really seems to be enjoying the series.  The first couple of weeks were about hearing God's voice and about how much He loves us.  Pretty good stuff and, for the most part, delightful to the ears. 

The title for our session last night was this:  How long?  Yuck.  Not delightful to the ears; not a cornucopia of  pleasantries.  Waiting is never really much fun. 

Or is it? 

We had some great discussion last night and I think it's too good for us to keep to ourselves.  Here are some things that we talked about; I hope you can put them to use in your life. 

• Everyone waits all of the time; sometimes we wait on small things, sometimes big things, but we are usually waiting for something
• We may not like the wait itself but we like the outcome that God brings when we do wait
• We are never alone in our wait; God is right there waiting with us
• God's Word promises us great things when we wait for Him (Isaiah 64:4, Psalm 40:1, Isaiah 30:18, Isaiah 40:31)

A general consensus among us is that we should learn to be good wait-ers.  In our times of waiting we need agreed that we feel the need to do something and one of the things that we can do is take our time of what seems like passiveness (although if you've been told by God to wait then you are being obedient) and seek Him diligently through prayer, Bible reading, and worship. 

Here's my closing thought for today:  Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. (Psalm 62:5)

I wish you a happy wait. 

My Father Loves Me

One of the things that I like to do when I have my quiet time is read the Psalms and pray them back to God as praise.  I do this because I am not a natural "praise-r" and the Psalms easily direct me to the good, no great, things about God that I tend to forget or take for granted. 

This morning I read Psalm 103, New Living Translation, and it simply overwhelmed me.  Let me share some of the highlights and my thoughts (in parentheses):   

• I will praise Him with my whole heart (not just part of me - first note to self)
• He forgives all my sin (enough said with this one)
• He heals all my disease
• He redeems me from death (this is a biggie!)
• He fills my life with good things (do I thank Him for these things every day or am I so busy looking at "the bad stuff" that I take these for granted???)
• My youth is renewed like the eagle's (maybe my constant battle with fatigue is because I don't let Him renew me?)
• He is slow to get angry and me and His love doesn't fail (thank God - I would be angry with me a lot if I were God)
• He doesn't punish me for my sin (big sigh of relief here)
• He is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate.  He knows that I am frail and come from dust (wow - He knows me and loves me even in my weakness)
• His love remains forever and  I should praise Him

These words may not have the same impact on you that they have had on me this morning.  This Psalm made me want to dance around the living room, coffee in hand, in the joy of the Lord.  Wow - with all of this goodness in my life why do I ever complain?

I challenge you:  take a look through the Bible and see what praises you can find that are already written and laid out for you to read back to God.  Let me know what they are and how you reacted.  I'm guessing that, like me, you will find that there is so much goodness in your life that you don't have time to be sad or downtrodden. 

The Magic Movie Moment

Come with me, if you will, to the movies.  You sit in a darkened theater with friends, family, and a crowd you'll likely never see again.  United by the movie on the screen, everyone in the movie house shares the common mission of finding out how the story before you will end.  You sit in the blackness of the theater and watch the main character as he or she struggles with the conflict at hand.  Faced with difficulties on every side, he or she is desperate for help.  You don't dare eat your popcorn or drink your soda, because you might miss it, the moment, that magical movie moment when the character you're following realizes that help is available.  You hold your breath, anxiously waiting. 

In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin have this experience.   I held my breath as I watched this motley band of companions as they arrived at the Inn of the Prancing Pony where they are unknowingly being pursued by the Nazgul.  Naive in their assumed safety, Merry and Pippin tell stories and entertain the crowd.  Sam sits while Frodo is nagged by the uneasy and persistent feeling that something is not right.  As the scene continues, the jocularity of two innocent hobbits grows as does the gnawing fear inside of Frodo.  The Nazgul approach as the air chills and the night seems to grow impossibly dark. 

Suddenly the ominous stranger sitting in the corner throws back his over sized hood and reprimands the hobbits for their careless behavior as he whisks them off with a swiftly immediate safety. 

The movie moment has come.  You can relax and let your breath out.  The hero has revealed himself and you know that your protagonists are safe, at least for the moment.  

The funny thing is that as a Christian I sometimes find myself waiting for the magic movie moment in my life.  I am looking for the One who will save me from everything, even myself.  

Shame on me.  

My hero was no brooding stranger in a hood.  My hero was hung on a cross for all the world to see as He took the penalty for my sins into His body.  My Hero traversed hell so I don't have to.  

Look no further today; the magic moment in your life came the day that you met Jesus.  Don't forget - let Him be the One in every moment of every day. 

I Wonder . . .

One of the things that I love about the fall is the revival of nature.  During the summer it seems to me as though everything outdoor is stagnant; nothing seems to move.  But in the autumn season everything comes to life.  Leaves sway and dance in the breezes that the season brings; flowers seem to perk up their colorful faces as they look for something.  Creeks sing a little louder and songs of the birds seems to be fresher. 

Why does nature seem more animated in the fall?  I'll give you my theory. 

Paul tells the Romans in 8:19 that the creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Maybe what we're seeing in the fall breezes, crisp mornings, and autumn moons is God's creation singing His praises loudly and tell Him that they cannot wait for His return.  Maybe they are shouting out gratitude to the God of the universe.  And maybe, just maybe, that's why I always seem to get a little restless in the fall.  Maybe that stirring inside of me is the natural desire of my soul to join all creation in song as we sing, shout, dance, and lift praises on high to God Almighty. 

I just wonder. 

I Got Nothin'

Maybe it's the head cold or the steroid shot but I'm a little dry these last few days.  I'm sure you know this feeling:  the brain doesn't work too well, the body feels a little less than inclined to react to what you ask it to do, the emotions are just blah.  This being said, the idea of writing a blog is a little intimidating.

Thankfully for me, God loves the good, the bad, and the blah.  Even when I got nothin' I don't have to rely on me. He is strong for me when I cannot be,  He is my power even when I think I am strong.  Zechariah.   4:6 tells  us that God says Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty (NIV).  The Contemporary English Version says I am the LORD All-Powerful. So don't depend on your own power or strength, but on my Spirit.

Once again God's word is there to come to my rescue and pick me up and remind me of the reality of my today regardless of what my feelings may be trying to tell me:  I may feel like I got nothin' but with God this is never true.  In His power, His might, and His strength, I always got somethin', even on my driest of days.

Wishing It All Away

I had to take Lil' Dweezil to the vet last week and, as we sat waiting for a room, I encountered a truly radiant lady in the lobby.  She was obviously a woman of faith and as we chatted she said, "I'm just praying every day and wishing - wishing my life away".  We talked a bit more, she left with her dog and I sat there thinking about her words, "I'm praying and wishing my life away."  

Maybe she was an angel; regardless she had God's message for me.  She may has well have said to me, "Michelle, God says to tell you that you're praying and wishing your life away and He says that you need to change that behavior." 

It's true.  I spend so many of my days 't have to "work as hard" or when our financial situation is "different" or we're not so "busy" or I'm not "so tired all of the time".  I spend most of my days wishing that they were tomorrow (or the day after that or the day after that).  Satan's plan is to keep me focusing on what may be rather than what  is at hand and I'm letting him get away with it.  He's not stealing my joy; I'm handing it to him on a silver platter. Ecclesiastes 11:4 tells us that  those who wait for perfect weather will never plant seeds;  those who look at every cloud will never harvest crops.  I have to quit wishing it all away. 

Since my conversation last Thursday, I am determined that I will not spend my today chasing the tomorrow that has the stealth and obscurity of the wind.  Beginning now I will appreciate what God has given me and I'll walk with Him in the tangibility of today .  If it's sunny, I'll wear my good shoes and if it's muddy, I'll wear waders.   

I'm not a big fan of cliches but I'll close with this one which I think is appropriate: "Yesterday Is History, Tomorrow Is a Mystery, but Today Is a Gift. That Is Why It Is Called the Present."

Have a great today.   It's the only one you've got!  

This is Good Stuff!

I hope you're reading along with us through the New Testament. If you're not, today is just the right time for you to start, so pick up your Bible and join us in Galatians.

I have to ask: are you reading? This is good stuff!!!

The New testament tells us about Jesus' life, His miracles, transformation of average people into people who met Jesus and became greatly used of Him. Feeding crowds with barely enough food for one person, raising the dead, healing the lame and the blind. The death, burial, and ultimately the resurrection of our Lord. Exciting times!

The passion of the early church is contagious! These folks were in love with Jesus and with each other. It's mind-boggling!

Then, my favorite, the Pauline Epistles. Paul shared genuine words of comfort, rebuke, truth, and encouragement that are timeless and ring true across the ages.

The New Testament provides specific information about our enemy - His tactics and approaches. Read it; we need to be prepared to stand and fight.

The closing of the New Testament will blow your mind. Christ Jesus comes back and claims His own! Hallelujah! This is no, little, secret battle. This is the end of the ages, the battle royale.

You have got to check this out for yourself; don't take my word for it. Spend a few minutes today with your Bible and I bet you'll find that you, too, excited to keep this to yourself. You'll have to tell somebody, "This is good stuff!"

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