Word for Today, Tue, 03 Sep 2002: Trust in The Lord
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
I got a message from a friend this evening. She knows that I've
been looking for permanent work for quite some time and that I've
been actively searching, yet waiting on God for the job, place,
and situation that God wants me to be in. So when my friend saw
this message, she sent it to me.
I can take the time to edit this message and pass it on to you
because I am waiting for my dear wife to make it home safely from
work... she just started a new part time job herself!
I can wait on God expectantly, yet I can still pursue a career
path, and measure the options I have available to me against the
standard of balancing fanily needs, income, the chance to share
who I am (and my source of hope) with others.
This is all about whom I shall trust. The Bible has a well known
passage in Proverbs 3:5-6 that says "Trust in the Lord with all
your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all of
your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight."
Psalm 37 ssys this, starting in verse 3:
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord ;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret-it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
I believe all of that, and I don't have to worry about anything.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Waiting
Gail Rodgers
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He stood at the window waiting. All day he waited. Three years
old and the promise of Grandma and Grandpa arriving consumed
him. I could not distract him to play or to color or to ride his
bike. He was waiting. His child mind could not comprehend the
eight-hour drive. I knew the time would go faster, be more
enjoyable and maybe even productive if he left the window. But he
waited, and it seemed to be agonizingly long!
I realized that I am often like that with God. I know He will
eventually arrive with the answer to my prayer. I know I can
trust Him for an answer to my circumstance, my question or my
longing. And I wait. I wait for the answer, and sometimes it
seems agonizingly long.
Sometimes when God's answer seems to take too long I find myself
beginning to lose heart. Trust in my God may even waver. ("Are
they REALLY coming, Mommy?")
And then God speaks. His Word touches my heart and He tells me
what to do. He tells me how to wait.
"Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and He shall strengthen
your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalm 27:14.
Suddenly I realize I am not waiting on the Lord. I am simply
waiting on an answer. And waiting on an answer is so empty, as it
consumes me to distraction from other things God would have me do
or focus on. His Word tells me to be strong, to wait on Him for
my strength. Wait on Him, not simply on an answer.
So I turn from the window, from the waiting on the arrival of my
answer. I lean on Him to draw courage and strength. I ask Him to
point me in the direction of what He wants me to do today and my
waiting changes. It changes from anxious, distracted waiting to a
more productive waiting. Waiting that says, "I can trust you
with this, Lord. Help me now to be renewed in my strength and to
focus on accomplishing what is in front of me today."
Are you waiting today for God's intervention or His answer? Do
you feel suspended over a cliff wondering if you will fall?
Change your waiting. Stop waiting for the answer, trust God with
the timing, and start waiting on God to strengthen you to do what
He has set in your path today. Days, weeks, even months and years
can be wasted if we put our focus on the waiting and not on our
God.
Today you can have a heart that draws strength from the God of
the universe, in spite of the question marks punctuating your
life. Pick up the task in front of you and wait first on your God
for courage and strength as you wait for His answer.
Gail Rodgers draws from her own life experience in her roles as
wife, mother of three, business woman and as a pastor to
women. She has a passion for discovering and sharing how the
Scriptures apply in very practical ways where we live and walk
each day. She resides in Alberta, Canada with her family
=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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