Waiting on God - Day 14

Read: Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the Lord; 
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction,
Out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth,
A song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.
v. 1-3, 5

Many people have told me that patience or "suffering" for God will build character. All those trials and hard times that I've gone through, its just making me better at waiting on God. In some ways I think this is true, but in other ways, I'm not so sure. Someone else told me "Suffering doesn't build character, it brings out character that you already have." I think I like her way of saying it better. I'm not saying that there is nothing to be learned during suffering and hard times, but I think that God brings out the character we already have, and either makes it stronger, or changes it during that time.
"True patience is so foreign to our self-confident nature, it is so indispensable in our waiting upon God, it is such an essential element of true faith, that we may well once again meditate on what the Word has to teach us. True patience is the losing of our self-will in His perfect will."

Challenge: How has God rewarded you as you waited patiently? 
I think one of the hardest things to remember is that patience is not a gift that we have naturally. It is God's gift to us. I have the tendency to try to keep things in my control. To have everything in its neat little organized box. But that isn't how God wants it to be. When I'm getting frustrated because things aren't going "my way" I stop and remind myself that God is seeing the big picture. I'm only seeing the puzzle pieces.

Someone yesterday was saying that the phrase "Let Go and Let God" was one of the stupidest phrases she had ever heard. "If I'm hanging off a cliff, why would I let go and then complain to God that I fell?" How about letting go and trusting God to have a net there to catch you.

There are so many ways that God has rewarded me. In big things and small things. One of the smaller things happened just yesterday. A few weeks ago I bought a new bed and moved everything to my new place. The only problem was, I didn't want to spend 70+ dollars on a bedding set. But I knew exactly the kind/style that I wanted to match my headboard. So I've been searching the various stores and places online for the past few weeks. No such luck. An hour before I was supposed to leave and come back to college yesterday, my mom says "hey there are two comforter sets advertised in the newspaper, why don't you call?"
Well, I called, and the older lady that answered described them as burgundy. I was thinking.... purple... this could possibly work... but I had wanted blue originally. I meet up with them, and the first comforter set is bright red with cold tassels. Not exactly my idea. Then he pulls out the second one. Its light blue and tan with the entire set included. All for a whopping $30.
I got home and was showing it to my mom and we realized the price tags were still on the wrapping. The original price was over $200.
God Rewards.

Waiting on God - Day 13

Read: Psalm 16

It's Easter Sunday morning, I had to work so I wasn't able to make it to church like I wanted to. However, once I got off work, I had the house to myself, so I put my sweatpants and sweatshirt on, grabbed a cup of hot tea, my journal and Bible and headed out to the deck to have my devotions.
Thank You Lord for a beautiful day!

"The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because HE is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
For YOU will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
You will make known to me the path of life; 
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. 
v.5-11

"In every true prayer there are two hearts in exercise. The one is your heart, with its little, dark, human thoughts of what you need and God can do. The other is God's great heart, with its infinite, its divine purposes of blessing. What think you? To which of these two ought the larger place to be given in your approach to Him? Undoubtedly, to the heart of God: everything depends upon knowing and being occupied with that. But how little this is done. This is what waiting on God is meant to teach you. Just think of God's wonderful love and redemption, in the meaning these words must have to Him. Confess how little you understand what God is willing to do for you, and say each time as you pray 'And now, what wait I for?' My heart cannot say. God's heart knows and waits to give. 'My hope is in Thee.' Wait on God to do for you more than you can ask or think."

Challenge: Which heart do you trust more, God's or yours?

Waiting on God - Day 12

Read: Hebrews 5:11-12

"And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence,
So as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,
So that you will not be sluggish,
But imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

This reminded me of the song Blessings by Laura Story.

Waiting on God - Day 11

Read: Psalm 37

I think I've just found another favorite passage of the Old Testament. I'm sitting here letting everything that I just read sink in and give me peace.

The past week has been pretty stressful for me. My phone broke, my car was having problems, I had a migrane that lasted a week, a presentation, a test, a paper, problems and fights with friends. It was one of "those" weeks.

Some of my favorite parts of this passage.
"Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it."
v. 3-5
"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way"
v. 7a
"The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken."
v. 23-28a

Challenge: What role does prayer, Bible study, and active ministry play in the believer's quest for patience? 
"All the exercises of the spiritual life, our reading and praying, our willing and doing, have their very great value. But they can go no farther than this, that they point the way and prepare us in humility to look to and to depend alone upon God Himself, and in patience to await His good time and mercy."
I completely agree with this quote from the devotional. While all these are good and God commands us to take part in each one, without patience and the trust that God will work in His time, we will not receive the maximum benefit of prayer, Bible study, and ministry. Its kind of like telling people that a certain ice cream flavor tastes really great, but you haven't even tried it yourself yet.

Patience and trust is the result of our faith in God.

Waiting on God - Day 10

Read: Psalm 33

Challenge: How many times is lovingkindness or mercy mentioned in this passage? What does that mean to you?
Four times in twenty two verses, God's lovingkindness or mercy is mentioned. 

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, 
On those who hope for His lovingkindess."
v.18 

I think one of the hardest things for people to do is to reject the attitude of "God will forgive everything because I ask for forgiveness. Even if its the repeated sin. STOP making the same choices! There's a popular quote that says "The first time its a mistake, every time after that its a choice."

Don't make the same mistakes over again.
  
Thy Mercy, My God

1. Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart. and the boast of my tongue;
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast.

2. Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here;
Sin would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

3. Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground,
And weep to the praise of the mercy I’ve found.

4. Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.

Waiting on God - Day 9

Read: Psalm 31

It's funny how God has a sense of humor, and He definitely loves irony.

 

"But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord, 
I say, 'You are my God.'
My times are in Your hands."
v. 14-15a





Challenge: What do you struggle the most in trusting God with? 
Yikes. Not only was I struggling with this all day today, there is a specific thing that I keep struggling to give over to God. I trust Him. But one of the hardest things for me to stop worrying about is money. Being in college and paying for it myself, money is always an issue. But somehow God provides. Every time. 
Its a constant give and take struggle for me to stop worrying about finances though. Every single day, multiple times a day, I have to give it back to God. Reminding myself that He is in control. 
Things happen on His time table.  

Waiting on God - Day 8

Read: Psalm 27

Word of God Speak  

I think this song goes well with v. 1-6 of this passage. It immediately came to mind this morning as I was reading.



Challenge: What kind of fears and doubts prevent believers from waiting on God? 

In the devotional series, the focus today was waiting on God by being strong and of good courage. Having the faith and the trust to place everything in God's hands and allow Him to work. For a little background story; I love visiting new churches. I love the different types of worship that goes on, the various types of music, and the preaching styles of different pastors. One particular week, a friend and I visited a Wednesday evening Bible study at a church. I had been there twice for regular services and wasn't impressed, but decided to try this Bible study. During the video message, it was made abundantly clear that one must give your whole self to God, but the man also said that if you give certain idols over to God, its a once and done thing. You give it to God and you never have to struggle with it again. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm human, and one of my faults is I like being in control. This poses a problem when I "give something to God." Do I trust Him? Yes, I do. But even so, I still feel like I'm an Indian Giver sometimes. I give, and then I take back, I give, and then I take back.

Back to the church. At the end of the video, we broke off into smaller groups of about 8-10 people. This was supposed to be a young adult class, but in reality it was a wacked out group of "single" people from 35-65+ years old. It was quite awkward since my friend and I were the only two people under the age of 30 in the room. During the little break-out session, we were supposed to talk about things that we've given over to God. Two or three people in my group shared saying they had give over these huge problems or idols in their life and they've never had to worry about them since. I was sitting there thinking, "holy cow, teach me!" I knew my turn was coming to share, and if I don't know people, I don't like sharing my personal struggles with them. So I simply said, being in college and paying for it myself, money and bills are things that I have trouble giving up control of. And then I admitted that while I've given it to God, sometimes I'll catch myself "taking it back" and worrying about it again, so I stop and pray and give it right back to God. A few of the "older" people of the group then proceeded to tell me that I wasn't trusting God enough and that I have a huge problem because I don't allow Him control over my finances. They said I need to sit back, relax and let God provide.

Is that wrong? Am I sinning because I don't trust God enough? Is it wrong that I have two jobs to pay for school and I'm not just sitting around letting God drop money into my lap?

Maybe I have a warped view of God providing. But I also think that God rewards those who work hard and honor Him in their every day lives. There are countless times when I have seen God work in my life, and seen how He provides for everything I need. Two jobs and nursing school doesn't really leave extra time for things, especially overtime hours. But there have been numerous occasions when I am down to the last minute on paying a bill, and somehow I have a few extra hours at work that week and I get paid just a little more than the bill amount. Or, I have needed something, like a bed last month, and because the guy accidentally sold mine, I got an $800 bed within my price range for $200. Because I was actively looking for a bed, and bargaining, and searching for deals; does that mean I don't trust God? No, I believe God gave me the brain and the money skills to be a good steward of my money. This means bargaining, sales shopping, and comparing prices. Do I trust God? Of course.

God provides... even a bed.