SCRIPTURE: Psalm 62:1
(TM)
God, the one and
only - I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why
not?
STORY:
Our
Daily Bread shared the following thought: The purposes of God often
develop slowly because His grand designs are never hurried. The great New
England preacher Phillips Brooks was noted for his poise and quiet manner. At
times, however, even he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One
day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion. "What's
the trouble, Mr. brooks?" he asked.
"The trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God
isn't!" Haven't we felt the same way many times?
Some of the greatest missionaries of history devotedly
spread the seed of God's Word and yet had to wait long periods before seeing
the fruit of their efforts. William Carey, for example, labored 7 years before
the first Hindu convert was brought to Christ in Burma, and Adoniram Judson
toiled 7 years before his faithful preaching was rewarded. In western Africa,
it was 14 years before one convert was received into the Christian church. In
New Zealand, it took 9 years; and in Tahiti, it was 16 years before the first
harvest of souls began.
Thomas a Kempis described that kind of patience in these
words: "He deserves not the name of patient who is only willing to suffer
as much as he thinks proper, and for whom he pleases. The truly patient man
asks (nothing) from whom he suffers, (whether) his superior, his equal, or his
inferior...But from whomever, or how much, or how often wrong is done to him,
he accepts it all as from the hand of God, and counts it gain!"
OBSERVATION:
The Psalmist speaks about waiting for God especially when it
is realized that everything that is needed comes from God. But we are not very
patient people. When it doesn’t appear that things are opening up we move on to
another task, to another setting, to other opportunities.
I’ve been caught numerous times by failing to wait for God.
It was obvious what God wanted to see happen, but instead of waiting for God to
make it happen I moved forward trying to make it happen only to fail. It is not
a pleasant experience… especially when it was so obvious what God wanted to see
happen. I failed to wait for everything to come into alignment spiritually,
biblically, circumstantially, mentally, and physically.
Patience is a virtue so they say. It is not something that
most of us have. The spiritual task that is set before us is to learn the
necessity of waiting.
Seldom does a message come to me for just one person, but I
believe that today’s blog was given for a particular new minister, LC,
especially in light of the observations made in Our Daily Bread. I was particularly struck by the number of years
that the missionaries labored before realizing any results… 7 and 14 years. Isn’t
Phillips Brooks’ sentiment our reality? "The
trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't!"
Maybe the message for LC is one that we all need to hear… I
know it is a message that speaks to my heart.
PRAYER:
We pray for patience Lord. Help us not to fall into St.
Augustine’s trap of praying for patience and expecting it be given “right now”.
Help us to learn to wait.
QUOTE:
Waiting
for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God
is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity
under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the
ability to do nothing until the command is given. ~ G.
Campbell Morgan
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