Life in the fast lane... And we wait

Waiting. Not a favorable concept in our modern day culture of instant. We want what we want, when we want it, and we don't like to have our paces slowed. In our world of microwave ovens, fast food, atm machines, instant messaging, and air travel, we are encouraged to be on the move! Life in the fast lane... no time to wait, and why should we have to? Just watch the countenance of the people waiting in life at the store when the cashier lights up her number to flash, indicating a problem has occurred and she is flagging the attention of her boss. Or the expressions of drivers when traffic is slow - or a standstill. (God help those in front of one who suffers from road rage in a stand still!) Imagine the pace of life before cars, plains, and modern technology came on the scene. Ever watch Little House on the Prairie? Used to be my favorite. Imagine if we could go back in time and tell someone from that era about the modern day conveniences that would be enjoyed a century or so later... A machine to make bread. A little switch to turn lights on that hung from the 12 foot ceiling in your home - a home that you did not have to build with your own two hands. A car you could drive into town. A dial to turn for an instant fire rather than building one with the wood you chopped. A machine to wash and dry your clothes. Running water. The description of a bathroom! People from this time were accustomed to waiting, as they had no choice. If they wanted to eat, they had to wait for the yeast to rise. Clean clothes meant a trip to a river, then waiting for them to dry on a clothesline. Farmers were at the mercy of weather conditions to determine whether or not there would be a decent harvest to support their family. Times have certainly changed, and so have our mindsets.

Despite all the changes effecting our pace of life, God remains the same. Doesn't matter how our advancements have evolved and improved, His hasn't. Doesn't matter how our mindset has changed, His hasn't wavered. The fact that we do not like to wait plays no role in God's timing. Our approach before Him cannot be contaminated by the attitude of instant that saturates our society - and at times maybe even our own mind and heart.

Reality is, every single one of us is waiting for something that is completely beyond our control, but is under the sovereign rule of our God. The things we wait upon are different, and we could not possibly list them all... A spouse to share life with. A baby to fill the yearning desire of barrenness. A diagnosis. A healing. A breakthrough in a strained relationship. Deliverance. A job. Friendship. Clear direction in a major decision. Salvation for a family member. Justice to prevail. Jesus to take us home. Everybody is waiting for something, and God does not offer drive through service for a faster lane of service, nor is He our heavenly bellhop ready and waiting to serve us when we snap our fingers with our request. I confess that in my early years as a Christian that was exactly how I approached Him. They only time I prayed was when I wanted something from Him, and I expected Him to answer quickly. How pompous and irreverent of me.

And so we wait. How many times have you heard the phrase, "God's timing is always perfect!"? If you're like me, more times than you can count. While it is true, there is a part of us that may not like to hear that, isn't there? Probably because we are told this when we are waiting for something we want so desperately to come to fruition, and we don't know when or how it will come to pass, and there is nothing we can do to alter or expedite God's timing. Doesn't matter if we throw a fit like a three year old, give Him a cold shoulder, or even try to win His favor in an attempt for Him to answer our plea now. (You know, the ol' bargaining approach..."Do this for me God and I promise to help old ladies across the street and give money to the poor for the next three years.")

There are many factors that we have no control over while we wait, such as the duration of time, and often the outcome. But there are things we get to choose while we wait. John Waller tells us so well in his song, I Am Waiting, the things we get to choose:

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Yesterday I was reading in Acts before Jesus ascended into heaven he told His disciples, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about" (Jn. 1:4). They had to wait. They did not know how long, and they didn't know why, but they knew they had to wait. Their response is recorded in Acts 1:12-14, "Then they returned to Jerusalem... when they arrived, they went upstairs to a room they were staying... They all joined together constantly in prayer." They did not know when or how, but in their response they were obedient, they served Christ, and they worshiped Him. 10 days later, their waiting came to an end on the day of Pentecost.

Waiting on God is not meant to be a passive thing. While we wait we learn, grow, and drawn closer to Jesus - if we cooperate and let the Holy Spirit have His way with us. Submitting to Him and yielding our desires - and asking Him to fill us with His own. NOT always an easy process... in fact it can be downright hard. But then we must choose to gaze upon Christ. Choose to serve Him. Choose to worship Him. And as we wait, we continue to run the race He has marked out for us. Fueled not by selfish wish lists, but by the wind of the Spirit with our faces set on Him. And with each step, He's promised that His grace will be sufficient. That His mercies will be new every morning. That He will never leave or forsake you. That nothing, NOTHING can separate you from His love. You see, there are blessings that come during the wait. Press on, dear friend. We may not know every detail of the road God has marked out for us - after all He's equipped us with a lamp for our feet to guide our path, not streetlights to illuminate the steps of the hours or days ahead (See Ps. 119:105).

I don't know what you're waiting on God for right now. Maybe joy is filling your heart and you are waiting with great anticipation and excitement - I say to you march on with your lamp at your feet and your gaze on Christ! Maybe you are waiting and your stomach is in knots, tears fill your eyes, and the uncertainly of the steps ahead are overwhelming. I say to you march on with your lamp at your feet and your gaze on Jesus! Your Savior who loves you with an everlasting love... who died that you may know, love, and experience Him now and forever. Our waiting on Christ is never in vain. John Waller is right, waiting can be so darn painful... but it is never wasted - not one second of it. God is working in and around you while you wait. May you and I find courage and comfort in this truth today, as we wait.

Here's the link to listen to this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWI-iZsIKIk

Aha!

I hope your celebrations of our Savior's birth were filled with hope, peace, and great joy this year! Our Christmas decorations are down, and 2010 was welcomed warmly in our home yesterday as the Ohio State Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl! Now if my husband was authoring this post the remainder of it would consist of statistics, plays, and maybe even a few x's and o's figures! The man is, as they say, happy as a pig in mud with his team's victory!

But he's not the author today, so let's return to the brief statement I made regarding our Christmas decorations being down. What a bittersweet activity. Bitter because the decorations are so pretty and festive, and sweet because after several weeks it all starts to look like clutter to me and I cannot wait to take them down and clean my house! Funny how beautiful things can start to look like clutter! I was listening to my ipod play list while sweeping our dining room floor, and the Holy Spirit began to minister to me as the song You Are by Mark Roach was playing. I just love how God often intercepts the ordinary and mundane to minister to His people... meets us right where we are - physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our Good Shepherd knows His sheep, and He tends to us. One of the many things I love about our God is that we do not have to get our act together in order for Him to tend to us! We don't have to try harder, be better, or know more - He sees us and knows our hearts and He meets us right where we are - regardless of how messy our stuff is. What He impressed upon me a couple days ago was so precious to me that I stopped to share it with my husband in that moment, and now I feel compelled to share it with you.

As this song resonated in my mind and heart, I reflected on who God is and what He has done for me, and I was struck anew that it is God who pursues me. I cannot imagine or comprehend the depth of His love, nor can I understand why He loves me - unworthy as I am. His love for me is beyond my wildest imagination and the explanation of His passion eludes me. The Holy Spirit showed me that at times my focus has been too much on my love for Him... God has, by His grace, given me a desire to love Him with my whole heart - though I fall so short of this desire every day. What the Holy Spirit revealed to me was that in my zeal to love Him, my focus is at times too much on my love for Him... how well I am loving Him, or what I could be doing better to demonstrate my love for Him. While these are good desires, at times I have focused on them more than resting in His love for me. This can result in my pursuit of Him to occupy center stage rather than resting in His pursuit of me! If my focus is too concentrated on my love for Him, then really my focus is on me - not Him! And I have learned many times and in many ways that whenever my focus is on myself, that is never, ever good! This is certainly not to mean that I should not continue to strive to love God with all my heart, but a change in perspective on my part was needed on that particular day. This was not a new revolutionary truth for me, but sometimes God takes something we know that is stored somewhere in the back of our brains and with a wind of His Spirit He blows the dust off and allows us to receive a fresh revelation that is perfect for our circumstances - perfect for the moment He reveals it. An Aha! moment. Boy am I glad God provides Aha! moments.

I don't know if this makes one bit of sense to you today. Sometimes an Aha! moment is so personal that it really only makes perfect sense to the one who God provided it for. I'm just following through on what I believe God is calling me to share tonight. Perhaps you've had a recent Aha! moment you'd like to share? I'd love to rejoice with you over what God has revealed to you!