Waiting On God

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Pastor Vince called on us to remember to wait on God this week. He drew his messages from Isaiah 40: 27f:

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

The passage notes a real human weakness: Dispair. We get into hard times and we begin to immediately think we are all alone or abandoned by God. We therefore try to come up with solutions ourselves, often with tragic consequesnces. The passage reminds us, however, that “the Lord is everlasting,” . . . and that He doesn’t tire or weary in His care for us.

It goes on to tell us that “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” We don’t need to act in impetuous ways, as He is our sustainer. We need to pause, and wait on God!

No matter how dire the situation may seem, He is there for us. Better still, we can handle it as He is in control. First Corinthians 10: 13 reads – “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” God is faithful, and He will not let things go beyond what we can handle, especially when we seek the strength in Him.

In fact, returning to the Isaiah passage we “will soar on wings like eagles; . . . will run and not grow weary, [and] walk and not be faint.” By waiting on God to move in us, we will be revived – note the running and walking reference, but Brother Vince noted as well the part on soaring. We despite what our perils may be, or who might be our advisary will have a eagle or God’s-eye view. He is above all evil, He masters even Satan himself, He looks down on all and had a true perspective. We too, and note this, will soar. Eagles when they soar don’t flap. They glide as they are lifted up! We too will be lifted. God will raise us abover the situations, and we with our eagle-eyed view will be able to see the dangers and have a true prespective that they are mere dots below the power of God. We just need to wait on God, and leave it in His hands.

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Padre

Like An Owl In The Night

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When life around you presses in

Like the falling of the night

When stresses grow along with fear

Feel free to shed a tear

But do not linger on the despair

Do not be overcome by the gloom

For you are not ever alone

Even when by yourself in your room

There are those who pray for you

More than you can ever know

And angels – that your needs provide

Wherever your life may go

Above all – there is one

Who cares for each sparrow’s fall

And He watches over you 

Even in your despair and fright

Seeing all that goes on – like an owl in the night 

 

Padre

 

Matthew 10: 29-30

 

For Sally

Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid

Psalm 27: 1—“ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Just about a year ago I lost my Uncle Woodie, and my wife Dianne was dying of cancer.  I was (as I do) reading through her prayer journal today and noticed that at that time her notes were about prayer for my Cousin Darlene and her family in their bereavement.  She also noted that she looked for opportunities to witness to her hospice nurse.  On the latter front I know that she did indeed testify to her on her visit later that week.  She made clear her lack of fear of death, and her assurance of everlasting life.  Dianne completed her entry with the verse above.

We are in troubled times.  The world has a lot of unsettled things happening.  People are concerned over disease, isolation, and employment issues as things seem to come to a halt.  But the same is true today as it was a year ago,“ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Padre

Conquering Mountains

Image by Keith Johnston from Pixabay 

Sister Lisa brought a tremendous lesson to us this week.  She drew her text from Joshua 14, verses 6 to 15:

^“Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me.  I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions,  but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.  So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’  “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old!  I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.  Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”  Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.  So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.  (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.)  Then the land had rest from war.”

Caleb had been one of the two faithful who had trusted the promises of God more than the fears of men.  He then struggled at Joshua’s side as they went through desert, and now his inheritance the hill country of Judah was before him.  He did not see Giants in the land as something to fear or run from, nor were the mountains he would have to possess something insurmountable.

Jesus said, that faith the size of mustard seed could mountains.  And if you can move one, then conquering one is comparatively easy.

Okay, that might sound overly simplistic, and a bit uncaring to those suffering hurt, and seeing “real” obstacles in their lives.  But it does have a valid application.

Sister Lisa introduced us to the first man to climb El Capitan “free solo.” This man had a faith of sorts, to scale a “real” peak.  But we face mountains and peaks of our own.  Fears, alcoholism, additions, violence in our pasts.  These mountains are just as daunting, and sometimes even more terrifying as they are not always our choice to climb.  But here is an open secret – we don’t have to climb them alone!  We have a constant companion, who stands with us through these struggles.  God is with us.

Caleb understood that.  So should we.

Here are a couple of thoughts about our relationship with mountains – both physical and symbolic.  God engages with people on mountains! Yes, even the painful scary personal ones.

It was on a mountain that God presented Moses with instructions on how to live godly lives.   How freeing to have a guide for life’s journey given by the One who set out the path.  Yes those bitter “mountains” of our lives may have come from us, or others straying from that pathway, but on the mountain  (which is easy to locate and see) he will again show us the way.   This is not a mountain to shun or fear.

But people being people took that Law given to Moses and made it a mountain in its own right.  Something to struggle with and a burden.  But it was not the intention.  Truth sets us free, it does not enslave us.

To prove this,  God gave us another mountain at Calvary.  There the Law was fulfilled, and true freedom was offered to all.   This Emmanuel, “God with us,” climbed the hill of our sin, fears, and doubts for us.  He stands with us still, to aid us in facing our mountainous concerns.

And it was on yet another mountain that Jesus ascended to heaven.  He told his disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them (and us).  He was going to the Father to make our inheritance sure.

We therefore like Caleb, should look to life’s mountains not as the beasts before us, but as places where we can be “more than conquerors;” as places to ascend in order to enter into our inheritance.

Bring on the mountains, I have a mustard seed!

Padre

He Will Not Rest (So We Can)

source: Stocksy United

One thing that I developed in the forces was hyper-vigilance. This is defined as, ” . . . a state of increased alertness, an extreme sensitivity to surroundings.” It can make you feel alert to any hidden dangers, whether from other people or the environment (real or imagined).

But truth be told, while being “always on the alert” has some practical benefits in a military situation, it is not good for you all the time. If left unchecked it can lead to anxiety and worries of dangers that aren’t even present.

We can never be alert 100% of the time. We need sleep, relaxation, and wind-down time. Fortunately, we do not have to be constantly on guard (which is a fool’s errand anyway). The Psalmist assures us that we have an ever-vigilant God, who has us under His protection, and watchful eye.

Psalm 121 reads,

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

When we get stressed, anxious, or just over stimulated; let’s remember that we can afford to take a breath and wind down. God has it all in hand.

Padre