Life with God

Readings for today: Psalms 26, 40-41, 58, 61-62, 64

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God…” (Psalm 62:5a NLT) This is the secret to the abundant, Christ-centered, Spirit-filled life. Let all that I am. Everything I am. Body. Mind. Heart. Soul. All that I have and all I possess. All my hopes and dreams for the future. All my experiences from the past. All my relationships. All my achievements. All my failures. All my struggles. I take all that I am - the good, bad, and ugly - lay it before the Lord and wait quietly for Him. And what then can I expect from Him in return?

He will be my hope…I will place my hope not in the things of this world. Not in achieving some degree of success. Not in achieving the American Dream or the good life however I define it. Not in marrying the Mr. or Mrs. Right. Not in having perfect kids who earn scholarships to college and make straight A’s. Not in early retirement. No, my hope will rest in God. The One who created me and formed me and fashioned me and holds my life and my future in His hands.

He will be my rock…I will depend on Him. The only truly dependable thing in this life or the next. People may let me down or disappoint me. Expectations may go unmet. Dreams unfulfilled. Achievement may remain elusive. The stock market crash. Life not turn out how I expected. But God will always be there. He remains immovable and unshakeable and I can always trust in Him.

He will be my salvation…I am not at the mercy of my circumstances. I am not at the mercy of my addictions, compulsions, or predilections. I am not at the mercy of my genetics. I am not at the mercy of the principalities and powers of this dark world. I am not a victim. God has saved me. God has rescued me. He has set me delivered me from the power of sin and death and the devil. He has set me free from the cares and worries of this world. He has transferred me from the oppression and injustice of the kingdoms of darkness into His marvelous light. This world has nothing for me and so cannot touch me.

He will be my fortress…when I struggle. When I suffer. When I hurt. When I am wounded. When I despair. God becomes my refuge. God becomes my sanctuary. God becomes my stronghold. A place where no enemy can reach me. His door is always open to me. His tender kindness is always there for me. His mercies are new every morning. His faithfulness lasts for a lifetime. He holds my life in His hands. I shall never be moved. No enemy can assail me in God’s presence. No enemy can accuse me in God’s presence. In His presence even the hardest and most difficult parts of my life become part of the unique glory He is revealing in me as I share in the sufferings of Christ.

“O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:8 NLT) If we believe the promises of these Psalms, it becomes easy to trust in God. Quite natural to pour out our hearts to Him. No matter what you may be going through today or in this season of your life, place yourself intentionally in God’s presence. Wait quietly for Him. Let Him be your refuge and strength and hope and joy.

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Samuel 19-21, Psalms 5, 38, 42

Importance of Waiting on God

Readings for today: 1 Samuel 28-31, 1 Chronicles 10

Why do we wait on God? Why is it important to wait for God to move? God to speak? God to act? What does the fruit of a life look like when one waits on God? Today, we see it played out in stark terms. On the one hand, Saul refuses to wait on God and loses his life as a result. On the other hand, David does wait on God and is given a great victory. What a contrast!

Listen again to their stories. “Saul prayed to God, but God didn’t answer—neither by dream nor by sign nor by prophet. So Saul ordered his officials, “Find me someone who can call up spirits so I may go and seek counsel from those spirits.” (1 Samuel‬ ‭28‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭MSG)‬‬ This isn’t the first time Saul has gotten impatient. In fact, impatience seems to be the theme of his life. He will only wait for God so long. He will only wait for God while it’s convenient. He will only wait for God as long as he gets the answer he’s looking for. This is why the kingdom has been torn from his grasp. He didn’t wait for God but made an unlawful sacrifice. He didn’t obey God when He gave him the victory over his enemies. Over and over again, Saul compromises and now it will cost him his life, the life of his sons, and lives of many of those who followed him. “The Philistines made war on Israel. The men of Israel were in full retreat from the Philistines, falling left and right, wounded on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines caught up with Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, Saul’s sons. The battle was hot and heavy around Saul. The archers got his range and wounded him badly. Saul said to his weapon bearer, “Draw your sword and put me out of my misery, lest these pagan pigs come and make a game out of killing me.” But his weapon bearer wouldn’t do it. He was terrified. So Saul took the sword himself and fell on it. When the weapon bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, and his weapon bearer—the men closest to him—died together that day.” (1 Samuel‬ ‭31‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

David, on the other hand, patiently waited on God. He trusted God for His provision and protection. Believed God would prove faithful no matter what. Think of the challenge David faces in our reading today. His city has been raided and destroyed. His family and the families of those he loves have been captured and perhaps killed. He could have given into fear and the infighting among his own men. David’s life hangs on the edge here and still he waits on God. “David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him. David strengthened himself with trust in his God. He ordered Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the Ephod so I can consult God.” Abiathar brought it to David. Then David prayed to God, “Shall I go after these raiders? Can I catch them?” The answer came, “Go after them! Yes, you’ll catch them! Yes, you’ll make the rescue!” (1 Samuel‬ ‭30‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭MSG‬‬) What a powerful testimony! What a faithful witness! Is it any wonder David’s men were so inspired by his leadership? So willing to follow him and lay their lives down for him? They knew David’s heart. They could see David’s faith. They trusted David because he trusted God.

This is the key to godly leadership. The key to godly living. Wait on God. Wait for Him to speak. Wait for Him to act. Wait for Him to show you the way. Resist the temptation to take matters into your own hands. Resist the temptation to place conditions on God. Resist the temptation to try to force God’s hand or make Him work according to your timeline. Don’t limit God! Instead, open your heart and your mind and your hands to the wonders He will do in you and through you. After all, He has promised to do far more than you can ever ask or imagine!

Readings for tomorrow: Psalms 121, 123-125, 128-130

Waiting on God

Readings for today: 1 Samuel 21-24, Psalms 91

Imagine having everything you ever wanted within your grasp? Position. Power. Peace. You have the opportunity with a single stroke to bring it about. Imagine spending your life defending yourself against injustice. On the run for crimes you did not commit. Falsely accused by your enemy. And now you have the chance to end it. All you have to do is take matters into your own hands. A sudden strike in the darkness and you could lay hold of all God had promised. 

The temptation to bring about the will of God in our own way and own time is very real. David faced it in the cave when Saul came in to relieve himself. Jesus faced it in the wilderness when the enemy offered him all the kingdoms of the world without the cross. You and I face it everyday as well in big and small ways. Yes, we know the will of God for our lives. We know His Word. We know His Truth. We know His Law. We know what He desires for us. But we get impatient. We get frustrated. We get anxious. We get afraid. And in our fear, we take matters into our own hands. 

I remember vividly sitting down at a coffee shop one morning in Sun Prairie, WI. Kristi and I had been seeking God’s will for many months. God had led us to resign from a difficult and painful ministry position. He had led us to a great church family who welcomed us in to help us heal. He had provided a sixty day severance package that we lived on while we waited for Him to reveal what was next. Through a mutual friend, God had connected us to a church in Parker, CO that was just beginning their search for a new senior pastor. But these things take time and I was growing anxious. I was afraid. The church in Parker was literally my only job prospect. I had no other options. How would I feed my family if it fell through? How would I pay the rent? Was my career in ministry over? Was it time to go do something else? All these thoughts ran through my head as the weeks passed and the wheels of the search process slowly turned. I was getting about two to three hours of sleep a night. I would pace the hours away praying and crying out to God. 

One Saturday evening, I made up my mind. Enough was enough. I needed to expand my search. I needed to look at other ministry positions. I needed more options. So I told Kristi I would start looking the next morning. She and I went to bed. She tossed and turned all night, suffering from the sudden onset of a migraine. I did my normal pacing routine. We were both deeply unsettled. Eventually, morning dawned. I showered. Got dressed. Headed over to the coffee shop, laptop in hand to begin my day. I ordered my regular cup of black coffee. Sat down at my favorite table. Opened up the browser on my computer. Just as I went to type, I heard the word “NO” in my mind. It was clear. It was loud. It was startling. I looked around. Shook my head. Went to type. Again came the word...”NO!” This time I jumped a little. I looked around again. No one else was in the shop. Just me and the barista who was in the back. So I tried a third time to type. “NO!” I sat back. I looked out the window. I knew it was the Lord. Calling me to trust. Calling me to be patient. Calling me to wait on Him to reveal His will rather than make my own plans. I called Kristi. Told her what had happened. Told her God wasn’t allowing me to apply to any other positions and that we just needed to wait for Him to reveal what would happen with the church in Parker. Immediately she felt the pain from her migraine lift and relief flood her body. It was frankly one of the most incredible moments in our lives. 

In today’s reading, we run across these beautiful verses from Psalm 91…“If you’ll hold on to Me for dear life,” says God, “I’ll get you out of any trouble. I’ll give you the best of care if you’ll only get to know and trust Me. Call Me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party. I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!” (Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭MSG‬‬) Friends, God can be trusted. God is always faithful. He will not let you go nor let you down. At the same time, we have to remember God’s ways are not our ways. All of us would have counseled David to take Saul’s life in the cave that day. Put an end to the running. Put an end to the civil war. Kill your enemy and take your rightful place on the throne of Israel. All of us would have counseled Jesus to avoid the cross. To accept the deal the devil was offering. Accomplish all the Father has sent You to do without the suffering and pain. We all compromise. We all rationalize. We all have our excuses for why we don’t follow the will of God. Why we don’t walk in His ways. Why we don’t wait on His timing. The reality is we are always looking out for number one. We are always looking out for our own interests first before we look to the interests of others, even the interests of God! But David was a man after God’s own heart. He refused to take matters into his own hands. He refused to lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed even though Saul was an evil and corrupt king. He trusted all God had promised would be fulfilled in God’s time and in God’s way. Just like Jesus did in the wilderness. Just like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Just like Jesus did on the cross.

Readings for tomorrow: None

Waiting on God

Readings for today: Numbers 6-9

One of the hardest things to learn as a follower of Christ is how to wait. We are always in such a hurry. We rush around in the morning to get off to work and school. We rush around all day trying to get things done. We rush around in the evenings to different activities and events. Then we wake up the next day to do it all over again. Furthermore, we live in a world of instant gratification. We get what we want when we want it and woe to anyone who cannot deliver on our timeline! Patience is no longer a virtue in our world. Waiting is considered a waste of time. 

The Bible is clear that “waiting” is a key skill for any disciple. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Long-suffering is something God’s people know intimately. Consider what we read from Numbers today. “The day The Dwelling was set up, the Cloud covered The Dwelling of the Tent of Testimony. From sunset until daybreak it was over The Dwelling. It looked like fire. It was like that all the time, the Cloud over The Dwelling and at night looking like fire. When the Cloud lifted above the Tent, the People of Israel marched out; and when the Cloud descended the people camped. The People of Israel marched at God’s command and they camped at his command. As long as the Cloud was over The Dwelling, they camped. Even when the Cloud hovered over The Dwelling for many days, they honored God’s command and wouldn’t march. They stayed in camp, obedient to God’s command, as long as the Cloud was over The Dwelling, but the moment God issued orders they marched. If the Cloud stayed only from sunset to daybreak and then lifted at daybreak, they marched. Night or day, it made no difference—when the Cloud lifted, they marched. It made no difference whether the Cloud hovered over The Dwelling for two days or a month or a year, as long as the Cloud was there, they were there. And when the Cloud went up, they got up and marched.” (Numbers‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬-‭22 ‭MSG‬‬) The passage tells us that sometimes they camped for days in one location. Sometimes for hours. The point is Israel didn’t move until God moved. Israel didn’t break camp until God broke camp. Israel was learning how to wait on God. 

I’ve been in ministry now for over twenty years. In that time, I’ve spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours in my office counseling people through all sorts of different seasons in their lives. One of the most common issues I have to address is impatience. It makes total sense. People in crisis want out of crisis as soon as possible so I get it. However, in their rush to get out of crisis they often jump from the frying pan into the fire. Refusing to wait on God, they prematurely end their marriage. Prematurely cut off a relationship. Prematurely make a professional decision. Prematurely rush into what they think is a solution only to find their supposed “cure” worse than their disease.  

God wants us to wait on Him. His time is not our time. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. So often when we wait on God, we don’t understand. I am sure there were moments when Israel looked around and said, “Really God? This is where you want us to camp? This is where you want us to settle down for a few days?” I’m sure there were other times when they found wonderful pasture and plentiful water only to have the pillar of cloud rise the next morning, taking them onward. They had never seen the Promised Land. They had no idea where they were headed or what it would look like when they got there. They simply had to wait on God.

Where is God calling you to trust Him in your life today? Is it with a professional decision? Is it with your children’s future? Your marriage? Is it with you finances? Perhaps your aging parent’s health? Maybe it’s your college choice? A career decision after you graduate? What does it look like for you and how are you learning to wait on God to reveal His will? 

Readings for tomorrow: Numbers 10-13, Psalm 90