Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Waiting Game (Part 2)

Hey, it's not Thursday, but I just couldn't wait to post a blog on waiting. ;-)

Despite what you might think, or hear others say, there are good things that happen while we wait. Waiting does a couple of good things in our lives and I want to share with you one of those things to encourage you in the Lord.

First…Waiting Builds Character

David was familiar with waiting. He had to wait on God to sort out all the mishaps and confusion with his rise to kingship. Do you remember his story? A lot of tension existed between him and King Saul. There were times when David had to literally get out of dodge, leave Jerusalem, because his life was in trouble. He had Saul’s men looking for him to kill him. During that very difficult time David learned to wait upon the Lord. David also had opportunity to speed up the waiting process. David could have ended the waiting. In 1 Samuel 24 we read that David, while hidden deep within a cave, had a perfect opportunity to kill King Saul.

Read 1 Samuel 24:1-4

David chose to wait upon the Lord. The waiting process for David built character in his life. It made him a better person. David’s men saw this opportunity as a God-given moment. Remember they said,“This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” But David said to them in verse 6,“The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.”

Think of the respect David’s men gave him that day because he chose to wait upon the Lord. Would you have been able to do that?

You see I didn’t understand waiting when God first called me into ministry. I was on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic when I answered God’s call to ministry. I didn’t think waiting would be a part of that call. I guess I thought I would answer the call to ministry and have a job preaching the next day. Little did I know that it would be 6 long years before I entered the ministry fulltime. You see God needed to build character in me because I was a character. God used that time to shape and mold me into the man He wanted me to be. He's not done either. I had to wait and I like to think that something good happened because of it.

I believe David became the greatest king Israel ever had because he was described as a man, “after God’s own heart,” but he was also a man who knew how to wait upon the Lord.

I know this is a bit of a re-hash of what I said last week, but I'm stuck on it.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Waiting Game

Psalm 27:14 reads,

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Background
The Psalms in general deal a lot with waiting. Have you caught that as you are reading them? They deal a lot with waiting. Waiting is a theme for a lot of the Psalms. More so than any other book in the Bible. In the NIV you find these verses in the Psalms that talk about waiting on the Lord:

- Psalm 5:3
- Psalm 27:14
- Psalm 33:20
- Psalm 37:7
- Psalm 37:34
- Psalm 40:1
- Psalm 38:15
- Psalm 119:66
- Psalm 130:5
- Psalm 130:6

This is the case with the ones written by David; Israel’s shepherd-king. David was familiar with waiting. He had to wait on God to sort out all the mishaps with his rise to kingship. There was a lot of tension between him and King Saul. There were times when David had to literally get out of dodge, leave Jerusalem, because his life was in trouble. He had Saul’s men looking for him to kill him.

During that very difficult time David learned to wait upon the Lord.

David also had opportunity to speed up the waiting process. David could have ended the waiting. He had a chance, while hidden deep within a cave, to kill King Saul, but he chose to wait upon the Lord.

- Would you have been able to do that?
- How do you feel about waiting upon the Lord?
- How do you handle it?

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Another great morning prayer

Another great prayer from the Psalms. This one is Psalm 27 from the ESV translation.

Psalm 27
The LORD Is My Light and My Salvation
Of David.


1The 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?

2When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh,my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

4 One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.

5For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

6And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!

8You have said, "Seek my face."My heart says to you,
"Your face, LORD, do I seek."

9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!

10For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the LORD will take me in.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.

12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.

13I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living!

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!

Thursday, June 02, 2011

Prayer for Today

A great prayer here.

Psalm 13
For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 How long, LORD?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,

4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.