Tag: wait on the Lord
The Everlasting God: Creator
Scripture reading for July 7: Isaiah 40:28-31 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths grow weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
As we continue to explore the God we love and serve, we find this familiar passage in Isaiah the prophet that begins with two questions. These questions were prefaced by God’s people questioning whether or not God was with them. They were saying that their situation was hidden from God and He did not understand what they were going through. But God knew their thoughts and answered their fears with questions that would open their hearts. Did they not know He was the Everlasting God? Did they not remember that He created them and all things?
God is the Everlasting God, the Creator of all. As God Almighty, He is never tired, weak or weary. He specializes in giving strength to the weak and reviving those who are fainting from the struggle to believe. This weariness and weakness is common to all mankind because of sin and sickness that resulted from man’s disobedience. As the Everlasting God, He has knowledge of everything, even beyond what we can think or imagine. God called His people to wait upon Him for renewal and restoration. He promised that all who would wait would renew their strength. They would even mount up like eagles after going through their annual time of waiting as God renewed their feathers and beaks and they could soar again. Our Creator is strong and loves us with an everlasting love.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your amazing understanding of our needs, weakness and struggles. Thank You that You are the Everlasting God Who never grows tired of us and our weaknesses. Help me as I wait upon You to find restoration in Jesus Christ, the Everlasting Son of God, my Savior. Amen!
Day 5–God’s delays
Scripture reading for April 10: Psalms 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him;. . .”
John 11:1-5“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, he whom You love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was.”
It isn’t easy to be patient when a loved one is near death. We call ‘911’ and summon help expecting urgency. The EMT’s and support helpers from fire also seek to go quickly to provide timely help. We pick the best route and turn on lights and siren as we speed to the scene. We want action and and have high expectations.
But in this story, sisters Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus of a serious illness afflicting His friend and their brother Lazarus. Their expectation was speedy action and quick results. But Jesus had other plans that would demonstrate the Father’s love and bring Him glory. He told His disciples that this sickness would not lead to death. He then delayed two more days before announcing that they were headed to Bethany. Most believers know the story of Lazarus dying and placed in a tomb. Jesus came and wept over the tomb and called Lazarus out. Death was defeated through a God-directed delay.
There are some lessons responders can learn about time management from this story. Our human tendency is to hurry and expect quick results, especially from Jesus. We often think we have things figured out but God has other plans and a bigger picture we don’t take time to see. When we are delayed or get lost on the way, we should always trust God to work out the delay for our benefit and the blessing of those we come to serve.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for working out our lives with a bigger picture than we see. Help me to be patient and wait on You when delays come into my hurried schedule. Let me see how You are bringing glory to Your Name and blessing those who are hurting. Amen.
Healthy self-examination!
Scripture reading for September 8th: 2nd Kings 20, Isaiah 38-40, Psalm 68, 1st Corinthians 11
1st Corinthians 11: 27-33 “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another–. .”
Paul gave some strict warnings to believers in the partaking together with one another of the Lord’s supper, Holy Communion. Paul taught that it was vitally important that each person examine his own heart and life and repent of any offenses or known sins before partaking. Failure to do this could result in serious consequences. Guilt concerning the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ would come upon those partaking in an ‘unworthy’ manner. Discerning the body of Christ could refer to the bread and remembrance of Christ’s body broken for us for our healing and deliverance from sin. It could also refer to failure to recognize our need to be right with others in Christ’s body, the Church. Healthy self-examination can keep us from sickness and even death from unworthy hearts before the sacrament.
Isaiah 40:31 “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew the strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Prayer: Father God, help me today and each day to examine my own heart and life and discern in a worthy manner the Body of Christ, broken for me. I want to be healthy and fully live for You. You are the One God Who alone is my Salvation and Who alone has delivered me from death and renews my strength each day. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I might proclaim the mercy of Your Body and Blood.
Psalm 68:19-20 “Blessed be the Lord, Who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. (Selah) (Pause and think about that.) Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.”
A God worth waiting for!
Scripture reading for July 29th: Isaiah 40-43
Chapter 40 of Isaiah begins a new theme of hope and encouragement. The last 27 chapters of Isaiah are liked to the New Testament’s 27 books of encouragement, history and prophecy. Let’s get a fresh look at the God of heaven and learn why we can wait for Him to do what He has promised!
Isaiah’s perspective from 700 years before Christ was amazing! God was so big that he measured the waters of the earth in the hollow of His hand. He marked off the expanse of the universe with a breadth of His hands! He could pick up all the dust of the earth and put it in a basket and weigh it. (Isaiah 40:12) To God, all the nations of the earth were but a drop in His bucket. (Isaiah 40:16) According to Isaiah, God sat enthroned above the circle of the earth. (Isaiah 40:22) It is believed that most people of his day thought the earth was flat!
God also had a tender side, caring for His people like a shepherd. (Isaiah 40:11) He personally called galaxies and their billions of stars by name. He placed them where He desired and not one was missing! (Isaiah 40:26) God does all of this effortlessly without getting tired or weary. His power and strength know no bounds. His understanding of every detail of every creature is beyond what we can fathom! (Isaiah 40:27-28)
This God cares for the weary and weak people as well as all creation. As they wait on Him, they are strengthened by His Spirit. Isaiah used the analogy of the eagle. (Isaiah 40:29-31) The eagle must wait upon the Lord when it goes through a time of renewal. It loses it’s feathers and must wait on the Lord in the cleft of a rock. After the renewal, the eagle again can mount up on it’s wings and soar! God’s people would be able to run again in strength and power as they waited on Him!
Take time today to meditate on the greatness of God as reflected in these chapters of Isaiah. Let your vision of how big your God is grow and your faith to wait upon Him be enlarged! He is truly worth waiting for!