4-13-2016

       Good Morning All!!

        Psalm 31:24; “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!”

   Wait!? I can’t wait!  I do not wait well.  I tend to stand by the microwave and give it the “evil eye” so it will speed up; how long can it take to make oatmeal?  I have things to do.  I confess that waiting is not my strongest trait.  When I think about what I need or want to do; “how long will this take” always plays in the decision.  So when I read that it was faster to get on a ride at Disneyland than wait in line at the DMV; I dig out my driver’s license and see it is still good for a few years.  The average wait for your refund is greatly affected by how you file.  If you e-file, your return is processed in 7-12 days; if you mail it in it takes 2-3 months just to process your return.  Quicker processing time means quicker refunds!!  Yet you would think they could send the money out as quickly as they process the return.  Of course, if you need a kidney, that can be 3-5 years depending on your blood type.  What a wait!!

    We live in a time when we have little if any patience and waiting is just not an option.  We convince ourselves that we get more done by “multi-tasking” and that everything just can’t wait.  As I was thinking about this, I ran across a quote that all of us “hurryers” should remember: “If you do have time to do it right the first time; you really don’t have time to do it over again!”  Something about that phrase just really makes sense.  Yet in Scriptures, we are encouraged to, even commanded to “wait” for the Lord.

    To “wait” in the Bible has a different meaning then what we commonly ascribe to it.  When we think of waiting, we think of non-productive time.  When we wait, time is just slipping away and getting one more thing done goes out the window.  “Waiting” in the Bible means to seek after God and to look to Him for something good to happen.  In the Bible, it is God who will accomplish the event, not us.  This leads us to see that we wait, expectantly and with hope.  We wait for God because it is only God who can deliver us from our fears, sorrows, worries and pain.  We know he will; he has promised us life and abundantly.  He will not leave us stranded.

    So we wait, knowing that God will provide.  We wait, knowing that God’s love will carry us forward.  We wait, looking in faith to God to give us the good gifts which he has promised.  We wait because we know that God keeps his promises and is always faithful to His Word.  So we wait, not wasting time but knowing that God is active and at work sustaining, preserving and prospering his people; we wait for His healing and love.  We wait with hope for God always keeps his promise.

Father of all mercy, keep us in your loving arms that as we wait we may know your Spirit of comfort.  Help us to see your hand in our life that we may be certain of our hope.  Lead us to see all those whom you use to bring your healing into our life.  Lead us to give thanks for the grace that we receive from your loving hand.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret