Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Sometimes all you have to do is wait

Some “through the Bible” thoughts from Isaiah 64.

From of old no one has heard
    or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
    who acts for those who wait for him.
You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
    those who remember you in your ways. (Isaiah 64:4,5)

This description of God brings up a good question, “Should I do something or wait for God to take care of it?” After all, he “acts for those who wait for him.”

Most people probably believe that you can’t just sit around and wait for God to take care of a situation. You get to work and do what needs to be done.

And yet on the other hand, in retrospect, God takes care of a lot of things without our help.

My garden is a good example. I had high hopes for lots of home grown veggies. I made raised boxes, filled them with good soil, supplemented the soil with homemade compost, built chicken wire cages to keep the squirrels out, watered, weeded, and staked up the tomatoes. Most of the lettuce died, a got more than enough jalapenos, and found out that cherry tomatoes are the only ones that grow well in my beds.

I didn’t plant much this past spring. (In Florida you plant in February or October, when the weather is a little better.) Lots of weeds grew. But so did a pepper plant. A green bell pepper plant. Which I’ve never planted. It must have been from the compost. I walked out there one day and harvested two pretty nice peppers for my salads. All courtesy of the creator, who made fruit-bearing plants that reproduced themselves.

All I had to do was wait.

I take medicine when I don’t feel well. But for the most part, my immune system takes care of my ailments and I feel better after a few days of rest.

All I have to do is wait.

Earlier this year, I worked hard to rehab our backyard lawn that had been torn up by an energetic Great Dane puppy. Sod, sod plus, filling holes, and taking her for more walks. Then the rains came, and the yard suddenly came to life. The grass grew in nice and thick so that I had to start cutting it every 4 or 5 days.

All I had to do was wait.

God provides in lots of different ways. Parents while we’re growing up, jobs and the ability to do them, friends who help us out, a earth filled with resources, and government. So no matter how hard you work, he ultimately gets the credit. And if you choose to wait, he gets the credit as well.

To God be the glory.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Waiting just a little longer

Photo by Dima Solomin on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from 1 Samuel 13.

What if I had waited just a few more hours?

We had no power because of the most recent hurricane. The electric company estimated our service wouldn’t be restored for another five days. Great. Life-threatening? No. Inconvenient? Very much so.

I headed out in the morning and filled up six two-gallon gas cans for the generator. I bought two more long extension cords to bring a little power into different parts of the house.

About 3:00 in the afternoon, the lights in the house lit up and the AC turned on.

What if I had waited just a few more hours?

King Saul found himself in a tight spot. The huge Philistine army is bearing down on him. His own army has dwindled to six hundred as more and more went home. It’s been seven days and Samuel hasn’t show up. Saul has to do something. He’s king. He’s the leader. Everyone is looking to him for direction.

So Saul offers up the pre-battle burnt offering himself. As soon as he does, Samuel shows up and asks, “What are you doing?”

Saul said, “The people were scattering, you didn’t come, the Philistines were on their way, so I did what I had to do” (1 Samuel 13:12).

Samuel says, “That was foolish and disobedient. Say goodbye to your kingdom. God is going to find someone else to rule his people” (13:13,14). God is going to find someone who trusts him.

I am much more like Saul than I like to admit. I’m patient, but I’m not that patient. I trust God, but I’m on a schedule. My souls waits for the Lord, but you’ll often catch me glancing at my watch.

Ultimately, the only one who can really take care of God’s people is Jesus, who is God himself. Ultimately, he’s the only one I can trust. Not me. Not my judgment. Not my capability. Only him.

Posted in Ministry

First look at Sunday, February 8

bald_eagle_soaringThe Old Testament text is Isaiah 40:21-31, ending up with the familiar (at least familiar to me) “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.”

Isaiah reminds his readers that God can pretty much handle everything.  From His perspective “above the circle of the earth,” earthly princes and rulers don’t present much of a challenge to Him.He never loses track of the stars, so why would you think that He doesn’t care about you?

There’s the challenge.  It’s easy to feel like God either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about your situation.  If He did, He’d act, right?  He’d do something.

The idea of waiting for the Lord is then tied to mounting up with wings like eagles.  Eagles can catch an updraft and soar for hours, not expending, but regaining energy.  What updrafts can we catch so that we aren’t killing ourselves trying to do everything and make things work out?  When might it be better to wait and trust the Lord rather than try harder?