February 3, 2023 — “When God Waits, There is Always a Good Reason”

“Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked. I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.Again I passed by, and they were no more; though I sought them, they could not be found.Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.” Psalm 37:34-40

“Wait on the Lord, and keep his way. This is the true mode of

waiting on God which the Scripture recommends; keeping God’s way– using all his ordinances, and living in the spirit of obedience.” (Adam Clarke Commentary)

We all can work, we all can focus for a time, we all can handle more than one thing at a time. But can we all wait patiently? I am someone who struggles with waiting patiently. If I am standing in a line to order a coffee and the people in front of me are thinking and talking instead of ordering, it upsets me. “I have places to be”, I think to myself. “Don’t they realize I am in a hurry?”, I mumble under my breath. Too much of society is in a rush to get nowhere – and they are waiting to trample over whomever might get in their way.

“Wait for the Lord, and keep His way”, the Psalmist says. The people in Egypt possibly wondered why the Lord waited so long before rescuing them from their burdens under Pharaoh. They most likely wondered why – and determined that there must be some good reason for the Lord to seemingly forget their plight. When G-d waits, there is always a good reason. Moses needed time to develop his character to be a good leader. Pharaoh needed to wait for his heart to harden enough to push the Lord to act.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, help me to learn to have patience, and allow you to act, in your time. When I do I know I will reap the benefit of your patience. Amen

Pastor Dave

February 2, 2023 — “Waiting On The Lord – G-d’s People Were Weary”

“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 strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those 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.” Isaiah 40:28-31

“They were discouraged and overwhelmed because they had been defeated by another nation and taken from their homes and now were living as strangers and exiles in a foreign land – Babylon. Yet they also knew, they had heard, that God still had a purpose for them as a people. And that God had promised to bring them back to their home – Jerusalem.

But in their weariness and despair they wondered: Can God’s promise really be true? Is God really able to come through on it? They were enslaved by the most powerful empire of their day and they were at the mercy of its king. How in the world would they ever be able to leave and return home

Considering all this they were tempted give up, “to faint” as our text says. In the ordeal they were facing, as v. 30 says, “even youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted.” Even the strongest among them were overwhelmed. And so the prophet speaks God’s word to them.” (williamshiggins.net)

The tag line for the company Nike(TM) has been (for many years) the phrase “Just Do It”. For our society, too many people live their lives with the motto “Do it now”. In fact many people believe that when they pray to G-d they expect G-d will either answer now, or grant their prayer now. But I am here to say that the Lord is neither under our control nor our schedule. We may expect the Lord to “do something now”, but the Lord usually has another time schedule in mind. When we pray, we are not supposed to give the Lord a long laundry list of things we want done and a schedule of when to do them. Yet, so often, this is what our prayers to G-d turn out to be. “Lord, I need this and this and this, and Lord I need them now.” That is not a prayer, my friends – that sounds more like extortion.

A relationship with G-d is one that should include patience and trust. As the text from Isaiah reminds us, “those 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 such, when we pray to the Lord, instead of saying “Lord I need you to do this now”, why not try, “Lord let your will be done, in your time, and in your wisdom.”

Let us pray: Dear G-d, this society constantly tells me I should have what I want when I want it. Give me the courage to ask, and the patience to wait – for you know what I need when I need it. Amen. 

Pastor Dave