What are you waiting for?

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Tim

We hate to wait.  Whether sitting in traffic, holding for a customer service representative, sitting in a crowded waiting room, or standing in a long line, we hate to wait.  What a waste of time!  We much prefer now to later.  Most of us would agree that waiting is both passive and negative.  Its byproduct is often impatience, frustration, and even anger.  We end up muttering things like, “Who hired this idiot?” or “Don’t they know my time is valuable too!”

What about waiting on God?  Do we experience the same range of emotions?  If so, these verses might just help transform your next trip to God’s waiting room.

Even youths shall faint and be 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.  Isaiah 40:30-31 ESV

Did you see our favorite word sandwiched in there?  It’s important since it’s the very “action” that leads us to where we want to go.  That word “wait” is translated from the Hebrew word qavah that literally means to “to collect or bind together; to twist or weave.”

So how do the weak grow strong?  How do the fallen begin to soar?  How do the prayerful endure?  By “waiting” on the Lord.  By twisting and weaving your life around the Lord like the braiding of a rope – like the uniting of multiple strands of fiber to create strength.

Unlike our customary earthly experience, biblical waiting is highly active and positively charged.  It flourishes in expectancy, hope, faith, and dependence.  It perseveres in prayer, remembers God’s faithfulness, and clings to His unwavering promises.  It rests in the very sovereignty of God and rejoices in what He is doing during the time of waiting as much as in the anticipated outcome.  It knows that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  It senses the abiding Presence of God and hears the reassuring voice of the Good Shepherd.

Easy?  Hardly.  We don’t like to wait, remember?  But if you will keep putting the fragile strands of your life into the hands of the One who wove you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), you will discover the miracle that awaits in God’s waiting room.

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Leave room for God

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Tim

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” Romans 12:17-18 NASB.

It’s hard to fake this.  We have to be talking supernatural stuff since I prefer the natural.  I like getting even or seeing my “enemy” get what’s coming to them.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cursed someone in my heart if not with my lips or tried to disprove grandma’s saying “two wrongs don’t make a right.”

The end result of this natural tendency is escalation of warfare, bitterness, giving justification to your adversary’s actions against you, and discrediting your testimony.  In short, we get in God’s way.

“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” Roman 12:19 NASB.

Topos is the Greek word translated “room” and means “a marked off place as a city, village, or location; a parcel of ground – real estate” (it’s the root of our English word “topography”).

It’s as though God has given us a clearly defined area for the real estate of our life.  If we move off our topos in judgment and unforgiveness, we overstep our authority and trespass on His land.  We need to let God be God.  When we take revenge, people hate us; when God judges, people often repent.  So leave room for God.

Similarly, the Bible says, “Be angry and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” Ephesians 4:26-27 NASB.  Would it surprise you that “opportunity” is also the Greek word topos?  The warning is to not let anger marinate and degrade into a root of bitterness, resentment or hatred thus allowing the devil to move onto your property!

Since your “enemy” is most often being driven by the Enemy, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34 KJV) works well to restore God’s perspective.  So say it.  Be diligent to guard your God-given topos by renewing your heart and mind according to the Word of God and being transformed into those who supernaturally live according to Spirit.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir once said, “Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.”  Could it be that peace in our lives will come when we love the Lord more than we hate our enemy?

Where are you currently in God’s way?  Forgive and step aside.  Where have you given the devil an opportunity to camp out on your property?  Forgive and tear down that stronghold.

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Don’t be outdone by a rock

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Tim

All of creation naturally praises God simply by doing what it was created to do. If you doubt this, just observe the rolling of ocean waves, snow falling, birds in flight, an approaching storm, the rising of the sun, or a brilliant night sky. They all have a beautiful, God-given rhythm and their “voice” is quite distinct. Only you and I can choose to live in such a way that withholds praise to our Creator.

Riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus was showered with shouts of praise, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38). Enraged, the Pharisees ordered Jesus to rebuke His followers and silence the crowd. Jesus answered, “If these become silent, the very stones will cry out!” (Luke 19:40).  Surely He was exaggerating just to make a point…or was He? God’s Word consistently talks about the seas lifting up their voice (Psalm 93:3), the heavens having a universal voice that goes out to all the earth (Psalm 19:1-3), and mountains singing together for joy (Psalm 98:8). Romans 10:18 even uses the Greek word for “musical sound or note” to describe their “voice.”

Still not convinced?  In a rare glimpse of God’s heavenly throne room, we see a mighty chorus of praise erupt around the throne and ripple outwardly to encompass all of creation:

“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’  And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever’” (Revelation 5:11-13).

It may be worth noting that “every created thing” is fairly all-inclusive not to mention the fact that John “heard [them] saying…” God not only created it all, but also gave creation a magnificent voice, a glorious song, a mighty chorus to praise His great Name.

So what about these stones Jesus pointed us to? He could have at least picked doves cooing or lambs bleating, but pebbles? They had to be the least glamorous thing around. But then again, maybe He chose them since they are largely ignored with no apparent voice and yet are foundational to everything!

All things considered, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” (Psalm 107:2). May we live in such a way that we never cease to sing His praises, tell of His greatness, or speak of His amazing love. Praise is foundational to everything. Don’t be outdone by a rock!

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When We Build

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Tim

As another new year arrives, I have been challenged to consider what I’ve started that still remains unfinished. Many of us like to build and we all have a few unfinished “projects” that we constantly tinker with probably more out of therapy or enjoyment than with an actual end in mind. Those are both necessary and healthy. But I am talking about another kind of construction project: what we are building into the lives of others – about how the next generation of leaders will be impacted because of our labor.

A couple of months ago, my wife bought a set of books on construction and craftsmanship written in the early 1900’s for our middle son who is great with his hands and has always been a builder. But as fascinating as their subject matter, it is the inscription pasted in the front of each book that captures our attention:

“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us’” ~John Ruskin.

While you may be adding onto your home, building a fire pit at your ranch or sanding down your latest project, I hope you will be moved by a century old inscription as if the ink was still wet to consider what you are building into the lives of others.

I have a feeling we all have some unfinished “building” projects. Sacred stones that still must be strategically stacked. Eternal truths that still must be carefully constructed into the coming generations. Think about the incredible impact you were meant to have on your children and grandchildren…your colleagues and friends – all to the glory of God.

So tell your story. Share your heart. Speak of God’s great love and faithfulness. Teach Truth and impart wisdom. This is your legacy, and it’s a living one. For we are “living stones” (1Peter 2:4-5) and each one of us must be careful how he builds upon the solid rock of Christ’s foundation (1Cor 3:10).

“But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness a nd of Your salvation all day long; for I do not know the sum of them. I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still declare Your wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, your power to all who are to come” (Psalm 71:14-17).

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Be Strong and Courageous

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Tim

In the book of Joshua, four times in the first chapter we hear the call to “be strong and courageous.” On the surface, you’d expect it since Joshua is preparing to lead the children of Israel into a series of battles to claim the Promised Land. But far from “sharpen your swords, start running 5 miles a day, and master that obstacle course,” this challenge is one for the heart. In the Hebrew root, “be strong” means to “fasten upon, cling, seize, tie fast or hold fast” hence strength. And “courageous” means to “be alert, steadfast, brave, bold, strong of heart.”

When you consider these meanings along with God’s command to obey His Word, not let His Word depart from your mouth, and to “meditate” (“growl, rumble, or groan”) on His Word day and night (Joshua 1:7-9), then you see that success is defined by clinging to the Word and having a steadfast heart for God, not by might or the sword.

Can you hear His voice? God is calling you to “be strong and courageous.” Are you clinging to and abiding in His Word? Do you find His Word frequently on your lips? Are you hiding the Word in your heart so that it’s growling like hunger pangs in the depths of your being? Besides a daily time in the Word, try memorizing and mediating on just one verse of Scripture each month. Start with the one you need the most and God will honor it and multiply it.

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