Once again...it's all about the timing (Hidden Treasure #2)

Latest buried gem discovered out of nowhere:

Psalm 106:13-15 (NIV)
13 But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. 14 In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. 15 So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.

I've quoted C.S. Lewis before, but it just SO fits this Scripture..."There are those who say, 'God's will be done, and there are others to whom God says, 'Alright then, have it your way.'"

Waiting is probably the hardest thing we do as Christians. As members of the human race, I suppose we should all be considered toddlers: "I want what I want, and I want it NOW!" But like my friend, Sharon, commented in my previous post, we must remember that "waiting has something to teach me, too"!!

Psalm 19:21 (NIV) ~ Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

As Marcia Hollis says in God Meets Us Where We Are, "We make our plans, tell God what we intend to do, and then travel for quite a while before we realize that he simply isn't with us! It isn't that he leaves us on purpose...or shows us who's really boss. It's just that in the rush and hurry to get something done, ... we leave him far behind, lost in the crowd."

Often this is how I think God must look at me:

"Again!?!" and, I've heard Him clear as day say to me: "Would you please stop getting in the way and interfering with the plans I have for you!?!!!"

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) ~ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
I never really looked at it that way before, but I guess He certainly can't bring about those plans if we're always trying to do things our way, instead of waiting for His way... ;o} !!! (Ok, I know He doesn't look at me this way, really....probably more of a throw the hands up in the air, shake His head & say "there she goes again!")

Hollis continues, "If we try to go ahead of God's enabling Power, we will have to retrace our steps." We must remember ... Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV) ~ The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

It escapes our consciousness, I believe, that He has to work everything out along the line in order for everything to fall into place just right. He starts here ...

but there is much that needs to be done in order to get here....where He places the final piece of the intricate puzzle of our lives....us! It's rather like the interconnectedness we find here...

I rather like to pray as Henri J.M. Nouwen does, "Dear God, I am full of wishes, full of desires, full of expectations. Some of them may be realized, many may not, but in the midst of all my satisfactions and disappointments, I hope in you. I know that you will never leave me alone and will fulfill your divine promises. Even when it seems that things are not going my way, I know that they are going your way and that, in the end, your way is the best way for me. O Lord, strengthen my hope, especially when my many wishes are not fulfilled. Let me never forget that your name is Love. Amen."

Strengthen my hope indeed .... Romans 8:24b-25 (NIV) ~ But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

And remember .... Hebrews 6:18-19 (NIV) ~ ... it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

And just as Elisa Morgan said in I'm Tired of Waiting!,

"God is worthy to be trusted and believed, even when he appears inactive."

Please join us for Spiritual Sundays! You will find such an abundance of His grace here!