Trusting and Waiting On The Lord!

Trusting: to rely on, to lean on, to have confidence in.
Waiting: stay in one place, remain inactive in expectation.

As I was studying Psalms 37, I was truly blessed as I saw all over again that the Lord will take care of our situations and circumstances if we would allow Him to do just what He said in His word.

Starting with Psalms 37:1, we read, "Fret (to be angry, worried, displeased) not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity." In other words, don't get angry with evil people, and don’t be jealous with people who are not upright or in good/right standing with God. We all occasionally can find ourselves focusing on the wrong things. I didn't pass that test on a job that I had some years ago. I often found myself saying, I'm the faithful Church goer, the faithful tithes payer, but somehow it seems like all these other people are making all the money. My friends, that was not the right thinking. I finally realized that my focus was in the wrong place. If I had been trusting in God, what He said in His word, and waiting patiently on Him I would have been totally satisfied with the salary I had agreed upon.

Verses 2 through 8 continue on to tell us what's going to happen to those evildoers and workers of iniquity, and what we should do. The scriptures tell us that they shall soon fade away like grass - they are going to be cut down and disappear. We must lean on, rely on, and be confident in the Lord, and do good things. We should focus on helping people around us and Delighting (to take pleasure in) ourselves in the Lord. When we do that, God will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. It might not happen immediately - but it will happen! We must learn to wait for God's perfect timing and remember that a delay does not mean a denial. We must also Commit (entrust, to roll over) everything that we do to the Lord. Regardless of whether  it's big or small, we must simply roll all of our cares and burdens on Him and trust Him to bring them to pass and to completion.

The Lord will make our uprightness and right-standing go forth as the light and we will shine like the sun at midday. Rest (be still) and wait for Him, and rely upon His word! Don't get angry at others who are prospering in their way. Cease (stop, bring to an end) and let God be our vindicator. We must stop being angry and/or jealous, because it will only lead to trouble.

These are just a few points in Psalms 37. If we were to do just these few things, we would see our lives turn around - in a good way. God will do what He promised, but we must meet the conditions. Jesus loves us, He wants to do for us just what He said.

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

Blessed is He that Waits

Blessed: Enjoying happiness
Wait: To stay in one place in expectation of

You can’t hurry God... no, you just have to wait! He may not come when we want Him, but when He comes, He’s always right on time... His Time! Just because we are living in this "microwave" generation, where we want what we want right now, sometimes we have the nerve to want Him to come on our time - usually, like yesterday. It's important that we remember that The Lord doesn’t always heat up like the microwave, sometimes He’s more like the crock pot. You know even when you put that crock pot on high, it still takes a little while to warm up. You can’t hurry God... no, you just have to wait!

Now don’t misunderstand me - the Lord can answer you faster than you can bat your eye - if He wants to. But that’s not our call - it’s His call. The point I’m trying to make is - slow your roll - and learn to wait patiently! The word tells us in Psalms 27:14, "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

Once upon a time, Daniel - a powerful servant of the Lord - prayed for an answer and it took 21 days for the answer to come. In Daniel chapter 10, verse 12, Daniel tells us about the vision of an Angel; "Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words." I'm sharing this scripture with you to let you know that God heard Daniel the very first time he spoke - just as He hears us now. And just as Daniel had to wait, we must also learn to wait for God's timing. Fortunately for us, while we're waiting - we're growing. While we're waiting, the Lord is teaching us to trust Him and He’s teaching us patience. He’s going to give us just what we need, exactly when we need it. He wants us to enjoy happiness and to stay in one place in expectation of what He’s going to bring.

Sometimes we ask for a spouse or a certain job and when it doesn’t happen in our time frame we get anxious and we try to get ahead of God. We meet someone and he or she appear to be better than ice cream and cake together, and we think - this is the person of my dreams or this is the job I’ve always dreamed about - but we better wait patiently and be sure it’s God's person or job, because he, or she, or that job could be the worst nightmare we ever had!

Take heed to what the Bible tells us in Isaiah 40:31, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

With all that said, let the Church say Amen… and AMEN!

Is Your Foundation Sure?

Foundation: the base or support
Sure: trust worthy, without doubt, certainty

When you are building a house you must have a blue print and that blue print shows us exactly how to build that house and exactly where everything should go. With any building that goes up, one of the most important things that’s needed is a solid and firm foundation. If that foundation isn't sure and solid, you’re going to get cracks, things are going to shift, and we will have major issues on our hands.

You know where I’m going with this, right? Just as it is in the natural, so shall it be in the spiritual realm. In order to build a strong spiritual foundation, we have to build it on things not of this world, but on the things of God. If we don't, our foundation will crack and crumble the minute there’s a little wind blown in our direction - i.e. when we’re put into a difficult situation. However, if we have built our foundation up by establishing a strong prayer life, study time, praise and worship, then we will be able to stand on God's word which will never fall or crack instead of being utterly destroyed by storms.

Laying a good and strong foundation takes time and obedience, but believe me when I say, the benefits are worth it. Luke 6:47- 49 tells us that "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings and doeth them, I will shew you to whom be is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid a foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” Hopefully it goes without saying that the rock is Christ.

Let's be wise master builders. Don’t forget that as we are building our strong and sure foundation, we are really drawing closer to the Lord. As we draw closer to Him, He will draw closer to us!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!                                

Get into God’s Presence

Presence -  The immediate area surrounding a person.

The Lord will show us the path of life; He will honor our requests and He will meet our needs -- if we would get in His immediate surroundings. Psalms 16:11 says: Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for ever more. That means that we don't have to be a rocket scientist, a lawyer, or a doctor to be blessed... we just need to be a humble servant in need of a blessing.

Hannah's husband had two wives - one had children, but Hannah did not because the Lord had shut up her womb. 1 Samuel 1:6 tell us how Peninnah provoked Hannah sore and tried to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. And Hannah was bitter in her soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. She asked the Lord to look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember her, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child. As Hannah got in His presence, the Lord remembered Hannah and He gave her a male child.

The Lord sent Isaiah to tell Hezekiah to set his house in order: for he was to die, and not live. When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, and said, remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight, and Hezekiah wept sore. Before Isaiah could even got out of the courtyard, the Lord had told him to go back and tell Hezekiah that He heard his prayer and saw his tears, and He was going to add FIFTEEN years to his life. Hezekiah got in His presence. (Isaiah 38:1 - 5)

The Word tells us how Jesus and a great number of people were passing through Jericho and blind Bartimaeus was sitting by the highway begging and when he heard it was Jesus, he began to cry out, "Jesus, thy son of David, have mercy on me." The people around him told him to be quiet and to hold his peace, but the more they tried to quiet him, the more he cried out. That just goes to show you that you can't always listen to people, because it might cause you to miss out on your blessing. When Jesus heard Bartimaeus' cry, the Bible says that He stood still, called him over and asked him, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" Bartimaeus replied, "Lord, that I might receive my sight" and immediately he received his sight. Bartimaeus got in His presence.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.  To get in His presence; we must cry out and weep before the Lord.

With all that said, let the church say Amen... and AMEN!