How often do we equate waiting with Christian service? We wait in line at the grocery store, at the bank, at a traffic light. We wait for our next paycheck, for our children to grow to that next stage, for the end of the day. We wait for God to provide that "one" thing that will satisfy us, to change a spouse, to change circumstances. We wait, and wait, and wait. But not patiently.
Psalm 123:2 says, "Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He is gracious to us." These people were waiting--but their waiting on God was active, not passive.
Faith is waiting. It is the act of waiting on God to fulfill my needs instead of seeking to meet them myself. Faith is confidence that God knows my needs and will supply them in glorious measure through Christ (Phil 4:19). The action of the servant is directed at the master. The "eyes of servants," "the eyes of a maid" look to the one who is being served. This does not stop their service, or hinder their service--the service continues uninterrupted because the heart of the servant is intent on the Master.
The Master, our God, is kind, good, and gracious. Do I truly believe this? For this is faith, this is the mechanism that fuels any true service. We cannot please our Master until we believe His existence and believe that He will reward those who faithfully serve Him (Heb 11:6). Service that comes from a heart of fear or obligation is sporadic, incomplete, and futile. But service that is intent on the Master is a lifestyle, a way of being, that results from a heart of faith.
In what area(s) of life am I seeking to meet my own needs, fulfill my own desires? God's Word reveals His heart: that my investment in His kingdom, in His Person would overshadow my own needs--real or imagined (Matthew 6:33). A life as His servant does not require more time at church (although that may be a by-product) or flailing myself for past wrongs, but actively, devotedly listening to His voice and walking in obedience to His Word, believing His grace is sufficient.
"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
Will I choose to live a faith-fully or self-fully today?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A Prosperous Life Part II
How does dependence on God take place? What does it look like? How does one become God-dependent instead of in-dependent?
Reading further in the book of Psalms, I came across this familiar verse, "Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker" (Psalm 95:6). As noted in the previous blog, there are those that would serve all their lives, but never truly in the court of God. Tragically, there are those who spend time regularly reading God's Word and attending worship who are not prospering. What makes the difference?
The difference is found not in what is said or done as much as in what occurs in the privacy of one's heart in response to God's Word. A heart that excuses behavior, justifies it, or chooses only comfortable passages will not experience God's peace or blessing. But to worship and bow down, to kneel before God is to openly trust that what He says is true and right. It is the most basic confession, agreeing with God. When I am unable or unwilling to bow my heart in submission to His goodness, I fail to confess Him as Lord. My mouth can say what it will, but the rest of my life stands in opposition to the lovingkindness and grace of God.
Few of us have thought of confession as lifestyle. For years, decades perhaps, we have thought of 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." But rarely do we consider time in God's Word as confession--and it won't be until we can accept God at His Word, trusting that He is right and true.
How would God have me bow the knee today? In obedience. In prayer when self-denial fails me, in prayer when love runs too short, in prayer when the easy choice seems the best choice.... Confession is the means of dependence for the prosperous follower of Jesus Christ.
Reading further in the book of Psalms, I came across this familiar verse, "Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker" (Psalm 95:6). As noted in the previous blog, there are those that would serve all their lives, but never truly in the court of God. Tragically, there are those who spend time regularly reading God's Word and attending worship who are not prospering. What makes the difference?
The difference is found not in what is said or done as much as in what occurs in the privacy of one's heart in response to God's Word. A heart that excuses behavior, justifies it, or chooses only comfortable passages will not experience God's peace or blessing. But to worship and bow down, to kneel before God is to openly trust that what He says is true and right. It is the most basic confession, agreeing with God. When I am unable or unwilling to bow my heart in submission to His goodness, I fail to confess Him as Lord. My mouth can say what it will, but the rest of my life stands in opposition to the lovingkindness and grace of God.
Few of us have thought of confession as lifestyle. For years, decades perhaps, we have thought of 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." But rarely do we consider time in God's Word as confession--and it won't be until we can accept God at His Word, trusting that He is right and true.
How would God have me bow the knee today? In obedience. In prayer when self-denial fails me, in prayer when love runs too short, in prayer when the easy choice seems the best choice.... Confession is the means of dependence for the prosperous follower of Jesus Christ.
Monday, August 4, 2008
A Prosperous Life
If you were to render a sketch of your spiritual life--right now, today--what would it look like? A solitary island sporting an asymmetrical palm tree? A series of rivers and tributaries converging in one fluid, rolling force? Perhaps a blown and tumbled corn stalk struggling to regain its strength?
After weeks, months, even years of service within the local church, many of us resemble the solitary island or tumbled corn stalk more than we'd like to admit. There seems a sort of disillusionment that takes place, a realization that others will take more than they give, that appreciation is never equal to the task, that sacrificing family, marriage, even basic needs is never enough. There comes a point of evaluation that reveals the emptiness and vanity of all we have to give and we wonder at the driving force. Why did we feel compelled to push so hard? Was it really worth it? Where do we go from here?
How then, can we reconcile this with the psalmist's words, "The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him" (Psalm 92:12-15).
Little by little I am learning the beauty of dependence. The righteous flourish because they are tended by the Master Gardener. They are planted in His courtyard, not their own. The fruit, the greenery, and the health of the tree is a product of God's work, God's care, not the tree's. The tree is an ornament of the Maker. It does nothing of its own, nor does it suffer self-inflicted thirst or harsh treatment. How like that tree I long to be! Not the beaten, bitter tree that stands alone; not the short-lived flowering bush that quickly perishes; not the petrified pine that withstood wind and time but bore no fruit. I long to be lush and full, prosperous and strong--to love life and laugh at worry.
And this will only happen in my Father's house, under His care, directed and pruned by His hands. So I asked myself this morning, "What directs the my life flow?" Am I learning to know Him daily and responding to His prompting or seeking to meet the needs of others based on my perception? Am I more motivated by pride or humility? Am I just as content waiting as I am working? Finally, who does this tree honor? The tree that is fed and prospers at the hand of God honors and glorifies Him alone. The glory of the tree is in the proclamation, the message; its health, beauty, prosperity, and usefulness is a work of the Master.
How would you envision your spiritual life? It is the hand of Master, and dependence on Him, that will make all the difference.
After weeks, months, even years of service within the local church, many of us resemble the solitary island or tumbled corn stalk more than we'd like to admit. There seems a sort of disillusionment that takes place, a realization that others will take more than they give, that appreciation is never equal to the task, that sacrificing family, marriage, even basic needs is never enough. There comes a point of evaluation that reveals the emptiness and vanity of all we have to give and we wonder at the driving force. Why did we feel compelled to push so hard? Was it really worth it? Where do we go from here?
How then, can we reconcile this with the psalmist's words, "The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him" (Psalm 92:12-15).
Little by little I am learning the beauty of dependence. The righteous flourish because they are tended by the Master Gardener. They are planted in His courtyard, not their own. The fruit, the greenery, and the health of the tree is a product of God's work, God's care, not the tree's. The tree is an ornament of the Maker. It does nothing of its own, nor does it suffer self-inflicted thirst or harsh treatment. How like that tree I long to be! Not the beaten, bitter tree that stands alone; not the short-lived flowering bush that quickly perishes; not the petrified pine that withstood wind and time but bore no fruit. I long to be lush and full, prosperous and strong--to love life and laugh at worry.
And this will only happen in my Father's house, under His care, directed and pruned by His hands. So I asked myself this morning, "What directs the my life flow?" Am I learning to know Him daily and responding to His prompting or seeking to meet the needs of others based on my perception? Am I more motivated by pride or humility? Am I just as content waiting as I am working? Finally, who does this tree honor? The tree that is fed and prospers at the hand of God honors and glorifies Him alone. The glory of the tree is in the proclamation, the message; its health, beauty, prosperity, and usefulness is a work of the Master.
How would you envision your spiritual life? It is the hand of Master, and dependence on Him, that will make all the difference.
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