"But those who wait upon 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." Isa. 40:31
Have we really learnt what it means to wait upon the Lord?
I used to think my spiritual life was measured by how many things I could do for the Lord, and how excellently I could do them for Him. Yes, serving Him is a big part of spiritual life. But I've come to see and realise that far more important than that is learning how to wait upon Him, listen to Him, and obey Him when He speaks. And the most important part- to allow Him to do the work. To allow Him to have His way.
Just the other day our year 1 Medical Christian Fellowship for the first time had a gathering in the afternoon. I was supposed to lead worship and devotion, and was wondering how many people would turn up, since we consistently had only about 8 at most every morning. I thought about it, and somehow felt compelled to pray for 15 people. On the day itself, by the time we were supposed to start, there were only 8 people. But as time went by, one by one people slowly started to come, until we ended off with 17 people. I was so deeply grateful and thankful; God does amazing things. It was almost as if God was saying, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Yesterday I set off to writing notes for each of my cell members, and God placed it in my heart to seek out individual verses for each one of them. I didn't know how they would come, so I tried to wait. The whole of today from morning onwards I was feeling rather down and disturbed, and it got worse throughout the day. But God slowly made things better and cheered me up; finally at 10 p.m. I sat down to write the notes. And amazingly, God helped me to find all the verses I need and showed me what to write for each person, when I previously had little or no clue! I didn't know how I was going to do it, but God did it.
And these past few weeks have been filled with so many examples of how I was unsure and unable, and how I stumbled in weakness and uncertainty, but God eventually did it. And as I look back on my own life I see how He has worked this way in not just the aspect of serving Him, but in every corner of it. There have been so many things, so many things that I have tried to do on my own, tried to set right on my own, tried to take control of on my own, or gotten worried and stressed about. I guess that is our human tendency. And I have seen how He gently takes the control from my hands and slowly sets things right. Does things that I could never have imagined, things that I dreamed of but could never do on my own. The terrible thing is that so often I foolishly and reluctantly cling on, still wanting to do things MY own way, perhaps so that I could say that I DID IT, and also because I did not trust Him enough to let Him take control. Such foolish pride and weak faith! I have come to see that what all of us really need is to see GOD working in our lives and having His way. And do see that we must learn to wait upon Him, listen to Him, and then humbly obey, no matter how difficult. He alone can overcome our weaknesses, struggles, difficulties, and accomplish his "good and acceptable and pefect will." Romans 12:2.
So often we leap into worry and despair because we think that things cannot be done, and that is true. There are many things in life that cannot be done by our own strength, and were not meant to be. But when we learn to wait upon God, seek Him and listen to Him, and ultimately seek to obey Him, then we will see how He can work marvelous and miraculous things in our lives. So long as we are still trying to do things on our own or by our own strength, we will never see the full extent of God's grace and His amazing power. Yes, we can choose to struggle on by our own hands, and we may or may not be able to get by. But isn't it much better to surrender it all to Him and let Him work as He wants to? For when He works, we know that that is truly the best.
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength." Isa. 40:30
Have we really learnt what it means to wait upon the Lord?
I used to think my spiritual life was measured by how many things I could do for the Lord, and how excellently I could do them for Him. Yes, serving Him is a big part of spiritual life. But I've come to see and realise that far more important than that is learning how to wait upon Him, listen to Him, and obey Him when He speaks. And the most important part- to allow Him to do the work. To allow Him to have His way.
Just the other day our year 1 Medical Christian Fellowship for the first time had a gathering in the afternoon. I was supposed to lead worship and devotion, and was wondering how many people would turn up, since we consistently had only about 8 at most every morning. I thought about it, and somehow felt compelled to pray for 15 people. On the day itself, by the time we were supposed to start, there were only 8 people. But as time went by, one by one people slowly started to come, until we ended off with 17 people. I was so deeply grateful and thankful; God does amazing things. It was almost as if God was saying, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Yesterday I set off to writing notes for each of my cell members, and God placed it in my heart to seek out individual verses for each one of them. I didn't know how they would come, so I tried to wait. The whole of today from morning onwards I was feeling rather down and disturbed, and it got worse throughout the day. But God slowly made things better and cheered me up; finally at 10 p.m. I sat down to write the notes. And amazingly, God helped me to find all the verses I need and showed me what to write for each person, when I previously had little or no clue! I didn't know how I was going to do it, but God did it.
And these past few weeks have been filled with so many examples of how I was unsure and unable, and how I stumbled in weakness and uncertainty, but God eventually did it. And as I look back on my own life I see how He has worked this way in not just the aspect of serving Him, but in every corner of it. There have been so many things, so many things that I have tried to do on my own, tried to set right on my own, tried to take control of on my own, or gotten worried and stressed about. I guess that is our human tendency. And I have seen how He gently takes the control from my hands and slowly sets things right. Does things that I could never have imagined, things that I dreamed of but could never do on my own. The terrible thing is that so often I foolishly and reluctantly cling on, still wanting to do things MY own way, perhaps so that I could say that I DID IT, and also because I did not trust Him enough to let Him take control. Such foolish pride and weak faith! I have come to see that what all of us really need is to see GOD working in our lives and having His way. And do see that we must learn to wait upon Him, listen to Him, and then humbly obey, no matter how difficult. He alone can overcome our weaknesses, struggles, difficulties, and accomplish his "good and acceptable and pefect will." Romans 12:2.
So often we leap into worry and despair because we think that things cannot be done, and that is true. There are many things in life that cannot be done by our own strength, and were not meant to be. But when we learn to wait upon God, seek Him and listen to Him, and ultimately seek to obey Him, then we will see how He can work marvelous and miraculous things in our lives. So long as we are still trying to do things on our own or by our own strength, we will never see the full extent of God's grace and His amazing power. Yes, we can choose to struggle on by our own hands, and we may or may not be able to get by. But isn't it much better to surrender it all to Him and let Him work as He wants to? For when He works, we know that that is truly the best.
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength." Isa. 40:30
