Wait on the Lord

Psalm 27:13-14
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

When I first saw these two verses I immediately thought of David’s confidence. It takes real faith to believe the goodness of God’s character despite the circumstances, especially in David’s life. and yet in vs 3 we see Him say, “Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; though war my rise against me, In this I will be confident.”
When He talks of the land of the living, He is talking about this life. The life that you and I are living right now. David is fully believing that before He dies there are good things to come. Yet he’s got people trying to kill him, But HE STILL believes in the goodness of the Lord, despite everything else. He’s taken a heavenly perspective rather than a worldly perspective. He’s not looking at the circumstances, He’s keeping His eyes on His Lord fully assured in His character .

Romans 8:24 says “for we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”

It’s easy when we’re going through a rough patch in our life to loose sight of the Lord’s goodness. Sometime’s I myself lose sight of that goodness that He promises. Rather than hoping to see Him working in my life, I solely hope for the day I might see Him in heaven. But I need to believe that I will come face-to-face with His goodness in the daily life. I need to seek Him in all I do, and as I wait patiently, I will see the blessings of hope and joy that He has intended for all of us in Today.

The love of the Lord endures forever for those He has chosen and called according to His purposes. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” It’s His love that saves us, and its our love for Him, which is fully in response to the one who loved us first, which allows us to bear all things with patience, believe and hope all things, and endure all things. We can have faith in this life because its his love which will continue for all eternity.

IT was the goodness of the Lord that David places real value in. It motivated him to stay connected with the world around him, empowering Him to wait patiently for the Lord’s direction. During those periods of waiting I’m sure it was an encouragement to David to not lose heart. What he is basically saying in this verse is, “There is somethings so wonderful, so amazing about God that I know I’m going to personally experience it while I’m living this difficult life. I’m captivated by it, I will eagerly wait for it because it makes life worth it. I know if I patiently wait for it, It will strengthen my heart.”

Psalm 16:1 says, “Preserve me, O god for in You I put my trust, O my soul, you have said to the Lord, you are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.” It goes on in verse 8 to say, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh will also rest in hope.”

These are such powerful verse that David wrote. He was truly an amazing man who feared the Lord and knew and hoped for His goodness even in the trial. So likewise in us, we can confidently put our trust in God because He is our Lord, and we are nothing apart from Him. We are made for Him, by Him, to Glorify His name and allow Him to delight in us. What a wonderful thing that is, when you can finally let you of the reigns that you so often held tight to in your own life, and allow God to pick them up in your stead; To set the Lord before you and press on with joy knowing that you can rest in hope.

So for an application to take from this, I’d say to stop worrying. Stop fretting over every little thing in this world and look to God, because more than the circumstances in our lives, which are always changing, God remains constant. He has gone before those that He loves and will not allow them to handle more than we can endure. Every circumstance in our lives, He is aware of, He is in complete control of it. Be patient. and wait on the Lord. Allow Him to be your strength rather in your own might. Seek first His face and His kingdom.

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Eyes Fixed Above

Colossians 3

(vs.1-2)“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
This Chapter starts with the beginning of the spiritual life of a person who has accepted Christ. Just as He died and was risen, so must the christian die to the flesh and be born again of the spirit. I myself, being such, must everyday make the choice to put my flesh to death and what my mind wants: which is that of this earth. I have to focus my eyes on Jesus amidst the chaos and hold fast to to my first love. In a practical sense, I’m seeing things as God sees them; seeing all in relation to Him even in the little things.
(vs: 3-11)“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walk when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not life to one another, since you have put off the old man with is deeds , and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.”
I died; The old man that once ruled over this body no longer exists. Through Jesus and the blood of His cross I have been reconciled to God. “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:11) I once walked and lived in sin, and those things are still inside me. The only difference is I now make the choice to live a different way. The life that I now live, I live to God; I am His. I hold fast with hope that He will appear again in glory and I will be with Him in heaven. One thing I love in verse 6 is that it says the wrath of God IS COMING to the sons of disobedience, but it hasn’t yet. God is patient, slow to anger, and desires that all should be saved. He is a gentleman. He won’t force His way in, we have to open the door for Him. He is patiently waiting for those who will turn from their ways and come to Him because He loves and desire to save us. God will bring about justice, but His mercy is upon His children.
(vs.12-17) “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in upper hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with face in your hears to the Lord. And whatever you join the word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
As a child of God, made holy through His grace and His alone, I am to live a life well pleasing to Him. I have a bad track record of being a people pleaser, but these last three months I’ve realised just how pointless it is to serve men rather than God. My identity is in Christ, not in what others think of me. Rather than being a people pleaser, I should be seeking to please the Lord.
Again, It’s only a matter of my response to the blessing He has poured upon me through His Son. There’s nothing I can do to earn or pay back that grace, its a gift of God. I can only respond and walk as I marvel at the magnitude of His love and mercy. Rather, my service should be a response to that gift I’ve already been given.“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:6)
How do I respond to that gift? By seeking the face of The Lord, by loving Him with my whole heart and desiring what He desires. I want to imitate the life of Christ, just as a child wants to imitate their parents, with humility, kindness, meekness, and patience. I want to show the love of Christ through my actions and look upon others the way Jesus would see them, beloved of God.
I have experienced the grace of God in my life, and because I understand the vastness of it I can experience the peace of God. Over the chaotic day to day life, I can move forward with peace knowing that everything is His control, even my life He holds in the palm of His hands. Why should I worry then? Rather I should give thanks in all situations. All I need to continue on is to abide in His word and let His Word abide in me, this is the key to pressing on.
(vs.18-25) “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.”
The part that really sticks out the most to me in these verses is the part about Bondservants. I’d like to think of myself, as Paul did, as a bondservant of Christ. My life is in His hands and I am here to serve Him with everything I have. Most importantly I want to do it with a sincere heart, knowing I am serving unto the Lord rather than man. a sincere heart.
So if there is one main thing I can take out of all of this, it’s that I have been given a gift, and its not something I can repay. All I can do is respond to the gift of mercy given to me by the Lord by seeking Him with my whole heart and desiring to live a life that brings Him glory. It doesn’t matter if I fail, because no matter what I’m doing, if my heart is in the right place and I did all that I could, it’s pleasing to the Lord.