Day 14

   The Super Bowl is set... Colts vs. Saints.  I was a Saints fan all season because of Drew Brees, my fantasy football quarterback, even after I got knocked out of the playoffs myself.  Go Saints!  And just about every time I watch football, I am reminded of my limited experience playing football.  But one thing I remember vividly, either from backyard games or my short stint on the 7th grade squad, is being stuck on the bottom of a dog pile.  What a scary feeling!  Being the bottom of a football pancake stack, unable to move or get off the ground.  What I remember is the shear panic that surfaced quickly once I realized I was trapped under the big bodies. I couldn't escape.  Now, when I watch professionals in the same situation, I notice that they just lay still.  Not fighting to get up (most of the time), but just waiting.  Eventually, all the monstrous tacklers get back on their feet and reveal the not-so-huge running back or quarterback, who slowly rises to his feet unscathed.  No panic, no stress, and usually no injury.  These guys have learned to just be patient, especially when they have no other choice. 
   Such is the case with us.  Patience = suffering.  In some translations of the Bible, patience is rendered "long-suffering."  Have you ever prayed for patience?  Do you realize what you're asking for?  I remember a scene from the movie "Evan Almighty."  The "God" character is telling a woman that when we ask for patience, we are given opportunities to learn it through our experiences.  It just doesn't fall from the sky.  Patience is learned.  As is the case in football, we've learned to submit to something or someone patiently, when we have no other choice or can't muster up the strength to overcome, much like being on the bottom of the dog pile.  But what about in our waiting on God?  Murray says, "In waiting on God it is of infinite consequence that we not only submit because we are compelled to, but because we lovingly and joyfully consent to be in the hands of our blessed Father."  Our patience in waiting is something we do because we know, love and trust God to come through.  Here are some qualities of patiently waiting, according to Murray:  "The great stillness of soul...that sinks into its own helplessness, the deep humility...afraid...to work except as God works..., the meekness that is content to be and to know nothing except as God gives His light, the entire resignation of the will that only wants to be a vessel in which His holy will can move and mold."  Am I a vessel for God's will?  Have I emptied myself of my own will in order for His to fill me?  Who's really in charge here?  That's the tough question.  
   So what are the results of this patient waiting?  "He has put a new song in my mouth." (Psalm 40:3).  The results are more praise to the Father and a realization that all my suffering, or waiting, or wondering ultimately can bring praise to the one Who deserves it.  By the way, that's not me.

Day 13

More, More, More!  
 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" - Ephesians 3:20

   Isn't this verse pretty cool?  Take your imagination, stretch it to its utmost capacity, come on...further.  When you reach the end of the rope and have thought of the very best thing for your life, God is doing and can do even more than that. When we find ourselves waiting on God, how many times do we limit Him based on what we think we need, or maybe in relation to what He did in our pasts.  Our silly little limited pea brains cannot begin to fathom the immensity of God...nor can we understand His ways.  So our prayers many times are very little... "God help me do ___, or God, provide me with ___."  What if God had something bigger in mind for your life?  What is His provisions were 100X what you asked for?  What if His plan and direction for you is so far off track from where you are now?  Have you limited God?
   Murray talks about this:  "In every true prayer, there are two hearts in exercise.  The one is your heart, with its little, dark, human thoughts of what you need and God can do.  The other is God's great heart, with its infinite, its divine purposes of blessing...To which of these two ought the larger place to be given in your approach to Him?"  When we approach the living God in prayer, may we remember that He is enormously bigger and more loving than our feeble minds can comprehend.  May we surrender ourselves to Him and eagerly expect God-sized action.  And may we trust Him fully with our lives and trust that waiting on Him is really worth it.  He will come through...in His timing and in a way that only He can do.

Day 12

"Wait on the Lord and keep His ways."  Psalm 37:34
    So what am I supposed to do?  Wait or act?  Sound like a contradiction?  How often do we get bogged down with the tension that exists between faith and works?  I like the way Murray helps to resolve this tension, in terms of waiting on God while we continue to be obedient to His Word:  "Wait on the Lord - that has to do with worship and disposition; keep His ways -that deals with walk and work.  The outer life must be in harmony with the inner; the inner must be the inspiration and the strength for the outer."  My obedience comes as a result of the inner faith that I should have, knowing that God is faithful and that He is working.  "If we do not keep His ways, our waiting on Him can bring no blessing."  Basically, if I claim to "wait" on the Lord, but walk in my own ways, down my own path, doing my own thing, my actions proclaim my lack of faith in God.  I really don't want to wait on Him after all.  I've decided that I can do it all myself. 
   But haven't I realized that I can't keep His ways?  Why bother?  Murray reminds us that we actually can't accomplish this on our own.  Our strength must come from Him.  "Surrender yourself willingly and trustingly to keep all God's ways, in the strength which will come in waiting on Him."  When I allow God to work in my life, He will empower me with His Spirit to accomplish His will in my life. And in that power of the Holy Spirit, I can obediently walk in His ways.  What a blessed life!   

Day 11

Patience.  One of those things so many of us want in life.  We want more patience with our spouses, our kids, the boss, strangers on the road, etc, etc.  And I remember being told NOT to pray for it, since the only true way to gain patience is to learn it through suffering, adversity or difficulty.  And who wants that? But I am learning more and more, during this period of adversity, that waiting on God involves patience.  Murray explains:  "The waiting is to teach us our absolute dependence upon God's mighty working, and to make us in perfect patience place ourselves at His disposal.  It is resting in the Lord, in His will, His promise, His faithfulness, and His love, that makes patience easy."  Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.  Psalm 37:7

Day 10

Ojo de Dios
I remember my high school Spanish teacher sharing with us about this ancient Indian/Mexican artifact. The idea is that the eyes of the gods watch people.  This was done with a positive slant, hoping that the gods would protect the family and the home.  And as is the case with so many other religious icons, mankind ends up putting their hope in the icon itself, rather than on the person/power that the icon is supposed to represent.  Been to a Catholic church lately?
Psalm 33: 18 - "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy."  Murray begins Day 10 by admonishing us to keep our eyes on God, as He keeps His eyes  on us.  "This is the blessedness of waiting upon God, that it takes our eyes and thoughts away from ourselves, even our needs and desires, and occupies us with our God."  But wait, I like thinking about myself, my problems, my needs, etc.  If I don't think about them, who will?  Isn't it my responsibility to worry about all these things and get out there and make things happen?!  I'm learning that there is much more peace and rest in waiting on Him, as opposed to me being consumed, stressed and anxious about tomorrow.  Of course I have responsibility, but my greatest duty right now is to seek Him and wait.  How amazing our God is!  Murray describes the apparent contradictions that show up when we look at who God is, and yet explains how "all apparent contradictions are reconciled. Righteousness and peace, judgment and mercy, holiness and love, infinite power and infinite gentleness, a majesty that is exalted above all heaven, and a condescension that bows very low."  
The power and gentleness comparison reminds me of an illustration I've heard many times.  It makes me think of me and my son.  Even though I don't possess enormous physical presence or power, I am bigger and stronger than my son.  And you could find us play fighting or wrestling around the house at times.  Because I am stronger than he is, I could easily overpower Him and cause serious injury to him.  I have that ability.  But because of my love for him, as my own, I am gentle.  I hold back some of that power so I don't hurt him.  God is much the same way.  He is infinitely more powerful than anyone, any force, anything.  He is the creator of this crazy place.  But with that power comes a gentleness that is hard for us to comprehend.  It's the image of a child sitting in the lap of a father, lovingly protected and cared for.  Isn't He incredible?
Last thoughts on Day 10:  Here's a challenge.  Turn on the TV any evening and find a religious channel.  Now tune in to a modern day "preacher" in some big church.  Does this sound familiar?  "You are a victor, not a victim".  Or what about "God wants you to be happy and prosperous and healthy."  Now, read Psalm 33:18-22.  How about this part, "to keep them alive in famine."  Wait a stinkin' minute!  Doesn't God prevent famine in our lives?  Doesn't God want "the best life now" for me?  Murray closes with this:  "Not to prevent the danger of death or famine-this is often needed to stir up to wait on Him-but to deliver and to keep alive.  The dangers are often very real and dark; the situation, whether in the temporal or spiritual life, may appear to be utterly hopeless; there is always one hope: God's eye is on them.  That eye sees the danger, and sees in tender love His trembling, waiting child, and sees the moment when the heart is ripe for the blessing, and sees the way in which it is to come."  I've learned to pray God's will for my life and for the life of others.  So I'm out of work right now.  What prayers do I want lifted to heaven for me?  Not that I would find a job tomorrow.  Not that all my troubles will "seem so far away." But that during this crisis in my life, God would do what He wants to do with me.  That he will teach me humility, dependence and true waiting on Him. And that He would provide for us in an incredible way, day by day.  May I learn the lessons I need to learn as I wait on Him.  

Day 9

Neurology or Cardiology? Where's the problem?
I heard years ago that some people miss heaven by about 18 inches...the distance from the head to the heart. What does that mean? That many people know lots about God, the Bible, religion, etc. But at the end of the day, their hearts are lost. Murray explains, "...very many Christians have no sense of the great difference between the religion of the mind and the religion of the heart, and the former is far more diligently cultivated than the latter." Murray uses the analogy of eating. Our brains tell us that we are hungry and we know the effects of food on that hunger. However, all the knowledge, information, research and data about food, nutrition and metabolism will NOT satisfy that hunger. It's only when we experience the food within ourselves that it does what it's supposed to do. So it goes with God. A head knowledge is not enough. Our true waiting on Him is a heart matter. When we study God's Word, Murray encourages us to "cease from [our] thoughts, put no trust in them, and to awaken the heart to open itself before God and seek the living fellowship with Him." Our thoughts and efforts are "impotent". My prayer is that I will "give [my] whole heart, with its secret workings, into God's hands continually. He wants the heart, and takes it, and as God, dwells in it." God has blessed me with a mind with the capability to learn. And I do want to learn more of God's truths. But it's only if my heart is fully surrendered to Him in waiting, that I will experience the true blessedness of this life.

Oops

I missed a few days...hmmm, need to recharge this habit. Stay tuned.

Day 8

The first time I read this, I was on a short getaway back in October. I had wandered out on a 4-wheeler, several miles from the ranch house I was staying at. Coming upon a small fishing pond, I saw a 2-man fishing boat with a battery powered trolling motor attached...hmmm...looked like fun. So I hopped in, spun my way out into the center of the pond and just sat. It was around 7:30 in the morning, just after the sun had risen above the trees. In fact I remember feeling the sun's warm rays as they topped the trees and hit me in the face. The reflection off the water was too powerful to look at. And as I sat and meditated on Day 8, I got to the last paragraph. "come with all that is dark and cold in you into the sunshine of God's holy, omnipotent love, and sit and wait there, with the one thought: Here I am, in the sunshine of His love." I don't know about you, but the power of the sun reminds me, even if it pales in comparison, of the glory of the Almighty God...and that morning, I felt its warmth as I read about His love. What an amazing creation we have to enjoy! The Hebrew word for waiting used in Isaiah 40:31 ("those who wait on the Lord will gain new strength...) is a picture of a worker expectantly waiting for his wages...in full eagerness and confidence that they are coming. So it goes in our waiting on God. Murray says "we ought beforehand to resolve that [our waiting] shall be with the most confident expectation of God's meeting and blessing us." So what about us skeptics who are so often afraid of getting duped that we hesitate to hold out hope for something we can't control? Where's the proof that waiting is worth it? God is that proof. I am waiting on Him, and He never disappoints. I'm not waiting on me, my feelings or what I think is best. I am to wait on Him to discover who He is and what He is doing. That's the blessedness of waiting on God. It's not in vain.

Day 7

"I surrender, I surrender." Somehow, I developed this silly game with my daughter and niece a few months back, which got named I Surrender. Basically, I hold onto their hands, swing them up and catch their legs with my other hand. Then after dangling them upside down for a few seconds, they scream, "I surrender" and I let them down. I can fully expect that in most situations, my niece will come up to me, say "Hi Unkie", and want me to play I Surrender with her. What does surrendering cost us? Doesn't it cost us control? Don't we risk not being able to control the outcomes of our circumstances when we surrender to someone else? Murray says that "a soul cannot seek close fellowship with God, or attain the abiding consciousness of waiting on Him all the day, without a very honest and entire surrender to all His will. Have I truly surrendered my life to the Almighty God? And do I trust that He will hold onto me and protect me from harm? If this waiting thing is to become real in my life, I must make sure that I have surrendered my own desires and will to His. If God is who He says He is, if I can have a personal, intimate relationship with Him through Jesus Christ and "abide" with Him, then there's no better option that waiting for Him. Murray says it best, "nothing less ought to satisfy than to be ever breathing this blessed atmosphere, 'I wait on You'".

Day 6

"Let none that wait on You be ashamed." Psalm 25:3
The implication here is that I'm not the only one waiting on God. WOW, go figure! I thought I was the only one struggling right now to figure this out. Of course I'm being facetious, but how easy is it sometimes for us to get so consumed with our own problems that we forget about issues that our fellow Christians are dealing with. I vividly remember a doctor's visit to Texas Children's Hospital about a year ago with our youngest daughter. Reports weren't as positive as we were hoping, and by the time we had descended back to the ground floor and waited for the valet to pull up the car, we had sunk into a pit of self-pity and discouragement. Poor us, right? Meanwhile, we turned away from the curb as we waited and saw a 3-4 year old girl in a wheelchair, entangled by cables and hoses. It was obvious she needed all this gear to keep her well. Upon chatting with the grandmother and mother, we learned that this precious baby was waiting on her second lung transplant. And things weren't looking too good for her at this point. She was beautiful and smiled when I reached out and kissed her hand. By the time we got in the car, our problems seemed to pale in comparison. And I was reminded about how blessed I've been, despite the difficulties I sometimes face. So why do I share this? Because I am reminded as I read Murray's words that I am to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ, my neighbors, my fellow soldiers. As I am struggling to "wait", so are millions of others. And what I can do during my own time of waiting is to encourage those who are waiting...encourage them with the Word, with prayer and with support. May I encourage them, as Murray did for me, "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say on the Lord." I was talking to a friend earlier today and asked the question, "Does waiting on God imply that He's not doing what He's supposed to be doing?" Isn't it true in our daily lives that we wait only when necessary, and most often, it's because someone else is not doing their job fast enough. But may I not forget that God is ALWAYS at work, bringing about His will in His timing. So when it looks like He's sitting around heaven twiddling His thumbs, I must know that He is at work in my life, with the "living assurance that waiting on Him can never be in vain".

Day 5

Show, Teach, Lead. OK, that's it. 'Nuff said.
Well, maybe not. Let's delve into this a little further. What are you talking about Scott? Psalm 25: "Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth." Aahh, now that makes more sense. Have you ever asked God for guidance? I know that where I am in life right now, it seems that this is my daily plea..."God, show me what to do!!" And then I wait, at least for a few minutes before I start thinking again, trying to make plans, contemplating Options A and B, and sometimes Z. But Murray reminded me that another part of waiting on God is waiting for instructions. He relates it to a military unit, waiting on orders from the commander. What unit would dare proceed without clear orders? But isn't it strange how often I take steps in one direction without really knowing, or at least sensing, that God is wanting me to go that way. I guess my inner GPS or compass is more trustworthy than Him? Murray's encouragement in relation to Psalm 25 is to "study it until your heart is filled with two thoughts: the absolute need, and the absolute certainty of divine guidance." See, part of my problem is that I don't always think I need God's direction...I've been down some roads a time or two, and seem to think I can predict the outcome or sidestep land mines on my own. But what ends up happening is too often disastrous. So I need to remind myself of the "need" for God's guidance, and then live with the confidence and promise from His Word that He will provide it, assuming that I am waiting on Him for it. This chapter reminded me that God ssssoooo much wants to love me and guide me in His ways. If only I would keep my eyes on Him and have a fully devoted heart. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." Lord, I need to be strengthened today. May I wait on You.

Day 4

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I remember learning several years ago about an easy way to structure prayer. It uses the acronym A.C.T.S. A=Adoration, C=Confession, T=Thanksgiving, S=Supplication. There are certainly other ways to structure prayer, but this one sticks out in my mind, and I often find myself walking through these steps when sitting down to pray. It's a good method to teach kids as well. But however you may pray, what too often happens is we sit down and start the laundry list of things we need or want. Maybe it's a sick parent or grandparent. Maybe it's a job situation or a financial need. We jump straight to the stuff that matters most to us. But notice what ACTS starts with...adoration. In other words, the best place to start a conversation with the Almighty God is to acknowledge who He is and praise Him for all of His wondrous acts. Murray speaks on this matter and when I read this part, I got the smack in the face that he probably intended for me to get. "There may be much praying with but very little waiting on God." He talks about our obsession sometimes with our list of requests for God. But he proposes that we ought to "enter His presence...and just be quiet, so that He can overshadow us with Himself" Here's that "Be Still" thing again. Man, is there a message in there for me?! Be still and wait on the Lord. And then after we enter into His presence, we can approach the throne of Grace with our needs and pray for others. Waiting on God is our privilege as human beings. Our responsibility is to "prove that there is nothing more noble or more blessed in the exercise of our free will than to use it in waiting upon God." What does it mean to prove? To give evidence for, to test the truth,integrity and genuineness of. We have the ability to do just that. May we experience what it means to truly wait on God, and then have the courage to speak of its authenticity.