Waiting on God

There have been several discussions among the various groups of Christians that I love to spend time with on the subject of “waiting on the Lord”. Just yesterday I spent approximately 6 hours of my day, in a couple of different conversations, on our Heavenly Father and the concept of what it is to wait on God. From these conversations has sprung a picture in my mind that I would like to share. Let me tell a story.

There was a man walking through the forest with his three year old son. Because the forest was thick and the terrain uncertain; the father insisted on holding his son’s hand.

Now as they walked along, as you can imagine, the son began to act as children do. The child, full of excitement and curiosity would attempt to run ahead pulling on his father. The father, knowing that allowing the child to run ahead would cause the child great risk, held firm to the child’s hand. The child overcome with selfish desire to explore and run ahead would occasionally wiggle his hand free from his father and start running ahead. The child knowing only of his desire, wanted to leave his father in order to go where he wished.

The father, who knew the forest and knew all the dangers that lie ahead outside of his protection, would quickly scold the child each time he would pull away; and run ahead. The father remained patient with the child; but with each correction came a raised and stern voice. Occasionally, due to the child’s defiance, the father would issue a firm swat to his child’s behind in an effort to discipline his child and help him to understand the value of obedience. The father, remaining patient and never angry, only sought to protect the child from all the dangers of leaving the protection of his father.

The child, angry with the father would not always respond well to being corrected. For though the child did not know all that the father knew; the child still was captivated by his own wants and desires. From time to time, in rebellion, the child would reject the fathers correction and discipline and in an act of defiance would just sit down and refuse to walk with the father. The father, understanding the battle of wills, would walk on until the child would see that there was no benefit in sitting. The child would reluctantly get up and run to catch up with his father.

The father, understanding that the child needed to learn for himself, would allow the child to run ahead occasionally. It was in these times that the child would stumble and hurt himself. Sometimes he would encounter a new animal or sound that would frighten him. Every time he would run ahead, it was not long before he realized he had lost sight of his father, placed himself at risk or even injury, and would go running back to the safety of his father.

By the end of the walk through the forest, the child had learned the valued of walking with his father. He learned the risk of running a head; as well as learning that there was no value in sitting and pouting. He learned the value of walking with his father, waiting on his father and not resisting where his father wanted to take him.

I believe that the phrase of “waiting on the Lord” is meant to tell us as children; just walk with Him. Not running ahead, not lagging behind; but just to walk with Him and in Him.

Heavenly Father; give me the patience to walk with you, the endurance to stay with you and the wisdom to know the difference. I pray in Jesus’ name! -Amen

Buyin' The Lie

            As I sit here, toiling over exactly how I want to start this article; I am just dumbfounded at the world around me. I am dumbfounded at my own life…and the reflection of my life that causes a nauseating ache in my stomach that is sickening and revolting. I ache at where I have been, and somehow at the same time rejoice in where I have come.

            The pain that sits in the pit of my belly is in recognizing that there are so many people that are caught in the same trap that I was. The pain is further intensified by the realization that the consequences of the trap are an eternal separation from the Love of our Heavenly Father!

            The trap that I am referring to is the lie. Some of you that have been in any of my writings previous to this one are getting a sense of where I am going, others are completely lost and asking yourself; “what lie is he talking about?” And I guess I should start by clarifying that it is not just one lie, but an endless stream of lie’s that we embrace and engage as we charge on through life. So I am going to attempt to list some of the trap’s or the “lie’s” that lead us all so far off course.

            Let’s start with talking about the lie of happiness. More specifically the lie of what brings us happiness. It’s the lie that points to all the things of this world that the world tells us will make us happy. It’s the lie that money make you happy. It’s the lie that possessions will make you happy. It’s also the lie that success will bring you happiness.

            What’s so absolutely frustrating, more so than the fact that I had totally sold out to this lie, is the fact of how blatant of a lie it is! It took very little research to find an endless list of successful people who were or had been treated for depression or even had chosen to end their own life. You cannot watch the news or get on any social media without getting updates of “successful” people who are utterly miserable and their lives are in shambles. People who have reached the pinnacle of success, people of have obtained more than they could ever use or even give away; and yet we are never exhausted in the endless hobby of watching them fall. They suffer from anxiety, depression, alcoholism, and drug addiction; bankruptcy, failed marriages, broken families and broken lives.

Our next grasp at putting our faith into success is in the next up and coming star. The next entrepreneur or businessman, the next young entertainer to break onto the scene; we watch in hopeful anticipation of their success. Are they going to be the one to make it, is their marriage going to survive? We watch and we wait for the one we can look to prove our own struggles and ambitions are not in vein. Like watching NASCAR…we don’t want our driver to crash but we’re hoping someone does. (a little sick)

            We work endless hours, search after endless degrees all to climb the financial ladder. Whatever it takes, we want more. All so that when we have obtained it, we will finally be happy. But we never are. NEVER!

            What about the lie of “me”? It’s the lie of self-sufficiency…the lie of self-reliance. We are human beings. We are beautifully and wonderfully made. We have been created with the ability to reason and with the ability to rationalize and to imagine. We have the ability to create and to adapt, the ability to grow both physically and mentally. We have been created for success. However, it’s that very success that creates arrogance, the arrogance of believing that we are all we need.

            So, none of this may be making any sense to you. First you are running through your mind to come up with a list of successful people that are happy. Second, you’re running through the thoughts of everything you have been told from your childhood; work hard, earning a career, don’t relying on anyone else, or just to be self-reliant. We are taught independence and self-promotion. Please allow me to address these arguments.

            I acknowledge that there people out there who are successful and appear to be happy. I will also argue that most of us attempt to portray an outward attitude that does not accurately reflect what is going on inside. I will also point out that some of those names that you may point to have something else beyond their success and possessions that gives them joy (that just caused someone a headache).

            I want to also address the idea of self-reliance. It is a thought or belief that satisfaction, joy and happiness can be obtained through our own efforts, our own achievements and our own work. That is a great thought and concept short of one flaw. It goes against the way we are built or designed. Let me explain:

            For those who have been convinced by the lie, you have probably stopped reading this and walked away. For those of you who are not sure or curious…I continue.

            You were created. You are not an accidental collision of molecules that through a series of happenstance created a slime that accidently bumped into another slimy collection of accidental molecules and somehow created a third slimy collection of molecules and eventually evolved into a monkey. Who coincidentally found another monkey who had been formed through the same accidental process and the 2 of you created more monkeys that eventually through more happenstance, evolved into humans; yet leaving monkeys who didn’t evolve.

            This is the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not, this is the TRUTH! You were created. Created by God who loves you; loves you so much that His son came to Earth to be ridiculed, tortured and bear the weight of YOUR sin so that through Him, your place in Heaven is secured! You are created…created by God who does not need you, but wants you; wants a relationship with you, wants to love you and wants for you to love Him. In you He has created a desire for relationships. It’s in you, it’s in your DNA, and it’s in your make-up. You have been created for relationship with your Heavenly Father. You have also been created for relationship with each other.

            In Genesis chapters 1-3; God created man and woman in His likeness and said this is good. He provided for them there every need; he commanded them to be in relationship with each other as he told them to “multiply”; and he made it GOOD! After they had disobeyed his laws, he found them as He was strolling through the garden to hang out with them. This is a God that wants to be with us. This is a God who created the Universe and all that is in it; He does not need us, He desires to be with us. He created us to be with Him.

He created us with a desire to be in relationship with each other and with Him. It is when we try to fill that desire with self, with ambitions, with money, with success, with toys and things; with sexual encounters that involve no relationship! We were born to be in relationship. The lie is that we can fill the desire that is in us with anything else but with God in whom we’ve been granted COMPLETE access through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

If you are caught in the lie; I pray with all my heart that you recognize that you cannot achieve true joy or true happiness in anything outside of a relationship with your Heavenly Father. I pray for you right now that you stop where you are and reach out to Jesus Christ who has secured your place in Heaven; cry out for a relationship, reach out to your Father in Heaven and embrace the love that He has for YOU! –YOUR FATHER IS CALLING!