When To Move . . . When To Wait Part 2

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Moving ahead in God’s strength:

The blessings of waiting:

• “For since the world began no one has seen or heard of such a God
as ours, who works for those who wait for him!” (Isaiah 64:4 LB)

• But they that 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” (Isaiah 40:31 LB).

• “I wait eagerly for the Lord’s help, and in his word I trust.
I wait for the Lord more eagerly than sentries wait for the dawn—than
sentries wait for the dawn” (Psalm 130:5-6 GNT).


The blessings of moving forward:

• “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand: (Isaiah 41:10 NIV).

• “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be
frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you
wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 ESV).

• “   I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 NIV).

 

How do we know when to wait and when to move forward?

When Christ extended His invitation to the 12 disciples, they moved
immediately (see Matthew 8:21-22).

The apostle Paul waited 14 years before his ministry to the Gentiles
(see Galatians and Acts).

There have been times in my life when I’ve prayed, “Lord, I want Your
will. I’m moving forward in this direction. Stop me or turn me around if
this is not Your will.”

And there have been other times I’ve prayed, “I really don’t know
what to do, Jesus. Please tell me. I want to do Your will, but right now
I feel paralyzed. I’m waiting to hear from You.”

The key?
“I want Your will.”

If we’re faithful to seek His will, He’ll let us know when to move
forward and when to wait.

The answer: “The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for
him, to those who seek for him” (Lamentations 3:25 LB).

Did you catch it?
This Scripture highlights those who wait and also those who seek.
The above verse encourages us to act (seeking) as well as to wait.
Both are part of God’s will.
Seeking requires action.
Waiting requires patience.
God gives both.

Ask God to help you want His will move than anything.

“Happy are all who search for God and always do his will. . . .”
(Psalm 119:2 LB).

OK, but how can I learn to want God’s will?
“Blessed Lord, teach me your rules. I have recited your laws and
rejoiced in them more than in riches. I will meditate upon them and

give them my full respect.   I will delight in them and not forget them”
(Psalm 119:12-16 LB).

Immerse yourself in God’s Word.
Read it.
Study it.
Think about it.
Live it.

And as you do this, He is faithful to make His will known to you.

Thoughts?

Please pray for me as I speak in Claremore, OK this weekend.

When To Move . . . When To Wait: Part 1

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Moving ahead in God’s strength:
David didn’t spend time waiting to slay Goliath—
after gathering five stones for his slingshot—he attacked.
(See 1 Samuel 17:32.)

Lazarus didn’t linger in the tomb when he heard Christ’s
voice—he came out immediately. (See Luke 11:43-44.)

When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, they “left
their nets at once” (Matthew 4:20 NLT).

Waiting patiently in God’s strength:
When God promised Hannah a son, she trusted His Word and
waited for the promise to be fulfilled. (See 1 Samuel 1.)

After bombarding God with an entire chapter of questions,
Habakkuk climbed his watchtower and patiently waited for
God to speak. (See Habakkuk 1-2.)

When David was only a teenager, he knew God had
appointed him to become the king of Israel, but he
waited years for God to make it happen.

When God tells us to GO, we need to move forward immediately.
But when He tells us to WAIT, the worst thing we can do is to move
ahead on our own.

Those who act impatiently always have to deal with the
consequences on moving forward outside of God’s timing.

Saul got tired of waiting on God’s chosen leader Samuel to sacrifice
the burnt offering, and he directly disobeyed God by offering it
himself:

“Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had
instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. So he demanded,
‘Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!’ And Saul
sacrificed the burnt offering himself” (1 Samuel 13:8-9 NLT).
Consequence: The kingdom was taken away from him.

Sarah got tired of waiting on God to fulfill His promise to give her a
son, so she gave her servant, Hagar, to her husband, Abraham, to
conceive and have a son for her.
Consequence: Ishmael (son through Hagar and Abraham) and
Isaac (God’s promised son through Sarah and Abraham 25 years
later), became two rivaling people groups who are still at war today
(Muslims and Jews).

So . . . how do know when to move and when to wait?

Great question!
We’ll continue this chat next week, March 26.

Thoughts?
Want to share how you’ve discerned the difference of when to wait on
God and when to move forward in His strength?

Take My Hand . . . Stay a While

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Many times when Jesus healed someone in the Bible,
He told them to get up or to go after He had touched them.
He performed the miracle of healing and was simply on His way.

But other times, He did just the opposite:
He took their hand.
It seems as though He wanted to savor the moment.

Here are a few examples:

• When Jesus brings Jairus’ daughter back to life: “Jesus took her by
the hand. . . .” (Luke 8:54 NLT).

• When He healed the 10 lepers, He asked the one who returned
where the other nine were (Luke 17:11-19).

• After Jesus healed the blind, mute demoniac, He lingered while the
healed man spoke to the crowd (Luke 11:14-23).

So sometimes after God ministers to us, He wants us to GO, yet
other times He wants us to wait . . . to hold His hand . . . to simply
BE with Him.

The question is: How do we know when to do what?

Last week, when I wrote about going, Sherry left this remark in the
comments section: “It’s so hard to discern between ‘get up and go’
or ‘be still and wait!’ ”

She makes a great point, doesn’t she?

Know this: It won’t be the same for us each time we hear from God.

(We’ll chat more about this next week.)

But we can rest assured that God’s will is not a mystery.
He’s not playing the guessing game with us.
He wants us to know His will even more than we want to know it!

Remember, however, that He is not on our timetable.
You’ve heard the old saying, “God is never early—but He’s never
late.”

When you’re trying to decide whether to “stay still” or to “go,”
saturate yourself in prayer. It’s a FACT . . . He will guide you.

Thoughts?
Care to share how God has guided you?

I’d appreciate your prayers March 16-21 as I speak in Newcastle, IN.

Get Going!

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Many times when Jesus healed someone in the Bible,
He told them to get up or to go after He had touched them.

• The paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5).“Get up.”
• Another paralytic man in Matthew 9. “Get up.”
• The woman with the diseased blood (Luke 8). “Go in peace.”
• A leper (Mark 1). “Go.”
• The blind man (Mark 8). “Jesus sent him . . .”
• A man who was born blind (John 9). “Go.”
• The man who had dropsy (Luke 14). “He sent him on his way.”
• The 10 lepers (Luke 17). “Go.”

In each of the above situations, Jesus didn’t hold their hands
and pull them up or guide them home. He healed them—
and in His strength, they moved.

But THEY had to move.

Often we pray about a specific area in our lives in which we
desire God to work. He’s always willing to help us—but that doesn’t
mean He will do the moving FOR us. He wants US to get up.

He brought Lazarus back to life, but He didn’t carry him out of the
grave. “Lazarus, come forth!” Lazarus had to get up and go.
Is there something you’ve been praying about but haven’t actually put
your prayer into action? It could be that God has touched you, but
NOW you need to respond by moving.

Thoughts?

Please pray for me this week as I speak in Science Hill, KY.