Waiting for Him

Grand Sweep Daily Reading: Numbers 1, 2, 3; Psalm 38

Numbers 2:1-2, 34 (NIV)
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 ”The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family.”
34 So the Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each with his clan and family.

Psalm 38:15 (NIV)
15 I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God.

James 1:2-4 (NIV)
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Good morning!

Humanity spends a lot of time preparing for the challenges and surprises encountered through daily living. We prepare presentations to present to our colleagues at work, and for classes at school. We prepare meals to serve to our family. We plan for, prepare and practice exit strategies in the event of an emergency. We prepare ourselves to assume new and greater responsibilities in our vocations through study and practice. We plan for and prepare to marry, for the arrival of a new little life; we persevere with our children and grandchildren while raising them up. We give them the resources and guidance needed to develop a greater desire to learn and grow; to find out not only who they are, but whose they are. Through every phase of life, we focus our energies in preparation, practice and perseverance. We set the goal before us, and we move toward it, day by day.

The Israelites spent some much needed practice time in the Lord’s campground. The Lord instructed Moses to conduct a census, counting the numbers in the various tribes and clans, and creating a special place for them in community. Every tribe had a special assigned seating arrangement around the perimeter of the Tent of Meeting. The Tent of Meeting and the Tabernacle of the Lord was their focal point for life. Knowing and worshipping God was their single most important goal. Everything they did was to bring honor and to glorify the One who truly deserves all of their attention, time, and devotion. When we learn to focus our hearts and minds upon the one thing that truly matters, everything else falls into place.

Waiting is never easy. We spend a lot of time waiting in line at the grocery store, or sitting in a traffic jam on the highway. We wait for our turn in the doctor’s office; we wait on hold for lengthy periods of time while trying to reach a customer service representative who is really alive and not a computerized voice message service. We wait for our loved ones to arrive home safely after a long day at work. Learning to wait with patience is a lesson that is only learned through the adversities we face. I don’t know anyone who personally looks forward to suffering some sort of setback, financial blow, or illness. Yet, some of the greatest values in life are borne from the adversities we live out in our daily lives.

As we begin to grow in our relationship with the Lord, we learn to wait for Him, sometimes for years, as God reveals Himself through the many life experiences we endure. It is hard to be joyful in a journey that is difficult. Things happen. People go away. They come back. We become ill. We get well. We fail. We succeed. We struggle. We hope. We grow. We live. We die. We live again. James says that we should count every experience, good or bad, as pure joy. The things we face in life helps us learn to persevere. It is the benchmark for maturity and completion. Jesus Christ came to complete the circle of relationship between God and man. He is the perfection of our faith. We can trust Him no matter where we are, if we place Him in the center of our life, focus on His love, praise Him for His wonderful work, and learn to live daily in His presence. When we learn to do this, all of the other things we experience become secondary. The only thing that truly matters is finding your life in relationship to the Lord. Do you know Him? Is He the centerpiece of your life? Is your goal to know Him more? Are you willing to wait for Him, seek Him out, practice and persevere in what He teaches, setting your life’s goal to love and adore Him?

My prayer for you is that you will count your life experience as pure joy, while you practice perseverance and wait for Jesus Christ to complete your life as He would see fit. You are His priceless treasure. Is His love priceless to you?

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding
www.songofdeborah.com

Pray for: a willing and joyful heart, as you learn to practice perseverance while waiting for the Lord. He will complete His mighty work in you, if you are willing to give your life to Him. Will He be your centerpiece today? His love is so worth waiting for. Jesus Christ is the only way, He is the only truth, and He is the only life you will ever need! Come to Jesus and live! I’ll see you at church.
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