Greetings again my Brethren. Wow where did the year go? Jake Luffy told me if I thought 40 to 50 went fast wait till I hit 60, well he was so right. Let us continue look at the need for waiting on God. This month we begin to look to what purpose does God keep man waiting. You know when I use the term “waiting on God” in my mind I get this image of a waiter standing at attention, in a tuxedo, with a white napkin draped over his arm, waiting for his next command, In my mind I see this waiter as a servant waiting on God’s table, waiting on God’s every beck and call. How could we not hear from God? How could God not bless us as we wait on Him? I see this waiter in a place of inactivity which is a key in receiving from the LORD. We look at the mighty pine trees (in NC) standing so straight and tall and we think nothing is going on with them, but in reality they are lifting 1,000s of pounds of water from the bottom to the top. We cannot see the work, but still it continues 24 hours a day. I see this work in the waiter and I hear the message in the Psalms. In Psalms 37 David urges his men to patience and confidence in God, “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.” (Psalms 37:7-8) There in these two verses God is saying we need to come to an inward rest and peace, fear not because we our have confidence and hope in Him. You know we never come to a place of rest if we cannot wait patiently for Him. Not wait patiently to wait patiently, but to wait patiently for him. The point is not to wait patiently, oh no the point is to patiently wait for Him. And if we can wait patiently for Him then God will be able (our choice not God’s) “to prospers in His way.” And why? Because we are patiently waiting for Him. In God patiently waiting is the place of receiving from God. I like that so much I am going to say that again. In God patiently waiting is the place of receiving from God. When we cannot patiently wait for God we become angry in our heart and spirit. God desires to quiet our spirit as He works in our lives and brings us to a place of inward stillness. At the center of our being is where God dwells. To silence the natural restlessness and agitation of the human spirit is the first purpose why God wants us to wait patiently. God has many purposes why He wants us to wait. I remember while living in Germany I took a train from Stuttgart, Germany to Constanta Romania, 31 hours one way. I sat hour after hour patiently waiting not speaking or even praying, but just looking out the window of the train watching the world go by and out the window of my heart thinking of Karen and the kids, and what I will experience along “the way” and what will I experience when I get to Romania. The trip was amazing, yet 31 hours back home. The next purpose I would like to discuss is to teach man reverence for a holy God and to give him a sense of his unworthiness because of his earthiness. In Habakkuk we read, “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20) Only a holy God can live in a holy temple, yet this holy God wants to dwell within us the ones who are not holy. Why would a holy God want to inhabit or tabernacle within man? When He has the heaven of heavens at His call? I do not understand it, but I am glad he does. Paul in Ephesians gives us a little glimpse of this when he writes, “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:21-22) Wow we are built “together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” God is building us and one of the tools God uses to conform us into the image (icon) of God is patiently waiting. As he hones off some rough edges, I mean who likes to wait? Just go to a store and get in line at the checkout. 1 minutes okay, 10 minutes maybe okay, 20 minutes you are speaking under your breath, and 30 minutes you are ready to kill the person in front of you in line. Let us face it we do not like to wait. Again the goal of God’s work in our lives is not to wait to wait, but to be able to do a real work of God in our lives in the waiting.
Here our waiting is to bring us to an inward silence so we can see a holy God. And when we can see a holy God we can see a sinful man. We see God high and lifted up and His train (His glory) fills the temple, when we can see this then we at the same time will be able to see the glory of man as compared to God’s glory, which is no comparison. If we can allow God to get us to wait, even patiently we will be able to see our unworthiness because of our earthly humanity. Only then as we see ourselves as compared to God can we ever hope to make a change to the eternal and become that eternal habitation for God by the Spirit. Next month we will look at two more purposes why God keeps man waiting? Do you have time? Will you make time? If you make time for God please know He will make time for you.
Written by David Stahl
