Greetings again my Brethren. Wow we start our 17th year of Beholding His Glory (BHG). It only seems like yesterday we were in Germany and God said, “put a name to my travels” and BHG was birthed in me and the world. I am ever amazed to see what God has done and encouraged to know what God will do in our remaining years ahead. I look at in retrospect (how we see God best) all of the people (most important), places, and events and wonder how God made things happen over all these years. All I can say is this is the doing of the LORD and it is marvellous in our sight.
Now let us continue to look at what we may observe while waiting on God. You know the concept of waiting is not inactivity oh no we are to be busy doing things as we wait in the presence of God. Did you get that? We have covered two observations and I think we have three more. The third observation is found in Isaiah 49:23. “And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” (Isaiah 49:23) Here we see those who wait for God shall not be put to shame because of God’s failure to respond. What a statement. Are we ashamed to wait on God? Or do we jump ahead of God and do things to make God seem more powerful and in charge? What do we do when God does not respond when we want Him to? God does not have to respond at all. He is God and we are not. We are created for His good pleasure. Paul tells us, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) Many Christians have a problem with the “to do of his good pleasure” part they are selfish and think it is all about them, but God is God and we are not. What a real revelation for some Christians. The fourth observation is found in Proverbs and is that His response to our waiting may come through different means and circumstances in our lives. In Proverbs we read, “Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.” (Proverbs 8:33-34) Here it is at the “gates” and “at the posts of my doors.” Now do not think Solomon was talking about literal gates and doors, he could be, but I think he was talking more spiritually. All throughout the Bible “gates” have symbolized a place of decision, where commerce was transacted, a place where life was discussed. So too with “doors.” John writes to the Church at Laodicea, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) John was not talking about some door with hinges and a handle, but our heart. Our heart is “the” door and whatsoever we open our heart up to by way of decisions we become that. Also in Proverbs we read, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” (Proverbs 23:7) “For as he thinketh in his heart,” is translated in the Greek “as a gate opens.” Whatever we open our heart to we will become that. Make no mistake my friend God will use His means beyond our thinking to bring His will and plan into our lives. The stronger the means the greater the reward. And the last and fifth observation is found in Exodus. “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” (Exodus 32:1) Here we learn the failure of the people to understand the need of spending time with God. How can we love someone we do not know? How can I say I love my wife if I never talk with her? If I never spend time with her?
Here Moses was with God on the mountain getting to know Him. For 80 days (40 days twice) Moses stood before God and talked with Him faced to face. Here they exchanged gifts, God gave Moses the 10 Commandments (twice) and Moses gave God his heart. Any time we wait on God there is always an exchange of gifts from God to man and man to God if we have the understanding. But most Christians have no desire to understanding the importance of waiting on God. They see no need to hear from God, no need to be silent, no need to be still for some time in our very busy day. If they do spend some time with the LORD they do all of the talking asking Him for things never letting God get in a word, and never allowing God to get the last word. Why do we think we should get the last word? Would it not be great to let God get the last word? He may give us the answer.
Next month we will begin to look at the results of waiting on God. Walter Beuttler said if you build God a temple He will inhabit it. Have you built God a temple? If you do He will abide and wait for you.
