What are You Waiting For?

The wilderness.... 

A place that makes us uncomfortable and anxious. A place where Satan is quick to tempt us to doubt God's plan.  A place where we so easily sin in order to satisfy the hunger and thirst in our souls. We find ourselves here when God asks us to leave something behind, but He has not yet brought us to where we are going. We find ourselves here when we fervently pray for something, but God is not answering our requests according to our timetable.

What are you waiting for?

Maybe it's a promotion at work, a house to sell, a wayward child to come back home, a broken relationship to be reconciled, direction on who to marry, financial provision to start a project, a family member or friend to be saved, healing for a sickness or disease,  or mending of a broken heart...  Whatever it may be, during these in-between-seasons, we often wonder if God hears our prayers or if He cares about us at all.

I know this discouragement because I have been there. In many ways, I am there right now. There are things in my life I believe God has promised to me that are yet to be fulfilled.  I am thankful for God's word that gives us perfect guidance on what and what not to do when we find ourselves at this place. Looking to the example of the Israelites in the Old Testament during their 40 years in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land,  we see how sin and rebellion caused them to miss out on God's greatest blessings. There are 2 obvious sins that the Israelites commit while in the wilderness that I will point out, because I believe these two examples sum up almost entirely the reactions we are all prone to have when we find ourselves in the wilderness season's of our own lives.


1) They grumble and complain and wish that God had let them stay in Egypt (aka Bondage)

“The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3)

Why would He bring them this far only to let them die of hunger?! Don't we ask ourselves the same thing. Why would God put this dream/desire in my heart if he is never going to fulfill it?! Why would God lay this person on my heart to pray for if He is never going to answer us?! We ask  ourselves these questions, because we don't believe that God is going to provide a way FOR US. We are foolish to think that while we wait on God to act, He has somehow forgotten us. That is not the God of the bible.

2) They turn to idolatry.

The people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him...“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” Exodus 32:2;4

 

Before you are quick to judge the obvious idolatry of the Israelites, look into your own heart. We do the same thing. We are quick to forget that it is God who has delivered us from our life of sin and bondage in the first place. Rather than letting the hunger and thirst drive us towards God, we charge ahead and make our own way. Instead of patiently waiting in the wilderness to see how God will make this all work out, we turn to the idols of our heart and try to fulfill our desires/dreams in our own way through sinful means. We put ourselves back in the very bondage that God delivered us from!

They failed to understand that the trials and the hunger and thirsting served a purpose. It pointed them to their greater need and God glorified His own name through his miraculous provisions (Deut 8:18). Ultimately, because of their sin and rebellion,  a whole generation missed out on entering the Promised Land (Numbers 14:20-23). That should serve us a huge warning to us. What we do with our time in the wilderness has consequences. We can choose to grumble and complain and turn to idolatry, or we can walk in obedience and trust God to provide for us in his good and perfect timing. What does this look like practically for us? Using God's word, I have come up with some suggestions.

Don't turn around!  If God has called you to move forward with something, move forward!! Satan will tempt you to look back and long for the "fullness" you had before you came to the wilderness. But remember, God is bringing you to something BETTER. Trust the process! Be persistent in prayer! (Romans 12:12)

Don't fear the wilderness Sometimes in the midst of the wilderness, we are tempted to find the easiest and quickest way out or beg God to completely take us around it, but then we would completely miss the lessons that God is trying to teach us. Let Him take you through it. Let Him refine you, even when it hurts!  (Job 23:10; 1 Peter 5:10)

Be obedient in the small things. Do not expect God to do a miracle for you when you aren't walking according to his Word right where He has you. God expects obedience 100% of the time, regardless of our circumstances. The wilderness is not an excuse to stop serving and loving God with our whole hearts. (Luke 16:10)

Resist the temptation to satisfy your needs through your own means, leading to sin and idolatry. This happens so easily. God isn't satisfying your desire for a spouse, so you turn to pornography and ungodly relationships. Sex becomes a god. God isn't giving you the breakthrough you need in your career to earn a greater income, so you turn to gambling and dishonest ways of earning money. Money becomes a god. You experience loneliness, so you turn to food or shopping or excessive exercise to fill the void in your heart. These all become gods. This is idolatry. (Ex 20:3)

 Thank God for all he has done and will do. We are to present our requests with thanksgiving. Don't expect the peace of God to come over you if you are failing to thank God while you are still in the wilderness. The peace that surpasses all understanding is only a promise to those who make supplication with praise and thanksgiving. (Phil 4:6-7).

Expect provisions in unexpected ways. God made manna fall from heaven and water flow from a rock (Isaiah 48:21; Ps 78:24) Don't underestimate your God! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is sovereign over all mankind and all creation. He can move the mountain and part the sea that is standing in your way!
 
Don't trust your feelings. Trust in God's character as revealed in the Scriptures. Whether you "feel" God near or not, He is with you.  Just as Yahweh was with the Israelites in the wilderness guiding them and going before them (Deut 31:6), the Holy Spirit is with you guiding you, helping you, and teaching you (John 14:26).

Most importantly, keep your eyes on Jesus. He is the author and finished of your faith! He is the one who will enable you to run with endurance and finish the race (Heb 12:2).
 

 Whether you find yourself at the start, at the end, or somewhere in the middle of a wilderness season, I encourage you to continue to trust and walk in obedience. We serve a good God! Satan wants to use this season to crush you, discourage you, and distract you. God wants to use this season to strengthen you, refine you, and draw you to Himself. Christ has already given you the victory over whatever you are facing! Move forward with boldness and faith!

*It wasn't that long ago that I went through a season of severe drought in my own life. It was painful. I watched so many things in my life that I had worked for crumble before my eyes. I felt as though I was being stripped from the inside out. There were many times when I begged God to "get me out" or "take the pain away." But he so lovingly whispered to me There is no way around this. You must go through this so you can receive the blessings that I have for you on the other side. Did I like this answer? Absolutely not, but I knew that to take the easy way out would cause me to forfeit whatever it was God was trying to teach me. Instead, I chose to submit and my prayer became God whatever it takes, keep me here. Every time I'm tempted to run from you, bring me to my knees in surrender. God heard my prayer and lovingly guided me through every tearful breakdown, every fist-pounding moment of anger and grief, and every moment of wanting to completely take off and run in the opposite direction of where He was taking me.  As I waited on God the treasures began to grow, the anger subsided, and submission became easier.  I had peace in my heart. I understood God's love for me in a way that I never had before. The pain and grief I experienced during this season was very real, but beauty rose from the ashes. I'm so glad that God took me through this wilderness and not around it.  He is faithful! (You can read more about this story here).*

I Won't Stand By

I won't stand by
    and watch a world full of darkness spiral into despair
    with hands reaching out for rescue
    when I know the One who shines into the hearts of men and breaks the power of darkness.

I won't stand by
    as the enemy claims his victims one by one
    feeding lies into the minds of those who have never been told the truth
   when I have personally experienced the saving power of Jesus Christ.

I won't stand by
    and let a nation stumble around as a hopeless generation
    the blind leading the blind into a pit of confusion
    when I know the one who can remove the scales from their eyes.

I won't stand by
   as children are abandoned by their parents,
   left on the street to defend for themselves
   when I know the One who is the defender and father of the orphan.

I won't stand by
   and let souls be swept into Hell for all eternity
   forever separated from the One who gave His Son to save them
   when He has given me a mouth to boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel.

We are the hands and feet of Jesus.

These are some scrambled thoughts that I have this afternoon. My heart is broken for this world in extraordinary ways today. I spent the evening yesterday at our city drop in center for youth, where I have been volunteering for past several months. God is doing some incredible things through this organization, and the more time I spend there, the more time I am in awe of the vast number of broken and hurting youth in this city who are in need of a message of hope and healing!

Partnering with the Holy Spirit and a sister in Christ yesterday, I was privileged to partake in the work of God and bring a glimmer of hope to a very hurt and angry little boy. A boy who is a victim of the world's messed up system, a product of a broken marriage.... who wants nothing more than for his mommy and his daddy to be together so he can have a "normal life"...who believes that it was his fault that this happened, and believes the lie that he is a "total waste of space." (His own words, not mine).

It all started when a good friend of mine who was also there last evening ran into this boy about half an hour earlier... the boy told her about how he was extremely depressed. She tried to tell him about Jesus, but he shut down and refused to listen. When she came and told me about this, I was determined to find him and share my own story with him. My friend and I walked outside and spent some time praying for God to bring this boy to us, for God to break down the walls around his heart, and let us share the gospel with him.

We walked down the street to a group of 4 or 5 boys sitting on a bench. At this point I had no clue that one of them was the boy I had just prayed for. I asked them each their name, and as I came to the boy on the far right who was secluded from the others, he told me with a smirk on his face that his name was "Hosé", to which I replied in a joking manner "No it isn't!! You're lying to me! What's your real name!" The guys beside him shouted "His name is _____!", but I still hadn't clued in that this was the boy I had just petitioned to God about. I was instantly drawn to his mischievous smile, round innocent face, and his Ninja Turtle sweater.

I started asking him questions about his life, to which he was giving me short and abrupt answers. When my friend (who had first talked to him earlier) said "Why don't you tell her about the depression. I know she will understand because she has a story just like it!" I clued in that this was "the boy." Wow, the Holy Spirit was moving already! Talk about an answer to prayer!

He continued to be cold and distant and distracted by everything around him. But when I asked him if he would hear about my story of how God rescued me from my own darkness and despair, and how I met Jesus Christ and experienced Him as a Living Saviour, he started to listen with open ears and slowly began spilling to me the broken places of his heart. We continued to chat and exchange parts of our stories with one another. He began to see that he was not alone in his struggle. I, too, had been there. I knew this feeling of hopelessness, depression, and despair that he was explaining to me. The fact that I could understand him was the first glimmer of hope for him. [God uses our broken experiences to reach those who are going through the same struggles. Don't ever think that your past disqualifies you from being a beacon of light. In fact, as a jar of clay, the more cracks you have, the more the light is able to shine through].

I flipped open a bible and had Him read with me John 3:16, a familiar passage to most of you I'm sure, but to a boy who had never before heard that God loved Him, the words fell on his heart like balm to a bleeding and open wound. After we spent some time more time talking about Jesus,  I asked him if I could pray for him. I sensed in my spirit that there still seemed to be things he was hiding from me.  After I finished praying, I looked up and watched tears stream down his face. Through that prayer, God tore down his "tough guy" exterior.  God revealed to me who I was really talking to. The Holy Spirit prompted me to ask him more questions about his home life, and he told me about how he lived with just his mom because his parents were divorced. He now had to live separated from his dad and some of his siblings who chose to live with his dad. I told him I was sorry that he had to go through this and I was very sad for him, to which he replied, "It hurts me so much." I couldn't hold back my own tears at this point. This was a child who was made in the image of God, but whose image was severely marred by the effects of sin, a child who was longing for restoration, but didn't know where to find it. He told me that he wore a mask of anger, humour, and sarcasm to hide the pain he really felt. I kept pointing him to the cross. It was all my broken heart could do to console him. All the words of consolation I had to offer him were futile in comparison to the message of Jesus' work on the cross.

As we both began to shiver in the cold,  I asked him to look me straight in the eye, listen to me and never forget the words I was about to tell him. With his teary eyes on mine, I said  "You, _____,  are not a waste of space. That is a lie from Satan. God has a plan for your life. Jesus loves you and died for you! He wants to know you and have a relationship with you!"

I was a tangible expression of God's love to him that evening, and in a matter of minutes, his demeanour completely changed. Suddenly his eyes shone a little brighter, and I saw some relief in his tired little spirit. Our conversation ended there, and I asked him if he would take a gospel of John home with him. He smiled, thanked me, and tucked it into the pocket of his Ninja Turtle sweater, a stark reminder to me that though he spoke as one with the experiences and heartaches of an adult, he was still only a little boy.  I don't know if he will ever read it, or how much he will remember about our conversation, but I can only pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to draw him to Jesus Christ and that He will send others to water the seed that was planted. I leave him in God's hands. It is God who must make the seed grow and bear fruit.



This is one story of one boy.

He is one out of hundreds of youth in this city who are in the same position. 

There are thousands more like him in cities across this country. 

There are millions more like him in nations all over this world. 

Will you be the hands and feet of Jesus to one today?

Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God."

It is Finished

Today I am thankful for this song. They are singing the testimony of my life.

"Stuck in the mire of a standard too high
Best efforts have left me weary and dry
From trying to trusting, the weight is released
The cross I am bearing You carried for me
 
Caught in the crossfire, confusion and doubt
Entrenched in this trial, too weak to dig out
Redemption came running, with righteous decree
“I finished the work, Child, so fall into Me… fall into Me” 

You did what I wasn’t able
Your child, here at Your table
My heart is truly grateful… I’m Yours"

(Song: Arrested by Grace by WorshipMob)

For far too long, I believed that being religious, going to church, and being a "good person" was good enough. I tried....I tried....and I tried...to be released of the guilt that I felt, thinking that if I only kept "doing better" God would be pleased with me, but my efforts were completely and utterly futile. The guilt remained, and the burden grew heavier. It was only when I found myself buried in a mess far too deep to dig myself out of, that I finally understood what Jesus meant when He said "It is finished!" Child of God, IT IS FINISHED! Do you believe it?  All that you were, all that you are, and all that you are becoming is because of Jesus' finished worked on the cross.

Maybe you are in the midst of your own big mess right now. Stop the self-salvation projects that you have going on.  Whoever or whatever you are using to rescue you out of the mire cannot offer you the tools that you need to claw your way out of the pit. There is only One with the power and authority to lift you out. (Matt 28:18). Everything in heaven and on earth is subject to Him. (Heb 2:8). All of your enemies are put under His feet, including death! (1 Cor 15:27).

Jesus is at the top of the pit, holding out a rescue rope, but He isn't going to force the rope in to your hands. You must choose to grab on to it; and once you do, hold on to it as if your life depends on it, because it does!   Let Him do the rescue work. Do not get part of the way up and let go because you think you've held on long enough. He is not interested in pulling you half way up just so He can watch you finish the job. He is committed to seeing you through until you reach the top. Remember, the way that he chooses to pull you out may not be the quickest or easiest way, but it is the best way. So, friend, if you are stuck at the bottom of the pit, or struggling half way up, cry out to Jesus! He will lift you out and set your feet on solid ground!



Psalm 40:1-4 

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.