One of the challenges in the Christian life is the art of waiting. It is especially frustrating when we want to move ahead with our plans and hope that God will catch up. I have been waiting for God's direction regarding my next season of ministry and I have to confess it hasn't been easy. I have seen what appear to be potential opportunities that I would like to pursue, however deep down I know I need to wait for God to move. Recently, God reinforced my need to wait in a passage from the book of Numbers. In Numbers 9:15-23 Israel is making their way to the Promised Land. God's presence is manifested in the pillar of cloud that covered the Tabernacle during the day and the pillar of fire at night. In Numbers 9:17-18 we read, "Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at His command they encamped."NIV (italics mine) The Israelites remained in whatever place they were led until the cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle. They didn't try to continue the journey on their own or according to their time table. The Israelites waited for the Lord to move without knowing where their next stop would be or for how long. We read, "Sometimes the cloud was over the Tabernacle only a few days...Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening to morning...Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month, or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out." (Numbers 9:21-22 NIV)
We Follow When God Moves
What caught my attention was no matter how long or short the period of sojourn was, when God moved, the Israelites followed. What we sometimes fail to appreciate is the huge challenge that movement presented for the Israelites. There were thousands of people having to pack up their belongings and get ready to go. Additionally, the Tabernacle had to be taken down and set back up in the next place God led the people. I can only imagine that at times the Israelites may have become frustrated when their sojourn in a new place was only for two days and they had to pack up and move after having settled down. It has similarly been frustrating for me and somewhat disheartening that I find myself on the move just when I think I have settled for a long period of time into a new church community. However, like the Israelites I need to wait for God to move and sometimes the wait is short, sometimes long, and sometimes unexpected. The Israelites knew they would not ultimately be settled until they reached the Promised Land. Right now I don't have a sense of feeling settled but I must wait until God's cloud is "lifted" and then I need to move with Him.
Jesus Calls Us To Move
Jesus mirrors the same principle in the New Testament. He called His disciples then and now to "follow Me." Jesus' call is both literal and spiritual. Literally, we are to follow Jesus to whatever place He calls us to minister in his name whether inside or outside of the church community. Spiritually, Jesus calls us to follow His commands and emulate His way of life that we may deepen our relationship with Him and serve others. When a teacher of the law declared that he would follow Jesus wherever he went, Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Matthew 8:18-20 NIV) Right now, I have no place to "lay my head" but I need to follow the Lord's pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. I need to stay wherever God has called me to serve for whatever length of time God determines and move when He determines, after that time is finished. It is easy to focus on the past and what was, versus looking forward to what God has for us in the future. Isaiah and Paul sum it up best, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV) "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 3:13b-14 NIV) May we trust God to lead and guide us in His perfect timing.
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Sheree
We are in the season of Advent and Christmas is a few days away. Advent is a time of expectation where once again we wait for the first coming of the Lord as a baby born in Bethlehem. If we think about it, Advent is not just something that occurs every December but it is pervasive throughout the Bible. The overriding theme of Advent is wondering, watching, and waiting. Some Biblical examples highlight this theme. The Lord made a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15 that his descendants would one day be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abram must have wondered what God was talking about but we are told that, "Abram believed the Lord, and He credited to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6) After Abram, whom God renamed Abraham (Genesis 17) was visited by three men near the great trees of Mamre he and his wife Sarah were told they would give birth to a son the following year. Sarah was so skeptical given their advanced ages that she laughed. (Genesis 18) However, Abraham and Sarah watched and waited for God's promise to be fulfilled. (Genesis 21)
Expectations Fulfilled
Joseph wondered about the dreams God had given him indicating he would one day be a great ruler, even over his own family. (Genesis 37) Over the course of 13 years, he watched and waited for his dreams to become a reality despite many situations and circumstances that seemed to work against him. (Genesis 39-45) The book of Exodus chronicles how the Israelites wondered where God was in the midst of their oppression and suffering under Egypt's Pharaoh. They had been watching and waiting for over 400 years for a deliverer to set them free from their slavery. Their deliverer did come when God called Moses to go to Egypt to set the people free. (Genesis 3) The Advent theme of wondering, watching, and waiting finds its ultimate fulfillment in the birth of Christ. As Isaiah declares, "The people walking in darkness (wondering, watching, waiting) have seen a great light; on those living in a land of deep darkness a light has dawned...For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:2,6 italics mine)
What's your Advent season?
I have recently entered a new season in pastoral ministry as I wonder, watch, and wait with expectation for what God is going to do in my personal "advent." What about you? Are you experiencing your own "advent" season of wondering, watching, and waiting? If so, expect great things to come as Immanuel (God with us) will bring it to pass just like He did thousands of years ago in Bethlehem and God is faithful!
Merry Christmas and A Blessed New Year!
Pastor Sheree
For those of you who have been following my blog, I am in the process of transitioning from a counseling group practice to an independent practitioner status. I submitted all the necessary paperwork to the respective insurance companies beginning in May. As of this writing, I am still waiting for approval from some of the companies. For those insurance companies to which I have been approved there are internal glitches within the companies holding up the process. It has been a very emotionally painful and frustrating time. I admit that there have been many moments when I just wanted to quit the counseling ministry and do something else. In the agony of waiting, I have wondered where is God? God answered that prayer through some tiny messengers who have mastered the "art" of waiting. Every year we have house wrens nesting in a bird house attached to our porch. One pair has already mated, given birth, and abandoned the house after their chicks were old enough to leave the nest themselves. Shortly thereafter, a second house wren began investigating the bird box. Day after day the bird would sing it's heart out seeking to attract a mate. I began to feel sorry for the bird as it waited for what seemed like an eternity. I was reminded of the psalmist cry to the Lord, "Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning." (Psalm 130:1-2;5-6 NIV)
A Hymn Of Praise
The house wren I believe was not only lifting it's voice to find a mate but crying out to the Lord as it waited. It was remarkable to me that the bird could be so faithful every morning to wait yet still keep on singing. Sometimes in my frustration I could barely pray let alone sing! However, this patient little creation of God finally received what it had been waiting for, a mate! The two, like their predecessors, are now in the process of preparing to bring forth new life.
The psalmist again declares, "I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him." (Psalm 40:1-3 NIV) These words of Psalm 40 are a vivid example of what I saw play out with the house wren. The Lord rewarded its patience and now the house wren has a new song to sing, "a hymn of praise" to God! I pray that I will learn well the lessons from this little "messenger of God" and master the "art" of waiting. As I wait patiently for the Lord, may he put a song of praise in my heart and on my lips. A hymn of praise to my God!
Shalom,
Pastor Sheree
