He acts, I wait.
Wait? You honestly want me to wait? But it's My best life now. I want to have it my way! Nike tells me to just do it. It is hard to admit my complete inability to make things happen in my life. I am a go-getter. I was the child that made to-do lists for her playtime. No, really, I did. Play with dolls. check. Draw. check. Play outside. check. I love seeing things accomplished, crossed off my to-do list. So it has been especially difficult over the years, as I've realized that - Surprise - I can't always cross things off a list. There are many areas of my life where I am faced with my complete and total inability to affect any change or make anything at all happen.
I can't make a sick relative well. I can't make the crushing burdens my parents are carrying vanish. Though I often wish I could, I can't just "make it all better" for friends in the midst of heartbreaking trial. I can't cross it off a list. When folks ask me why I'm not married, well I can't just go make it happen. It's simply not up to me. There are so many areas, so many things I long to see change, but confronted with my powerlessness, I'm reminded of the One who has limitless power.
Isaiah 64:4 has been feeding my soul this week. "From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him." He acts, I wait. In all of my working as well as my inability to make things happen, my God, unlike any other, whose power is limitless and love is without bound, He's working on my behalf. This, my friends, is astounding. Let this sink in. The God who made heaven and earth, the God who called me from darkness to light, saving me from the sins I committed, the penalty for those sins falling on His Son, crucifying His Son to make payment for my sins, the God who saw me in my misery and made a way of escape, securing my eternity with Him- THIS SAME GOD is working on my behalf today.
But I've been praying for years! He's working. He's acting. I've done all I know to do! He's working in ways I'm not even aware of. And He's on the move. I must trust Him as I work. But I don't see any activity. All seems silent. As Piper says, He's working in a thousand ways. And what's more He's God. I am not. I choose to trust His inscrutable ways. For I KNOW He is working. And I know He is good.
Lord, may I live with a fresh expectation of your hand at work. You are storing up good!
I can't make a sick relative well. I can't make the crushing burdens my parents are carrying vanish. Though I often wish I could, I can't just "make it all better" for friends in the midst of heartbreaking trial. I can't cross it off a list. When folks ask me why I'm not married, well I can't just go make it happen. It's simply not up to me. There are so many areas, so many things I long to see change, but confronted with my powerlessness, I'm reminded of the One who has limitless power.
Isaiah 64:4 has been feeding my soul this week. "From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him." He acts, I wait. In all of my working as well as my inability to make things happen, my God, unlike any other, whose power is limitless and love is without bound, He's working on my behalf. This, my friends, is astounding. Let this sink in. The God who made heaven and earth, the God who called me from darkness to light, saving me from the sins I committed, the penalty for those sins falling on His Son, crucifying His Son to make payment for my sins, the God who saw me in my misery and made a way of escape, securing my eternity with Him- THIS SAME GOD is working on my behalf today.
But I've been praying for years! He's working. He's acting. I've done all I know to do! He's working in ways I'm not even aware of. And He's on the move. I must trust Him as I work. But I don't see any activity. All seems silent. As Piper says, He's working in a thousand ways. And what's more He's God. I am not. I choose to trust His inscrutable ways. For I KNOW He is working. And I know He is good.
Lord, may I live with a fresh expectation of your hand at work. You are storing up good!
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