One of the most difficult disciplines I’ve found for myself and other Christians is to truly wait on the Lord.  At any point in time, for most of us, we are dealing with some kind of trial, difficulty, or unmet desire.  What do you do with that?  The temptation for us all is to attempt to resolve our own issues, to alleviate hurt, to remove doubt or anxiety through action.  Often though, the best option is to simply wait and seek the Lord.

Our God is sovereign, which is to say that nothing happens that is contrary to the purposes of God.  In Genesis 37-50, we’re given the story of Joseph, who is sold into slavery by his brothers.  Even this horrible wrong, was purposed by God.  Joseph acknowledged this in Genesis 50:19-20 – “Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?  As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”  Joseph was sold into slavery, Joseph was then wrongfully accused and put into prison, and lastly Joseph was forgotten in prison for 2 years.  

This would difficult to endure for anyone.  Joseph could have sinned and avoided prison, but he did not.  Joseph could have tried to escape prison, but he did not.  Joseph spent that difficult season, entrusting Himself to the goodness of God.  Every step of the way, the Lord was with Joseph.  The Lord was with Joseph in slavery, Genesis 39:2 – “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.”   The Lord was with Joseph in prison, Genesis 39:21 – “the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”  The Lord was with Joseph in His rise to power in Egypt as Pharaohs chief in command, Genesis 41:38-40 – “Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command.  Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 

Is Psalm 37:4-7 we are exhorted – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.  Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”

We cannot know the future, or what it holds for any of us.  Lest anyone hear this message and believe some foolishness such as this is God saying that good things always come from bad and define that “good thing” as something to be experienced here on Earth, that is not the promise of God.  God’s promise to us is that He will never leave or forsake us, that whatever our past, present, and future – we can know that God has a good purpose for our growing closer to Him through it, and for our joy now and in eternity.  The promise of God is to delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

So before you move, before you act, our exhortation is to seek the Lord and wait on Him.  Be slow to take things into your own hands – seek the Lord, seek His will through other Bible saturated Christians.  The Lord is good, and He will always bring forth good fruit from those who are diligently seeking and submitting to His will.  If you’re in a season of waiting, take heart.  Those seasons may be days long, weeks long, or even years long – but God is with you and for you, and establishing in you a faith that is far more valuable than whatever loss you experience now.

What do you think about when you think about God?  When you consider Who God is, and the works of His hands, how much does your heart stand in awe?  In Job 26:14, God is describing through Job the depth of his power through creation, and ends by saying “Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

It’s hard to believe, when we look out into the ocean, or into the sky, to imagine that we are just a speck relative to our galaxy.  Beyond which, we know through science that our galaxy is but a speck relative to our universe.  In the end, all of this, all of creation was not difficult for God, but merely the fringes of His power.  When you sit and rest on that, what does your heart say about God?  If God is able to call into being all of creation, and order and sustain it perfectly for life, how much more should we trust Him in ordering and sustaining us and our lives?

There are so many things we cannot know, just as a grain of sand on the beach cannot fathom the whole of the ocean, but we can know that our God is able to work all things according to His good counsel in our lives.  Beyond this, if creation is but the fringes of God’s power, what is greater?

John 12:27-32 – “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  

There is a greater power at work in the salvation of one sinner, than in all of creation.  Creation required God to speak into life, and salvation required the death and resurrection of God.  We think so lightly of our sin perhaps because we think so lightly of the holiness of God, and our call to live life as His image bearers.  In as much as we cannot fathom the whole of God’s creation, so too is the separation between our understanding of what is good and the Holiness of God.  Yet, God has put eternity into our hearts, so that although we cannot see the end of the universe, we can stand in awe.  In the same way, though we cannot see the perfections of God in His holiness, we stand in awe, and humbly submit ourselves to His love towards us in Christ.

How great is our salvation in Christ?  Great enough that we will sing the praises of God in Christ for eternity.  My encouragement is allow the weight of the glory of God to press onto your hearts, that God would rightly be praised, and you would be encouraged to be bold in your faith.  If God is for you, to save you, how much more will He be with you as you seek to live out your live as He created you to – rightly bearing His image and seeking to reconcile others to God through Christ?

Each year, I try to take some time around the New Year to reflect on the previous year, and hopes for the year to come.  With no close second, this past year was the most difficult I have ever been through.  The beginning of the year brought a lot of loss, a lot of pain; yet “The Lord is near to brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Ps 34:18)  I wish that transformation and change took place apart from adversity, but that has not been my experience.  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Rom 8:28-29) 

This is not to diminish anyone’s pain, but to bring encouragement amidst pain, that because of Jesus, God is with you, and for you.  He may not give you what you want, but He will always give you what will give you what you need; that is, He will always do whatever is necessary to draw your heart closer to His, and remind you of who you are through Christ.  In Christ, there is always purpose in the pain, and who we are becoming in Christ is greater than the old self we are leaving behind and putting to death.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  

So as God has provided for us a New Year, be reminded that in Christ we are a new creation.  Apart from Christ, we perish, but in Christ we have an eternal and living hope.  We have an inheritance in Him that shines Truth into our now, illuminating the steps of our life with the perspective of eternity and the perfect righteousness of Christ that is ours.  “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.””  

The Lord is good.  His love and mercies may not always look like hugs; sometimes His love is a stick, to in love bring us to ourselves.  “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”  In every way, in every season, the Lord is always with you and for you.  This New Year, each new day is an opportunity to press into the Lord where Truth and Joy can be found.  Wherever this past year has brought you, wherever you are today, we are all equals in our opportunity to enjoy God and our secure hope in Christ today.  “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  That is my prayer for myself, and for all of you, that we would be humble people of God, being transparent and living in the light of our salvation through Jesus, continually pressing forwards towards Christ, and encouraging one another along the way.  May God grant that to us all this year, and give us a thirst for righteousness and Him, and joy in Himself amidst whatever this new year will bring.

Grace and Peace,

Adam