One of my favorite verses.

(via boxofalabaster)

Do you think that those people whom God had blessed with riches desired for this kind of wealth? I know King Solomon didn’t ask for immense riches, but instead asked for incredible wisdom; however God prospered him anyway. Is there anyone in the Bible who actually wanted wealth and then God gave it to him?

One area of our lives where we need to exercise patience is waiting for the Lord to give us the ‘green light’ to proceed in ministry. We may be fully aware God has a particular ministry for us that will produce spiritual children and we sometimes get so excited about it we feel like we can’t wait; but we must. Moses was called to deliver the children of Israel but acted too soon and killed the Egyptian, then had to run for his life. He served his father-in-law Jethro for forty contented years (Exodus 2:21) before the Lord finally called Moses back to his original ministry (Exodus 3:1 to 4:20). We can liken waiting for the Lord, to a conductor of an orchestra. If a musician within the orchestra plays the right note at the wrong time, the whole musical piece sounds wrong,
but if the musician keeps his eye on the conductor, then the notes will be played just at the correct time. We need to keep our eyes on our Conductor and wait for His signal for the correct time. We need to see ourselves as musicians in God’s holy orchestra, waiting for the instruction to play our part. It takes patience to wait on God for direction, especially when our calling will lead us to something as important as a soul-saving mission. God does not waste time during the periods of waiting, but He uses that time to help us grow and develop enough so we can perform our task properly, and so our ministry will not wither and die. An expectant mother has to wait for her unborn baby to develop and grow until it is able to sustain life, so too we need to develop until we have matured in the Lord sufficiently, so that the demands put on us during the time of our ministry do not cause us to wither and die spiritually, or burn out. We need to be able to sustain our lives, both spiritually and in the natural while we are serving God. Just as a baby born prematurely has difficulties surviving, so too does a premature ministry struggle to survive and may die. But just as a mother knows she is about to produce
a child and knows it is in the child’s best interests to wait, so too, we need yield to God’s timing and His sovereignty, and wait patiently to produce our spiritual children. Jesus had the most wonderful ministry on earth that has produced an incredible amount of fruit, but even Jesus had to wait for the Father’s timing. ‘Truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing of Himself but only what He sees the Father doing, for whatever things the
Father does, so the Son does likewise … I can do nothing on My own. As I hear so I judge and My judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of My Father Who sent Me’ (John 5:19 & 30). That is the pattern all people in ministry must follow. Jesus inferred He never pre-empts the Father and we must be the same. Impatience is not seeking the will of the Father, but fulfilling our own will to ‘get moving’. If we pre-empt the Father’s timing, even when we know the ministry is His will, it could lead to disaster.

Another area where we need to be patient is when we are waiting for God to fulfil promises. God promised Abraham a descendancy as numerous as the stars, but he had to wait many years for his promised son, and during the time of waiting he became impatient and produced Ishmael. That was truly a disaster. If we are ever inclined to take the initiative, we only need to look to the story of Ishmael to see how it could end. We need to wait for the Lord’s time no matter what the situation or the circumstances. Abraham’s situation seemed hopeless, but God gave Abraham his promised son at the right time. Abraham’s problems did not come through failing to obey God, but by trying to hurry things along (Genesis 15:2 to 21:8). Abraham knew it was God’s will for him to have a child, but his and Sarah’s impatience led to Abraham fulfilling his own will and Sarah’s will before the Father’s timing. We need more than faith to receive God’s promises; we need patience (Hebrews 6:11 & 12). Impatience leads us to make hasty decisions and we pay the price.

Great read! Click the link if you want to read the rest. It’s a PDF so there might be a prompt for it to be downloaded. Don’t worry, it’s not a virus. Hehe.

I love how this was written while Apostle Paul was in chains and in prison. It is mind-boggling to think that he could write a letter full of hope and encouragement in the midst of struggles (1:30). He was in chains for Christ (1:13) but he did not blame God for his misfortunes, nor did he cease in proclaiming Christ. I am absolutely at a loss for words. Clearly, most of us haven’t even experienced a quarter of the sufferings he endured - still basking in the pleasures and comforts of our homes - and yet we are, sometimes, guilty of accusing God for being a “negligent” Father for allowing us to suffer a slight prick on our skin.

I am still nowhere near the calibre of an Apostle Paul, but I desire to love like him. God is truly able to make something beautiful out of a mess. No mind can comprehend such a mystery.

“… in a crooked and depraved generation,… you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” (2:15)

How beautiful! We are like stars shining brightly against the dark sky; like lilies in a field of thorns.

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” (3:8)

This I understand fully. I am convinced that there is no such life apart from the life God has intended for me to live. I chose to forsake everything that this world considers as important that I may follow my Lord’s command to the fullest, without any hindrance. What good will it be for me if I gain the whole world yet lose my soul? What good will it be for me if I live in luxury yet without happiness? My delight is in the Lord. I do not rejoice anymore in receiving fleeting treats from the world. If I may be regarded as a fool, let it be so, for I am a fool for Christ.

But I cannot help the fact that my heart will not be at rest if I do not follow the will of God. I am forever His bondservant. I am His daughter, co-heir with Christ. I am not of this world anymore.