Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Give Me the Wheel

I took the summer off from my writing but have several "new" topics that I plan on bringing over the next few months. Most ideas came from talking to people about their issues and items in their lives that they are dealing with. Hopefully, the Lord will give me words that can be of use to someone. I'll do my best to make them understandable and compact.

GLW

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Teach Me Lord to Wait

Being around church all of my life and being the son of a Music Minister, I’ve heard/sung many songs and hymns through my time here on earth. Although I’m no longer a Music Minister, I do fill in at times and seldom do I use older music unless it’s been “spiced up” a bit. One of these songs came to mind the other day and reminded me of many things from the years.

At a couple of my previous churches where they were tortured by having me as their Music Minister, we used to sing an older song titled “Teach Me Lord”. It was taken from a passage in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 40:31 (The Message)
He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch His breath and He knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind.

Many times we can sing a song at church and just go through the motions of worship. Rarely do we actually transform our singing into worship and it is even rarer when we actually live what we sing in church. We’ve become an instant society with many have-it-now conveniences. For us, having to wait on something means thirty minutes to an hour of an inconvenience. Not days, weeks, months, or even years. Everything is designed around instant gratification in today’s world. Having to wait on things has become a foreign concept.

Young couples starting out are often faced with troubles right off the bat because of this. At home with Mom & Dad, they had all they wanted and needed. When they marry and move out, they decide they need all of the same items they had when Mom & Dad were providing them. So they proceed to go out and get what they want. Use the handy dandy charge card and dig themselves a financial hole to satisfy the have-it-now need. That adds stresses and issues on their newly formed marriage that will already have issues to be dealt with.

I can understand the difficulties many face. Having dealt/dealing with several personal issues over the past five years, waiting on the Lord can be a very stressful thing.

* I want financial issues fixed now
* I want relationship issues fixed now
* I want the issues with my Children fixed now
* I want health issues fixed now
* I want spiritual issues fixed now

And the list goes on. Having to pray for an issue and wait on the Lord to “fix” the issue can be very trying. Often we decide to handle it on our own and give up on God when it appears He’s not doing anything. We take the reigns and run with it. Only to make a bigger mess and cry out to God for letting this happen to us. If we’d learn to turn it over to Him and wait, the problem could be solved and we could avoid some of the troubles we end up with.

In seminary a great pastor friend of mine once told me, “we tell God to take the wheel in our lives and then we take the steering wheel back from God and tell Him that He doesn’t seem to know where we’re going, or what He’s doing. After we run off the road, we tell Him to get back behind the wheel and argue with Him for letting us take the wheel from Him anyway. It’s almost a no win situation for Him.”

Just because we can’t see where He’s taking us or where we’re going doesn’t mean He’s lost. We’ve got to learn to lean on Him, and trust in Him. In Proverbs,

Proverbs 3:5-6 (New Living Translation)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

Put your faith, trust, hope, plans, future, and direction in God’s hands. He knows where you’re going and will take care of you. Even when we think we’re lost, have no hope, or are facing insurmountable odds and situations, He’s there. Though it may not be easy, we have the promise that He will be there to take care of us every step along the way. It’s a continual process but after we experience victory from letting Him handle the situations, it gets easier to turn things over to Him and trust Him.

Hebrews 13:5 (New International Version)
… God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

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Teach Me Lord

They that wait upon the Lord
Shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up on wings like eagles.
They will run and not be weary,
They shall walk and never faint
Teach me Lord, teach me Lord, to wait.