Tag: Waiting on the Lord

Man in traditional clothing praying on a rug with a cityscape in the background at sunset.

Justice Will Yet Be Served

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“The Lord’s curse is on the household of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous; He mocks those who mock but gives grace to the humble. The wise will inherit honor, but he holds up fools to dishonor.”
‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭33‬-‭35‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Think for a minute about the last time you saw somebody get away with something they shouldn’t have gotten away with. Remember for a second the last time you prayed something along the lines of, “God, when are you going to do something about ______________?” We live in a world in which it seems like the wicked prosper all the time. Evil people thrive while good people get punished for their good deeds. Why does God allow all of that? The truth is that He won’t forever, and wise people understand and live in light of that truth. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Romans 1:13-15

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“Now I don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry among you, just as I have had among the rest of the Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When I get something in my mind a certain way, I struggle to think about it in any other terms. That makes me remarkably tenacious in pursuit of a goal, but it can also make me irritatingly stubborn and unable to easily shift away from one idea when it turns out to not work very well. Sometimes, though, the problem isn’t with the idea itself, but with the path I’m taking to get there and the timing of the whole thing. Paul was going in the direction God wanted him, but the timing wasn’t always right. His mission was clear, though, so he knew where he was going. Let’s finish off Paul’s greeting to the Roman church today, and join in his mission.

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Digging in Deeper: Habakkuk 3:17-18

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“Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When you are the pastor of a church in a small town, you wind up getting to take part in a whole lot of the normal rhythms of the community. It’s really one of the things I enjoy most about serving in the kind of community where God has planted us. As an example of this delightful part of the job, this afternoon I get the privilege of giving a short devotion to a great group of students before they go to their activities for the evening. When doing this kind of thing, there are all kinds of approaches you can take. I decided on a little different approach than most guys will take. These kids live in a world that is beset by anxiety. Most of the fault of this lies at the feet of social media and a rapidly declining engagement with a genuine faith community. I’m not going to tell them to go to church. But I do aim to give them a little bit of hope in the midst of a world that is often dark and discouraging. As something a little different than our usual Friday fare, here’s what I’m going to say to them.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 24:12-18

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“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.’ So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God. He told the elders, ‘Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them.’ When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from the cloud. The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We live in an instant society. We are so used to getting just about everything immediately now, that the idea of waiting for something for just about any length of time is wildly unappealing to us. And yet, things that happen instantly are rarely as good as those which take a little longer to develop. This is the case with all sorts of different things in life. As much as we want to hurry up, so often we have to wait. When God called Moses to Himself to give him the covenant laws for the people, it didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it took a pretty long time. Now that the covenant is in place, let’s take a look at Moses’ going to receive it and the events surrounding his departure.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 3:7-10

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‘Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey – the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them, therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

It is sometimes a difficult business knowing when to step in and when to stay out of the way. This is true in all sorts of different areas of life. It is especially true when it comes to the people we love most. Sometimes a person needs to go through a season of challenge and hardship because of what they will gain by overcoming it. There’s probably a sermon on parenting in there waiting to be preached, but we’ll have to tackle that another time. Still, though, when someone you love is crying out for help, your natural instinct is to be compassionate and help them. When this happens, you are reflecting the heart of God. Let’s talk about this through the lens of the next part of Moses’ story.

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