Waiting On The Lord

"Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." - John 11:21


I just want to share a quick thought this morning about timing and patience.  We live in such a busy and fast paced world today.  We can have any information available to us in just a few seconds.  If you want to check the weather or read the latest headlines all you have to do is just pull it up on your smartphone.  Due to advances in technology, we literally can have almost anything at fingertips in just a matter of seconds.

When you read John chapter 11 you find the account of the death of Lazarus and the encounter with Jesus and Martha, the sister of Lazarus.  In the beginning of the chapter Jesus gets word that Lazarus is sick and at the point of death.  Then our Lord does something that is very unexpected, He tarries and waits instead of immediately rushing to get to Lazarus.  When Jesus finally arrives at the home Lazarus is already dead and he has been placed in the tomb.  Martha comes running out to meet the Lord, not understanding why He waited to come.  Martha thought that Jesus was late and that His timing was all wrong because Lazarus had died, but little did she know that Jesus was actually right on time.

As I said earlier, we are busy people living in a fast paced world.  Most of us, if we are honest, would admit that we find it difficult to patiently and quietly wait on the Lord.  Let's face it, we know what we want, and we know exactly when we want it: right now!  However, God may have different plans.  Just like Martha, we all have our ideas about what the Lord needs to do and when He needs to do it.  Martha thought that the Lord had done and was doing nothing, but little did she know that Christ was about to something miraculous.  There are many times in our lives when it seems like the Lord is doing nothing or that He is not there, but Christ is always at work in our lives, even when we cannot see it.

I would like to share something on a personal note on how I know this to be true.  I remember when our family came home from the mission field in late 2007.  I truly believed that it was the will of God for me to be on staff at our home church at the time.  All I wanted to to was to be a part of Christ's work.  Then all of the sudden things took a turn in the wrong direction and my heart was literally ripped out, stomped on, and crushed by not only my pastor, but my entire church family.  I ended up having to leave the only church I had ever known.  It was where I was saved, married, baptized, called to preach, called to the mission field, and ordained.  For the next two years I was in a constant state of depression.  I did not understand how God could open the door for all of these other people to serve Him but yet no doors were opening for me.  I wanted so desperately to serve Him full-time somewhere.  Then in August 2010, three years after leaving the mission field, the Lord opened that door I had been praying for.  I was called to be the pastor of Fairystone Baptist Church here in Stuart, Virginia.  As I look back on things now, I realize something that I could not see back then.  I realize that God was not only preparing me, but He was also preparing a place for me to serve Him.  The Lord was preparing the people of Fairystone Baptist Church to have me as their pastor.  I know now that if I had tried to pastor back in 2007 or 2008 that it would have been a disaster because I was not ready, and there were some things that the Lord needed to teach me.  The bottom line is that the timing was not right.

I want to challenge you today to wait on the Lord.  You might be just like I was, thinking that the Lord is not there or that He is not working behind the scenes.  I can promise you that the Lord is there and He is working.  You and I must learn to wait on Christ because His timing is perfect and He is going to do something far more marvelous than we could ever imagine!

Prayer For Today:

Lord, help me to patiently wait on You, even when it seems like You are not there or when it seems like You are doing nothing.  I know that You desire to do a marvelous and miraculous work in my life.  Help me today to understand that my time is not always Your time.  Give me the faith and strength to patiently wait on You and for Your will to be accomplished in my life.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Trusting God For The Impossible

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" - Genesis 18:14


The context of this verse is dealing with Abraham's wife Sarah conceiving a child in her old age.  Sarah was way past the years of child bearing yet the Lord promised her that she would give birth to a son in her old age.  Human logic would tell us that it would be impossible for a woman of Sarah's age to conceive and give birth to a child.  However, there is nothing that is too hard for the Lord.  Only God can do what we see as humanly impossible.

Are you afraid to ask God to do big things in your life?  Is your faith weak and wearing thin?  It is time for us to abandon our doubts and our fears and to trust God to do the impossible in our lives.  The Word of God makes it so clear that NOTHING is impossible for God!  We must take God at His Word and expect Him to do the impossible in our lives.

This past Sunday we unveiled our theme for 2012 at our church, "Building Our Future & Our Lives Around Our Church."  The church has been in a building project for about 7 years to add a gym/fellowship hall and other rooms to the existing facility.  I must admit that I have been discouraged because it has been 7 years and the building is not complete.  I challenged our church that we are going to see the building completed by the end of this year and do it without going one penny into debt.  That is a very bold an ambitious statement and some no doubt will ask how in the world can it be done.  They might even say, "that's impossible!"  My response is, I am going to trust God to do the impossible at Fairystone Baptist Church!  Will you trust Christ to do the impossible in your life today?

Prayer For Today:

Lord, nothing is impossible for You.  Help to never lose sight of your strength and power.  When I lose hope, give me faith; when others lose hope, let me remind them of Your glory and works.  Today and everyday, Lord, help me to trust You to do the impossible in my life.  In Jesus name, Amen!