Here’s some of the things I’m learning during this season of waiting that Lynn & I find ourselves in right now. It’s not a complete list, by any means. And notice I said that they are things I’m “learning” – iow, these are active processes, not things I’ve learned completely.
NUMBER 1 - God has given me the two things I need the most to make it through this season – His Holy Spirit, & my wife, Lynn.
The rest are listed in no particular order of sequence or importance.
1. READ THE BIBLE EVERY DAY, WITHOUT FAIL!!!
You knew I was gonna say that ;-)
2. Ask God to give you some verses to hang on to – you’ll need them - & you’ll find you’ll have a death grip on each one.
God gave me 5 passages for this season – trust me, I would have lost my mind, most than once, if I hadn’t had these gifts of His truth.
3. We are the project – no matter where we are or what we’re doing, we are the project.
I don’t care who you are or what you’re about, we are the project – iow, God’s always using our circumstances to shape us into the His likeness. (Doesn’t that sound holy?! Usually it hurts like… well, you know what it hurts like.)
4. No matter what you think or feel, the most important thing to God is that you obey Him.
Our thinking & feelings will change. God will take care of those thoughts & feelings. He wants us to obey Him. We’re in a good place, no matter what it may seem, as long as we obey.
5. Find a hobby or something to do with your hands or yourself – it’ll help fill the time while you’re waiting.
I’ve started knitting with a vengeance – I have enough skill caps to clothe 2 football teams & their cheerleaders ;-)
I’m pulling out my 4 looms & starting to create projects with them.
We’re volunteering at the food pantry a couple of days a week. It’s good.
And we have an RV park across the road from us. Those peeps find us very confusing ;-)
We don’t think the economy is getting any better, so we’re preparing the meadow to be a vegetable garden so we can have veggies & plenty to share.
6. The only people who REALLY understand your situation are the people who lived through it too.
I can see it in people’s faces all the time – they think I got it wrong, I’m doing something wrong, I’m being lazy, or any number of things. They just don’t get it. Don’t judge them or get frustrated with them – many of them can’t help it. They just don’t understand.
Lean on, & depend on, those people who’ve lived your situation & understand. They’ll feed your soul more than a million of the aforementioned peeps.
7. Keep your heart open.
It’s so easy to let frustration, worry, cluelessness, confusion, or whatever to harden your heart. Keep it open & vulnerable to whatever God may say to you or lead you to.
8. Be cautious of the person who readily & glibly quotes “they that wait upon the Lord” – chances are they never have waited on the Lord for anything.
Anyone who’s been in God’s waiting room is often reluctant to consign others to it.
9. Exercise.
There’s a real danger we can get indolent – stay in shape & keep moving – it also helps dispel depression.
10. Social media is a gift from God.
Text, Facebook, email, Skype, whatever, to keep in contact with people – it will bring you out of your circumstances & help you focus on something beside yourself.
11. NEVER underestimate the power & necessity of having people in your life who know how to pray & intercede for you on a daily basis.
There are lots of folks I know who have said they’re praying for us. Two that come immediately to mind are Sheila Hayslip & Gina Mosley. They pray all the time for us & I trust what they’re hearing & feeling when they pray for us. They’re helped me from despairing sometimes & going crazier than I am anyway ;-)
12. When a person says yes to the “ ‘ever’s ”, better be prepared just for that –whatever, whoever, whenever, wherever, however.
Being open to anything God may choose to implement in our lives means we are open to anything g God may choose to implement in our lives. And most of the time, those aren’t things we’d choose or have thought of. God is very creative.
13. Sometimes it’s okay to be clueless.
I’ve finally gotten comfortable w/ not knowing what’s going on or what’s ahead. Look – this whole “move to N GA & Blairsville was God’s idea – He’s therefore in charge of it. When He’s ready to give me a clue, I’m ready to listen. Until, I’m not responsible for the consequences of my obedience – He is.
14. Try to not think about yourself & your situation ALL the time – thinking about others is healthy.
It’s easy to become self-absorbed. Don’t. Keep thinking about the people around you, most of who live desperately somewhere in their lives. They need to receive God’s love channeled through you.
15. Anyone who says, “All I want to be is ‘a servant of the Lord’ has never been one.
Sometimes being a servant stinks, because we have to do what we’re told. Iow, we’re not in control. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable &/or scary. No one would choose to be a servant except as a response to God’s unimaginable love & grace.
16. I’ve been SO guilty of passing out to people in tough times 10 cents worth of scriptures & glib spiritual fix-its.
As I’ve had so many folks trying to fix my situation or explain it away, I’ve been so convicted about the times I’ve glibly & flippantly handed out “words of wisdom”.
17. It’s very easy to “trust in the Lord” when a person making a VERY comfortable living than when they’re bringing in a third of that.
I can’t elaborate on that. When you’ve got that much of a cash flow net, sure, you can trust the Lord.
18. Sometimes God places us in a beautiful place to live so we can bear up under the strain of tough times.
Living in this beautiful place has been such a sustaining gift during this season.
20. Find the beauty in the place you’ve been placed.
There’s always something beautiful about the physical place we’re placed during any season, whether it’s easy, wonderful, or tough.
21. Satan may not be able to derail us, but he can certainly distract us.
There have been so many things that have happened in the last year+ that we can only explain as the devil trying to run us crazy.
22. Demonic influence is real.
I’m genetically predisposed to depression. Demons play on that in y thought life. They know my thought life is a place they can have a field day.
I learned when I was at Asbury College that I felt demons or suspected their influence, I should say, “In the name of Jesus & by His blood I command you to be gone.”
I’ve prolly said that a gajillion times over the last year+.
That may sound a little too mystical for you – that’s ok – it works for me.
23. Sometimes all we can do is just keep moving forward.
If we’re on the road in a rainstorm, we rarely if ever pull over because we know if we keep moving forward, even if it’s really slowly, we will eventually come out of it.
24. There may not seem to be a “light at the end of the tunnel” but there is Someone walking with you in the dark.
I know it may not seem like anyone’s there with you, but it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t seem so – God’s still with you.
25. It’s ok to be mad as hell – God can handle it.
Last winter, I was just mad – mad that we’d stuck our neck out, left people, lives, ministries, & the familiar, & moved to N GA, & then came to a screeching halt.
I got over it, mostly because God was patient with me as I exhausted my frustration.
26. Sometimes what is going on may not have anything to do with you & everything to do with what God is setting up.
God may be working out the details of what’s ahead & that person or place isn’t ready or is just being bullheaded.
27. And it’s all about whether we trust Him, or not.
I hope this helps somebody, someway, to learn some of the stuff I’m learning the hard way right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment