Oh, the Waiting!

If you are a prayer warrior, you know about waiting for God’s answers to your prayers. We all know the ‘yes’ answers that come bring a lot of joy! The ‘no’ answers demonstrate that God isn’t going to give us things that are wrong for us. He knows when we are asking for gifts for ourselves and are not honoring His purpose and His will. Then, there are the prayers that we wait, and wait, and wait for an answer!

Biblical Example

It's a story we are familiar with. Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for years for a child. In their time, having children was critically important. Zechariah had prayed for so long, that he likely stopped praying about it. However, the Lord sent His angel to reassure Zechariah that his prayer had been heard. God’s timing was important as John the Baptist was born just before Jesus of Nazareth. The delay in answering that prayer was about His plan and His timing.

Ready to Receive

Dr. Charles Stanley said, “If He regards tomorrow’s blessing as a curse today, He’ll withhold it for a season until we’re ready to receive it.” Some say that we mature as Christians during the season of waiting. To me, that means we are drawn closer to our Father, maybe because we instinctively pray more fervently seeking that answer. Pastor Rick Warren said, “God is more interested in making you mature than He is in making life easy.”

Submit Our Agenda to Him

Waiting is hard, but we have to trust Him more fully. Our agenda doesn’t always match His, so we have to understand God’s view. “Remember God is eternal. He sees all time at the same time.” (Dr. Stanley) The Apostle Paul had a plan to get to Rome to preach the Good News. He eventually made it, but not according to his agenda. He was jailed, under constant threat of his life, and shipwrecked. During his imprisonment, Paul was full of joy because he was able to tell others why he had been imprisoned. He wrote many of his letters from prison. Paul understood that His will and His power are sovereign. He submitted to His Lordship over his life. Not only was Paul willing to say “I’ll wait” but he didn’t make a habit of grumbling while waiting.

Prayer Warriors Make Comments

I asked some dedicated prayer warriors about the waiting. Nancy recalled this quote from Richard Hendrix “Second only to suffering, waiting may be the greatest teacher and trainer in godliness, maturity, and genuine spirituality most of us ever encounter.” She shared how she was able to continue praying for years about an important matter. “God’s spirit breathed confidence and hope, and gave me perseverance to never quit praying.” Josh had been praying for many years. He commented “Just because God doesn’t answer our prayer immediately doesn’t mean He isn’t near to us or not listening. It all depends on Him and His timing.” Betsy said what many of us are thinking, “I am working on the patience thing!!!” 

Dale realizes God has a unique view. “Remember God sees the big picture of our lives and we don’t.” She went on and reminded us “God’s timing is always perfect.”

Miriam wrote, “I do praise the Lord for answering prayers in His own time and how He sees fit.” Toby summed this all up pretty well I think. “Staying the course when you think God is not answering our prayers requires a lot of faith. Faith and a Christian walk are a full-time job.”

Final words of encouragement

Pastor Rick Warren encourages us with this truth “He will answer because He is trustworthy, He hears our prayers, and He will respond.”

"His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

A Well Watered Garden

Be Kind to One Another - Part 2

This post is the second part of this ‘kindness’ topic. In Part 1, it was Double Trouble as I know that I pass up opportunities to be kind and assist others. I see them and feel bad for them, but then I pass right by and feel guilty! However, I think I’ve discovered some steps I can take to perhaps display kindness more often. I hope you find these helpful to you in your quest to be kind to others.

Would you agree that God has been extravagantly kind to us? He blesses us each day, provides for us, protects us…..we could go on and on. He sent His Son to suffer for us and to provide for our salvation. When you are kind to another person, it generally brings you joy. God is pleased when He sees us being kind to another. We are to put our faith into action, therefore isn’t kindness an act of worship?

How do we start? Open your eyes so you can be sensitive to the needs of others. There is a great example available on Youtube that demonstrates our need to see more around us. It’s about 4 minutes in length, but worth a little of your time: https://youtu.be/OeFLcypu8_U. This video also demonstrates how our ‘hurry up pace’ deters kindness. Didn’t you see that over and over again? So, two questions then come from our first step (open your eyes). First, who do you pass on a regular basis that is perhaps difficult to notice? Is it someone at the gym when you are working out, or a kid always by himself/herself in the neighborhood? Second, what can you do to slow down and more easily see people that may need you?

Next, we have to learn to be a good listener. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:2 “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Sometimes those burdens are not always real evident, but as we become better listeners we will pick up on this and as a result be more sympathetic. If you have had any active listening training, you know that you have to resist talking too much. We have to ask why is it sometimes difficult to listen instead of talking with someone who is in pain? We’ve got to feel the other person's emotions if we are truly going to share their burdens.

I believe you have to be willing to take a risk. Yes, that means you will be interrupted, and you will have to get out of your comfort zone. What if God intentionally put someone in your path that He expects you to take care of? Pastor Rick Warren said, “We’ll never learn how to truly show kindness until we move past our fears and extend God’s love to people who are hurting.” Why don’t you start by asking God to give you ‘spiritual radar’ so you can identify those people who are hurting physically, spiritually and emotionally that are around you?

Finally, determine that although kindness will cost you something (time, money, energy, reputation), it will be worth it. God blesses kindness. Isaiah 58:10-11 (NLT) puts it this way: “Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.” God tells us that He will meet our needs if we assume responsibility for needs of hurting people! 

I hope you will think about ‘kindness’. The Boy Scouts have it right: A Scout is KIND. A Scout understands there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. He does not hurt or kill harmless things without reason.

"His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

Double Trouble

Part 1 (Be Kind to One Another)

I know in the recent past, I’ve noticed that some people have shown kindness to me at various functions and events. At the same time, I’ve witnessed people avoid opportunities to show kindness to another person. In fact, I’ve seen a lot of people really showing quite the opposite of kindness. This made me want to learn more about showing kindness to others.

So, I’ve looked at some scripture, read some devotions on the topic, and even solicited some dialogue with friends about the topic. I’ve prayed about the topic and how to articulate what I’ve found. However, I am finding it hard to organize this post because I have this image stuck in my mind of the many times I’ve driven past someone on the side of the road who appears to be stranded and/or in distress. So, I don’t know if it’s the best approach, but I’m going to present two posts about kindness and the first one is a troublesome example!

Double Trouble

Think about the story we have grown up hearing from the Bible. The wonderful Good Samaritan serves as a great role model. If we are to obey Jesus’ command, we need to do as the Good Samaritan and cross the road and tend to the hurting people God has put in our path. Here’s the challenge though that I’m stuck on: In this day and time, we often pass right by that person. We fear for our safety. We are afraid to get involved. We don’t have time to stop. Why is it so hard to be the hands and feet of Christ our Lord? When is our safety an overriding factor? We are taught to seize every opportunity to be kind to others ( “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.” Proverbs 3:27). Why is it so hard to respond?

This is a case of double trouble because the driver is obviously in trouble and needs help. In addition to that, I’m troubled because I have driven right past that driver without helping.

After some discussion, here is what a few friends thought about the challenge. First, my friend Pat summed it up in a few words: “Kindness to people not like you is very hard.” Second, we know horror stories of the scam artist. This may serve as a crutch enabling us to look the other way and even justify that decision. Next, let’s face it, we are too busy, conditioned and/or greedy to offer random people our help. Fourth, we do recognize that even though it’s hard, we do want to be the example Christ taught us to be. And lastly, we acknowledge that it’s not simple, but if we would trust God more, and listen to His voice, we might find that we can step out of our comfort zone and know that He will protect us.

Now, in part two of “Be Kind to One Another”, I’ll outline some nuggets and offer some steps we all can take to perhaps be a little bit more kind.

"His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray