Bible Ballistics: BBs #578      Waiting For The Check???

 

We all face issues every day; some are puzzling and cause us to wonder what we need to say or do in response; sometimes we are in a quandary as to what is best, to reply or to remain silent.  What are we to do?  We must learn to “wait” on God, for we can learn to ‘check’ our choices at God’s direction, as we heed the voice of The Holy Spirit (and depending on His Word!).

“This I say then,

Walk in the Spirit,

and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusteth

against the Spirit,

and the Spirit against the flesh:

and these are contrary the one to the other:

so that ye cannot do the things

that ye would…

…24 And they that are Christ’s

have crucified the flesh

with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit,

let us also walk in the Spirit.”   Portions of Galatians 5:16-26

Paul reminds us that, as believers in Jesus, we are to walk “in the Spirit” not the flesh!  Our flesh isn’t pretty—there have been many times that I have chosen to walk in the flesh rather than the Spirit; we all have times when we have these great ideas and responses in our flesh.  Yet God calls us to respond in His Spirit, with His Word in mind.  My flesh has some really good solutions (in my mind)—in fact I had a friend many years ago whose favorite saying was, “I think I could sure whoop them for the glory of The Lord”!  But we all know that is seldom God’s solution—in fact Jesus calls His own to be “peace makers”—and our main goal as “peace makers” is to bring others to be at ‘peace’ with God (see Romans 5:1-11), that should be our goal and pursuit, by word and deed! Yet there are those times when my flesh (and the ‘natural’ smart alec in me) wants to kick in, but God says if we’ll just “wait” and “listen” He will help us to overcome.  As they used to teach us in school (long ago) to ‘stop, look, and listen’ before you____; we can apply this warning to our heart and mind when tempted to respond in the flesh!  Let’s see what God has to say.

“Hast thou not known?

hast thou not heard,

that the everlasting God, the LORD,

the Creator of the ends of the earth,

fainteth not,

neither is weary?

there is no searching of his understanding.

29 He giveth power

to the faint;

and to them that have no might

he increaseth strength.

30 Even the youths

shall faint and be weary,

and the young men

shall utterly fall:

31 But they that wait

upon the LORD

shall renew

their strength;

they shall mount up

with wings as eagles;

they shall run,

and not be weary;

and they shall walk,

and not faint.”   Isaiah 40:28-31

God says we are to wait upon HIM, and when we will, He will provide  strength to the weak and weary; He will grant ‘wings’ to those who are earth-bound; He will give perseverance to those running for Him; He will grant endurance to those walking in HIS way!  Oh, praise His name, there is even more, He will help us know when we are about to go in the wrong direction, if we will but ‘stop, look, and listen’ to His Spirit.

“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,

This is the way,

walk ye in it,

when ye turn to the right hand,

and when ye turn to the left.”    Isaiah 30:21

God is our strength, our wisdom and our power—power to be all that HE has called us to be.  And our doing will always come out of our ‘being’!  So, my question for us today is, “Are we waiting for the ‘check’?” (It’s not in the mail—but in Jesus!)  We must guard our hearts, our minds, and our actions by simply (not easy but simple) yielding to His Spirit—if we’ll attend to our heart, God will attend to our way!

“But verily God hath heard me;

he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,

which hath not turned away my prayer,

nor his mercy from me.”  Psalm 66:19-20

I have learned that when I don’t have God’s peace in my heart at any turn or dilemma, I must wait, seek His face, listen for His directing, and then respond in obedience as HE says don’t, ‘wait’, or even when He says ‘no’!   I want to hear and heed His voice!  Even as Jesus told us, our job is to fix our eyes on Him, guard our heart, and heed HIS leading.  Are you HIS sheep?  You can be!

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep,

and am known of mine…

…27 My sheep hear my voice,

and I know them,

and they follow me:”. Portions of John 10:14-27

Amen and Amen!