The Long Wait - Thursday May 08, 2014
Wait for the Lord... Psalm 27:14 NIV
Recently I read the John 5 account of a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. Now that's a long time! Jesus found him waiting and hoping for a miracle and asked the obvious question, "Do you want to get well?"
In response, the man poured out his frustrations: "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down...."
There was nothing this man could do to get better, and there was no one to help him. On top of that, everyone else seemed to get ahead of him. I imagine he felt pretty helpless, hopeless, overlooked, and left behind.
As I pondered this man's condition, I sensed the Lord asking me, "Dawn, do you ever feel like that? Immediately three ongoing situations rushed to my mind and brought tears to my eyes. I had prayed and prayed for years, racked my brain trying to figure out solutions, solicited help from others, and yet here I was, staring at seemingly unchanged issues with no apparent turnaround in sight.
Then God tenderly reminded me of Psalm 27:13-14: "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
Waiting is so hard, but God was reminding me that He can give me strength to wait and the encouragement to hang in there and watch expectantly.
This man had a long wait for healing...he had to wait for his Savior to be born, grow up, and enter His ministry! Whatever my definition of waiting, Jesus has perfect answers in His perfect timing. Will I trust him...and wait?
Submitted by:
Dawn Bovenmyer
Stonebrook Community Church
Ames, Iowa
One-Year Reading Plan:
1 Samuel 2:22-4:22
John 5:24-47
Psalms 106:1-12
Proverbs 14:30-31
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