Why Wait?

Somewhere along the Christian journey I [Kirk] synthesized the belief that if I were to walk by faith, I must first do something in the name of faith to offer proof to having faith – a serving of faith to create a saving faith in order to be secure in faith. Unfortunately, such would amount to little more than trying to convince myself that I believed in Jesus. I would seek faith for faith's sake believing that when I had mined enough of this divine gold, I would then be rich in faith and would be a true follower of Christ. The notion of waiting upon God did not seem to be a spiritually approved function of one who was dynamically pursuing Christ. But Biblical faith is more than what you believe. Biblical faith is an understanding that the what serves only to bring you to the who you rely upon.

Waiting upon God is to depend upon Him. Many relegate "walking by faith" to doing those things that are bold or sacrificial in the name of God. However this may be missing the simple truth of waiting upon God. Moses ended up wandering in the wilderness for forty years due to his unwillingness to wait.

Moses' wandering launched immediately upon doing God's work in his own human way, killing the Egyptian soldier. Violation of Egyptian law was not God's plan for Moses and this violent act exposed the achieving of God's will to undue obstacles, all because Moses' impulsive nature was unwilling to wait. The consequences of not waiting takes us places by the force of our choice that we will not want to travel, in Moses' case the wilderness wandering.

Here we need to note that there is a vast difference between the wilderness wandering and the wilderness sojourn of some forty years. Waiting on God is truly a precursor to experiencing the power of God within the human condition fraught with powerlessness. The extent to which we resist God's plan is the extent to which we are disposed to wandering the wilderness path.

We are most uncomfortable with waiting and feel that to wait is akin to doing nothing. Such a perspective places the issue into plain view of the problem. We think we are capable of doing something for God by simply doing what we think seems logical. How far from the point could we be? Do we even know what God wills to accomplish within our time? Do we know what He wishes to achieve within our strength yielded to Him as He empowers us with His Spirit? Do we realize that our spiritual gifts are a reservoir of God's power on earth that is waiting for God's wielding?

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
      neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
      so are my ways higher than your ways
      and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isa. 55:8–9 NIV)

The wandering was not without divine purpose and caused Moses to come to the limits of his ability that divine enabling could occur. We really do not understand who we are until we are brought to define ourselves by the virtue of our limitations. The conclusions we reach about ourselves while gazing from the summit of our life's powerlessness is truly virtuous, moving us to embrace humility and a desire to wait upon God.

Waiting brings to light who and what we really are as we stand before God. True waiting upon God indicates reliance on Him and resting in Him and a brokenness before Him that signifies a readiness to receive from Him the very essence of what He desires to give. Waiting on God is embraced with a fear of adulterating His heart with our mind, and contaminating His will with our way. So waiting is vital in helping clarify our doing God's work His way over seeking our will in His name. Waiting signifies our having an utter disregard for what self can do and places value on God to lead us.

We stand ready to do God's will as He provides us the power to accomplish His good pleasure. Waiting is characterized by a seeking disposition whereby we engage Christ relationally in prayer, through the Scriptures, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Here we beseech God to guide us into the full knowledge of His will for the purpose of embracing the good pleasure of His heart, that we would be given wisdom and spiritual understanding so that we would walk worthy of the Lord.

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God” (Eph. 4:1 NLT).


Insight Journal
What keeps me from waiting on God’s direction in my life? What sins must I confess in light of this admission?

God's Submarine Ride

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

The familiar story of Jonah illustrates the approaches employed to address the deeper problem of the nature of sin. God was seeking to save a people while salvaging a prophet. Resistance and self-sufficiency jumped to the forefront as fear, evidenced by anger, gripped Jonah’s heart at the thought that God would not judge the wicked Ninevites. Jonah’s strategy to resolve the crisis was to ensure that God would destroy the people of Nineveh. Believing he could thwart God’s plan by refusing to participate, Jonah asserted his willfulness to create his own redemptive process. Unwilling to trust God, Jonah allowed his bitterness to fester and employed his own creative solutions.

The command to obey God produced a crisis for Jonah, the messenger of God. The possibility of God being merciful and compassionate to Nineveh pressured him to the point of stress and anxiety. Advancing his way over God’s will, Jonah attempted to resolve the crisis and restore control to himself, prompting Jonah to address his redemptive need with a plan to go in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.

Prompted by the lie that he could actually live independently, Jonah boarded a ship, hoping to escape from the Lord. Temporary relief came as he slept in the hold of the ship. God disrupted Jonah’s comfort with a storm prepared especially for him. Invested in ignoring God, Jonah also shut out the thrashing of the waves, the pitch and yaw of the ship, and the shifting of the cargo until the captain of the ship demanded Jonah seek his God for a redemptive plan. What irony!

But Jonah sought to resolve the crisis with another self-made plan involving a death wish: “Throw me into the sea” (Jonah 1:12 NLT). In the belly of the great fish (Rosscup calls it a “submarine ride”) God once again offered His redemptive plan. After three days and three nights Jonah was ready to follow God’s truth and acknowledged, “My salvation comes from the LORD alone” (Jonah 2:9 NLT). Submitting to God’s plan, he allowed the power of God to resolve his fears and take over his will.

“Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: . . . This time Jonah obeyed” (Jonah 3:1, 3 NLT). When the people of Nineveh “put a stop to their evil ways” (Jonah 3:10 NLT), Jonah’s greatest fear came true. An additional crisis was produced, and depression followed. Jonah’s submission to God’s will did not include adopting God’s heart. He had no desire to see the people saved who were steeped in perversion and debauchery. Self-sufficiency regained its foothold, and with another death wish Jonah pleaded, “Just kill me now, LORD! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen” (Jonah 4:3 NLT). Invested in his own plan, his depression intensified while he justified his mental illness. “The LORD replied, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about this?’ . . . ‘Yes,’ Jonah retorted, ‘even angry enough to die!’” (Jonah 4:4, 9 NLT). The story ends with God in the process of salvaging Jonah by showing him he has no ability to independently restore control to his life, because God’s plan will prevail.

Despite our best efforts, our plans cannot measure up to God’s design. Our feeble attempts to live independently from God result in disastrous consequences. Perversion propels us to further crisis, although God continues to assert His truth that we must be desperately dependent on Him in every area of our lives. Through Christ’s redemptive process we have a new set of options that can overcome guilt, shame, and fear with an overflow of His love, joy, and peace if we are willing to be desperately dependent.

Insight Journal
Describe a situation in which you used selfish ambition instead of relying on the Spirit’s fruit of gentleness. How would this situation be described differently if you were relying on the Spirit’s fruit of gentleness?

Maniac Driver Questions Peace

After Jehu had been anointed as king of the northern kingdom of Israel, he set about to cleanse the realm of Baal worship. His impetuous enthusiasm gained him the reputation as a maniac driver. “The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac” (2 Kings 9:20 NIV).

In an interesting snippet of the story, Jehu offers this commentary on counterfeit peace.

2 Kings 9:17–22 (NIV)

      17 When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, he called out, “I see some troops coming.”
      “Get a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”
      18 The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”
      “What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”
      The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”
      19 So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”
      Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
      20 The lookout reported, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac.”
      21 “Hitch up my chariot,” Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”
      “How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”

The NIV Life Application Study Bible (2011) adds this commentary to verses 18 – 19 of the passage

The horsemen met Jehu and asked if he came in peace. But Jehu responded, “What do you have to do with peace?” Peace, properly understood, comes from God. It is not genuine except when rooted in belief in God and love for him. Jehu knew the men represented a disobedient, wicked king…. Lasting peace can come only from knowing God who gives it to us.

Peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that supplies security in Christ, who provides all that is needed for life and godliness. It is the evidence of one who is dependent on Christ to provide the ability to cope with the problems, pain, and perplexities of living. In the midst of conflict we can experience the absence of fear, dread, and impending doom as we rest in the presence of His safety, tranquility, and contentment. A continuous relationship with Jesus Christ overflows with peace that comes from entrusting every struggle to Him. There is strength in knowing that while all around us is in flux and failure, Jesus provides a spiritual stability beyond the normal boundaries of this existence. We experience peace in the presence of finding Christ relevant to our situation even when we cannot be in control.

But humanity desires a Christ-less comfort. We choose rather to be at ease by creating an environment where the circumstances and situations favor us.

2 Kings 10:30 – 31 (NIV) adds the LORD’s commentary on Jehu.

The LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

NIV Life Application Study Bible (2011) offers this character study of Jehu.

Jehu had the basic qualities that could have made him a great success. From a human perspective, in fact, he was a successful king. His family ruled the northern kingdom longer than any other. He was used by God as an instrument of punishment to Ahab’s evil dynasty and he fiercely attacked Baal worship. He came close to being God’s kind of king, but he recklessly went beyond God’s commands and failed to follow through on the obedient actions that began his reign. Within sight of victory, he settled for mediocrity.

Jehu was a man of immediate action but without ultimate purpose. His kingdom moved, but its destination was unclear. He eliminated one form of idolatry, Baal worship, only to uphold another by continuing to worship the golden calves Jeroboam had set up. He could have accomplished much for God if had had been obedient to the One who made him king. Even when he was carrying out God’s directions, Jehu’s style showed he was not fully aware of who was directing him.

As he did with Jehu, God gives each person strengths and abilities that will find their greatest usefulness only under his control. Outside that control, however, they don’t accomplish what they could and often become tools for evil. One way to make sure this does not happen is to tell God of your willingness to be under his control. With his presence in your life, your natural strengths and abilities will be used to their greatest potential for the greatest good.

Jehu’s story is told in 1 Kings 19:16—2 Kings 10:36. He is also mentioned in 2 Kings 15:12; 2 Chronicles 22:7-9; Hosea 1:4, 5.

Insight Journal
How do you try to supply your own peace in your life?

(excerpts included from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Christ Is Relevant to Doubt

To believe or not to believe that is truly the question. Doubt has become a standard problem within the Christian community. Often it is said, by those coming for spiritual guidance, "I am doubting my salvation," "I am doubting God's will for my life," and/or "I doubt if God can love me." Certainly doubt is a heavy burden upon those who bear under its load.

The Christian can have times of uncertainty that lead to anxiety because they do not understand how Christ is relevant to their particular situation. However, what is generally regarded as doubt is something different. Doubt, as is referred to here in its pathological form, is not typically remedied by truth, so it is a condition of the soul's unhealthy state. Doubt is created to avoid confronting the reality that we are abiding in unbelief. Doubt then is a defense mechanism that defends us from having to confess our state of unbelief and therefore protects us from our personal responsibility to believe. This defense then allows us to continue in the fleshly controls afforded by unbelief. Hence, doubt is blatantly condemned in Scripture.

6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6-8 NASB)

The NLT translates the word doubt as "divided loyalty."

6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. (James 1:6-8 NLT)

“Divided loyalty” of the heart speaks even more specifically to the issue of a toxic soul. We may say, "I can't believe" when in fact it is that I am choosing not to believe. When it comes down to it, doubt is based in not being willing to give our souls fully to God due to wanting to reserve some part of the flesh for self. Therefore, no matter what changes within our situation, we are prone to perceive the changes in accordance with unbelief and the desire to maintain control. When we cover unbelief with doubt, we will always color the circumstances with the hues of unbelief. The only truth that will release us from bondage is to confess to God our actual choice to not believe Him in regards to our plight.

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matt. 6:24 ESV)

We may have a vast knowledge of the Bible, but if this knowledge has never changed us it is because we do not believe what we know to be true. When we believe, we act on what we know is certain. “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Heb. 11:1 NLT). It does not require complete comprehension. Absolute understanding is not a necessity. What is essential is that we trust and follow in God’s way. “You will hear a word spoken behind you, saying, ‘This is the correct way, walk in it,’ whether you are heading to the right or the left” (Isa. 30:21 NLT).

Our inability to trust reveals that we do not believe God at His word. It is imperative that we acknowledge and confess our unbelief. Authentically facing the reality that we do not believe God results in the trauma of truth that challenges our value system. When we acknowledge our inadequacy, genuine concern for ourselves motivates us to seek God for help.

“Unless your faith is firm,
      I cannot make you stand firm” (Isa. 7:9 NLT).

Insight Journal
Are you willing to convert what you refer to as “doubt” and repent of your sin of unbelief?
Are you willing to forsake your unbelief to embrace the truth by believing?

(Selected excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis.)