O - In the throes of great difficulty these believers are being cautioned and encouraged to not surrender or turn away from the only life which is in Jesus - Jesus who is life. Like Abraham, they are being required to wait for God. To wait for God for no apparent reason except he has not yet acted … and this is exactly like Abraham. The waiting is neither of their making nor choosing. They will wait because they have no choice about it. They do, and we do, have the choice of HOW to wait. Abraham waited PATIENTLY. Abraham did not wait perfectly (e.g. Ismael) but he did wait patiently. The connection for all believers between faith and patience is unavoidable. What empowers our waiting unto patience? What actions can we, should we, engage in the gauntlet of waiting? What will protect our hearts so that we do not lose hope nor surrender the hope of what he has promised? Loving others is the key to keeping the heart free from becoming spiritually dull and indifferent (vs. 11-12). Jesus identified the superlatives (the Greatest Commandments) and connected two universal realities to them:
1. Do this and you will live.
2. All the Scriptures (every promise and principle) hang on these.
Jesus is life and he is really is the expert!
A - I cannot avoid waiting and I am not avoiding it. The awesome brilliance and sovereignty of the Lord converge to require it of me. The Lord is not obligated to dumb it down nor speed it up to accommodate my severe discomfort. Based upon the fierce personal loyalty (trust) he deserves I am simply (and rightly) expected to wait. He dignifies my very little and ignorant life with the choice of how I will wait not if I will. If I am going to choose to wait patiently then he has identified an essential element into a successful waiting … "loving others as long as life lasts." Waiting can be very distracting, energy draining and sleep depriving. Waiting, even patient waiting, can incite fear and inspire self-indulgent activities. When patient waiting is engaged I can (because of the power of amazing grace) turn away from the fixation of my "hope" and "need" to the plight of another and engage in tangible acts of love. I do this because the one who has promised concerning me is keeping his eye on me and that very promise he is working so brilliantly to fulfill … beyond what I hope or even imagine. This shift in focus and activity not only blesses the recipient, it brings much needed relief to me. With another in view (rather than my well-intended self), I am touched again with the life that is truly life and all his promises move closer to me and to fulfillment than they were before.
P - Most Holy and Loyal Lord,
Loyal to your word, work, creatures, friends and purpose. Thank you for calling me to not lose my focus on you and on others especially when so much is hanging in the balance for me and for what I think you are doing. Since you are doing it - it will be done. Since you have called me to do it with you, I will find my way to the fullness you intend. Along the way you have called me to love as I have been loved, to forgive and to show mercy as I have received such from you. I admit my current fixation, breath holding, and almost completely distracted existence and say … I will love you back AND love others as long as life lasts. I ask that you would help me NOT help you the way Abraham and Sarah did. I ask that I could wait patiently as he did and receive all that you intend - for the good of all and to make you glad. Lord, my assignment today is very clear - it really is the assignment of every day and every circumstance - to love you back and my neighbor as myself. Thank you for helping me refocus and "keep my eye on the ball" you are pitching with the intent of allowing me to "hit it out of the park." So, I will wait for you by loving others.
Steve
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