Patience in the Waiting
Imagine what your life would be like if you had received everything you wished and prayed for right away. What would you be like as a person if you got every gift you asked for, every relationship you hoped for, and a “yes” to every opportunity you pursued?
There’s a reason God often answers “no” when we ask Him for things. Not getting what we want teaches us patience and humility. We become more like Christ as we grow in these things.
Wanting something and then having to wait for it can be frustrating, but God makes that time fruitful as He refines our desires in the waiting. Sometimes we ask for a very different thing once we’ve had some time to think about it!
Cold winter months may seem to be a dead season, but as trees shed their leaves and “wait” out the cold, their roots go deeper and their nourishment systems are replenished. Like a tree with deep roots, time spent waiting is not wasted for those who belong to God. Waiting is a worthwhile time, if we seek to wait with Him. Even when it seems like nothing is happening on the surface, God is doing a good work.
Taking a weekly Sabbath rest might not seem “productive” in light of all the important things God has called us to do, but we can trust that He’s at work in those days of quiet, too. The Lord is good to those who wait with and for Him.
A Unifying Mission
Almost every successful company or group in history has shared something in common: they all had a unifying mission.
Missions are critical in not only aligning objectives, but also unifying a large group of people toward one purpose.
As Christians, we all share the same mission. We are unified in following Christ. We're saved by His blood (Romans 5:9) and we're all called to make disciples in His name (Matthew 28:19).
And yet, even among Christians, there is so much division and disunity.
Part of the division comes from our lack of clarity and commitment to the mission that is defined in Scripture. And to make it worse, we are sinful people, and sin naturally causes division in our lives and relationships.
But, the Psalmist in Psalm 133:1 reflects on how good it is when the people of God live together in unity. There is something powerful that happens among Christians when we are unified.
Unity is not putting away our differences, because there would be no need to be ...