Tag: Against you only

how long must I wait

” but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Psalms 27:13  I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Psalms 42:5   Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation

Psalms 56:3  When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

2 Corinthians 4:13  Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,  knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

Psalms 130:5   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

Isaiah 8:17  I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.

Romans 8:25  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Lamentations 3:26   It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

1 Corinthians 16:13   Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Psalms 31:24  Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!

Isaiah 40:31  but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Waiting for God is not easy when our culture seems to have instant access, instant supply, instant satisfaction.  Faith trusts in God, relies on God, clings to God, and waits for God’s timing, plan, and purpose.  What part of trusting God puts time limits on His steadfast love?  What part of relying on God puts time limits on His perfect plan for our lives? What part of clinging to Him sets time limits on when God responds?  What part of waiting in faith puts time limits on when God will act?  Abraham was promised he would be the father of many nations when he was 75 years old and did not see this fulfilled for 25 years.  Would we wait 25 years?  Abraham was then asked to sacrifice his first born.  Though he did not do it because god stopped him, his faith was never wavering in trusting God, clinging to God, relying on God.  We do well to wait and trust.  God is our hope, strength and peace.

Teach Me

” teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?

“we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands”

 

Hos 14:2  Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.
Hos 14:3  Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.”

Job 34:32  teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?

Joel 2:17  Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep and say, “Spare your people, O LORD, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

Luke 18:13   But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

Hos 14:4  I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.
Psalms 51:2-10  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

Being a humble servant does not mean we have reached our goal of serving God.  Note the responses of people in scripture who sought to live in a way that honored and glorified God.  “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” Against you, you only, have I sinned”, “God be merciful to me a sinner”, “Teach me what I do not see, if I have done iniquity I will do it no more”, “Cleanse me from my sin”. “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” – These are all said in light of knowing God and His holiness and promises.  How do we know if we sin against God?  Does it depend on how we feel? Does it depend on what the culture around us deems right and wrong? Spend time in His word seeking it to be a light onto your soul for the purpose of honoring and glorifying God.  His word is able to shine bright in darkness, give strength in weakness, hope in uncertainty, and peace in chaos.  Keep it close to your heart, mind and soul.