Deuteronomy
28:1-3 (NIV)
Blessings
for Obedience“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.”
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| Source: Unknown |
One of the pastors at
my church, Robby Smernoff, recently said a phrase during his talk that grabbed my attention. He used
the words “standing on the edge of
blessing” as he was describing our faith journeys and how God hopes we all
cross over from talking about to actually living out our full trust in Him in
order to receive all the blessings He so desperately wants to give us.
I felt like that was
exactly where I was standing – on the edge of blessing. Before leaving for
Haiti, I was optimistic that I would finally receive definitive answers to a
couple very specific prayers. I knew during those eight days spent in Haiti
doing God’s work that I would have the opportunity to grow closer to Him. Close
enough, I was hoping, that maybe He would point me in certain directions where
I was feeling a bit stagnant. For months, I had been getting tired of the
balancing act. You may know what I mean – the balance between waiting patiently
on the Lord versus taking specific action to move forward. The fear is in
trying too hard, thus forcing out His perfect timing and messing with His
perfect plan. Have you ever been there – just waiting for God to give His
all-out, “Go?”
In Haiti, I was not
disappointed. One prayer was answered on Day 1. Praise Jesus!
I would have to wait
for the second answer. Finally on Day 7, during our daily morning devotion time
with the Director of Heartline Ministries, John McHoul, God answered my second
prayer in His awesome fashion. John’s words for that morning were about persevering
through weariness. Faith – and its reward – requires patience and
determination.
Funny, that was one
of the points the pastor at my church made too – faith takes patience. As I sat
there in Haiti that morning, I suddenly realized where I was lacking that
patience. I knew where I was not fully living in obedience to God … mostly
because I was brutally aware that what He was asking was going to take me time
– a lot of time. Rather, I wanted something that I could quickly cross off a to-do list.
God was telling me
not to let the weariness of completing the task or the impatience I was feeling
to overcome my ability to be obedient to His call.
Deuteronomy promises, “If
you fully obey the Lord your
God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your
God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your
God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.”
I am standing on the
edge of blessing. God is ready and willing to give me the abundance of His
blessings, picked out specifically for me. The problem is me. I am the one
still standing there on the edge. He has called me over the line. He has given
me the command. However, I have been ignoring it because I know the work that
will be required – the time it will take. And, I just don’t want to wait that
long or put in that kind of effort. It
will be hard! What if I fail? So, I have been waiting for different
instructions – a different course of action. Therein lies my disobedience and
my lack of faith. I am thankful for God’s reminders in Haiti and at that church
service. I must persevere through my current impatience and future weariness …
faith requires patience.
God never asks us to
be successful; He asks us to be obedient. And, when we are obedient, we will no
longer be just standing on the edge of His blessing. We will be standing in the
middle of His glory as His blessings rain down upon us.
I cannot – yet can
– wait…
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