love

Waiting on God’s Weaving

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Wait for the Lord: be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.           Psalm 27:14 ESV

One of my least favorite plays (which I was compelled to watch because mom said so) was titled “Waiting for Gadot” It involved a couple of guys hanging around  waiting for a friend who guess what…never showed up! For an eight year old who far preferred Davy Crockett; Daniel Boone or Kidnapped; this was akin to Chinese water torture. Though I hated the play, it left an indelible impression on me about waiting. However when King David uses the word wait in this Psalm he isn’t at all suggesting the waiting for the train kind of waiting that we might associate with it.

Instead the Hebrew word for wait: quvah – comes from a root which implies two cords being woven together into a rope. Secondarily it includes something that my second language of Portuguese calls it; which is hope. In fact in Portuguese hoping and waiting are even the exact same word!

So what you might ask, “what good does that do for me?” That’s a great question and the answer is plenty! This kind of waiting isn’t just hanging out and hoping that God will show up. In fact God already has shown up in Bethlehem and His plan since that moment is that in our times of doubt and fear that our hearts will be steadily and slowly woven together with His. As the Apostle Paul states  in his letter to the Romans:

“And hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. Romans 5:5 ESV

So whether our crisis is a sickness like the Corona virus which has brought our nation to a halt; a broken relationship or shattered dreams, God is right here – right now waiting for you and I. His heart is open and ready to receive us when we open our hearts to receive Him. As Jesus hung  in agony on the cross He gave His spirit into His Father’s hands. Our waiting on God means putting our hearts into His hands and then stepping back as the Holy Spirit weaves us together with Him in the love of Jesus Christ!

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Flying in Formation

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Having spent most of my life outdoors I can attest to the amazing complexity of birds gathering for migration. No single event or calendar day can contain the thousands of interactions that take place as flocks begin to grow. There is a lot of push and pull, as they swirl back and forth in every direction for weeks. But if things go according to design the day finally comes when they decide to form up and head for their Winter home.

Our family has experienced so many of the same issues that God has taught the birds how to overcome. There have been many conflicts and sorrows, changes and difficulties. But all through the years there has also been an overriding force that has kept us together. That force in our family has been the love of Jesus Christ. He continues calling us together in spite of all our differences. He seems to specialize in knitting our hearts together in times of adversity. He has worked tirelessly, day and night, year after year to teach us to fly in loving formation. All of this Jesus does, not simply to force us into His path; but rather to prepare us. He has looked at the forecast and He knows we need to prepare. He sees that just ahead lies a Wintertime and we must form up and be ready for our journey home!