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Waiting…

waiting

Waiting is the hard work of being human. Waiting is conjoined with patience creating beauty when they erupt into action at the right moment  with the right motivation. But this requires faith that believes that something awaits, hidden from view, that will make its debut.

The heart that cannot wait rushes around trying to find something, anything,. The fruitless search concludes that whatever it is that is being sought must be somewhere else. Each place they visit fails to deliver the beauty they seek, so impatiently, they move on, missing the moment searching for that something that hides in the rushing and can only be found in waiting.

To live the spiritual discipline of waiting is an active listening, looking, moving and knowing. True waiting is never passive but alive. Faith ignited to see the invisible and know the unknowable. But this comes by process; not a one-time divine zap. It is trust exercised in hope knowing that God is there and that God is always good.

Oswald Chambers noted:

“One of the greatest strains in life is the strain of waiting for God.” 

When I wait, I become aware of my shadow-
…I am thankful for grace.
When I wait, I realize that I too often place myself on God’s throne-
…I am thankful for mercy.
When I wait, I feel the anxiousness my heart carries-
…I am thankful for peace.
When I wait, I see the effects of my sin on others-
…I am thankful for forgiveness.
When I wait, I know that I live a rushed life-
…I am thankful for silence.

“Stand still” – keep the posture of an upright man, ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the directing voice; and it will not be long ere God shall say to you, as distinctly as Moses said it to the people of Israel, “Go forward.” ~Charles Spurgeon

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 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. Isaiah 40:30-33

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9


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Advent Longing…

lamp

The Advent season is always pregnant with possibilities.

A subconscious knowing resides deep within gnawing, in an awakening way, opening eyes and heart to a truer reality available only to those who seek it.

There is so much more to life…there is a deeper peace… a greater capacity to love…an irremovable anchor of hope.

Imagine feeling an inescapable smile, an unexplained joy resonating deep within, and a sliver of grace that pierces your soul for no apparent reason.

These are around and available all the time, yet we rush around with Black Friday hearts and choose to settle for far less than God graced our planet with and offers through  benefits of the Incarnation.

I like what Thomas Kelly, a 20th century Quaker wrote:

“Over the margins of life comes a whisper, a faint call, a premonition of richer living which we know we are passing by. We have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power. If only we could slip over into that Center! If only we could find the Silence which is the source of sound!”  ~Thomas Kelly

The following line of Kelly’s causes me to pause, “We have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power.” Ah…he is onto something here.

This is not a pipe-dream for God lovers and seekers, rather it is available, right now right where you are. No matter what stress, struggle, hurt or habit has you submerged, Advent shouts  God came to earth…God came and infused His divinity with humanity…Jesus, then is the definition of who God is…Jesus came to rescue, not condemn, and He offers everyone a better hope of drawing near to God.

Advent also reminds us of longing…the longing for Messiah to come…

The longing for God to show up…

The longing for help beyond our capabilities…

The longing to know that we all matter, and that God cares and is involved…

The longing for the better hope of God’s presence,

May you slip over today into that center and find the silence which is the source of the sounds of life.

Monty

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Valley of Vision

I have many different collections  of prayers. From modern writers to prayers from the early church fathers. One of my favorite collections of prayers hails from the Puritan tribe and is called “Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions”

The Puritan movement was a wave of influence in the sixteenth and seventeenth century right up to the time of Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) who might be regarded as the last of the great Puritan preachers.

The heartbeat of Puritan spirituality was a deep devotion to the practice of prayer. The prayers in the book, “The Valley of Vision” are taken from many of the greats like Spurgeon, William Law, Richard Baxter, Augustus Toplady, John Bunyan ands Isaac Watts to name a few. This prayer is the opening prayer to the book…Take a moment, remove your distractions, ask the Holy Spirit to speak and reflectively read the prayer.

Enjoy!

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LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter the stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.

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we are a forgetful people…


There is a phrase that comes up often in the Old Testament. Every time this phrase appears, it is contextualized by trouble, bad events, and devastating realities. The phrase is:

“They forgot their Lord their God.”

When we forget or disconnect from our primary source of life (God) and our secondary source of life (each other), we end up in trouble.

~taken from Sacred Space chapter three, Sacred Hours  www.sacredspacethebook.com