05/17/2022
How long have we been waiting on God? Do we even realize that we have been waiting, or do we simply think that we are living a life subject to our own actions? Are we going to a dead end job every day, or simply living hand to mouth, and not see that the Lord is about to do something wonderful in our lives? So many people wander about, or carry a heavy burden in their heart, feeling lost in the world when in fact they are one step or one day away from God calling their name. Are we one of those that are waiting today, and don’t realize it?
““Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.”
Acts 7:30 ESV
Moses killed an Egyptian man and fled into the wilderness to escape the consequences. There he stayed for forty years tending sheep every day… going to the same old job, and feeling like this was what his life was meant to be. He thought that he was being punished, and that he must endure this life until he died. He didn’t realize there was more awaiting him in life, and that God could use what he had long considered punishment to change him. Are any of us feeling this way today? Hopefully you have not committed murder, but maybe you dropped out of school when you should have tried harder, you joined a gang and did despicable things, or you have a handicap that has limited you in some way? Many of us feel trapped by circumstances, and our lives, yet Jesus is just a breath away, and He wants to turn our lives around… to set a bush on fire for us, to tell us to take off those old shoes, and to end our waiting for something better.
“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’”
Acts 7:34 ESV
After forty years in the wilderness, forty years that Moses thought would never end, God spoke to him, and turned this broken man into an amazing leader. Moses didn’t feel this was possible, and even as the Lord was assuring him that it was so, Moses argued that he was not good enough.
“But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?””
Exodus 3:11 ESV
If we are honest with ourselves, each one of us must admit that at the moment when Jesus called out to us we questioned our worthiness. Even those who had lived morally pure lives were brought to their knees at that moment, and doubted their worthiness when faced by Jesus Christ. None of us faces Him in arrogance, or witnesses our burning bush without a sense of awe, and once bathed in His glory, none of us considers God to be lucky to have us. Nor do we ask him why it took him so long to come for us. No, we are all just as surprised as Moses was, and feel just as unworthy… if we didn’t, then it is doubtful that we saw His glory at all… and we are still waiting to know Him.
“And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.”
Mark 5:6 ESV
“But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.””
Luke 5:8 ESV
We have all waited, and some of us are waiting still. Whatever our circumstances, whether we are rich or poor, crippled or an elite athlete, brilliantly intelligent or mentally handicapped, all of us are waiting for that same moment when we will meet Jesus, and each of us will be amazingly transformed by the experience. Moses wandered, Jesus wandered, and each of us will wander too. The question becomes this… how, and where, will we meet God and exit the wilderness we thought to be our life? Are we ready to face our burning bush, be challenged by temptation, or perhaps experience some other moment of spiritual awakening? In that moment of truth, will we argue that we are unworthy, that our sins are too great to be forgiven, or will we be so proud and arrogant that we will be reluctant to yield? Whatever our resistance to Gods will is, He will assure, and convince us, that we are His. Jesus will tell us firsthand the parable of the prodigal son, Moses will tell us what it means to be forgiven even though we have blood on our hands, and Peter will speak to us of arrogance by telling us about denying Jesus… not once, but three times. God’s glory will defeat our old lives, lift us up, and change us forever. He will find us wherever we are, and transform us… are we ready for the waiting to end?
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
Revelation 1:17-18 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for those times in our lives when we wait on you. Thank you for showing us that you have not sentenced us to life and death in the wildernesses we face, but are leading us through them, and teaching us within them. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who can take any life, and transform it into one that is worthy of eternity in Christ. Praised be your name for opening our eyes to the hope that awaits us in Jesus, and the truth that there is nothing we can’t overcome if we will only turn to you through your Son Jesus. We wait on you Father, and mercifully you always come to us. Your grace is sufficient, and covers us all. Wash us in the blood of Jesus, and open our eyes to your Word through the Holy Spirit. Help us to realize that there is no sin, or place in life, that is so dark that you will not come for us, and shine your light upon us. Teach us righteousness in the wilderness, and call us out of the desert places. Show us your love, and prepare our hearts to receive you. Let each of us stand before you covered by the blood of Jesus, and receive your judgement… righteous, worthy, my eternal child!
Rich Forbes