Clay in the Hands

Waiting.  No one really enjoys waiting.  The very thought of it makes my “get it done” tendencies crawl.  But unfortunately, waiting is a part of life.

When we think of waiting on God, the concept takes on a different nuance.  We began this discussion yesterday.  How do we approach waiting on God to come?  This season of Advent is about waiting in anticipation for the coming of the messiah.  The reality is that we often find ourselves waiting on God.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as we wait.

1.  More times than not, God is at work right in front of us but we just aren’t paying attention.  So in our minds and hearts we are becoming impatient with God when all the while God is actively at work in the situation.  We need to learn the basic truth about waiting and that is that it is a constant reminder we are completely dependent upon God.  When we remember this fact, we take our eyes off our situation long enough to see God at work.

2.  God does not operate on our time frame to teach us something.  It could be something about ourselves or something about God and how God works in our lives.  Again, waiting reminds us of our dependence.

3.  Other times, our focus may be so skewed that we are waiting on something that will never happen.  Several years ago, I had a doctor’s appointment.  As is my normal approach to any given day, I crammed as many things into my schedule as possible so that I walked into the doctor’s office just in the nick of time.  I had my To Do list with me and a book to read just so that I would not have any down time while I waited.  I rushed in, put my name on the sign-in sheet and then found a seat in the waiting area (we should take note – they actually call it a “waiting” area).  20 minutes passed and no call.  30 minutes of waiting and I began to see people who came in after me being called back into an exam room.  My frustration with the wait was mounting.  Finally after 40 minutes or so, I approached the counter, and luckily before I grilled the receptionist, I made a very revealing discovery.  I was in the wrong doctor’s office.

In my haste and hustle, I had gone to the wrong building and signed in to see the wrong doctor.  I could have waited there all day but would not have seen the doctor.

Sometimes, we are waiting on something that just isn’t going to happen.  Our focus can become so self-centered that we fail to see God moving in other ways.

So what can you take away from my ramblings?

1) Seek God above all else.  

2) Wait patiently with expectant anticipation.

3) Look for meaning in the wait.

4) Remember God is in control.

5) Trust.

God is active in the day to day.  God is at work in your life – all around you.  God loves you more than words can express and human cognition can understand.

So wait with assurance.

Be blessed today!

The Christmas season is upon us.  If you have made a trip to Walmart you have seen the decorations – in fact, that has been possible since August.  I love this time of year.  I enjoy the gatherings of family and friends.  I look forward to the music and caroling.  Hot chocolate, food, football.  All the sights and sounds of this season bring a smile to my heart.

But the most important part of this season is the celebration of the coming of God to the world.  This year, I challenge you to begin Advent with clarity.  The word advent is actually from the Latin word – adventus – which is translated “coming.”  The purpose of celebrating Advent is to celebrate the “coming” of Jesus to live among us.

The season of Advent begins four Sunday’s before Christmas Day and continues through the month of December, culminating on that sacred day – the day we celebrate Jesus’ birth.

It is a season of anticipation – of waiting.

Few of us enjoy waiting.  I must confess, waiting is not my strong suit.  I live at break-neck speed most of the time.  My shoes show the wear pattern of someone in a hurry – or so I have been told by more than one shoe repairperson.  Waiting takes me out of my normal pace.  It forces me to pause and sometimes stop.

Advent is about waiting.  Waiting for the coming messiah to be born.  Waiting for God to arrive.  It is in our waiting that we are reminded that we are not in control.  It is in our waiting that we truly begin to look for God.

I talk to people everyday who are waiting.  Waiting for healing.  Waiting for answers.  Waiting for relationships to mend.

Waiting . . .

Remember that waiting forces us to look outside ourselves.  Waiting reminds us that everything is in God’s time and in God’s control.  Waiting reminds us that God is God and we are not.

So this Advent season, remember to focus on what is of primary importance.  God loved us so much that he sent his one and only son to become one of us.  With the people of old, we anticipate his coming.  We wait for his revelation.

Praise be to God!

He is coming!

So we wait with anticipation!

Have you ever had one of those days where your schedule goes out the window and you get to the end of it and you look at your To Do list and realize you never even looked at it much less did anything on it?  I have had 2 weeks of days like that.  Now don’t here me complaining – it has been 2 weeks of amazing things happening.  But it has prevented me from being as faithful as I want to be here with Clay In The Hands.

God has been at work and some really cool things are starting to happen in our 1st B church family and it is truly exciting.  Over the next few days I will take some time to share some of the stories.  But for today let me just say that God is GOOD!

As we approach Thanksgiving Day in just over a week, think about the blessings you have been given.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the busyness of life that we don’t take the time to think – time to think about how God is at work and moving in our lives.  Psalm 106:1 says this,

How do you know when you have made it?  Do you just wake up one day in full contentment and say, “This is it – it just doesn’t get any better than this.”?  I would suggest that this idea is something of which movies are made and fictitious novels are written.

I am not trying to burst the bubble that is the American Dream necessarily, but stay with me.  True meaning, true contentment and true fulfillment come only when we die to ourselves and live solely for our creator.  Unfortunately, that is a process of becoming.  It does not happen in an instant.  In fact, I don’t believe it happens fully in this life.

The very idea of growing in Christ is a counter-cultural concept.  In our world, we read and hear that we can get better.  We can eat the right foods, take the right pills, read the right books and better our lives.  We are told that if we do the right things, know the right people and play our cards right, we will “make it” – we will “be somebody.”  We chase after contentment by the world’s standards but the reality is, that contentment is as illusive and transient as a pot of gold sitting in a field at the end of a rainbow – it just isn’t there.  But if the deceiver can keep us preoccupied with chasing after mist, we will never become the people God intends for us to be and live with the meaning we were created to experience.

The counter-cultural truth is that in order to really live, we must first die.  We must die to our desires to “be somebody” and focus our attention on living fully in tune with God and God’s plan for our lives.  In a word, it is about humility.  It has never been and will never be about us.  It is always about God and God’s kingdom.

We will pick up here tomorrow, but for today, remember that God’s desire for each of us is a full and meaningful life, but that only comes when we surrender completely to God.

Be a blessing today.