The Waiting Period

So a few weeks back one of the youth leaders in my church asked me to do a youth message. I always get nervous when asked to do things like this, because although I can speak publicly and give speeches, messages are a different. Messages are not an art of eloquent speaking (although this helps), it's something given from God, meant to edify the body you are speaking to.

I prayed (also asked Roshan and Rony to pray) and came up with the following thoughts and I wanted to share them with my readers (if you attend my church you heard this on saturday). I feel that this applies to all christians (or it should at some point and time in your walk).

I hate waiting. I am sure I have written on here about my disdain for waiting and my love for refreshing when waiting on emails or checking through the blinds every 3-5 minutes when waiting for the mail or packages to arrive. While preparing these thoughts I was reminded of a particular lesson in children's church about patience. The children were given to options 1) They would get a small piece of candy right then and there 2) If they held out and didn't request the small candy they would get some better prize at the end (which they were not told specifically what it was). Can you guess which they chose?-(Just in case you couldn't...it was the first option).

But this phenomenon of instant gratification isn't only seen among children, it's engrained within our society. "I think it, I want it, I need it". We have been labeled a "Fast Food Nation"- Meaning by the time I order that Big Mac and reach the first window it better be ready with a side order of fries and a large Coke.

At times, as Christians we approach God using this same mindset. We throw up a prayer and expect him to answer immediately and ask "would you like some fries with that?"

Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work like that. I have heard pastors speak and say that God has three answers  1. Yes, 2. No, 3. Wait. It's this last one that people have the most difficulty with and it's what I would like to focus on.

Although we hate waiting, the Bible has many positive attributes contributed to waiting. In Psalm 27:14 it says "Be brave and wait upon the lord", In Isaiah 40: 30, 31 "Those that wait upon the lord shall rise up on wings like eagles..."

Whether we like it or not at some point in our Christian walk we are going to experience what is considered a "waiting period." The time frame may vary from person to person. For some it may take a week, for others a month, for others a year, for some FIFTEEN years. I have considered these past few months (and the next few months until August) my waiting period.

I believe that God gives us waiting periods in order to teach us, and in teaching us that we may learn, in learning we may grow, and in growing we become more and more the way he wants us to be in accordance to his will.

I would like to share three particular things that I believe that God teaches us during our "Waiting Period."

1. Trust

Part of the reason we hate to wait so much is because we are secretly control freaks. Waiting means that we have no idea how long before said thing happens, no idea what means will be used, or through what method it will be achieved. Basically, we are not going to be able to pencil it into our planners. This leads to some of our control being relinquished to God (OH NO!).

A few months back our fearless choir leader came back from his extended vacation (his family has moved there) for a week and he shared with the church about the difference between being knee deep in water vs being immersed in water. When you are knee deep you still have control of your motions and direction over your body, when you are immersed the water has control over you. Just like this, its about time that we become immersed in God and allow him to have control over our lives and our "waiting periods". Don't you think that the God who created the universe and knew you from your mothers womb, knows what's best for you?

In the book of Genesis, we run into the character of Joseph. Joseph was given a great promise, but he had a looong waiting period before he ever saw it come to reality. Throughout his waiting period, Joseph stayed true to himself and to God. He trusted the promise and eventually it all worked out even better then he could have imagined.

When we are giving waiting periods, if we could just learn to trust God, our ride would be much smoother, and eventually everything will be as it should (without us having stress ulcers and heart attacks, or strokes).

2. Humility

The second thing that I believe God teaches us during our waiting period is humility.

Deuteronomy 8:2,3

2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word [1] that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

This particular passage talks about the Israelites who had to wait forty years before reaching the promise land. During this time God humbled them and taught them to rely on him and his goodness. It is very easy to become christian snobs or christian rock tappers. To believe that it is our own self righteousness that moves God to answer our prayers. God gives us waiting periods to remind us that the power does not lie in the person that prays but rather the God who answers the prayer in accordance to his will.

Humility teaches us to relate to one another. When you go through a waiting period and God teaches you humbleness, he also opens your eyes to your brother or sister (in christ) who is hurting or in the same place that you are. Before your waiting period you may have been unable to reach them emotionally, but now you can relate to them and once you can relate to them you are also able to minister to them. There is a distinct possibility that God gave you a waiting period so that you could minister to others who are in desperate need.

Let us remember to humble ourselves, for it is in humbling that God remembers to lift us up.

3. Thankfulness

The third lesson is thankfulness. This is perhaps the hardest of the three. When you go through a waiting period you experience a wide range of emotions. From anger, bitterness, disappointment to distrust and depression. It becomes very hard to feel thankful for the situation we are in. I know that I had much difficulty with this one. I was angry and disappointed. I felt that I was entitled to a better situation or a better hand then the one I was dealt, and it became very hard for me to feel thankful. I was quick to forget that even the small blessings I had were by the grace of God. We have to be like Job and remember that the same God who gives is the same God who takes away. Be thankful no matter the situation or circumstance. God will always turn things around at the right time.

I am not sure how many people reading this are going through/have gone through a waiting period. But I urge you not to close yourself off from God in anger and disappointment. Don't pull away from him, instead draw near and open your heart to what he is trying to teach you and be attentive and learn. If you harden your heart you may have to repeat this cycle of waiting until you do learn. Don't worry, Humble yourself, trust God and be thankful. It will work out better then you can expect.



UPDATE: So I have not been very faithful to my 4 am wake up and pray sessions. I need to put more effort. Otherwise figure out a different method. =) Hope everyone is doing well.


HAPPY THINKING.

GOALS

Okay so I have a new list of Goals for the remaining few months off and I would like to officially write them on this blog as to hold me accountable


HERE THEY ARE:

1. I would like to read the entire bible (currently Im still on Genesis Chapter 1....so I need to get a move on it)
2. I am going to try and get up at 4 every morning to pray (so far this week I have set the alarm three days, woke up one day and prayed for less then 5 minutes half sleepily and then went back to sleep....and yesterday I left my phone at my grandparents...so no phone no alarm, means no prayer). I have heard several people suggest that this is a good spiritual habit. I am not expert, but I want to try and start this discipline. I will let you know how it goes. KEEP ME ACCOUNTABLE.
3. I need to start preparing for next semester. Which means hitting those books which have no doubt collected large amounts of dust over the past few months.
4. BALANCE- I need to balance all parts of my world and myself.

Bible Translation

Most of you may not even be acquainted with what translation (ie: KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV, The MESSAGE) in fact the reason you bought your bible as one of my cousin’s (he happens to be in seminary school as well) so aptly joked is based on the color and font. I am not sure why but for as long as I can remember I have been what I like to call a translationist or a translation snob. I have always cared what translation the bible that I am carrying is in, and will verify verses using other translations. Maybe its because I have since a young age been required to make speeches regarding bible topics and I like to use bare minimum- (meaning I don’t like to make things too complicated).

For the past couple of years I have been using more contemporary translations, such as New Contemporary Version and as of late for my birthday I had my parents purchase a fifty dollar leather bounded Message Translation. Now I love Eugene Peterson, he simply seems to have a quirky way of putting the truth, but at the same time it’s not always directly what is stated. I have found myself penciling in what the verse is actually stating using other versions such as the NIV. And you can forget following along during church and winning bible reference.

So I have been on the search for a new bible with a translation which is both contemporary and close to the source (original Greek).  I want to keep my Message Translation as a reference point and devotional guide but I also need another bible to simply carry to church (a good cover and font won’t be begrudged) but I want a decent translation as well.  So far all reviews I have received lead me to go for the ESV translation. Let me know what you guys think.

Psalm 23:1 – The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want-KJV, NKJV, ESV

 

Psalm 23:1 – The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing-NIV

 

Psalm 23:1- The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need- NCV

 

Psalm 23:1 – God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. –THE MESSAGE

It's Gotta Be More Like Falling in Love

Driving down the road on a hot summer day on my way to get a sonic treat and I hear this song, “its gotta be more like falling in love, then something to believe in, more like losing my heart then giving my allegiance, caught up called out, come take a look at me now.” I start to sing along even though I don’t fully know the lyrics because I find it to be true.

The stanza’s start off by “give me rules I will break them, show me lines I will cross them, I need more then a truth to believe in, I need a truth that lives, moves and breathes, to sweep me off my feet.” I though to myself  “your preaching to the choir.” I am genetically inclined to break rules rather then follow. I like to shape the mould and I definitely  (for the longest time I had such difficulty spelling this word) had some difficulty with that lesson about staying within lines. Behind the façade of a type A perfectionist is a messy, take no prisoners, whirlwind rule breaker with a heart of gold (if I may add).

Growing up in the Malayalee, Pentecostal church I know all about the rule following Christian. The typical, attend all services, wear white and if you’re a guy, remove facial hair Christian. No room for mistakes, NONE. How can you make mistakes? There is a  “HOW TO GUIDE” called the bible and everything that’s not mentioned is written in the CHURCH doctrine. The song reminded me that being a Christian isn’t about following rules which are written or giving allegiance, its about falling in love with a savior who is absolutely amazing. 

The thing about love is its MESSY. It’s not a set of rules that can be followed or lines that can be set. It’s about developing a relationship with someone. If you ask me the world has yet to come up with a good “how to develop a relationship” guide. Relationships vary based on individuals.  I feel that the reason why many people hesitate to become associated with Christianity is because of the negative connotation of a bible beating, sign wielding, rule follower. If they could only see the love that keeps us bound to Christ then maybe they would understand. Rules are not always understood by all people. In fact rules change, interpretations are different but one thing that doesn’t change is love. People can easily grasp the concept of love. It’s hard to ignore when it’s all around. Christianity is meant to be more like falling in love, something you just can’t help. You can’t help but do what you must to make someone you love happy. Rules aren’t needed to be a Christ follower, only love. The rest will undoubtedly follow.

Good Night and Good Thinking.

Sunday Morning Thoughts From the Pewside

I realized recently that I have become my own worst offender. I am starting to become one of those nomadic church hoppers. The one who goes to one church one sunday and then another on the next. I will grant that I only switch between two and if they were closer together the choice would be obvious. The distance and timing makes it difficult to go to the church that I would prefer or feel more at home. On the sunday's that I do get to go I only get to go the morning service and am not really plugged in. I can't have the best of two worlds so I have decided that I need to plant myself in the local one and become plugged in once again. These were the thoughts I had when I woke up and ended up missing the service I wanted to go to and had to hurry to make it to the local service where I could have gone to sunday school in the morning. I realized that life isn't perfect and neither are churches. The key is to get closer to God and make the best of whatever situation you are given. If I try and make it to the service that is thirty minutes away but has great praise and worship I am missing out on sunday school and fellowship. I think these thoughts and today's service helped med to realize that I am more called to stay at the local and get connected- and pray for the changes that I would like to see. Also: If you are reading this blog and you know someone who really wants to get into youth ministry for the college age kids as a paid position: EMAIL ME--> email on the side bar. I will give you more details.

Now that that's said and done today's message was titled

Dealing With Doubt:

The passage was taken from John 20:24-29 -talking about Jesus dealing with Thomas's doubts.

John 20:24-29 (The Message) 

 ^24-25But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, "We saw the Master."

   But he said, "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won't believe it."

 ²⁶Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you."

 ²⁷Then he focused his attention on Thomas. "Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don't be unbelieving. Believe."

 ²⁸Thomas said, "My Master! My God!"

 ²⁹Jesus said, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing."

Whenever we deal with Thomas we also see a negative stigma. "Doubting Thomas" or Thomas had a lack of faith. The truth of the situation is that Thomas was probably a realist or pragmatist. The others has the opportunity to see Jesus and affirm their faith. Thomas just wanted the same experience they had. How many of us would truly believe without seeing?

In order to overcome our doubts we must do three things: 

we Acknowledge our doubt- this provides opportunity to work through and deal with doubt

we Confront our doubt- thomas didn't stop participating with the others he just wanted the same experience that they had. When Jesus appeared he didn't badger Thomas about his lack of belief in stead he helped him to be apart of the experience and offered him an opportunity to overcome his doubts.

we overcome our doubt

Summary: God wants us to overcome doubt. NOT just for an intellectual purpose but to know God and to develop a relationship with him. Don't just know about God but know who he is.

seeking God

God, I don’t love you. I don’t even want to love you. But, I want to want to love you
- Theresa of Avila (via: http://anotherpilgrim.wordpress.com/)

True this statement. I can honestly say that my prayer has been this very quote several times, although re-worded. I pray to God to teach me to want him, or to need him. There is a major difference between want and need. Wants you can live without, needs you cant. The truth is I am a person of instant gratification, when I see something I want it. I wish sometimes that I had as much interest or love towards God or his word as I do for a a new skirt, or shopping, or eating (yes the inner fatty grumbles). How can we develop that? How can we develop John Piper's "Christian Hedonism?"  To my fellow blogger, I feel you. I pray that God would help us to see him in a different light or to seek him or to want to seek him. I think that this is the first step. I want to one day be able to let everything else go and truly be able to say I love God more then some of the other things in my life.