The Waiting Room

When most people hear the words "Please sit in the Waiting Room and wait for your name to be called", rarely is it associated with a feeling of comfort. For many and most, waiting means more time to worry. Whether at the Vet, the Doctor, or the Hospital, for those awaiting the test results of an uncertain future, the Waiting Room can feel like an emotional Death Row. Many would agree that the hardest part of life is the waiting period. We often find the unknown far more frightening than reality itself. Because fear begins in our mind, it's easy to see how the more time we have to think, the more fearful we become.

The Waiting Room theory can be true in our daily lives as well. As the journey becomes more difficult and the road ahead more foggy, we find ourselves in a state of waiting. We question anything and everyone around us, trying to get some idea of what we can expect in the days to come. The problem is, there's only One who knows our future and He's not telling.






Trust. For many of us, trusting God can be likened to walking blindfolded down a dark alley. We don't feel safe unless we can see each step with our own eyes and choose each path for ourselves. We have somehow been convinced that we can make better choices than the One who created us. Although His perspective is Eternal and ours is limited, we have bought the lie that if we want it done right, we must do it ourselves.







While life certainly has its dark alleys, we must not let fear blind us to the truth. As Christ said to His disciples in Mark 4:40: "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith at all?"


What does it mean to have faith?


According to Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see."


So am I saying that faith means trusting God even we can't comprehend His reasoning?


Yes! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5 & 6)







As President Roosevelt put it, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." How true it is!


So what is the opposite of fear and where can it be found?


The opposite of fear is love. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." -1 John 4:18


How does love manifest itself and what are the characteristics of love?


"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." -1 Corinthians 13:4-8a


So where did love come from and what exactly IS love?


1 John 4:7 & 8 tells us: "Dear Friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."







If God is love and the absence if love is fear, than the only thing truly worth fearing is the absence of God in our lives. For those who have received the gift of Salvation we have nothing to fear because we have accepted the Lord in our hearts... God and fear cannot occupy the same space. For those who do not believe, however, their fear is justified for they don't have the assurance of Salvation.







At this point you're probably wondering what Salvation has to do with the waiting period of life. Sure, it's great to have the Holy Spirit to guide us, but that doesn't make it easy to trust when the future seems so hazy. We need something tangible... a sort of promise that trusting the Lord, even when we don't understand Him, produces the best outcome. In these moments, when fear sets in and we wonder what on Earth we're doing, we must look to the Holy Word and rest on the promise of Jeremiah 29:11: " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' "


Then what?


"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me if you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:12)







You see, friends, trials are an inevitable part of life. Since we have no choice but to sit in the Waiting Room in anticipation of the outcome, the greatest thing we can do is seek the Lord's will for us during these times. The choice is ours: Sit and wait in fear, or Seek the Lord and trust. Just remember that a question not quickly answered by the Lord may be used to build patience in us. Either way we look at it, we can be assured of this:


"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened unto you."

- Matthew 7:7

~~ The Beauty of Hope ~~

Hope. A word so powerful that it can mean the difference between life and death. Without hope there is no reason to go on, no reason to try, and no reason to believe that there's anything worth holding on to. Without hope our life is but a passing wind... a flower that withers away into nothingness. Our lives have no passion, no direction, no purpose if we don't have hope. But where can this hope be found?

For those of us who have come to know the Lord on a deeply personal level, our joy in Him overflows! We bow our hearts in prayer, meditate on His Word day and night, and see Creation as His divine artwork. We smile as we watch the rain fall from the sky and remember His promise when we see the rainbow that follows the storm. In these things we find hope. Although life has it's troubles, and some may seem unbearable, at the end of the day we have the assurance of Eternity to hold on to. Our hope is found in Salvation and "nothing can separate us from the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:38 & 39).

But what about the broken? What about the souls so deperately in need of a Savior? What about those who would give anything to hear the message of Salvation? Oh, if only we'd look past the outer appearance. The Holy Word tells us that "man looks at the outer appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7) I long for His Eternal perspective.

How convicted I was this morning as I listened to "Does Anybody Hear Her?" by Casting Crowns. How many times throughout my life have I walked past another and been completely disgusted at their lifestyle? How many times have I chosen not to speak to someone new at church because of the way they were dressed or how they spoke? It breaks my heart as I consider how many people never came back because they felt so judged and alone. If only I would have reached out...

Forgive me, Lord, for forgetting that Your desire is that none should perish. Forgive me, Lord, for overlooking the very hearts you have brought into my life to touch. Lord, give me Your eyes so I can see the tears behind the smile. Give me Your ears so I can hear the silent cries of the broken. Give me Your touch so I can reach out to the lost. And give me Your heart, Lord, so I can love the unlovable.

But is there hope for us to change? Is there even a chance that we will leave behind the pedistal we've built for ourselves and choose instead to seek the lost? And when we find them, how do we convince them of the hope that is found in Christ alone? What if they reject us? What shall we do then?

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." ~Romans 12:12

And what shall we do then, Lord? Where will you lead us and for how long must we endure the rejection of the world?

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." ~Romans 5:2b-5

But what if we see no results? What if we keep praying, keep hoping, keep perservering and still cannot see if we are making a difference?

"For faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." ~Hebrews 11:1

Oh Lord, at times I grow so weary of resisting the enemy. My human body limits me... my spirit is willing but my flesh is weak. Where can I find the strength to go on when my flesh refuses the journey?

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." ~Isaiah 40:31

I see it clearly now, Lord. Your desire is that I should plant seeds, but it's up to you to water them and make them grow.

"Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope."

~ Gilbert M. Beeken

Give Me Your Eyes

How bittersweet it is when I find a touching song. My heart breaks, my soul longs for more, and my spirit feels a contentedness in nothing but the arms of my Savior. No matter how much we love another, it never compares to the perfect love that God has for us. Not just His children, but the blind and the broken of this world as well. His impartiality is amazing and I wonder if I will ever understand it.







Do you ever sit in a coffee shop, take a walk in the park, or stand in line at the airport and take a moment to look at the people around you? Not just a glance, but a peering into the soul? I'm brought to tears nearly every day as the Lord allows me to look into the heart of perfect strangers. I never fail to be touched beyond words as the struggles, the fears, and the dreams of another flash before my eyes. It's like watching a silent film with the actors sitting beside you tell you each thought and feeling they had during that part of the movie.


A washing came over me this morning as I spent my quiet time with the Lord. I awoke with a burdened heart and I knew instantly what the cause of it was. Sometimes it's a guessing game and it takes much prayer to determine the cause. This morning, however, the answer was clear as crystal.


Falling down on my face as my eyes filled with tears, I asked the Lord to forgive me for my selfcenteredness. How I waste my time trying to make things work out my way instead of allowing God to lead my every step. It is a constant battle and I often wonder if I tire the Lord with my stubborness. If I know that God's plans are better than my own, why do I keep pressing to do things my way? My plans fall short and I always end up wishing I had done things His way.

I ran across a song today that reminded me how much the Lord has changed my view of people. I used to look at them with no empathy and with little consideration about anything besides what was happening in my life at that time. Over time and the closer I have grown to God the more the way I see the world has changed. He has healed my vision so that I now see others and life's situations through His eyes. Although I now stand at the crossroad of life I stand without fear for, although the way is unclear to my human eyes, I find comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit will show me the way.

Dare to trust the Lord in all things. It's worth the sacrifice. It's worth the journey. It's worth the search and worth the praying. It's worth everything.

Take a look at the people around you. The Lord has caused each of them to cross your path for a specific reason. Where your instincts are to judge, choose instead to pray. Where your instincts are to be angry, choose instead to smile. Where your insticts are to ignore, choose instead to reach out. Where your instincts are to hurt, choose instead to be kind. Where your human nature tells you to retaliate, choose instead to love. And where your flesh tells you to turn a blind eye to the pain around you, choose instead to see.

Give me Your eyes for just one second

Give me Your eyes so I can see

Everything that I've been missing

Give me Your love for humanity

Give me Your arms for the broken hearted

Ones that are far beyond my reach

Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten

Give me Your eyes so I can see

Father, give me a heart like yours.

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Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes <~~ Be Touched