"I Will Wait For You"

check.this.out.

stop looking...

What do you think?

I *love* how people say that the moment they stopped killing themselves to get good grades, God blessed them with all As. Or the moment they stopped worrying about getting a job after graduation, God provided a perfect opportunity. Or--my favorite-- the moment they stopped looking for a guy, wishing for a relationship, or planning out their future, God brought along a wonderful young man.

Ok, that's all well and good. But as we all know, correlation DOES NOT equal causation.

Obviously, God will not be treated like a vending machine; I do X, and He WILL do Y.

Ok maybe some people stop looking and stop worrying is because they have better things to do, they realize it's futile to worry over stuff outside their control, and because they remember the world WILL go on even if they don't get that grade, that job, or that guy. And so when that magical thing does happen, they think, "well, I stopped worrying and look what God did!"

Um, maybe I'm gonna stop looking and worrying because I'm too tired to. If His wants to give me a 4.0 summer, a good job after graduation, or bring that guy along sometime soon, that'd be wonderful. But I don't want to look back and see that MY actions persuaded God to give me what I want.

"Light Up the Sky"

I just had to share this video...

Wait

Wait - by Russell Kelfer


Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.


"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.


"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."


Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"


He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.


"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.


"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.


"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.


"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.


"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

"When God Met a Girl"... an outcast woman and Faith

(From Mark 5:25-34)

This young woman had a problem. It had lasted for twelve years and showed no signs of letting up. She couldn't be more than mid twenties to thirties. She must have lived in shame and she had spent everything she had on doctor after doctor. And instead of offering any relief, they forced her to suffer many things and she became worse and worse. She had been hopeful so many times, and each time she had been rudely let down.

Where did she live? The hemoraging would have made her unclean. Everything she touched became unclean, everything she wore became unclean, and every person she touched would have to ceremonially bathe before entering the syngagouge. Everyone avoided her. Perhaps she lived outside the city with the lepers and other "unclean" people. Perhaps with them she found a sense of community and acceptance that was closed to her otherwise.

Until one day...

I'd like to think that this young lady found out about Jesus from one of the ten lepers that He had cleansed. Perhaps that leper came back to collect his things and goodbye and told everyone about the Healer. Maybe a flicker of hope started inside her. Maybe this doctor would be different!

It would have been exhausting to walk even into the nearby village where Jesus might have been teaching. Even getting out of bed, getting cleaned up from the sticky mess, and getting dressed would be wearying for one suffering from anemia. But she dragged herself into town only to find Him surrounded by a large crowd.

But that didn't stop her. She had to try. And she found that the flicker of hope was blowing into a tiny fire of faith. She knew that if she could only brush up against His robe she could be healed.

So she pressed through the crowd and reached out. Immediately, she knew something had changed. The weariness was gone, the despair was banished, the sticky wetness was no more... And she knew that she was incognito no longer when she saw Him turn and scan the crowd for her.

"Who touched me?"

And though the disciples joked that He asked a stupid question, she knew He meant her. And she walked out of the crowd, head held high, and fell at His feet. She had nothing to offer, and yet she was indebted to Him. What did He want from her? They were near the synagogue official's house (v35), and perhaps He knew that she was unclean and had no right to be in that part of town. But Jesus' words warmed her heart and reminded her of an identity she had almost forgotten she had.

"Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed from your affliction."

And He turned as He overheard that the official's daughter was dead. He moved on to His next miracle, and let her blend back into the crowd. He didn't point her out, He didn't ask her why she had reached out to touch something holy, He didn't ask her anything. He didn't degrade her for having a uniquely female sickness. He didn't downplay her cramps, weakness, and emotional drama. He simply saw a woman who had nothing and healed her.

She came with nothing and left with everything. She came sick and left healed. She came with a tiny bud of hope and found that the hope bloomed into faith. She had enough for one last try and found that the last try was all she needed.