Michigan Association of Regular Baptist Churches
  • About Us
    • About MARBC
    • Our Executive Director
    • Church Directory
    • Join Us
  • Resources
    • MARBC Church News
    • MARBC Blog
    • The Messenger
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Protect Young Eyes
    • Interpas
    • CPR Ministry
    • For Sale or Giveaway Items
  • Events
    • Regional Associations
    • Annual State Conference
  • Revitalize
  • Plant
  • Give
    • PayPal
    • Amazon Smile
  • Contact

 The Messenger Newsletter

Organization News & Updates

The Baptist Testimony, Volume 57 Number 2 March/April 2011

5/15/2011

0 Comments

 
You can also download a PDF of the Volume 57 Number 2 Mar/Apr 2011 (1 mb PDF; PC: Right click / MAC: Control click on the link and choose “Save As”)

​The Baptist Testimony
Volume 57 Number 2 March/April 2011

The Word Has It
“Strengthen me according to Your word,” Psalm 119:28
Ken Floyd
MARBC Executive Director

“Wait”

Recently I had the “pleasure” of sitting in what was most appropriately labeled as a “waiting room.”  I am sure that you, like me, do not find it to be the most enjoyable place to sit for any period of time.  Especially if, like me, you are there simply to have blood drawn for routine tests and there are people sitting around you who are hacking, sniffing, and wheezing. I watched as a man honked out such a quick and loud sneeze that he barely got his hand to his face.  He then used that same hand to open the same door that I had to enter a few minutes later!  Joy!  While sitting there in this wonderfully germ laden arena, I speculated how many days from then I would be back there because of what I was now inhaling!” 
​My “waiting exercise” involved going over the day’s schedule on my PDA, lamenting how many items were listed there that I could not accomplish because I had to wait.  Poor me!  The receptionist certainly didn’t seem to pick up the inconvenience her office and lab were causing me as she gruffly received my paperwork and callously told me to take a seat.  Didn’t she realize the precious moments of time that were passing by while I waited?

Of course, by now you have probably assumed that some spiritual lesson came out of the moments I experienced that morning or I wouldn’t be sharing my confession in this column.  Reflecting on that waiting room experience caused me to not only acknowledge what an annoyance waiting can be but also what an important part of life it is.  

Consider the many times in the Bible that God’s servants are portrayed in waiting room scenarios.  A prime example comes from the story found in Exodus 3 as God calls Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt’s bondage.  As God sought to prepare Moses for this major task, the reality was that the wisdom of Egypt was not adequate to equip Moses to serve God.  So God took Moses out of the limelight as the Prince of Egypt and plunged him into the solitude and obscurity of a desert waiting room for forty years.  It was there that Moses met God personally and learned how to walk with Him. 

You can trace a similar pattern throughout the Bible for most of God’s servants, such as, Joseph, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Nehemiah, John the Baptizer, Paul, and John the Apostle.  

David often reflected upon his waiting room experiences as he penned thoughts that would be included in the Psalms.  For example, Psalm 27:14 encourages us to “Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”  Psalm 40:1 counsels, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.”  Psalm 130:5 reminds God’s followers of the trustworthy value of His word, “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.”  Some of these you may have put to memory in order to spiritually “wait it out.”  

Even Jesus spent the first 30 years of His earthly life in relative obscurity.  The Gospel narratives jump quickly from much information about His birth and a couple of quick references to His pre-teen years to a detailed description of the last three and half years of His earthly ministry.  And, as busy as that ministry was, you find Jesus spending many seasons going to a solitary place to pray.  One of those solitary seasons even involved forty days and nights in a wilderness waiting room being tempted by Satan.  

Now, let’s fast forward to our waiting room experiences.  Occasionally it will appear as though we have been set aside. But properly used, God will take that “wait time” to equip us for the next level of ministry for which He is preparing us. 

Christians often take solace from the words of the classic hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”  Quoting from Lamentations 3:22-23, the hymn rejoices through the words of Jeremiah the prophet: “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”  

However, the statements that follow these familiar verses quoted in song from the Book of Lamentations are also significant:  “‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.  It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:24-26)

Let me suggest some “waiting room” principles for those of us who are bent to live even the Christian life in the fast lane.  First, no one is immune from having to “wait.”  If Jesus had to wait should we expect to live any differently?  Second, remember when you have to wait for what seems to be unreasonable amounts of time in God’s waiting room that without deserts, there are no deliverers.  Every Biblical leader referenced earlier in this column earned a degree in “waiting” that qualified them to later become a deliverer.  Third, waiting actually brings spiritual benefits to those who will do it with spiritual determination.  Faithful followers of God are reminded by Isaiah the Prophet, “Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”  (Isaiah 40:31)

Be faithful!  Wait patiently!  Be assured that God will bless you for submitting to the process!

You have His Word on it! (KEF)
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    November 2015
    June 2015
    November 2014
    July 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    May 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    June 2009
    April 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008
    March 2008
    February 2008
    January 2008
    December 2007
    November 2007
    October 2007
    September 2007
    August 2007
    June 2007
    May 2007
    April 2007
    March 2007
    February 2007
    January 2007
    December 2006
    November 2006
    September 2006
    August 2006
    July 2006
    June 2006
    May 2006
    March 2006
    February 2006
    January 2006
    December 2005
    November 2005
    October 2005
    September 2005
    August 2005
    July 2005
    June 2005
    May 2005
    April 2005
    March 2005
    February 2005
    January 2005
    December 2004
    November 2004
    October 2004
    September 2004
    August 2004
    July 2004
    August 2003

    Categories

    All
    Annual Conference
    Annual Conference 2012
    Annual Conference 2013
    Annual Conference Audio 2014
    Annual Report
    Articles
    Audio
    Baptist Testimony
    Book Browsing
    Calendar
    Church Ministries Conference
    Church Partnering Relationships
    Church Strengthining Seminar
    Day Of Prayer
    Events
    Feature
    From Where I Stand
    Ken's Road Report
    Links
    MARBC Churches
    MARBC News And Notes
    Men Modeling The Master
    News
    Ordination
    Pastoral Meditation
    Practical Ideas For Growth
    Resources
    Retreats
    Talents For Christ
    The Barnabas File
    The Word Has It
    Video
    Welcome

    Subscribe



    RSS Feed

The MARBC is a regional partner with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches.
830 Russwood, St. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
​(616) 364-5688
Picture
Site powered by design.faith
© 2020 Michigan Association of Regular Baptist Churches. ​
  • About Us
    • About MARBC
    • Our Executive Director
    • Church Directory
    • Join Us
  • Resources
    • MARBC Church News
    • MARBC Blog
    • The Messenger
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Protect Young Eyes
    • Interpas
    • CPR Ministry
    • For Sale or Giveaway Items
  • Events
    • Regional Associations
    • Annual State Conference
  • Revitalize
  • Plant
  • Give
    • PayPal
    • Amazon Smile
  • Contact