Monday, August 12, 2013

Going Ahead




As a believer, have you ever tried to go ahead on your own, instead of waiting on the Lord, to accomplish a goal or ministry because you became impatient and didn’t want to wait?  Maybe because of your zeal you ran ahead of the Lord thinking that whatever it was, needed to be done right then. 

Have you ever heard the old saying, “You need to strike while the iron is hot?”  That statement may be true if you are forging steel into a desired shape or form, but not with everything.  The Word says this in Isaiah 40:31, “But 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.”   Waiting on the Lord is essential if we want His leading in our lives and ministries.  I know what happens when we try to go it alone as a believer, and I think many other believers have experienced this at one time or other because most of us tend to be very impatient people, wanting to be successful overnight and to bring the Lord glory, honor and praise.  

How many of you have heard the Lord speak to you about a promise that you tried to bring about yourself instead of waiting on the Lord’s timing?  

How many believers rush into relationships and marriages or business deals, only to end in failure and devastation because they ran ahead of the Lord, or maybe they didn’t confide in the Lord at all?  

How many things do we do without including the Lord in our plans and when they don’t work out the way we thought they should, who do we blame, the Lord of course?

Psalm 127:1 says this, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

When we exclude the Lord in our plans, what are we saying?  We can do it on our own!  When we don’t wait on the Lord to fulfill His word in our lives, who are we depending on?  Ourselves!

Sometimes the Lord leads people in ways they don’t understand but that doesn’t mean it is not the Lord.  Think about Abraham and Sara, they waited to have a child for many years, even trying to bring it about on their own through their handmaiden, which brought them grief.  When they finally did believe and trust the Lord, they had a child which they called Isaac.  When the boy was 20 years old, the Lord wanted Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the son they waited for so long, the one they called laughter; that is what his name meant.  If people knew what Abraham was going to do, they probably would have said that he didn’t hear from God at all.  Most of them would not have understood, I don’t think that Abraham understood it either at the time.  But Abraham stepped out in faith and trusted the Lord and everything turned out for his good and he passed the test, praise the Lord!

Sometimes because of our zeal or many other reasons we selfishly push people out of the way, so to speak, to speed up the process of what we think the Lord wants for us, instead of waiting on the Lord.  We need to learn a lesson from King David on this subject.  David was anointed to be king by the prophet but in the meantime, he was serving King Saul.  Remember how jealous King Saul was of David and how he tried to kill David on many occasions, and how David on several occasions had the opportunity to kill King Saul but didn’t saying, “it wasn’t right to touch God’s anointed.”  If David would have killed King Saul he would have become King but he wouldn’t have been waiting on the Lord and the whole story of King David may have turned out much different.  He chose to wait on the Lord and the Lord blessed him, even saying David was a man after His heart.

The next time you are tempted to take things into your own hands, instead of waiting on the Lord, I hope you remember this Tidbit and reconsider what you are doing.  Something to think about!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a great day!!

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