Live while you live, the Epicure would say, and seize the pleasures of the present day; live while you live, the sacred preacher cries, and give to God each moment as it flies;
Lord, in my view let both united be; I live in pleasure when I live to Thee.
~ Philip Doddridge (1702-1751)
Nope. This article is not about passivity. Passivity does not even fit properly into the vocabulary of a committed Christian. Reader, i’m talking about who gets to lead the dance.
Can anyone say Jesus? Yeah? Really good answer!
Oh yeah, we gotta dance. But, He is just so much better at it than we are. It only makes sense to let Him move us into steps we never even imagined possible. Do we really think our childish attempts at some spiritual ditty can even compare to the marvelous rhythms of His Grace?
One of the best ways to let Him lead? Waiting. On-purpose, in-place… as long as it takes. Wow, is that hard. But the Bible is unflinching in message on waiting. Two passages (and many more) make it clear:
The first one is pretty familiar to many of us.
- Isaiah 40: 29-31 (ESV): He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for 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.
Great stuff. His Word reader. Read it and wait.
The second passage is not as well-known, but carries a profound message for those of us who may fancy ourselves as “soldiers of the cross.”
- Exodus 33:7-11 (ESV): Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp…and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp… 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent… 11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
How did he get all this power? All this strategic initiative? All this momentum?
For starters… He waited on the LORD. He literally WOULD NOT depart from the Presence of G_d. He was convinced of something to which we only sometimes give lip service. He KNEW that the Author and Finisher of the whole thing was in that tent. There was no where else on the planet he should be. Anywhere else, doing anything else was simply missing the point.
Today, believer, with the Holy Spirit indwelling us. We don’t have to go to a tent in the wilderness to meet with the Almighty. Right now, we can wait upon Him to inform, inspire, and enable our actions. We can simply stop, put it all down and listen. What’s even better, is that we never have to leave and go back into our old life! We can stay. We can yield to His Presence in our lives at all times and let him bring about amazing victory.
So, like William Wallace (Braveheart) was reported to have said as a major battle started; while totally outnumbered by the British:
“Wait for it. hold……. Hold……. HOLD!………. NOW!”
Wait for Him reader. The battles of life are His for the winning.
Enjoy.
