Friends,

Henri Nouwen said, "Waiting is essential to the spiritual life. But waiting as a disciple of Jesus is not an empty waiting. It is a waiting with a promise in our hearts that makes already present what we are waiting for. We wait during Advent for the birth of Jesus. We wait after Easter for the coming of the Spirit, and after the ascension of Jesus we wait for his coming again in glory. We are always waiting, but it is a waiting in the conviction that we have already seen God's footsteps.

Waiting for God is an active, alert - yes, joyful - waiting. As we wait we remember him for whom we are waiting, and as we remember him we create a community ready to welcome him when he comes."

Yesterday we looked at Isaiah 40:31 which says, "Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." The term "wait" is from the Hebrew verb kawah, which originally meant "to twist, stretch." The noun form means "line, cord, thread." It means intertwining one's life with the life of God. When this is being done, we are made strong. He who 'waits' (twists his life with God's) on God is made strong!

If you are waiting on God to work this week, keep on waiting! In the wait there will come strength and courage. I urge you to review the truths in Psalm 27 each time you are tempted to be afraid. Don't become paralyzed and ineffective. Take yourself out of the grind of fear! Look upon each threatening circumstance as an opportunity to grow in your faith, rather than to retreat. How? Follow David's example.

First: Call to mind what you know to be true about God.
Second: Express what you need boldly.
Third: Wait. Let the fearful circumstance become God's opportunity to strengthen you.

Happy Friday!
Pastor Phil