I don't think I know one person who likes to wait; especailly in a quick, hurry up, instant society.
When I read Peterson's chapter on "Watching and Waiting" I gained a new perspective.
He tells the story of taking a job as a night watchman in New York City.Peterson describes his year "I stayed awake, I studied, learned, I visited and gossiped. And I waited for the dawn."
"A watchman is an important person, but he doesn't do very much."
"He does nothing to influence or control such things: he is a watchman."
"I never did anything, I never constructed anything, never made anything happen. I waited and watched, I hope."
Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
2 O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
"The psalmist's and the Christian's waiting and watching-that is, hoping-is based on the conviction that God is actively involved in his creation and vigorously at work in redemption."
For those of us waiting for things in our lives (and who isn't) this brings me a renewed hope, a burst of fresh energy to continue on as I watch and wait.
"It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions."
"It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do."
"It is a willingness to let God do it his way in his time."
So... here are the questions I'd like us to discuss:
1. What are you waiting for as we pursue a healthy lifestyle (physically and spiritually)?
2. What are the assigned tasks God has assigned you as you wait?
3. What is your perspective on waiting and watching?
When I read Peterson's chapter on "Watching and Waiting" I gained a new perspective.
He tells the story of taking a job as a night watchman in New York City.Peterson describes his year "I stayed awake, I studied, learned, I visited and gossiped. And I waited for the dawn."
"A watchman is an important person, but he doesn't do very much."
"He does nothing to influence or control such things: he is a watchman."
"I never did anything, I never constructed anything, never made anything happen. I waited and watched, I hope."
Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
2 O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
"The psalmist's and the Christian's waiting and watching-that is, hoping-is based on the conviction that God is actively involved in his creation and vigorously at work in redemption."
For those of us waiting for things in our lives (and who isn't) this brings me a renewed hope, a burst of fresh energy to continue on as I watch and wait.
"It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions."
"It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do."
"It is a willingness to let God do it his way in his time."
So... here are the questions I'd like us to discuss:
1. What are you waiting for as we pursue a healthy lifestyle (physically and spiritually)?
2. What are the assigned tasks God has assigned you as you wait?
3. What is your perspective on waiting and watching?
3 Comments:
Zoe, this is such a marvelous post. I was just doing a study on Psalm 130 and reading the role of a "watchman". What an important task, as the watchman knew the fate of an entire villiage rested in his hands. I'm sure the most beautiful sight in the world would be to see the sun rising, knowing his duty for that day was complete and he could breathe a sigh of relief.
This Psalm says we are to wait for the Lord MORE than watchmen wait for the morning - and then it's repeated again - more than watchmen wait for the morning. That's some pretty big anticipation!
Beth Moore writes on her commentary of this Psalm, "The psalmist wasn't watching for morning. He was watching for the one who owned the morning. His eyes were fastened to the horizon for a glimpse of God's presence." It's seeking God and actually expecting Him to show up.
The questions you pose are excellent. I'm waiting to experience God bigger than I have ever thought or imagined. My view of God has been large, but contained in theology and text book living. I'm standing on tip-toe, straining to see Him show Himself mighty on my behalf. As the lyrics from a song go, "Lord, I've never trusted You like I'm going to do right now".
God has called me to keep seeking, listening, praising, and claiming His promises as I wait. I am going to find Joy in a Big God!
Watching through the night,
Joy
Zoe, Waiting caught my eye. I hate waiting. But it has been a theme in my life for several years.
Loved the thought on "watchmen." Habakkuk 2:1-3 is my scripture "I will climb up into my watchtower now and wait to see what the Lord will say to me and how he will answer my complaint. Then the LORD said to me, Write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else. But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed."
So to answer your question, "What are you waiting for?" Let's see I have a running list, right now, it's 1.) ministry opportunities and whether I'm supposed to help faciliate a divorce recovery group, 2.) on that special relationship "mate" that God has promised me, 3.) to see God evidenced in the lives of my teenages, who profess to be Christians, 4.) to see reconciliation between my children and their father-with good Godly boundaries for the kids protection.
What are my assigned tasks? To write, oh and part of my assignment is to write about my waiting process; and do a weekly women's bible study. Also part of my assignment is to clean out my house of the excess stuff, get my finances in order and be obedient, so that when God gives me what I'm waiting for I'll be ready.
What is my prespective on waiting and watching. Well you alreday know that I hate waiting, but my prespective has changed over the last several years. If I will remember to ask the Lord what am I supposed to be learning from this and what am I supposed to share with others, the wait will be productive and go quicker. I also believe I'm supposed to wait with quiet confidence, prayfully and worry free. But most of all with "Excited Expectation" and the knowledge that God keeps his promises and the result will be worth the wait.
This was a great post. Watching and Waiting, the quotes you left there-It means going about the assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions. It means a confident alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do. It is a wilingness to let God do it his way, in his time."
This deeply applies to me right now, at just the right time. As you know I have been struggling a lot lately. My husband and I are seperating, just now, he is trying to go overseas. And I will stay with my parents and then we will go from there. So final it is not, but he is done. He needs space, okay.
But this means for me to go about my day and know that God will provide the reasoning behind this and he will provide the conclusions to this. Waiting and realizing that being seperated for months is better than divorce. I can't fix this, I have to fix myself. And I have to know that God will do it his way in his time and I must not Freak out about it. Which I am having a hard time doing.
How did you begin to get closer to Jesus, I know that it is all about me and I want to draw near to him, but I feel like I can't. I trust him, but then I get scared and think I can fix things. I know that you shared you were once like me, but how did you move forward and begin again?
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