The work of waiting
Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. – Psalm 27:14
God knows that it is not easy for you to obey him as you strain against your natural instincts; nevertheless, at times he asks you to wait. He also knows that when you wait on him, you grow in faith and learn to respond with strength and wisdom. Those times give you the opportunity to place your hope in God’s faithfulness rather than to focus on your own need for gratification.
Be still be before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. PSALM 37:7
I am God’s original masterpiece.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Sometimes I compare to other people, of my ability, of my personality, and of my talent that which determines my ability and strive to become what others want me to be, not what God want me to be. As I compare to others, whether it’s friends or neighbors, family or relatives, I find myself something less than others. By means, I feel like “I’m not good enough” to be who I am. The sound may bizarre, I tried to copy and imitate his/her talent to defeat their ability to pursue my satisfaction. Of course, this assumption and this notion itself is completely wrong and premature, and makes me feel jealous and angry at some point. Time to time, I complain to God and often forget about my talent that God has given me ever since the day I was born. In Ephesians 2:10, God says we are his workmanship and we are essence of masterpiece. In other words, God has created each one of us as unique, special, and original character to maximize our ability to serve God. Many of us may not know our talent, however, but when you pray and seek to our God, you will surely to find your ability and appreciate its own talent and character that God has built inside of you. Then following question come up into my mind, how can we use our masterpiece to serve our love of God? The tools that God gave you, use it as to serve God and make a difference in the world.
Searching for answers
I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from GOD, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains. – Psalm 121:1
You can but place your hand in the hand of God and place your hope in his great wisdom and eternal love. You can rest in the knowledge that his intention for you is always good.
I believe I will live to see the LORD’s goodness. – Psalm 27:13
God, settle my heart and help me to rest in the hope that one day all my questions will be answered as I stand in your presence. Amen.
Jesus visits Martha and Mary
Recently, I look through my old notes that I used to jotted it down during the church service. One of the notes was a story of “Jesus visits Martha and Mary.” This is a short story that has a powerful message behind it.
“38. Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41. But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42. there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
What is so interesting about this story is that my life is quite similar to Martha’s life. For so many years, I’ve been worried and distracted by so many things that I shouldn’t even need to worry about. In this particular story, I learned that I need to be like Mary. Unlike Martha, Mary sat and listened to what he was saying. She listen and think about ideas, and develop her mind. She wasn’t distracted nor worried, instead she was determined and focused to learn. To me, the point of this story is that nothing in life is more important than God’s teaching. Why are we so worried when God has an ultimate control of our lives? I think we should be like Mary, who is willing to learn and focus on God’s teaching. Ultimately, he will guide us to take better path in life.
