Running the race #37 Waiting upon the Lord (31mar09)

Dear…

'But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint'

Isaiah 40:31

Faith is from the Lord, so it is never a function of how many years one has been a Christian, but painful but gainful experiences garnered, learned awareness of our own failings as much as our partaking of the unfailing grace from our Lord, is a function of length of time and intensity of desire in obeying the Lord's command to us. Which is, to love Him with all our all and to love others as much as ourselves.

'My soul is also sore vexed, but thou, O Lord, how long?...I am weary with my groaning, all the night make I my bed to swim, I water my couch with my tears…..

The Lord hath heard my supplication, the Lord will receive my prayer.'
Psalms 6

There are times when we find it difficult to want to follow God, for His will seems to be going against the grain of general consensus and our own understanding. And all the time, it is of even greater challenge to want to love someone, warts and all, instead of correcting what we see as obvious faults. And in the eyes of us self-righteous men, will it not be more wrong to not take steps to make right a brother in Christ, who seems to emanate all things wrong. Our Good Lord will not want us to choose otherwise. But does HE??

'And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts''

Malachi 3:11

The battle is of the Lord's. Only God is the judge and executor as well as the healer. Do we then stay like docile lamb or even in the eyes or thoughts of many, "limpid Christians" who does nothing with the gifts and wisdom that God gives us? Does surrender to the will of God mean acquiscence to the follies and foibles of "obvious recalcitrant offenders"?

'But why does thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ…….So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.'

Romans 14:10-12

As a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, we strive for love, we seek the source of all comfort and grace, the Lord our God. But I have also learned that troubles do want to seek us, for without challenges, our faith will never be solidified upon the Lord our God. The true benefit of my past few years of staying unto the presence of our Lord always, is that I have learned not to resist the devil by my own strength, but rather, learned to submit first to our Lord our God, then can I resist Lucifer. (James 5:7)

'And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends, also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before'

…So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning
Job 42:10-12

In the book of Job, God allowed Satan to test Job severely and in any human eyes, unjustifiably, for Job was a devoted God fearing man. Yet, Job even with his imperfections, learned to let go and let God, for He acknowledged God's Sovereignty. And God more than blessed Him. That is our reassurance, for God is faithful, even when we are not.

'Let us not therefore judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.'

Romans 14:13

An interesting verse that the Lord showed me as I ponder upon an issue of emotions. Not judging anyone does not mean that we do not correct with love. But we should let the Lord lead us, and not let our carnal sense do it, for to allow our carnal self is no different from hanging on to the coat-tails of the devil. And much as most might believe, there is never a situation where one party is perfect, and the other is imperfection personified, for none of us are perfect and all are guilty, by God's standard, for all will have fallen short of the law. But thankfully, we have our Lord Jesus Christ whom we can lean upon, to bring us forth, by His grace.

'Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.'
Romans 14:19

We are asked not to judge, but to encourage. To look at the good attributes and not search for the latent defects. To bring love to the unloved. Is this possible? Not with man, but our Lord Jesus Christ has shown us by example. He died for us the undeserving. And the route Our Lord Jesus Christ took was not just inequitable to him, but humiliating and excruciatingly painful.

In times of challenges, when we felt crucified, do we feel justifiably right to hit out at all and sundry or do we like our Lord Jesus Christ, called out to His Father and much as he wish otherwise, was willing to submit to the will of God.

But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.'

Romans 14:15

We must correct yes. But we must first let God correct us. We must wait for the Lord to show us His perspective, not ours. We must wait to speak what God wants us to say, and not be in a hurry to pronounce judgement and be the executioneer.

'You said, it is useless to seve God. What profit is it that we who kept His ordinance…..?'
Malachi 3:14

Man by nature is impatient. And because of our follies, we often end up as the patient on the table. If we are often willing to leave our lives to the skilled hands of a surgeon, why do we find it so difficult to leave our all in all to Our Lord, the master of all?

It is the Provider whom we should look unto, not the provisions. Much as I know that, in the midst of this relentless cocktail of real asset destruction and impending fears of doom, our wandering minds often wonder if God truly knows our conditions and we begin to extrapolate our fears into the morass. Thankfully, the desire to cling on even more to God rather than move away from Him, much as our self deceiving heart often entice us to look for new "gods," still predominates.

And so, like many who draw even closer to God, come what may, the Lord reminded me about the need to be patient and to wait unto Him, for His love for us is unconditional, He is Sovereign, and the devil knows that, and no one can determine God's timing and His process.

'That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love. May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.'

Ephesians 3:16-20

Indeed, many of us grow in faith tremendously, not because of answered prayers, for most of our desires tend not to be in line with the will of God, at the onset of our troubles, but because God will show us that what matters to us will no longer matter, once His Spirit fills our very hearts and once He brings us to that clarify of thought, that what matters is His love for us, and not our finite and imperfect needs.

'My soul cleaveth unto the dust, quicken Thou me acccording to Thy Word…'
Psalms 119:25

Another one bite the dust used to be a line from a popular song of a couple of decades back. It might be even fully describe the regularity and magnitude of many individuals and corporates and very soon, governments literally biting the dust of economic demise, and with it, social and political upheavals.

'This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come….'
2 Timothy 3:1

The Word of God truly speaks to our hearts, if we allow the Spirit of God to lead us. But it is not a compendium where one looks for key phrases or words to inspire us. Every Word of God, even seemingly of irrelevancy to our present circumstances will spring to life in the greater context of the tapestry that God will weave around us, and one's heart will eschew the full intent of God's will, where just a few seconds back, it could mean nothing.

But are we willing to stay steadfast and wait unto the Lord for His prosiac timing?

'My soul melteth for heaviness; strengthen Thou me according unto Thy Word…..I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart.'

Psalms 119:25-32

The Chinese have flooded the plains of China and much of the Three Gorges in the hope of taming nature and consign once and for all the perennial heartache of the quirky Yelllow Sea of sorrow. Will it work? If history is any guide, man has always failed to tame nature perfectly, much more the beasts in each of us. But the indomitable spirit of man or more like, the elevation of our status to god-likeness have ensured that we will continue to make the same attempts, and as one writes, the Chinese are now making plans to mess around with the canals to divert water to the parched north. But then, what the Chinese are doing with the physical geography, the Americans and very soon the Europeans will do with flooding the world with humongous volumes of fait money.

'Ever learnng, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth'
2 Timothy 3:7

The way to the Lord our God is simple. Believe, repent and obey. Yet, till today, men prefer to choose otherwise from the plethora of gods on offer and some for safe measure, prefer a portfolio of diverse gods, for who knows, it is better to cover all areas.

'If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures. Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.'

Proverbs 2:4-5

''And He saved them from the hand of him that hated them…….Then believed they His words, they sang His praise.
They soon forgat His works, they waited not for His counsel…'
Psalms 106:10-14

What about God? Do we truly just come unto His presence and wait for Him? Do we not use our wisdom and self survival instinct or even past experiences to deal with what we see as impending?

It is not about us doing our part, and God will do His part. But rather, it is about us being still and knowing the Will of God. And God might not literally give us an A-Z guide as to how to position oneself for the next few challenging months.

'But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou has learned them…….All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is proftable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.'

2 Timothy 3:14-17

But clearly, God has already used His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ to show us by example, the life that we must lead. And what is that, but to seek God with all our hearts, all our soul, all our mind, and to acknowlege Him in all our ways,and He will made straight our path.

'Charge them that are rich in this world….That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate…'

1 Timothy 6:17-18

And the other part of His command is to love others as much as we love ourselves.
Have we done that? Have we honoured God by living the fruit of the Spirit, instead of running hither dither seeking the fruits of the world?

So if you think you have done both of the above. Then truly, do enjoy the shelter of the Lord our God in the midst of the present maelstrom that all of us are in. Do we continue to feel repressed and depressed, much to the joy of the devil, or do we truly break free and trust in the Lord by expressing the truth of an unseen but ever present God, who knows our needs on Earth and whom we must now take up on His promise of eterntiy by working on the eternity that He has given us all, and living with the deep certainty of a faithful God, in the midst of an increasingly uncertain world.

'But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.'

John 4:13-14

'That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love….know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God'

Ephesians 3:16-20

'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly….But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth He meditate day and night…and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.'

Psalm 1

'Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us….'

Psalms 46:10-11

'And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful.'
Colossians 3:15-16
God Blesses

Eng Hieang
(10th Mar 2009)

End of the race
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'Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is…'
Mark 13:33

I have not been ruptured(at least at this point of writing). And you better be very worried if I am and you are still reading this, for then you have been left behind when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

The devil may care attitude of many regarding the will of God could really mean now you do have to care about the devil or at least the anti-Christ, for life would be tough.

I am partially ruptured, at least the triangular cartilage in my left wrist might be and by this Friday(when I see the orthopaedic specialist), it is likely the doctor will dictate a proper shutdown of the left wrist, but prayerfully not an operation, and I will have to say adieu, at least in the written form, to all who have co-journeyed with me and our Lord.

'And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee, take away this cup from me, nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt.'

Mark 14:36

God is preparing us for eternity. So goodbyes will not be permanent and while prayerfully, my radio silence will not be as long as the few hundred years between the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi and the first book of the New Testament, Matthew, time with God is always good and if it be the will of God, we should all wait unto the Lord and and He will bring us forth.

Even as I end this present series "Running the race" it is good to thank the Lord for letting me run not just long(in prose) but fast, for this final leg is the 37th since I was led to move from "Walking with the Lord" to running that faster, in line with the increased tempo of shaking in our present world this past one year.

God is good. He knows l love to write and the thought He placed in my heart this morning was the need to continue to share and edify, but not on our own strength, but His.

"Reflections for the moment" will be the 3rd series that prayerfully, the Lord will use me on in this journey with Him. It will be much shorter and concise, a relief to my wrists and maybe to some of my friends who have been very forebearing with my meanderings. Till then, do have a continued blessed time with the Lord our God and you are always most welcome to visit my blog at www.hieang.blogspot.com

Which archives all my past journey with the Lord our God. And if you do like to see some of my worldly pursuits, drop me an email and will invite you to my facebook.

Rgds and God Blesses always

Eng Hieang
(31st Mar 2009)