My Time is Not My Own

Psalm 31: 14-17a
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

"14But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD, I say, "You are my God." 15My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. 16Make Your face to shine upon Your servant; Save me in Your lovingkindness. 17Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon You;…"

While my times are in God’s hand, what I do with my time is a choice God leaves up to me. Life is so full of choices. I can choose to sit and watch, or I can choose to play in the game.

I picked up a book today entitled, THE JOURNEY FROM SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE by John C. Maxwell. The book is full of quotes. One that is worthy of note is the following quote by Gail Sheehy: “If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean a giving up of familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, relationships that have lost their meaning. As Dostoevsky put it, ‘Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what people fear most.’ The real fear should be the opposite.”

When the psalmist prayed “deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me” he was probably referring to those who wanted to kill him physically. Our prayer today may need to be that God protect us from the enemies that steal our time, and therefore our abilities to use the time, that God has given us to be significant in the life of someone else.

Am I willing to take a new step or utter a new word, placing my trust in God, rather than hiding behind my fears?

The Dawn of a New Day

Psalm 30 (NIV)
1 I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.
3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.
4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

What is it about the dawn of a new day that brings hope when life is throwing us a curve? Living in a rural area, we have a great view of the eastern sky. When I do get up early, I walk to the road to pick up the newspaper. On many days the combination of sun and clouds create some magnificent reminders of the artistic talents of the God of Creation. And if I think about it, no one but me has the exact view that I do. Somehow a beautiful sunrise can help clarify my perspective on life.

There were times at work when the chemical plants for which I was responsible had problems and they seemed to pick the nights to do this. Going to work in the middle of the night, half asleep, was never fun. No matter how bad the problems might be, I was, in most cases, happy to see the light of day.

When life is in a “night” phase, we have difficulty imagining that “day” will come, so, how am I to act when the “day” arrives? David suggests in these verses that we sing, praise God’s name, and rejoice. This sounds like true worship if we are careful to give God the proper credit.

The Voice of God

Psalm 29 (NIV)
1 Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Reading these verses brings to memory the privilege our family had to spend about 2 weeks in the mountains of Colorado for several summers. One of the things we enjoyed was sitting in our rented cabin and listening to the thunder roll through the mountains. It was not quite as enjoyable to be on a hiking trail when a storm arose and the lightening began to strike nearby. Twisted oaks and fallen trees reflect the forces generated by wind and water through hurricanes and tornadoes.

The forces of nature are a reminder of the power of Almighty God. The voice of God can be mighty. It can also be a gentle whisper as it was when God spoke to Elijah. We are to hear it in whatever form it comes.

More Thoughts on Waiting for God

Lamentations 3: 19-33 - The Message (MSG)
"19 -21 I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
22 -24 God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left.
25 -27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times.
28 -30 When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The "worst" is never the worst.
31 -33 Why? Because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return. If he works severely, he also works tenderly. His stockpiles of loyal love are immense. He takes no pleasure in making life hard, in throwing roadblocks in the way:..."

Note what is said in these verses about waiting for God:
1. God is faithful
2. “God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks.”
3. It is a good thing to hope quietly for God through the hard times
4. Pray and wait for hope to appear
5. Don’t run from trouble
6. God’s love for us renews itself every day
7. “…the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return.”

How long should I wait? How about until the Lord returns?
James 5:7-8 (NASB) “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Being patient and waiting for God obviously requires that I begin to view my life from a perspective not my own. I must begin to view life and its issues from a God perspective and that is something I can't do on my own.

Why is Waiting So Hard?

Psalm 27:1, 14 (NASB)1The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?
14Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD.

I find it interesting that David begins this psalm with the bold statement that he has nothing to fear because he has God as his light, salvation and defense, and he ends the psalm with a reminder that we are to be strong and take courage as we wait for God to act on our behalf. His reminder to “take courage” is an admission that waiting on God rather than acting on one’s own behalf involves an act of faith.

I must admit that my personality type is one that wants to analyze a situation, state the problem, develop alternatives to solve the problem, decide on a best course of action, and then act on that decision. In some situations, there’s nothing wrong with this; however, there are times when one alternative is to wait and see how God wants to deal with a situation.

What do we do then in the intervening time between the realization that God is acting in a matter and we realize the results of God’s action? We could do as Abram and Sarai did in the case of the birth of an heir to Abram – figure out our solution to God’s promise with the result being family problems that persist to today. Or, we can take God’s promise to act in his time, meaning we wait for God’s leadership.

I wish there were some easy answers to this, but I am convinced that God allows us to be in these situations to learn more about Him and ourselves. A passage from Colossians 1:9-11 (NIV) has something to add to this, I believe. “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…”

God wants us to learn endurance and patience so we can become more like He wants us to be. To be more like him, we must begin to understand the patience and endurance He is exhibiting toward us. If we ever think we have overcome the issue of impatience, isn’t it interesting how God can subtly remind us that we still have more to learn?

God's Way to Do Things

Psalm 25:4-5 “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day.”

Micah 6:8 (NASB) “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

When I begin to think about the ways of God, it occurs to me to look at what Jesus did during his time here on earth. Using the Gospel of Luke as a reminder of Jesus’ life what do I see Jesus doing?
- Healing of the sick
- Teaching and training of those who would carry on his ministry
- Giving advice for living such as
* loving my enemies,
* blessing those who curse me,
* praying for those who mistreat me.
- Feeding the hungry
- Sending out his followers to share his message
- Giving warning and encouragement
- Spending time in prayer and communion with his Father in Heaven
- Loving on children
- Associating with the non-religious
- Warning those who were religious for the wrong reasons
- Sacrificing himself for us

Am I Qualified for a Blessing from God?

Psalm 24:3-5 (NIV)
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.

Based on Psalm 24, those with clean hands, a pure heart, true worship and truthful lips qualify for God’s blessing.

I’m really not qualified to comment on this passage, so I will provide another passage for contemplation.

The Message (MSG) by Eugene H. Peterson
Matthew 5:3-12
3"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
6"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
7"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.
8"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
9"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
10"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.
11 -12"Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.”

Jesus’ definitions certainly don’t fit what I typically think of as blessings. Being blessed seems to be a bit “messy.” It seems to be more of an “attitude within the circumstances” rather than “altitude above the circumstances.”