Whilst having my morning bath (the shower is indefinetely broken- bah) I remembered I recently purchased, for 97p, a sachet of Aussie 3 minute miracle. After washing my hair I applied the sweet smelling cream and thanked God that I could already feel my hairs being revitalised and refreshed as they were touched by the precious ointment. Then I looked at the clock in order to measure the 3 minutes of waiting.
Unfortunately, no sooner had I loooked away from the clock after my vow to wait, my thoughts became distracted about the events of the previous day, good things to think about, mind, and in moments I had sank my head under the water, instantly forgetting my vow of a few seconds earlier.
I couldn't even wait 3 minutes for my 3 minute miracle. I couldn't even wait 3 seconds.
I sing in church from the bible 'strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord' along with the congregation.
So I am now thinking about waiting and what it means to wait. I'm blessed by being around other single Christians in Kingston at the moment, many waiting to hear back from job applications. I suppose there are three universal issues that the 'waiting' might refer to when we singles say we are waiting upon the Lord. 1. The return of Jesus Christ 2. A marriage partner 3. A successful career. I put marriage partner second because values I've adopted or gleaned from church teachings over the years have been prioritising family over your job - so its God number 1, family number 2 priority.
However, as a single person its probably better in this waiting time to focus on your work until you have your number 2 in existence, in the same way that Adam was busy working not feeling a lack of a woman before God blessed him with one. But I do pray for a husband as my number 2 priority over my work because I would want a stronger relationship in the future than the strength of my career, and you can achieve more in partnership and lean on each other. Yes it is good to be content, but surely even better to have a vision in order to pray for yourself?
'waiting is trusting, praying and preparing' someone writes on their facebook status.
In the church I belong/ed to in Sheffield 'waiting upon the Lord' often translated as spending lots of prolonged time in prayer, 'in the Holy Spirit' probably speaking in tongues and most probably fasting. Putting requests before God. This waiting for Jesus' return, prioritising your relationship with God over all else encompasses a whole load of different kinds of waiting - waiting for God to work in the lives of the people you pray for who haven't come into a relationship with God yet. Waiting for the church to grow. Waiting in the sense of serving God (like a waiter) by serving in the church and serving others.
And then there is another kind of misguided waiting, when you wait for something you were never meant to wait for. When you allow a fantasy to take hold of your thinking and waste your time. A career you were never meant to pursue, a relationship you were never meant to fixate about or persistanty waiting for a super-spiritual experience or miracle that was never going to happen in Gods plan for your life.
This kind of waiting can open the door to confusion and misunderstanding about what it mean to wait. Its easy to get self righteous and say 'I've waited ten years for this' and even be tempted to come across as 'super-holy' to others. The other thing about it is you can become engrossed with the red herring and forget to count thank God for all the blessings of friendships and things God granted you that you did pray for earnestly in the past.
I describe myself as a very patient person. But am I truly patient? Just because I'm a good listener & don't get frustrated or even notice if the bus driver is slow? Is it just that I'm a a bit of a sleepy Christian, letting time pass, without being aware of a sense of urgency about the things I should have at the forefront of my mind about Gods purposes to pray for and respond to actively?
The real miracle is there in my hands to activate, but the way I'm waiting for it to work is so confused it often just slips through my fingers.
Unfortunately, no sooner had I loooked away from the clock after my vow to wait, my thoughts became distracted about the events of the previous day, good things to think about, mind, and in moments I had sank my head under the water, instantly forgetting my vow of a few seconds earlier.
I couldn't even wait 3 minutes for my 3 minute miracle. I couldn't even wait 3 seconds.
I sing in church from the bible 'strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord' along with the congregation.
So I am now thinking about waiting and what it means to wait. I'm blessed by being around other single Christians in Kingston at the moment, many waiting to hear back from job applications. I suppose there are three universal issues that the 'waiting' might refer to when we singles say we are waiting upon the Lord. 1. The return of Jesus Christ 2. A marriage partner 3. A successful career. I put marriage partner second because values I've adopted or gleaned from church teachings over the years have been prioritising family over your job - so its God number 1, family number 2 priority.
However, as a single person its probably better in this waiting time to focus on your work until you have your number 2 in existence, in the same way that Adam was busy working not feeling a lack of a woman before God blessed him with one. But I do pray for a husband as my number 2 priority over my work because I would want a stronger relationship in the future than the strength of my career, and you can achieve more in partnership and lean on each other. Yes it is good to be content, but surely even better to have a vision in order to pray for yourself?
'waiting is trusting, praying and preparing' someone writes on their facebook status.
In the church I belong/ed to in Sheffield 'waiting upon the Lord' often translated as spending lots of prolonged time in prayer, 'in the Holy Spirit' probably speaking in tongues and most probably fasting. Putting requests before God. This waiting for Jesus' return, prioritising your relationship with God over all else encompasses a whole load of different kinds of waiting - waiting for God to work in the lives of the people you pray for who haven't come into a relationship with God yet. Waiting for the church to grow. Waiting in the sense of serving God (like a waiter) by serving in the church and serving others.
And then there is another kind of misguided waiting, when you wait for something you were never meant to wait for. When you allow a fantasy to take hold of your thinking and waste your time. A career you were never meant to pursue, a relationship you were never meant to fixate about or persistanty waiting for a super-spiritual experience or miracle that was never going to happen in Gods plan for your life.
This kind of waiting can open the door to confusion and misunderstanding about what it mean to wait. Its easy to get self righteous and say 'I've waited ten years for this' and even be tempted to come across as 'super-holy' to others. The other thing about it is you can become engrossed with the red herring and forget to count thank God for all the blessings of friendships and things God granted you that you did pray for earnestly in the past.
I describe myself as a very patient person. But am I truly patient? Just because I'm a good listener & don't get frustrated or even notice if the bus driver is slow? Is it just that I'm a a bit of a sleepy Christian, letting time pass, without being aware of a sense of urgency about the things I should have at the forefront of my mind about Gods purposes to pray for and respond to actively?
The real miracle is there in my hands to activate, but the way I'm waiting for it to work is so confused it often just slips through my fingers.
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