In
the story of the Exodus, Caleb was 40 years old when Moses sent him to check out
the land that the Lord had promised to give the Israelites. Caleb and Joshua came back and said, “Yeah, we
got this. It’s a great place – milk and honey!” He said this in the face of the ten who came back
and said “those people are too big and strong for us, we shouldn’t try to take
the land.” (Numbers 13)
Fast
forward another 45 years. Caleb came to Joshua and told him it was time for him
to be given the land that he had been promised by Moses. Caleb’s words in Joshua
14 are striking: “Now, as you can see, the Lord
has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since
Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I
am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on
that journey, and I can still travel and
fight as well as I could then.” (Joshua 14, NLT)
Caleb
was now 85 years old. And he was still courageous, optimistic and ready to take
on the giants of the land. In those 45 years he never forgot the promise that
was made to him.
For
Christians, patience means more than waiting. It’s waiting without anxiety and
worry. It’s knowing that God’s promises are true, that He has a plan for us and
has given us a dream. It’s trusting in His timing to bring it all to pass. But
patiently waiting doesn’t mean that we stop while waiting. Caleb said “For my part, I
wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God”.
There
is so much promising and waiting in the publishing world today. (Can I get an ‘amen’?)
Sometimes we’ve crossed that river Jordan, but haven’t yet been given the patch
of land that we’ve been waiting for. We keep writing, sending out proposals,
waiting, sending out more proposals, following up, writing more, learning more,
waiting more…. and all the while wholeheartedly following the Lord. When we
follow Him with all of our heart, mind and strength, then the Lord Himself becomes
our focus, He becomes the Promise, He becomes our Inheritance. And every
promise and blessing flows, in due time, while we wait.
What are you waiting for while you wholeheartedly follow the
Lord?
8 comments:
"For Christians, patience means more than waiting. It’s waiting without anxiety and worry."
Nice. Thanks and Merry Christmas Jim, Joseph Max Lewis
You have a big "amen" from me, Jim! I'm waiting for my novel to be released. After a while of waiting, the "wholeheartedly following the Lord" part can dim. Thanks for your good reminder to keep my focus on the Lord for His promises and blessings in due time. Merry Christmas! ☺
A worthy reminder, Jim. Sometimes I relegate the word 'wait' to the four-letter-word pile...and I shouldn't. Where God is concerned, waiting on Him is definitely an action verb attached to fruitful promises.4227
Amen! Well said Jim. I will share this encouraging word with the many stuck in the waiting room with me. :-)
Good point, Jim. I'm reminded of Paul's upbeat advice regarding what I call "restless contentment." Be at peace with delays and the discipline of waiting . . . but keep pressing ahead toward your noble goals.
Interesting that you should use this analogy, Jim. The Lord often promised he would one day take me into the Promised Land of published books. It's been a long wait, but well worth it. Waiting works as long as we are also growing in the Lord and in our writing and marketing skills. The Lord knows the right time for everything. Thanks for sharing your thought-provoking insight.
Excellent, Jim. God's promises never fail, sometimes they just don't happen on our time schedule
Amen, our timeline isn't God's. And it is so very hard to be patient!
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