Read Genesis 8; 2 Peter 3; Psalm 37
As we wait faithfully for the return of Christ, God has revealed to us promises that should not be unfamiliar to the one who claims faith. J.C. Ryle beautifully explains this: “There are ‘shalls’ and ‘wills’ in God’s treasury for every condition. About God’s infinite mercy and compassion, - about His readiness to receive all who repent and believe, - about His willingness to forgive, pardon, and absolve the chief of sinners, - about His power to change hearts and alter our corrupt nature, - about the encouragements to pray, and hear the gospel, and draw near to the throne of grace, - about strength for duty, comfort in trouble, guidance in perplexity, help in sickness, consolation in death, support under bereavement, happiness beyond the grave, reward in glory, - about these things there is an abundant supply of promises in the Word. No one can form an idea of its abundance unless he carefully searches the Scriptures, keeping the subject steadily in view. If any one doubts it, I can only say, ‘Come and see.’” My hope for us is that we will hear these promises and treasure them in such a way that we will live the life of radical purity that God calls us to. If we do not treasure God’s promises, we will treasure those promises that sin gives. Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God. If Noah’s heart had not been satisfied with God, he would not have endured and waited as faithfully as he did. He would not have sat until the Lord gave him further direction. He would have believed the lies all around him that told him that there was greater joy without God… that there is better life without God. I urge you to press on to make these promises from God more familiar. Study them, meditate on them, and pray over them. God commands us to be diligent to be found without spot or blemish. He warns us against being stained by the world, and he gives us many reasons and promises. The only reason that I can see for one to follow God blindly, rather than faithfully, is that that person must not deem it necessary to take the time to become familiar with God’s promises. And if one is not familiar with what God promises to His children in Christ, it seems almost inevitable that the natural hunger found in every man will attempt to be quenched by believing the promises of sin.
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"Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God." Ouch. That's a big slap in the face to me. As I look over the past year or so and see the sins I've entertained and indulged myself in, I realize it wasn't for selfish ambition that I did those things willingly. It was because I grew tired of waiting on God. I wasn't satisfied with where I found myself and, stupid me, I thought I knew better (Sin really does make you do stupid things!). Now, after being brought face to face with those mistakes and trying to reconcile them, I find that I'm back where I started and I'm gonna have to wait all over again, except now, I've got a little bit of heartache and frustration under my belt to go along with it. But praise the Lord! His is a redeeming love. And luckily, now I see that God's way is best and that whatever plan He has for me is better than any I might have for myself, which is evident given the past few months. Ugh. If only experience would come before the tests, instead of after.
Catherine, thanks so much for your honesty. Waiting on God and not only being patient, but content with where He has you is a hard thing, but a necessary thing for the Believer. I am reading through a book for the second time with a friend. Written in the 1600's by Jeremiah Burroughs, The "Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment" speaks to this. One of the key texts for the book is Psalm 62 "For God alone my soul waits in silence..." He explains that not only are we not good at waiting on God, but we are generally even worse at doing so silently. One of the things that Burroughs draws out is that our soul has a language that only the Lord can hear, and we must be constantly asking ourselves what it is that He hears. Does He hear praise, adoration, and thankfulness no matter the circumstances, or does He hear whining, vexing, complaining, bitterness and anxiety? V.8 is a great encouragement... "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us..."
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