“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord” (Ps. 27:14, NLT).
I feel like the more I serve God, the more encounters I have in His waiting room. This is where I learn to be courageous and wait on Him even when my circumstances say otherwise. In the process of waiting, I have realized that, without faith, it is impossible to wait patiently for the Lord, especially when it seems He is tied up with someone else’s emergency.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16–17, NKJV).
As a 4-year-old, I didn’t understand the concept of death and that my father would never come home again. For weeks, I stayed up at night waiting for him. By the age of 8, though, I understood that he was not returning and this new unfavorable home where I lived was my only home. I longed for the daddy that I couldn’t even remember because I longed for a daddy who cared, provided, listened, held and loved me.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20, NKJV).
I was 17 and the youngest child of a big family growing up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania when this verse became special to me. That summer, I worked alone on the farm, as all my siblings had moved away. This provided me with a lot of time to think, and I examined the purpose of life and what I should do with mine. I contemplated a number of avenues, such as joining the U.S. Marines and volunteering for service in Vietnam, as one of my older brothers had done.
Les retards nationaux dans la livraison du courrier ont entrainé une livraison tardive de nombreux calendriers de l'Union de Columbia 2021 et de livres de dévotion Année de la Bible Words of Life. Des exemplaires supplémentaires des deux sont toujours disponibles. Appelez Pacific Press au (800) 447-7377. Le livre de dévotion coûte 5 $, plus les frais d'expédition. Le calendrier est gratuit, mais les membres doivent payer les frais d'expédition.
“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14, NIV).
In the days when I was young and bold, or as my mother would objectively say, “careless,” I ventured out from my hotel room at 2:00 a.m. I thought to myself, Niagara Falls is a completely safe place. Especially in July! So, why not? Needless to say, I went on a solo adventure, uninhibited of any possible danger.
Ninety minutes into my city voyage, I realized I may be lost. I reached for the hotel map I had in my pocket, and it was gone! Trying not to panic, I mentally retraced my steps and headed back cautiously. Maybe, in my rush to leave my room, I had left the map on the tabletop.
As I was orienting myself, my thoughts went back to my mother. I remembered her expressing, “We are going to Niagara Falls to have a mother and son time together.” She wanted us to have a closer relationship. Shame unexpectedly swept over me. While my mother was sleeping, I was selfishly doing “my own thing.” I stopped and asked God for forgiveness.