Feb 14 2022

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Today's verse reminds us that all we have to do is wait on the Lord. But as impatient humans we don't like to wait; we need to take action, to make plans. I often find myself planning everything to the nth degree. I want to have five backup plans and four emergency savings accounts! Sometimes, though, the Lord may not be asking us to plan or work our way out of a situation. Rather, He's simply asking us to wait.

Waiting is not the same as doing nothing. Waiting is an action, a continuous act of faith that says, I don't have to figure this out. I will lean on Jesus and let Him figure the rest out. It seems natural, especially in a culture that focuses so much on doing, to try to fix things ourselves. We can miss that maybe in the waiting, the Lord is actually fixing things in us.

If you find yourself in a season of waiting, pray that the Lord will help you frame it correctly in your mind. Don't think of it as a time that you wish would be over. Instead, consider it a period when you focus even more carefully on leaning into the Lord.

The psalmist tells us that we can be of good courage. This means we can remain hopeful and confident in the Lord as we are waiting. Rather than letting periods of waiting erode our faith, we can view them as opportunities to grow our faith. If we find ourselves wavering, we should pray for the Lord to strengthen our heart and rest as He sustains us.

We can be encouraged from this verse that if we find ourselves waiting, we are not alone. The Lord has asked many people to wait before, including the psalmist. At the same time, we know that the Lord is working everything out for the good. He would not ask us to wait unless He had a good reason to do so. In the meantime, we can rest in total confidence in Him.

Dear Lord, help me to wait well. I choose to have confidence and to rest in you always. Help me to remember your goodness and kindness as I wait for you to move in my life. I know, Lord, that you love me deeply, and that you will not ask impossible things of me. I love you, Jesus. In your name, amen.

Feb 13 2022

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. :

This morning's verse reminds us that we are supposed to love one another because the Lord loves us. So let's look at both sides of the equation: the love God has shown us, and what our response to that love should be.

When you think about ways the Lord has shown love to you, what comes to mind? He shows us His love in many different ways, and people are receptive to love in different ways as well. One universal and powerful demonstration of His love is Jesus' life and death. Because we could not save ourselves, Jesus came to Earth and then submitted Himself to death on a cross. He took on our sin even though He was perfect, and He was the perfect sacrifice that we could never be. If we ever have doubts about the love God has for us, we need only look to the Cross, which confirms the reality that He loves us deeply.

Yet it can be easy to forget that we are so loved by the Lord, such as when we get caught up in the world. Sometimes things hit us from out of the blue. When this happens, we should pause as soon as we can and remember what we already know about God—that He is always good. It is also important to stay consistently in the Bible and cultivate a prayer life. In this way, we'll be reminded of the Lord's love for us on a consistent basis.

When we're full of the love God has given us, we will be able to share that love with other people. We will naturally show mercy and kindness when we know that we have been the recipients of God's mercy and kindness. When we share love with other people, we're also reminding ourselves of the love that God has shown us. In this way, we get to live in a true cycle of love sharing it with others and receiving it from the Lord, which is exactly where the Lord wants us to be.

Dear Lord, I thank you for your love. I do not deserve it, and I never will deserve it. At the same time, I long to share it with other people. Put someone across my path today or tomorrow to whom I can show your love in a special way. Help me to build a discipline of dwelling in your love in all circumstances. In Jesus' name, amen.


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