Wait! // Author unknown

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried,
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."

"Wait? You say, wait! " my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By Faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting ... for what?"

He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And he tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want - But, you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.

You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and I save... (for a start),
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.

You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that "My grace is sufficient for Thee."
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, My Child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT."

Ministry

So many times we say that people need Jesus in their lives, but what that means? Today I was actually teaching an old lady on the bus how to fight for the right thing to happen! Our conversation had some turn and tears showed up in her eyes when she started to speak that she struggles financially to have enough food on her table. Holy Spirit convicted me in my heart of my pride, of my tendency to be "know-it-all" girl. I was humbled.
 People complain about different sorts of things, mostly starting and ending up in blaming government for not doing something for us, for not caring about our daily lives or not having idea about what struggles we are facing day after day. But it all comes down to that fact that we need someone to be around to help with our struggles, we need each other - not the government. The question popped up in my mind: "Do I know what people around me actually need or am I simply seeing everyone as sinful heathens and judging them for not knowing Jesus?" Am I a Pharisee or the follower and disciple of Jesus?
Ministry. What does it actually mean to minister, to be a follower of Jesus, to be His disciple? Is it just talking about how one needs God and He will help one in some supernatural way, like bringing manna from the sky? Today, I have that sneaky feeling in my heart that we just got it all wrong: we talk to much and do too little. It needs to be put in the right places: we need to do more and to talk less. We need to learn to listen and to see. We need to actually start to give our lives as a living sacrifice for those in need. We need to stop being super spiritual, and get down to earth and see what we need to do for those around us because true Christianity lies in living your faith not in a prayer room (there is a place and time for spiritual disciplines in our lives), but out there in a world where we are called to be the salt and the light. God has given us everything we need. God IS everything we need: He is our perfect parent who adopted us through Jesus, He is our perfect Lover who fullfils our emotional needs, He is our perfect Boss who has it all under control. We are in a wonderful company of trust and comfort, and support, and provision when we are with Him and in Him. But... we need to be out there working with Him in the lives of people who don't know His love. And we have to do this not through talking, but through doing, through meeting the needs of those around us: financial, material, emotional or spiritual. To do that we need to start looking around, and communicating with people, hearing them.
Start small.
Don't look far.
Start from your own house, your neighbours.
Look around.
Notice.
Pray.
Go.
Be simple and loving.
And may God of all grace be with you.

A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth. 

(Proverbs 17:24)