Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wait for God!
By Ramone - November 15, 2008
You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning;NIV)
My God turns my darkness into light. (Psalm 18:28,
My beloved is a shining and fiery light. (Song of Songs 5:10 LXX) These two pictures came the night of a prayer meeting with brothers and sisters in the Lord. As they began to worship I was unable to join in with understanding because of my low Japanese level, but my I turned my soul to the Lord, worshiped in spirit and listened to the beautiful sounds of the worship (to tunes that sounded very Hebrew, actually). As I did so, my hand began to want to draw.
I began to see red and yellow lines in an arc, and then in another arc opposite. Soon I could see what the picture was in my mind, but even as I drew it and finished it, I did not know what it meant. Naturally you'd look at it and think of the fire of the Spirit, or someone who is "on fire" for the Lord. But that wasn't it. Somewhat oddly and a little embarassed, when my turn came to speak at the meeting, I shared the picture --along with the fact that I did not understand it!
As the meeting went on and drew to a conclusion, however, the Lord began to help me understand. This is a picture of "unceasing dependence on God" (as Andrew Murray worded it). Our "flame" depends on Him, on being open to Him, on continually waiting upon Him, for Him Himself. On the back of the first picture I wrote:
I need You. I depend on You. I have no other way but Yours, by You.The second picture began to come as I was readying to leave the meeting. I had only brought certain colors with me (red, brown, yellow and black) but had not used the black. As I thought of it, I began to "see" some black lines, and knew I would receive something as I was going home. God blessed me with time waiting for the train to begin, and then a seat on the crowded train so that I could finish. But as I began the second picture, I quickly began to understand that it would not be as joyful as the first picture. When we cease to wait upon Him, we unwittingly cut off our source of flame, and snuff out our own flame.
Below are the names of each picture, along with some words from Andrew Murray's book Waiting on God. I pray you are blessed and spurred to seek the Lord Himself, to wait on Him continually and at every step.
You are my flame, Lord!
"I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait. And in His word I do hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning." (Psalm 130:5-6)
All that the Church and its members need for the manifestation of the mighty power of God in the world is the return to our true place, the place that belongs to us, both in creation and redemption, the place of absolute and unceasing dependence upon God...
It is simply and truly our restoration to our original destiny and our highest nobility, to our true place and glory as people blessedly dependent on the All-glorious God.
- Andrew Murray, Waiting on God
Ceasing Dependence
"They waited not for His counsel." (Psalm 106:13)
The great danger in [our] assemblies is that in our consciousness of having our Bible, in our past experience of God's leading, in our sound creed and our honest wish to do God's will, we trust in these and do not realize that with every step we need and may have a heavenly guidance. There may be elements of God's will, application of God's Word, experience of the close presence and leading of God, manifestations of the power of His Spirit, of which we know nothing as yet...
It was when God had given the water out of the rock that they did not trust Him for bread. It was when God had given Jericho into his hands that Joshua thought the victory over Ai was sure, and did not wait for the counsel from God. And so, while we think that we know and trust the power of God for what we may expect, we may be hindering Him by not giving Him time, and not definitely cultivating the habit of waiting for His counsel.
- Andrew Murray, Waiting on God
# posted by Ramone @ 9:57 PM 
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