Patiently Waiting

Eventually, we will all find ourselves waiting- waiting for something we have asked God for, even asking for the right direction to go in life- and then silence. We wait for an answer, only to hear the faint ticking of the clock on the wall. Silence truly can be deafening. I think what He wants from us is patience- the patience to be still, to trust, to get on with our lives, knowing and believing that our request is in His hands. Whatever it is we ask, if you trust in Him with everything, why should you worry if you truly have faith? There in the silence, in the darkness of night waiting and wondering, He is with you. First learn to trust, learn patience, learn to love others as you would yourself. If you don't do any of this, how can He even begin to show you the right road to take?

All Things

It's so hard to fathom eternal life- here in the physical world, with its birth and death, how is it possible to go on living after the death of the body? The problem is, we are like cavemen trying to understand the computer chip. It is so far beyond what we can even begin to grasp that most of us must simply close our eyes, have faith and try to believe. Imagine trying to explain to an atom that it had the potential to one day become a man- it seems impossible, just looking at it you can't see how it could ever happen. Yet, once again, with God all things are possible.

Detours

The great danger is to begin comparing yourself with others. We are all at different places in our journey, and some travel much faster than others. You will never scale a mountain if your whole focus is how much farther up your neighbor is than you are, or how far you could have been had you only got started sooner. Trust in the Lord to guide you up and over and you will surely make it to the Right Road. Always remember that while some seem to be so far ahead of you, there are many others down below, much further down from where you are, who are just now beginning to climb. Press on and be happy for the progress you are making. He is proud of you. For Him, this shall be enough.

To Have and Have Not

We can never know all that goes on "behind the scenes". As Shakespeare once said, "All the world's a stage- and men are merely the players". I use to find myself getting extremely upset or agitated when things didn't go my way: certain things I wanted to have happen never did, or some dreams remained unmaterialized, even though everything seemed right- but now I see another side to this play. The things we think we are unable to catch may be kept out of reach for a reason. Perhaps there are hidden blessings in losing out on that which we so desperately want and feel we need. What glistened like gold might have been the very thing that led us off a cliff chasing after it. Is it just possible that we missed out on one thing because He has something better in mind? Or maybe the route you would've taken might have meant a lifetime of misery. We can only see so far ahead, and then we must simply trust. He knows what is best for you and me. When we finally come before the Lord and our lives are unrolled like a giant scroll for us to finally see, it will all be much clearer. When we are able to look at all the blocked paths we wanted to take but were forced to go another way and see exactly where they would have led us, I think we'll be relieved at the years of grief we were spared by not always "getting what we wanted".

Dreams and Prophecies

Even if we do not live forever, if there is no heaven to attain to, if it turns out that my life is nothing more than a quick blip on the radar screen of billions and billions of years, I would still hope and believe that God truly exists. There must surely be a creator who is so much greater than what we see- the universe is too impersonal- too practical, too cold and relentless. What a cosmic tragedy it would be that we, mere animals in the grand scheme of things, should see all the cold chaos around us and somehow mistakenly think there is something better, grander - higher- than all we are able to see with our own eyes. It makes no sense. How could we even come to think that there is something more? Surely human beings are not that much of an anomaly. If I had always lived underwater in the dark depths of the ocean, having never even been to the surface or breathed the earth's air, would I at night dream of sunny skies and cool breezes? Those questions we ponder at the depths of our soul are there for a reason. We would not wonder about the color red if we had never seen such a color or it did not exist. I still say the fact that we question at all may be our eternal answer.

Seek Ye First

Do not rush into relationships, making promises you cannot keep, with lofty eyes promising to give your whole heart away when you barely even know it yourself. Look to God first and find your true joy there, and then--perhaps years from now (but maybe sooner than you think), you will find someone else to share in the joy with you. Unfortunately, most people look for the joy in another human being. They may even find it for a time- but alas, we find that we want so much more than they could ever give. We want a substitute for heaven, for grace, for perfection- but it doesn't exist. It can only be found in Him.

The Built-In Need

Even the best of things here shall ultimately pass away. What we are left with is the only thing that could ever truly give us happiness- and that is Him. There is no happiness apart from Him, and it has been designed to work in just this way. Human beings, that most curious of all animals, has inside them a vacuum, something the poets called longing, for something outside the self. Many know the want, but have no idea to fill it. Some try with relationships, others with possessions or achievements, or even by getting praise from men. This never works for very long, however. It has been woven into our very DNA to need Him, to sacrifice, to please that most infinite of Spririts, the great Iam. To finally be told, and believe with every fiber of our being that "All is well with thee". At last to hear, while on our knees and eyes closed, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant."