Waiting, Wondering and Worshipping!

I know this post finds me making a jump to the New Testament in the midst of my meditations on the Old…but God isn’t confined to a few letters…after all, He wrote all of them! And those letters tell one great big story of our great big God in such a harmonious, beautiful way that it’s hard not to get excited when I see how one truth is explained, expanded on, or brushed up against in another passage of Scripture. Those moments, for me, fill my heart with joy as I see the Shepherd of my soul leading me beside the still waters of His Word and refreshing me over and over again until my cup overflows with the particular truth that He is teaching me. 
As I have continued to ponder “God’s will”, Matthew 6:31-33 was the watering hole from which I drank this morning. These verses are found in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, and because they are so familiar to us, it’s easy to read them without much thought. 

“So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” 

Oftentimes, our wondering about God’s will can quickly turn to worry. At least, that is the case in my own life. Verse thirty-two gives a pretty good rebuke in regards to that type of worrying: it comes as the result of idolatry. It comes when we begin to place our hope in, and our expectations on, something other than God. We wonder about and then seek the gifts, instead of seeking the Giver: the One who knows what we need way better than we do, and is also the only One who can meet those needs. 

What are we to do when our wondering turns to worry? Fix our eyes on Jesus! 

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be provided for you.” vs. 33

And let us not forget the God who is doing the providing.  He says of Himself in Psalm 131:10-12: 

“For every animal of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and everything in it are Mine.”  

If we even start to question God’s will for our lives, just a glimpse into His sovereignty, rule, and authority takes us right back to a place of joyful submission. For we are not trapped under the control of a crazy, evil god…but deeply loved and cared for by a perfect, gracious Father. David said it this way in Psalm 131: 

“Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too difficult for me. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself like a little weaned child with it’s mother; I am like a little child. Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever.” 

When we rightly see the character of God, there is no room for pride or a haughty spirit. Humility marks our thoughts, and therefore marks our actions and words. So, when we begin to wonder over God’s will, we instead find ourselves recognizing the great vastness and even difficulty of what we are searching out. We realize that to involve our hearts and our emotions too deeply into seeking to understand or control what God has not yet revealed leaves our hearts weary and anxious. Instead, we are encouraged to be still, to be calm and quiet…sitting at the feet of Jesus…grabbing on to the hem of His garment…like a weaned child upon her mother’s lap, in need of nothing more than just being with her. 

May our hearts need nothing more than to be with Jesus and to be content, calm and quiet in the season He has us in. May we worship as we wait and wonder, because we know who holds our days and ordains our times. May we hope in the Lord, both now and forever! 






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