We Will Move...When the Cloud Moves: Part Ten (Final)
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Part Ten (Final): Conclusion
If I had to reduce the entirety of my waiting in this transition period
to one simple task it would be this:
wait on the Lord…and wait patiently. Waiting is not necessarily easy, but it
can be done. And when it is done it can be done with anxiety,
stress, and strife. That’s not
productive waiting, of course.
Therefore, I want to learn to wait patiently.
Wait patiently for the LORD. Be
brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD. (Psalm 27:14).
There is such beauty in the kind of rest that waits on God to do what
only He can and will do for us. I have felt it often before. It brings a mysterious yet tangible peace
with it…a peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:6-7). It’s a peace that Paul says “guards” my heart
and mind in Christ Jesus. It protects
me. It covers me. It keeps me safe and secure from the devil’s
harm, provided I run to it and look to it.
It makes me feel strong and indomitable.
I gain a building momentum of immense courage.
…[B]ut they who wait for the
LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31,
ESV)
I wait quietly before God, for my
victory comes from him. He alone
is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be
shaken…Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in
him. (Psalm 62:1, 2, 5)
I want more of it. To wake up
each morning without the slightest hint
of an anxious knot in my stomach about what comes next! That’s what I want and a lot of it. To get out of bed with an increasingly strong
confidence that I am His, and He is mine, and that His banner of protection and
ownership over me reads, “LOVE!!!”
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered! I can't even
count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still
with me!
(Psalm 139:17, 18)
Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each
morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3)
I want to wake up with a calm heart that takes a peek, first thing in
the morning, at what the cloud is doing, and to arrange the details of my life
around its current position. I want to
derive a deep and abiding sense of security and safety from Him, His presence,
and not necessarily from His plan or strategy…because it tends to stress me way out when I know even just a little
bit of it.
I lay down and slept, yet I woke
up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me. (Psalm 3:5)
Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each
morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3)
When the cloud lifts I want to know
it has lifted and that I am not just making it all up. I want to know
that I know that I’m not seeing a mirage in this wilderness of life. And I want to wait as patiently as I can
until there is no doubt to me and my family that the cloud has indeed lifted
and that it’s time to pack it up and head north. I want to feel the abiding presence of the
Comforter and Counselor, the Holy Spirit.
Wow! What a lifestyle all of
this is! Totally contrary to the “common
sense” so described by the world…and even by well-meaning Christians! What’s with this waiting on God to provide
daily provisions and protection? Don’t
you know that “good, responsible Christian” should be out “carving new paths to
a bright future”? Isn’t life all about
pulling myself up by my own bootstraps?
All I know is that those paths I’ve carved lead me to places of inner
anxiety and stress and I want no part of them of any longer. My boots are made of flesh and they are worn
out. My feet are scorched from the sand
in the wilderness. I want to wait it out until the cloud leads me
across an impossible sea on dry ground, destroying demonic forces behind me,
and burning bridges of potential return toward a no-escape adventure through
the wilderness of life, following…
…a cloud.
Read the entire series here in one document.
About the Author: Rob is a entrepreneur in Statesboro, GA, where he envisions and pursues missional-shaped business for the kingdom. He and his wife Sherri have been married for 18 years and together have three sons and a daughter. Rob believes the mission of the gospel is summed up in four simple phrases: know God, obey Jesus, make disciples, and plant churches. This is the pursuit of his life, as well as the point of his blog.
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