I have been meaning to write on this for a while but things have got in the way, as they do. 2 or 3 Sundays back we were in Bath and Paul spoke on Jeremiah 6:16 “Stand at the Crossroads and look.....and find the Ancient ways....and walk in the good ways”
It is always interesting to me how sometimes the message that is given disappears out of my head so quickly and yet other times it just stays and stays. This one was most obviously a word in season. But it is interesting how hard even those are to put in place.
Ok so we can get all caught up in what are the ancient ways, which we did have an interesting supper conversation with friends about, but what has really struck me is this “Stand” and “Look”. In this modern fast paced world just standing and looking is really hard work. And it was said that the “stand” in this passage is an active standing, of being still with God and taking stock. It is not a passive word here. And the word “Look” in this passage is not just to take a quick glance but is to be actively looking around weighing up the situation. It is about having bold and open eyes to see what God wants you to see, but again it is for now just looking, just seeing. Oh, how hard that is to see so much and not go off and do something about it. It is about looking and then not just going but of seeing what the ancient ways of God are in this situation, of waiting until those ways appear, of walking only in the good and right ways God wants one to walk in. So often we see the things that need to be done, we often even see the good ways to walk in but so often still we move to soon.
This is all very much a message for me when I see my teenagers going off into the world to conquer it and I wanting to know what is the next part of my journey, and because I am a seer, a visionary, prophetic, I see so much and yet I have to wait.
My notes at the end of this talk were “I need to be bold enough to continue with stopping and taking stock and not be afraid of not being busy. I need to work in His timing”, which is all so hard when so many people say “so what are you doing now?” I need to be bold and say “waiting on God” no matter how silly I think that may sound.
Actually I have realised that when I was in Ywam and we didn’t move till we felt God say yes, and that was a whole team of us, it was much easier to say “I am waiting for God to tell me” or “I’ll pray about that” before committing to something, but when everyone appears to be doing, when everyone appears to be full on and busy, not stopping to wait on God, or at least not saying the words, then it is so much harder!!
Tracking with you on this one too. Although I am studying, in many ways it is actually taking stock, looking around because it is about studying rural development but before you look at development you have to see what is there first, why is the place you are looking at the way it is, what are the possibilities, what are the options - in other words where do the roads lead at the crossroads. So I think I am at those cross roads too but studying the signs and which way they point, and to what kind of destination. Not thought about it that way before.
ReplyDeleteI'm very much with you on this one, my friend. It is very hard to just stand and look and wait on God's timing and His ways. We might feel it a bit of a waste of time just standing not 'doing' anything but really is wastes more time if we rush off in a dirction that might be wrong or even in the right direction but in so much of a hurry to be busy that we don't see what we are supposed to see. God, in His good time will reveal what He wants you to know.
ReplyDeleteOh Joanna love the practical analogy. So good.
ReplyDeleteAnd Mavis, yes I know its a waste to rush off but oh so hard as you say.
Love your comments always, laddies