Learning to Wait

Please read Psalm 62:1-9. Twice in this Psalm David speaks of his soul "Waiting" or "Being silent" before the Lord. This silence is significant,especially in a world filled with noise. It is so difficult for us, at times, to be perfectly still before God, as an instrument whose silent cords wait for His divine touch. Note several aspects of waiting. First, he waited on God. Lit. "My soul is silent. He displayed unwavering submission and quiet faith. He put into practice a silence of the will. The Psalmist believed, was patient, was silent in resignation and he was obedient. "Waiting is hope and trust lengthened. How did he do it? With his soul. He who talks much of his troubles to men is apt to say too little about them to God. What came out of it? Deliverance, present, personal, and eternal. Second, why should we wait on the Lord? Because the secret of strength lies in submission. This is seen in what He is. He is our Rock. He is our strength, God enables us to stand in the midst of all the evil forces of the world. Our Savior is able to deliver us from the power of sin. Our Defender is able to save us from the attacks of the Devil. Because He keeps His great promises, we can trust Him fully. If we do not trust Him with and in all, we do not trust Him at all. Third, how should we wait? Expecting Him to keep His Word. We must be unmovable. He is my Refuge what enemy can pursue me? He is my Rock, what storm shall shake me? He is my Defense, what temptation shall wound me? He is my Salvation, what grief shall deject me? He is my glory, what slander shall defame me? Forth, the result of waiting upon the Lord. Trust will develop. He wants all trust, from all saints at all times. We need to trust in times of prosperity, of desertion by friends, of poverty, of conscious sin, of chastisement, of death. These are the times we learn how to pray. We need to learn how to speak plainly with God. The word "Pour" signifies that the heart is full of grief, and almost afraid to empty itself before the Lord. Jesus is the wonderful counselor. He will be our Refuge. Jesus puts the false helps upon which men depend into contrast with the only help of man, that is God Himself. The false helps are 1. Men of low degree. 2. Men of high degree. 3. Oppression. 4. Robbery. 5. Riches. In this passage of Scripture the weakness and uselessness of all these things apart from God is clearly seen. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Running to Win

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10:35-36). I had a professor in Seminary who would say "Its always to soon to quit." Those words were spoken in a time when the average stay of a pastor was under two years. The above passage says the same thing, Don't quit, its too soon to quit, persevere, keep on keeping on. The Lord is telling us to stay confident in Him. Things don't have to go our way, we can be assured they are going His way. That's what really matters in the end. We find real comfort in the Lord's command to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Prov. 3:5). The word "Trust" means to fall flat on your face before. The word indicates a total trust which would not in anyway rely on self, resources, other people, or cleaver schemes. Our trust is to be in Him alone. When we fall flat on our face before Him we are saying I surrender everything to You. I give you total control of my life, my future, my finances, my relationships, my possessions, my health, and every other aspect of my life. Then watch Him work, for its all about Him. He is God and I am not. Ya know, I can write about this a whole lot easier than I can live it. That is why I need to actively do things that will keep me close to the Lord. Like what things you may ask? Well like prayer, Bible reading, fellowship with other believers, attending church, and obeying God. He never moves over but I have a tendency to do so. The song writer said "Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love." In His grace He is faithful to keep on calling me back to fellowship with Himself. I will be the first to acknowledge that it can be hard to stay focused when life begins to crumble. Staying confident when it seem like our life dreams have evaporated can really be tough. Those are the times we must pray for strength, and exercise faith in the God who is too wise to make a mistake. These times are designed by Him to deepen our dependency and strengthen our resolve to follow Him. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Reasons to Rejoice

“Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before” (Joel 2:23). I have a dog named Dakota, and she has the ability to rejoice, in animal terms. She is simply happy to be alive. In her dog life, eating, sleeping, playing, giving and receiving affection and protecting her family gives her great joy. However there is somethings she can't do. She cannot rejoice in the Lord. Why? In spite of all her great dog traits, she can't lift her thoughts above her food and family. This means her joy terminates in the objects of her joy. For the believer God is the very ground of our joy. In the New Testament Paul speaks of "joy" as primarily a verb, something we do rather than how we feel. The verb itself means to verbalize with praise and singing. When he writes about rejoicing he often quotes the Psalms and Prophets (Psalms 32:11; 35:9; and many others; cf. Hab. 3:18). As with the psalmists, the Lord who saves is both the basis and focus of rejoicing. The phrase in the Lord refers to the ground (or sphere) of our present existence (cf. Phil 2:19, 24) and thus points to our basic relationship with Christ. This in itself should eliminate all attraction to mere religion. The attraction of genuine Christianity is Christ. The prophet Joel uses the agricultural economy of ancient Israel as an example of what is to come. The former rains refer to the predictable moderate spring rains that came and gave just enough moisture to cause seeds to grow. The latter rains refer to the autumn rains that came in much larger amounts right before the time of harvest. "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand" (James 5:7-8). James is talking specifically about "the coming of the Lord." Many first century Christians expected the Lord to return in their lifetimes. They experienced the initial outpouring of the Spirit; they saw miracles, growth, and multiplication. Yet, still the Lord did not come. Thus, James encourages the church to "be patient," saying there is something yet to come for which God is waiting. This truth also applies to us. Keep your eyes on the Lord and your heart will rejoice. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.