The Power of Waiting!
Reflection: The
psalmist says to us today, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and
wait for the Lord.” We see in all the
great leaders in the bible, whether it be King David, or the apostle Paul their
ability to wait on the Lord and let Him justify their cause. On the contrast, today we see King Ahab, who
acts impulsively to his own demise. Ahab
quickly went to foreign kings for help and didn’t wait on the Lord, or listen
to His prophets that He sent.
When we feel anxiety or distress in our own lives, our
tendency is to want to take back control and make decisions quickly to get out
of our uncomfortable position. David
sought God’s face when he was in a compromising situation, and knew that God
would eventually teach him the way in which to walk.
We see the results of Paul’s waiting on the Lord
today, as he comes before the governors to be tried on false charges. He calmly makes his case that he has not stirred
up anyone, but importantly does not go back on his proclamation of the resurrection
of Jesus. He adds ironically this is the
same hope that these men themselves have.
This is a little kicker reminding his accusers that he is only preaching
what they have put their hope in and yet refuse to believe.
Every day we are faced with challenges and the
question becomes where will we turn when trouble and calamity faces us. Jesus gives us a promise that He will be with
us and the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say if we are willing to seek
and wait on the Lord. What a
promise! Claim it today! Amen.
Psalm 27:7-14 (New International Version) (NIV)
7 Hear my voice when I
call, Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you,
“Seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face
from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or
forsake me,
God my Savior.
10 Though my father and
mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way,
Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to
the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.
13 I remain confident of
this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
2 Chronicles 28:9-29:19
9 But a prophet of the
Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to
Samaria. He said to them, “Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was
angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in
a rage that reaches to heaven. 10 And now you intend to make the men and women
of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against
the Lord your God? 11 Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you
have taken as prisoners, for the Lord’s fierce anger rests on you.”
12 Then some of the
leaders in Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth,
Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—confronted those who were arriving
from the war. 13 “You must not bring those prisoners here,” they said, “or we
will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For
our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.” 14 So the
soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and
all the assembly. 15 The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from
the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes
and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put
on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the
City of Palms, and returned to Samaria. 16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the
kings of Assyria for help. 17 The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah
and carried away prisoners, 18 while the Philistines had raided towns in the
foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh,
Aijalon and Gederoth, as well as Soko, Timnah and Gimzo, with their surrounding
villages. 19 The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel,[b] for
he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the Lord.
20 Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead
of help. 21 Ahaz took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from
the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria,
but that did not help him. 22 In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more
unfaithful to the Lord. 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who
had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have
helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they were his
downfall and the downfall of all Israel. 24 Ahaz gathered together the
furnishings from the temple of God and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors of
the Lord’s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In
every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and
aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors. 26 The other events of
his reign and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of
the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried
in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of
Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.
Hezekiah Purifies the Temple
29 Hezekiah was
twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did
what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 3 In
the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the
temple of the Lord and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the
Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side 5 and said: “Listen to
me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord,
the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 6 Our
parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and
forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and
turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors of the portico and put
out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the
sanctuary to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen
on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and
scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. 9 This is why our fathers have fallen
by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. 10
Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his
fierce anger will turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for
the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before
him and to burn incense.” 12 Then these Levites set to work: from the
Kohathites, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah; from the Merarites, Kish
son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; from the Gershonites, Joah son of
Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
13 from the descendants of
Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; from the descendants of Asaph, Zechariah and
Mattaniah; 14 from the descendants of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; from the
descendants of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 When they had assembled
their fellow Levites and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the
temple of the Lord, as the king had ordered, following the word of the Lord. 16
The priests went into the sanctuary of the Lord to purify it. They brought out
to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple everything unclean that they found in the
temple of the Lord. The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron
Valley. 17 They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and
by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the Lord. For eight
more days they consecrated the temple of the Lord itself, finishing on the
sixteenth day of the first month. 18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and
reported: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt
offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated
bread, with all its articles. 19 We have prepared and consecrated all the
articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They
are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”
Acts 24:4-16
4 But in order not to
weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly. 5
“We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews
all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect 6 and even tried to
desecrate the temple; so we seized him. [7] 8 By examining him yourself you
will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against
him.” 9 The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things
were true. 10 When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I
know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I
gladly make my defense. 11 You can easily verify that no more than twelve days
ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 My accusers did not find me arguing
with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere
else in the city. 13 And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now
making against me. 14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors
as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is
in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, 15 and I have
the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection
of both the righteous and the wicked. 16 So I strive always to keep my
conscience clear before God and man.
The Lord says, "I
will not continually accuse, nor will I always be angry." Isaiah 57:16
Jesus said to the
paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” Luke 5:20
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