The Last and Hardest Lesson

"Wait, and you shall realize the joy of the one who can be calm and wait, knowing that all is well.  The last and hardest lesson is that of waiting.  So wait.  I would almost say tonight, 'Forgive me, children, that I allow this extra burden to rest upon you for even so short a time.' I would have you know this, that from the moment you placed all in my hands and sought no other aid, from that moment I have taken the quickest way possible to work out your salvation, and to free you."

Those words came to me on October 30, 2009.  They originally were "heard" by someone who was intentionally listening for God's voice and they were passed on to me in a time of great need.

The time of waiting continues.  Specifically what I was waiting for, and what I am still waiting for, is for a particular loved one to be healed and freed.  I am often very impatient and want to take matters into my own hands!  Also, many feel the same sense of urgency and I'm also waiting for the resolution of issues in our church and the reconciliation of those who are just having a hard time.

Still, often, I am tempted to stop waiting and to, instead, take matters into my own hands.  So tonight, another someone who listens for God's voice gave me a copy of a piece entitled "Life Principle 14: God Acts On Behalf Of Those Who Wait."  I hope these words will be as much as blessing to you as they are to me tonight.

    Why does God so often ask us to wait?  Let's consider five major rewards of waiting.

    1. We discover God's will and purpose in the things that most concern us.
    "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks him" (Lamentations 3:25). God does not string us out to tantalize us. He does not dangle carrots in front of our noses to lead us along. He does not say, as do so many earthly parents, "We'll see." No. Right now, even as we wait, God is working all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes (Romans 8:28).
    2. We receive supernatural energy and strength.
    God invites us to claim His promises.  "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on 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 40:29-31).
    God promises that as we wait on Him, he will supply us with supernatural energy.  While our impatience makes us weary and worn, actively waiting on Him  energizes us...

------------------------
AUTHOR'S SURPRISE - this is beyond strange... I did not write this today. It just appeared here. It looks familiar though... My guess is that I wrote this at some previous time and somehow dated it way in advance thinking that I'd finish it by the time it automatically posted. I can tell it was in process because I only finished transcribing two of the five points. If you don't understand that it's because you don't blog! In any case, I'm utterly amazed. An hour ago I chose to take a week off from Facebook so I can spend some time waiting and listening to God more carefully. Then I came back from church to the parsonage, talked with my wife for awhile--she's at family camp down at Okoboji with our sons--and for some reason decided to look at the blog. And lo and behold here is this posting that comes out of some point in the past. The incredible thing to me is that not only is it still applicable (though I have gotten a bit better at "waiting" in the past few months), it's just the confirmation that I needed and it comes at precisely the correct time!  Wow!  I am so thankful for the Lord's amazing work! Thank you Jesus. Now I wait for the healing that I (and others) have prayed for for such a very long time.  I wonder when I wrote this?  I'm so curious!

Okay - so I did a search for the original piece that I was transcribing way back when and found the other three rewards of waiting.  They are all true.

    3. We win battles.
    When we rush God’s plans or do things our own way, we end up defeated. But waiting on Him will ensure our victory and keep us from foolish and precipitous acts. Proverbs 20:22 says, “Do not say, ‘I will repay evil’; wait for the LORD, and He will save you.”
    4. We see the fulfillment of our faith.
    The Lord says, “Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame” (Isa. 49:23).
    In the end, we’ll never be embarrassed if we choose to wait on God. It’s always the wise thing to do. When others encourage us to forge ahead, we need to remember the Lord’s plans and timing are always best. He knows our strengths, weaknesses, and preferences better than anyone else—even better than we know ourselves. And only He can predict the future.
    Don’t let circumstances tempt you to take matters into your own hands. God has a purpose for all you experience. Ultimately, you will be honored—whether during your life or after it ends—if you remain faithful to Him (1 Cor. 4:5).
    5. We see the Father working on our behalf.
    Isaiah spoke of a God “who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him” (Isa. 64:4). What a wonderful promise! While we actively wait, He actively works. Think of this: Every single day, we have the greatest Mediator working on our behalf.
    Although waiting can be one of the more difficult things in the Christian life, it is not wasted time. During periods of waiting, God teaches us lessons we couldn’t otherwise learn. In such a season, He sifts our motives, strengthens our faith, and may even change our circumstances. His purpose is to keep us in step with Him as He prepares us to receive the answers we need to hear.

Ephesians 1:11 says that the Father “works all things after the counsel of His will.”

What are you currently waiting on God for?

What do you see Him doing in your life as you wait?

Peace to you all in Jesus' name.

www.equalsharing.com

New Beginnings

I emailed this letter to our council and staff a few moments ago.

Council and staff:

Thank you, all, for EVERYTHING you have done to make the last weeks and days go as smoothly as they did—especially Wednesday evening. Special thanks to Gary Lankki for all his uncompensated work—hours and hours—and to Deb Hammond and Diane Zitzloff for the many hours of extra work you have put in behind the scenes. Thank you, Karen, for accompanying the hymns and thank you to all council members for your work in registering people and kindly handling questions. I did not want this vote but am glad it’s behind us.

We have a task of reconciliation ahead of us as a congregation—not something that the leaders can do on their own but we can model what Rabbi Friedman called “self-differentiation” and “non-anxious presence” while avoiding “triangulation.”

• Without compromising what we believe—being “self-differentiated”—letting others know where we stand—we can continue to be in relationship with all—being “non-anxiously present”—this includes not avoiding those who we know we disagree with and those who still feel confused and hurt above everything else.

• It’s important not to “triangulate”—that is, to not put the focus on something beyond the relationship each of us is directly involved in. The basic law of emotional triangles is that when any two parts of a system become uncomfortable with one another, they will "triangle in" or focus upon a third person, or issue, as a way of stabilizing their own relationship with one another. A person may be said to be "triangle" if he or she gets caught in the middle as the focus of an unresolved issue. Conversely, when a person tries to change the relationship of two others (two people, or a person and his or her symptoms or belief), they "triangle themselves" into that relationship (and often stabilize the very situation they are trying to change).

So, If you see that there is a way that I or anyone else is failing, then please speak directly with the one you have the “issue” with rather than talking with others about it. You can, of course, talk with others to ask for prayer or advice, but not to avoid talking with someone. That will be very important as we move ahead.

If you have any comments or questions about this, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing you all in worship on Sunday!

Peace be with you in Jesus’ name. – and CONGRATULATIONS to Nate, Sarah & Baby Izabella Grace born the same day as our congregation meeting, Wednesday, June 23. 

www.equalsharing.com

So What Happens Now?

Tonight--well, technically, LAST night--it being after 1:00 a.m. Thursday now, our church talked and sang and sweated through a "special congregation meeting" with a vote on whether or not to disaffiliate from the ELCA.  The vote was taken shortly after 7:00 p.m. and a half hour later the vote was announced--with 111 voting "yes" to leave the ELCA and 116 voting "no." 

Later I got a text from a friend: So what happens now? 

I replied: Well... We keep praying... No quick decisions... I wasn't wanting this vote... It turned out about how I thought... Don't know what is next.  Thank you for asking.

And that's the truth. God holds the future! We are not in control! God is good! Praise God for that! God, and God alone knows "What's Next."

After spending some sweet time with friends late into the evening, we came home and I saw that my daughter Naomi had already written in her blog tonight.  Her blog is called "Simply Shalom."  She began by quoting a Roman Catholic priest and author, Henri Nouwen from his book In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership. 

"We are not the healers.
 We are not the reconcilers.
 We are not the givers of life.
 We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much care as anybody we care for."

That is so true, Naomi.  We simply submit ourselves to God and rest in His care.  Naomi went on to say:

Tonight my parents’ church voted on whether or not to leave their denominational affiliation. I was there to vote too. (I am a member, my dad is the pastor… but I do not really call it my church because I only lived there for one year.) The resolution to leave the ELCA did not pass–the vote was pretty much split 50-50, but needed a 2/3 majority to pass. But this means the congregation is split 50-50 on this subject and probably on many other related topics as well. (I wrote about this conflict before in my post “Washing Feet for Unity.“)

Our synod bishop* was there and she said to my dad (the pastor), “This just means you’ll have to work on reconciliation.” And my dad said, “Sometimes reconciliation is not possible. People are not only in conflict with one another. They are in conflict about a principle.” (see the ELCA social statement on human sexuality that was adopted in the 2009 churchwide assembly here.)

After this "vote" which showed that we are quite different from one another, and even when we cannot be FULLY reconciled, we can still can be kind to one another.  We can care about one another even when we disagree about things that are hugely important.

But even Jesus was not fully reconciled with everyone during his time on earth--we'll see that as we read from Luke 9:51-62 assigned for this coming Sunday.  There are times for many things under heaven.  There are times to "scatter" and there are times to "gather."  There are extended times of uncomfortable feelings and outright disagreements. There are things no human being can control.  Even leaders are simply too broken and weak to do much of anything sometimes.  We can follow Jesus' example.  We can love and forgive.  But we can't make someone make up.  Even Jesus didn't do that.

I hope everyone will stick together, but that's not something I can make happen.  So, when I think again about my friend's question, "So what happens now?"  I have to say, only God knows.  And tonight I'll leave it in God's hands.

If you wonder what happens now -- Ask God!  Pray, believe, and do all you can to live at peace as the Word of God commands you in Romans 12:9-21.  Breathe and trust our God.  He holds the future.  We do not.  When we surrender to God, He will work things out.  All we do is trust and obey.

On another dear "friend's" facebook wall I was reminded of these verses tonight:

Jesus said,
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
(Matthew 11:28-30)

That's the promise I will rest in tonight.  I have a promise from Jesus--an excellent promise of his eternal love that holds me even though I don't deserve to be held.  I'm rambling, I'm tired, I'm disoganized.  But I am so thankful that my Lord holds me anyway. Praise the name of Jesus forever!

I want to be with Jesus.  I hope you will too. Only as we are "yoked" or "connected" to Jesus can we find peace, or, as my daughter would say, "Simply Shalom."  Good night.

-------------------
*My daughter promoted Pastor Linda Pedersen to bishop!  Her official position is "Synod Minister" and she serves as assistant to Bishop John Anderson here in Southwestern Minnesota.  Naomi's blog post from tonight, pictured above, is called "We are not the reconcilers." Click the colored words for links.

www.equalsharing.com