"Waiting"

 

“Waiting”

 

When I was in seventh grade I attended my first church youth retreat. I remember where it was held (Camp Hope in Carmel, NY) but nothing else about it except the key texts the speaker (whose name has long been forgotten) used throughout the weekend: “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28, KJV) and “I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments.” (Psalm 119:60, KJV, emphasis added). I have no recollection of what was said but these verses, especially the latter, have stuck in my mind ever since.

As I look back over the six decades since I was first confronted with this truth I recall many times I’ve skirted or cherry-picked which commands I kept or set my own timetable for observing (if I even did “obey” them). Sometimes God was merciful but other times I found myself in a mess. It’s taken me far longer than it should have to “get” it (as I’ve said before, I’ve often been a slow learner) but hopefully the message is penetrating, albeit slowly: when God speaks I can’t delay or look for loopholes.

This Scripture tells me I’m not to wait under such circumstances but elsewhere the Word tells me, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14, emphasis added). Is there a contradiction? Not in the least—different Hebrew words are used. In Psalm 119:60 the term has the idea of hesitation or reluctance as seen in Genesis 19:16: “…While (Lot) lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters…and they…set him outside the city.” (NKJV, emphasis added). Here the psalmist didn’t wait but eagerly obeyed, David’s expression in Psalm 27:14 conveys the thought of confident expectation that God will act, as in “…Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31, NKJV, emphasis added). Solomon says, “There is a time for everything….” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) then lists fourteen contrasts to illustrate his point—we also must seek God’s direction as to whether waiting or acting immediately is appropriate in a given situation. The question is: Do I know when I need to take a deep breath before acting or move ahead in faith that God has my back?

I’ve been wrestling with this for over 60 years—I pray I’ll “get it” one of these days.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"A Personal Gilgal"

 

“A Personal Gilgal”

(Please read the previous article, “Life’s Gilgals”, before this one.)

 

In the last posting I cited five significant events which took place at Gilgal, Israel’s base of operations for claiming the Promised Land. On September 1 God gave me a “personal Gilgal”, a deliverance from issues of my past which had haunted me for most of my life. Without going into specifics I “graduated” and am looking forward to the freedom that comes from being released from bondage. Charles Wesley put it this way in his great hymn, “And Can It Be”: “My chains fell off; my heart was free. I rose, went forth and followed Thee”.

To arrive at my “Gilgal” I needed to do a lot of soul searching through prayer, meditation and exploring Scripture. I asked with Samuel, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10) and hymnwriter Emily May Grimes Crawford, “Speak, Lord, in the stillness, While I wait on Thee; Hushed my heart to listen, In expectancy”. I didn’t have to wait very long for God to speak to me through His Word. Here’s what He said:

*”,,,He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair.” (Isaiah 61:3, NLT).

*”I will give you back what you lost to the locusts.” (Joel 2:25, NLT).

*”I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” (Jeremiah 31:13).

*”Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19, emphasis added).

Need I say more? I say with George Keith in “How Firm a Foundation”: “What more can He say than to you He hath said, To you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled?”

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

 

"Life's Gilgals"

 

“Life’s Gilgals”

 

On September 18 our grandson Nate graduated from Marine Corps Boot Camp at Parris Island, SC. (Due to COVID-19 there was no public ceremony but we were able to see it on line.) Our family is bursting with pride at his achievement and will continue to support him and Noel as they embark on their military journey, wherever it may lead them.

During my 77 years I’ve had six graduations: grade school, junior high (now middle school), high school, college, seminary and Clinical Pastoral Education, which prepared me for health care chaplaincy. Three of these (high school, college and seminary) were called “Commencements”, which carries the idea of the beginning of a different period in one’s life. Each new phase carries with it certain privileges, responsibilities and challenges for which God’s promised His help (“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.”—Psalm 25:9).

Over the summer Karen and I began having a time of reading a Scripture passage and discussing how it spoke to us individually. We’ve covered Acts and Colossians and are currently in Joshua.

Recently we talked about Gilgal, Israel’s first encampment in the Promised Land (Chapters 4-5). (According to the first century Jewish historian Josephus it was ten miles west of the Jordan River and a couple of miles from Jericho.) As I pondered the events described I saw Gilgal as a Graduation/Commencement for God’s people. It was a place of remembrance of God’s deliverance (4:19-24), renewal of the rite of circumcision (5:1-8), reinstituting the Passover (5:10), reaping the produce of Canaan (5:11) and removal of the provision of manna after forty years (5:12). So while Gilgal is largely unknown it’s one of the most significant places in Israel’s history and represents a new beginning in her national life.

September 18 was a “Gilgal” for Nate. Let’s think of the “Gilgals” in our lives—our salvation, marriage, arrival of children, job changes, relocations—and see how God’s been with us through each one. In Psalm 32:8 He’s promised, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” And even when (not if) we fail we have His promise, “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful.” (2 Timothy 2:13, emphasis added). WOW!! So let’s welcome our “Gilgals”, allow God to teach us through them and use them to shape us for His glory.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"Animals Are Great"

 

“Animals Are Great”

 

On Fox News’s “The Five” program regular participant Greg Gutfeld often has a segment “Animals Are Great” which shows the humorous and unusual side of the “creature kingdom”. Since Karen and I enjoy zoos (we’ve held annual memberships at Riverbanks Park in Columbia, SC as well as Lowry Park, Busch Gardens and Sea World in Florida at various times) these snippets are right up our alley. In 1848 Cecil Frances Alexander expressed her wonder at the variety of God’s creative work in these words: “All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all.” Almost 3000 years before King David recognized this truth when he wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.” (Psalm 24:1, NASB).

There are many kinds of animals mentioned in Scripture—fish, insects, birds, reptiles, mammals—all created by God for a purpose (“…Lord…you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being,”—Revelation 4:11), And He has used many of them in unique ways. For example:

*He led Noah to send a dove from the ark to show the flood waters had receded and the earth was again fit for habitation (Genesis 8:8-12).

*He used a donkey to speak to His rebellious prophet Balaam (Numbers 22:26-31) and another one to carry Jesus triumphantly into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11).

*He had ravens bring food to Elijah during a time of famine (1 Kings 17:1-6).

*He prepared a great fish to serve as a classroom for Jonah (Jonah 2).

*A rooster reminded Peter that he’d denied Jesus as had been predicted (Matthew 26:69-75).

*He utilized the symbol of a lion to picture both Jesus’ power (Revelation 5:5) and Satan’s work (1 Peter 5:8-9).

*He provided a ram for Abraham to offer in place of Isaac, a picture of Jesus’ sacrifice for us (Genesis 22:1-14; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Animals are great because they’re created by a Great God for a great purpose: to glorify Him (“…the whole earth is full of his glory”—Isaiah 6:3). And so are we as long as we’re breathing (“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”—Psalm 150:6, emphasis added). If we don’t, “,,,the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:40)—so let’s not be outdone by our pet rock!

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan