Thank You!

Father, I am so grateful this morning for your guidance in my life!  Knowing that I need to be patient through this "false labor" and just wait for the birth when the time is right, has made things so much easier for me! 

Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide. Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws. I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments. I have refused to walk on any evil path, so that I may remain obedient to your word. I haven't turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well. How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life. (Psalms 119:97-104 - Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.)

So, once again, Father, I come seeking your guidance.  I don't want to run ahead, but I don't want to lag behind either!  What should I say and do? What should I NOT say and do?  I need your wise counsel!  Please guide my thoughts and actions.  

I think of Jacob's words to the one he struggled with through the night - "I will not let you go unless you bless me" (Gen. 32:26).  I have often thought of these words as a reminder to keep seeking God until I get the guidance I seek.  It strikes me today that Jacob really DID come full circle.  He had to leave home because he was so concerned about getting a blessing -- but the blessing he sought then was a human and material one. Here Jacob has grown up enough to know that the blessings he needs to seek are the spiritual ones.  A couple more things stand out to me in this story.  

First, Jacob wrestled all night and finally had to be hurt in order to wake up to the fact of who he was wrestling with. How many times have I done that?  Just recently, in fact, I spent time railing against a change in my plans, thinking I was for some reason being thwarted, instead of recognizing God's hand in things!  I too was hurt - not physically, but emotionally - before remembering that I could trust God and that all was well!  Father, may I learn to always recognize YOU!  May I be patient enough to wait on you.  Father, how do I know when to wait and when to act?  When trying to accomplish something, it is in my nature to take action -- yet it is also in my nature to hang back because of fear and wait to act, not seizing the moment.  How do I know whether it is a time to press forward or a time to wait? 

I am reminded of King Solomon's words:

"There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: A right time for birth and another for death, A right time to plant and another to reap, A right time to kill and another to heal, A right time to destroy and another to construct, A right time to cry and another to laugh, A right time to lament and another to cheer, A right time to make love and another to abstain, A right time to embrace and another to part, A right time to search and another to count your losses, A right time to hold on and another to let go, A right time to rip out and another to mend, A right time to shut up and another to speak up, A right time to love and another to hate, A right time to wage war and another to make peace. 

But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I've had a good look at what God has given us to do — busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time — but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he's coming or going. I've decided that there's nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That's it — eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It's God's gift. I've also concluded that whatever God does, that's the way it's going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God's done it and that's it. That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear. Whatever was, is. Whatever will be, is. That's how it always is with God." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 - from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

Certainly, this is my time for birth - not death, that seems quite plain.  As I read through these verses, I get the sense that I'm being told that I need to step forward as I see to do - and trust that God will move things forward or not as He sees fit.  That God WILL see that His will is done. That I need to simply nudge at the doors and see what opens.  Father, please guide me.  Give me the right words and the right time and place!  Thank you, Father, for these promises!

This leads me to the second thing that strikes me from this story about Jacob.  I've always heard the story as "Jacob wrestling with the angel", but the Bible clearly states that Jacob believed He had seen God face to face. I'm really not sure why that makes such an impact on me.  I guess it is because it is one more indication that God cares enough to get personally involved. Father, I am so grateful for your leading!  May I stay within your will, Father.  Thank you that I can trust that your will will indeed be done in earth as it is in heaven!  It seems to me that I am to speak up this evening and nudge the door.  If I am correctly reading this, please guide me to the right time and give me the right words.  Thank you, Father!