WAITING ON GOD
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
—I Thess. 1:10
7125 Olympic Motto
In English the Olympic motto reads: “Swifter, higher, stronger.”
Interestingly, the Bible also has an Olympic text.
It is Isaiah 40:31—”They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.”
7126 The Stops, Too
Dr. Arthur Pierson once told of being alone in the study of that great man of faith and achievement, George Mueller. Thinking it would be a good time to look at the great man’s Bible, he opened it and was thumbing through its pages when he came to a verse in Psalms where it reads, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Ps. 37:23).
Opposite it, on the margin, Mueller had made this notation: “And the stops, too.”
—Evangelistic Illustration
7127 God’s Opened Window
There is an old Italian proverb, “When God shuts a door, He opens a window.” Many of God’s saints have come to barriers in life which have eventually meant new and broader fields of service. If we are identified with Christ, distressing circumstances will bring us into new discoveries of the riches of His grace and the treasures of His boundless and eternal love.
—The War Cry
7128 Still Waiting
Waiting! Yes, patiently waiting!
Till next steps made plain shall be;
To hear, with the inner hearing,
The Voice that will call for me.
Waiting! Yes, quietly waiting!
No need for an anxious dread;
Shall He not assuredly guide me,
Who giveth me daily bread?
Waiting! Yes, hopefully waiting!
With hope that needn’t grow dim;
The Master is pledged to guide me,
And my eyes are unto Him.
Waiting! Yes, expectantly waiting!
Perhaps it may be today
The Master will quickly open
The gate to my future way.
Waiting! Yes, trustfully waiting!
I know, though I’ve waited long,
That, while He withholds His purpose,
His waiting cannot be wrong.
Waiting! Yes, waiting, Still waiting!
The Master will not be late;
He knoweth that I am waiting
For Him to unlatch the gate.
—J. D. Smith
7129 To Make Doubly Precious
Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious. God waited four thousand years, till the fullness of time, ere He sent His Son. Our times are in His hands; He will avenge His elect speedily; He will make haste for our help, and not delay one hour too long.
—Andrew Murray
7130 One Day To Live
Had I but this one day to live,
One day to love, one day to give,
One day to work and watch and raise
My voice to God in joyous praise,
One day to succor those in need,
Pour healing balm on hearts that bleed,
Or wipe the tears from sorrow’s face,
And hearten those in sad disgrace—
I’d spend, O God, much time with Thee
That Thou might’st plan my day for me.
Most earnestly I’d seek to know
The way that Thou would’st have me go,
For Thou alone canst see the heart—
Thou knowest man’s most inward part.
—Alice M. Muir
7131 Christ’s Statue And The Humble
In Brazil, South America, there stands a famous statue of Christ, the face of which is so turned that the only way to look into His eyes is to get down on your knees and look up.
—Carl C. William
7132 Thorwalden’s Statue Of Christ
Dr. E. Stanley Jones tells of going to the Cathedral in Copenhagen, Denmark, to see Thorwalden’s statue of the Christ. Alongside the walls of the cathedral are life-sized statues of the apostles. At the very front is a magnificent figure of the Christ. As Dr. Jones came up to it, the guide said: “You will not be able to see his face unless you kneel at his feet.”
—Eugene A. Hessel
7133 No Time For God
No time for God?
What fools we are, to clutter up
Our lives with common things
And leave without heart’s gate
The Lord of life and Life itself—
Our God!
No time for God?
As soon to say no time
To eat or sleep or love or die.
Take time for God,
Or you shall dwarf your soul,
And when the angel death
Comes knocking at your door,
A poor misshapen thing you’ll be
To step into eternity!
No time for God?
That day when sickness comes
Or trouble finds you out
And you cry out for God;
Will He have time for you?
No time for God?
Some day you’ll lay aside
This mortal self and make your way
To worlds unknown,
And when you meet Him face to face
Will He—should He,
Have time for you?
—Norman L. Trott
7134 Like A Caged Lion
“The outstanding characteristics of the great New England preacher Phillips Brooks were poise and imperturbability. His intimate friends, however, knew that at times he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him pacing the floor like a caged lion. “What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?” asked the friend. “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!””
—Ministers’ Research Service
7135 Secret Of Bat’s Longevity
Bats are said to live longer for their size than any other animal. They have a life span of twenty years. It has been suggested that the secret of their longevity is their ability to relax and go quickly into the deep sleep of hibernation. Right after fighting, one of them can almost immediately slow its heartbeat from 180 per minute to three, and it can retard its respiration from eight breaths a second to one every eight minutes.
7136 Maybe Horse Will Fly
To explain his philosophy of government, Bernard Baruch retold the ancient story of “The Flying Horse,” of the king who sentenced a man to death. The man begged a reprieve, saying he’d teach the king’s horse to fly by the year’s end; otherwise the man would be put to death. Later the man explained: “Within a year the king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die. Furthermore, who knows? Maybe the horse will learn to fly.”
—Selected
See also: Patience ; Submission ; Time ; Isa. 40:31; Rom. 8:19; I Cor. 1:7; II Thess. 3:5.