Let's Pray!
Lord I come to you humbled that by Your grace I may have a new life. Please use me as your willing & loving servantl reaching out to all as the light on the hill. Please clear my mind & spirit as I listen to your words so that my words & actions become a symbol to all that I come into contact with today & in the future until I sit at the right of Jesus. Amen.
Isaiah 7:13-14
New International Version (NIV)
13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, andwill call him Immanuel.
Pastor said yesterday in the notes “God is calling Ahaz and is calling us to see times of great anxiety as times to trust and not take control!” In today’s text Isaiah asks if “we will try the patience of God also?”
Wow! This is the text that I am supposed to write about? Anyone that knows me knows that being patient, trusting & not being in control are not part of my personal DNA. God continues to try to force me to grow and change. Writing on this passage is more proof that I need to alter my DNA.
I do need to be more patient. I have a hard time waiting 5 minutes for something that needs to be done. If it needs to be done, I want to do it right then. Then here is Isaiah with a prophecy that “the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Patience! They waited 700 years for the prophecy to come true! Now that’s patience!
Then there is the trust & not in control issue. Isaiah said to trust the Lord that this will happen. Trust that a virgin can conceive and give birth to a son? How does that work? No one needs to take control and make sure that the virgin becomes pregnant?
I guess if they waited 700 years and trusted that God would take care of the birth and they did not need to do anything but have faith--- Then surely I can continue to work on being patient and when I am troubled, I can trust in Him and give up control.
As pastor said yesterday, Isaiah issued his prophecy during a very trying time. He was about to be overrun by surrounding armies. Yet in the midst of these trials, God issued a promise through Isaiah that was fulfilled. Why would we think that our problems today would be any more trying than the ones Ahaz was dealing with? God only asks us to have patience, trust in him & give up control. His promise will be fulfilled with us, if we let Him!
I will continue to try to become more patient, more trusting & (hard as it may be) give up control. I know that I am not in control, but that does not keep me from trying to take control. How is your journey? I would love to hear from you about how you deal with patience, trust and control.
Have a Blessed week,
Jerry