On Waiting Well - Bradley Baurain

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Equal housing lender not licensed in Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah in our fast-paced society. We will do just about anything to avoid waiting, but what happens to you spiritually when you are forced to wait on God. I'm sure there are listeners who have had God saying no to their earnest prayers. Not every story has a happy ending. And yet God is the same and he weeps with you and he rejoices with you that's waiting. Welcome to Building Relationships. In the New York Times best seller.

I love blank today on Prof. Brad range has this house waiting in your life and your faith, encouragement, strata resourcing five love languages.com on eating well, moving from endurance enjoyment when you begin. Find five lovely.com Gary you've had some experience with the topic of waiting. I'm assuming what comes to mind when I say that word ever have a tough waiting experience. I'm waiting right now Chris back on the road and see people face-to-face. As you know all of Leibowitz by sleep in the middle of March 2020 were all canceled. So it's is in fact applicable learn some things today but waiting I'm trying to make the most of it zooming, writing books and doing counseling so like the most of this time, but now it is a time of waiting like. Probably a lot of our listeners can identify with that. They're probably waiting also a lot of different levels that I was telling you, Gary, before we went on here. This is one of the best books I read in 2020 on waiting well and I'm so excited to have you talk with Dr. Bradley brain is with us today. He's taught for more than 25 years in the US and Canada, China and Vietnam. He currently leads the T soul teaching English to speakers of other languages programs at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago rights devotional studies for today in the word if you get that devotional and he's the author again of our featured resource on waiting.

Well you can find it@ 5lovelanguages.com Dr. Brian. Welcome to Building Relationships. Thank you for having me. All I have read some of your material and today in the word because I do get that Chrissy mentioned it and I dictated. I do read it. So thanks for what you've done nine that then you will need this topic of waiting. Come on your radar. I would say it first came on my radar in a serious way in 2016. Not that dramatic, personal experience, but simply for my own personal Bible study.

I started noticing the word weight coming up a lot and I really try to skip over it and resist it because I don't like that word. But God kept bringing my attention back to it and I started noticing that it was a real verb and a really important one and so I I wrote about it for today in the word, and there is a devotional issue from 2017.

That got me started and I felt like I was the tip of the iceberg and there was more there that God wanted to teach me first, and then it turned into a book will cause you to think that there's more to waiting then then most people typically think what the Bible talks about waiting in the same way you did. Where waiting for God to rescue us were waiting for something to be over were waiting for the wandering in the wilderness to be finished with. But when you see the word waiting.

There's a larger meaning as well, or a different meaning there's there's waiting for. And that's kind of the sense we all think of right where waiting for this season of the pandemic to be over so that you can go on the road and see people again but were also at the very same time waiting on the Lord simply being in his presence, moving closer to him drawing nearer to him and that's something that's always true in the Christian life and it's much more deep and satisfying and a whole lot less annoying than the other waiting experience. Yeah you you talk about the difference between waiting with a small W and waiting with a capital W is that what you mean by what you just said hours or more to it than that. That's part of what I mean. But yes, there is more to it that the small W. Waiting is what we think of right waiting in line for at the grocery store. I waiting for some inconvenient thing to be over. Maybe something even more painful like waiting for a medical test to come back work or waiting for God to need it need like like maybe we need a job on but that is not those things come and go small W waiting but big W waiting.

It's always there waiting on the Lord being in his presence, delighting to be worshiping him at all times in all circumstances and that second big W. Waiting is just so much larger. It's like picture piece of paper and there's one tiny dot on the piece of paper and that tiny dot is small W waiting the ends announce of our everyday experience and that the big piece of paper that's waiting on the Lord and human beings being the way we are. We tend to focus on the dot and let it get under our skin and annoyance.

But if we could see the big picture if we could experience that larger sheet of paper we realize how insignificant the seasons of small W waiting are compared to the absolute privilege and pleasure of the big W. Waiting on the Lord so I hear you saying that waiting on the Lord is choosing to spend time consciously in his presence both worshiping him conversing with him, sharing your heart with him in my getting the picture. Yes it's it's a habit of mind habit of soul that can be done anywhere, anytime on a much or that it always has to be conscious of our attention is called to do many things in the course of the day, but just that sense that no matter where I am, no matter what I'm doing. I haven't moved from his presence. He is with me always the relationship between faith and waiting faith is absolutely the key to waiting. We know this from biblical narrative. I think of all the characters in Scripture who waited Abraham was given the promise of the sun and had to wait 25 years. I believe it was before. That promise was fulfilled. David had to wait 15 years from the time he was anointed as King till the time he became king. You can find stories like this that throughout Scripture. They trusted, though, that God would keep his promises. They were all in.

They risked everything they have their whole life. Everything they did everything they were their families on God's faithfulness.

It's the certainty of what you do not see. It's looking forward to something as if it had already happened. That's biblical waiting. I left the foundation for biblical waiting. Anyway, I think that the that even those people you just mentioned there were times when they got concerned with the.small W United do all this perfectly, and I wonder, in our own culture around society with social media and the Internet and the instantaneous communication that we have what is that, due to this thing inside of us.

This inability to wait. Do you think that's a really good question.

II think it might tend to co-opt our inner lives in him and are we. We all do self talk. We all have in our lives. We need time for reflection. We need the space in which God can speak to us and if we're never open in that way and were constantly looking for stimulation on the screen or communicating with someone out there then where is that where's that space to just be with God to reflect on what he's been doing in my life to to listen for his voice. I do think the sheer volume of what's available out there does tend to co-opt or short-circuit our inner life. In that sense, Gary. As I listen to Dr. brain talk here today there's something that comes up in my head and run around my heart and that is how many times when we give a you the phone number and people call in and ask you a question. It'll be from either a husband whose wife has left him more of wife whose husband is left and they are waiting for them to come back and the desire it is a good thing I will. I want our marriage to to heal and to have this move forward. But the focus is on that healing.

That moment when you know we get reconciled and you have said over and over and over again.

Don't waste this moment right now with drawing closer to God and allow him to do inside of you in the middle of the waiting let him do that work. I see this at work even in the conversation today, don't you think so Chris you know if we are going through an experience like that.

We tend to be Prego God work in their hearts to do something for them and turn them around and and and that's fine.

I'm not opposed to that. But I'm just saying you know. Let's start where the Bible starts and that's God. What do you want to be teaching me through this because if you can grow as a person while you're waiting for the possibility for example of reconciliation which reduce describe then whenever their heart turns and God works in their heart. You are a much different person than you were when this whole thing started because you matured because you spent this time you are asking God to teach even help you learn what you can learn in examining your own heart through the experience so yeah think so. It's trying to make the most of that time between what you want to happen and then actually seeing it happen because that is very bedrock level. Dr. brain what were talking about waiting is a relational thing. It's in an exercise we do right, absolutely.

I think in those tough times such as that the one you described one of the things that God's always trying to teach us is how to talk to him. I don't want to give the impression that I'm recommending spiritual denial right. I'm not saying suppress the pain or the negative emotions I'm saying express those properly to God and we have incredible examples of that in the Psalms, maybe during that season of pain or season of waiting. God wants you to learn how to lament how to be honest with him. He doesn't need you dressed up, you know, I hope take you as you are. He knows you better than you know yourself and you know he's big enough for all your questions and if you know if you cry out to him and say where are you I need your help. It feels like you're not here that kind of lament made in phase is is it perfectly valid. Is it we we see if there out the Psalms and I think sometimes were afraid to be that honest with God and God would really like us to learn otherwise like. That's a powerful port because his. He said he already knows what you think you can fit so just verbalize it now. In the book on waiting. Well you talk about three myths and three trues about waiting. What are those myths and how are they dispelled by the truths sure well the three myths turn out to be all beginning with the P. I didn't exactly plan it that way was like a 3.0. The sermon I grew up with, but they are the things we tend to think waiting as we tend to think waiting is passive and that it's just us sitting on our butts in alike were in the doctor's waiting room. Nothing to do. This does not really quite true. Waiting is a fairly active verb in Scripture and then we also think waiting is purposeless.

There's no point to it were just waiting for it to be over, and on some sort like the Israelites just wandering around the wilderness waiting for the generation to die, but even that is a misreading of of Scripture, and it certainly not what waiting as we did. We just talked about the purpose God might have in waiting. And then the third P is painful and we do need to be honest about that right. It may just be a dot on a page, but it's a painful.on the page if if our spouses left us, or there's a medical issue or we've experienced a loss of some other kind of the truth is the truth. Three trues that might parallel that is notice that dispel those three myths sure that the three trues are really, I don't know if they're parallel or not, but what they do is they flush out the idea of of of biblical waiting in terms that we can understand and so you know, in my study, when I'm I'm looking at biblical waiting and when the psalmist or someone else is saying.

I'm waiting on the Lord and I look at the larger context these these three trues that are associated with it are hope, joy and love and maybe hope is the most powerful water member all-powerful right of faith is the foundation then hope, joy and love are the essence of the substance of waiting there. What waiting feels like because is not just an abstract theological truth that is supposed to affect our emotional and feeling life as Christian so hope you know what we are looking forward to something. Something hasn't happened yet that we really want to happen and but at the same time as were waiting for God to do something his person is present with us and instead of shrinking away from him during the time of waiting.

We need to draw closer to him that's that's the only source of hope for the only source of joy. The only way that will continue to love.

I was absolutely astounded in my study to find such powerful Christian verbs associated with a verb. I hated and didn't want to think about and in love is love fit in the that's the essence of our relationship with God. If we are if we are drawing near to him worshiping him, trusting him absolutely. Despite the pain that is beyond any resources I have is the greatest commandment right love God, love your neighbor will to do that properly. I have to like I can't do it. So God draws me drives me I should say to a realization that the love he commands is not a love I'm capable of. Without him to even love him. I need his help certainly to love my neighbor.

I need his help and to love my enemies. I cast myself up on his mercy for that one that that was a Romans five the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit don't have it on our own picture people talk about unanswered prayer and I know that most of us have experienced that alone the way we just felt like we prayed and operating the parade.

God's not entering how you look at that in relation to this concept of waiting yeah I would tend to look at the idea of unanswered prayer in relation to the concept of waiting by saying that the closer we draw to God the more of his perspective will have on those unanswered prayers, he may choose to show us the what we were praying for was not in his will, he may choose to show us that he has a better way.

He also may choose just to show us that he is sovereign and you know we may not be capable of understanding at this time but the point is to get out of ourselves. We draw near to God we worship.

We praise his goodness and greatness and working to see this. The specific things in our life, whether that be a decision or a loss or an unanswered prayer things that are positive and negative working to see all those things very differently from his perspective in his presence, and it takes me back to the experience of my life.

Many many many years ago when I just finished my PhD and I had was eager to go to the mission field was going to teach in a seminary in Nigeria and prayed with to God about that for a long time and and then applied to the mission board and got turned down God did not answer my prayer and I have to be honest I didn't understand it is time it was a tough, tough, tough time for me now looking back on it from this juncture in my life. I did it. Do you know that my books are all over the world.

So I think sometimes when we feel like God is not entering it.

It's the latter thing you said we don't we don't get the answer at the time as to why God is waiting, but later all we will see it in and then the fact that he didn't answer the prayer that I had along those lines so well why does God allow waiting times to come. Some might think well this is unkind, you know you're following God you want to do God's will. Yet, you know, here you are waiting on what's God doing your wealth for me to speak on behalf of God. Is it hidden otherwise. They had when I went I witnessed I would guess that he does this because sometimes there is no other way to teach us what he wants us to know and particularly to teach us about himself. And we have the privilege of some very difficult things the privilege of sharing in Christ's sufferings.

Paul said he had the privilege of sometimes having plenty and sometimes being and want to get the privilege of being persecuted. Well, it doesn't feel like a privilege when were in the middle of it, but through those experiences. Paul learned more about Christ and the gospel than he could have learned in any other way and I suspect that the same is true for us. I think of a verse that's very familiar to our listeners. I'm sure Isaiah 4031 those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint and I can't help but look at that and you know that's not the verse I would have written if it was up to me. I would say those who wait on the Lord will grit their teeth and get through this day, night, because I a persevering. I understand I can grit my teeth and get through things but God wants me to learn more than that.

He wants that hope that joy that love you and I look at Isaiah 4031 and I think that even possible in the middle of waiting to soar on wings like eagles to suddenly have inexhaustible energy and the answer is simple. It's got strings, not mine. And without that period of waiting, I would never have learned to do that and I although speaking in the first person I have to be honest, I am still very much learning to do that at home over every day that I soar and there's another 10 days when I'm sitting on the ground absolutely yeah I guess Paul is a good example of that is that when he's imprisoned in for her longtime home got couple of occasions, at least in it while he's there, he's writing all these wonderful letters to Christians in other cities if they had been on the road he would have time to do that. I miss her but he seems to have learned how to wait on the Lord and make the most of where he was and is. It is at your perspective of him. Yeah, absolutely. I'm I was reading recently and I'm very inspired by acts chapter 16 so he you know he had received a call from the man from Macedonia in a vision and he crossed over to Europe and the first city he was in was Philippi, and he met Lydia and and she became the first European Christian and think seem to be going really well. God was really blessing a church was getting started and then all of a sudden they casted a demon out of a forged fortune-telling girl and they aroused the hostility of some people who made money from that and he finds himself in prison and he could be like hey let's rally the troops. Everybody pray that I get out of prison soon. Instead, he and Silas sat there singing hymns and you something and you know I could possibly not complain with if I really tried but sitting there singing hymns and then God miraculously freedom with an earthquake and he wasn't in a big hurry to leave. You know the jailer was held responsible and and you have a Paul called out with no don't hurt yourself, were still here. And so if it was me, I met a runaway. Thank you Lord for rescuing me from prison, but he went over the jailer's house and led the jailer and his entire family to the Lord. That is some productive waiting. Absolutely, we ask a three word question before we take a break here UA for this. Gary is ready to be profound.

Does God wait all the answer is yes, he does biblically and that encourages me that he doesn't have to wait his God, but he chooses to wait and the number one thing in Scripture it says that he's waiting for is for the phone number of believers to come in on his kindness leads us to repentance and he does bring history to an end right now. Part of me would love to see Christ return. Right in the middle of our program. But the reason God doesn't do that on my timetable is because he is waiting to good point well and you think about it I think of the silence, the inter-test a mental period between Old Testament and New Testament and in the fullness of time, and it took everybody by surprise. The incarnation took people by surprise, but that it was the this waiting for just the right moment in God's providential plan and we don't have that same mind read what we weep. Our minds are not like he is right. I mended that. I mean, when it when the word says things like, well, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day like yeah maybe for him. Not for me or for humanity to bring you right that biblical weighting should be engaged in courageous what is that look like in everyday life really good question for me at this point I would say it looks like David already mentioned that he was when he was anointed king. It was actually 15 years until he was king over all Israel, and at that point that amounted to have his life he became king over all Israel at age 30 he was probably anointed at about age 50, men imagine having spent half your life waiting and he had enough trust in God and absolute trust in God to get through that time.

I mean we know that he had chances to cut that short, I think of the time when he was hiding in the back of the cave and you know if the Bible is very earthy and wonderful about this right thinking. Saul came in to relieve himself. And you know David David's men said hey this is from the Lord. This is how God is going to keep his promise. He has delivered Saul into our hands.

And David said no, he is still the Lord's anointed. This is not the Lord's timing. Even though this man wants to kill me and is currently chasing me down with his elite military forces. I am not going to take advantage of the situation, not out of love for Saul, obviously, but out of love for the Lord and trusting in the Lord. He absolutely trusted and trusted enough to pass up apparent human opportunities in order to wait on God's perfect timing that's engaged. That's courageous, courageous, because we tend to take things in her own hands know absolutely that when we see that we see all that's an idea. I'll try that and then were good at making up stories for God. All will God give me that opportunity. This is this is that the open door. The God wants me to go through and maybe not well unit met many Christians. Most Christians I think I have the basic concept that God is in the process of making us more and more like Christ in it were to be his representatives and he's building that into us. How does waiting for an into that process. If were going to become more like Christ, and were going to imitate Christ. Absolutely that's got to involve waiting because you look for his earthly life, and it seems to be mostly waiting.

He's constantly telling his disciples. No, not yet. The time is not yet. I'm waiting on the father's timing. You know whether that's whether to claim that he is the Messiah, or whether it's time to tell them that about his death and resurrection, or hit. Even for bids on some of the demons that he casts out to to go around spreading the word. If it's not yet father's timing. His entire redemptive mission. Most came down to a matter of just simply doing the right thing at the right time and waiting on the father's plan.

He came to die and he knew that from the beginning that he was going to die on the cross as a redemptive sacrifice for sin.

I would imagine that the temptation would be to rush forward and and let's get to this defining moment in and do it and have it open with and get to the resurrection and the good stuff, but he waited for at least three years of public ministry in his entire life.

Before that, that that's always amazed me that you know he waited 30 years before his public ministry and and we don't know a lot about those years of praise from the Scriptures, silent on that.

But to know in our culture.

If you 23 it's time to do something that Jesus waited till he was 30 course. I guess in today's culture. Maybe that is being pushed up and people waiting homework to do something, but it's always fascinated me that he waited those first 30 years before he had a public ministry, and he didn't wait in frustration. He didn't wait on your drumming his fingers on the table saying I can wait till this is over nine get going on my public ministry. Even though we don't know what he was doing. I think it's pretty safe to assume that he was in communion with his father the entire time and that his waiting took place in a posture of faith and obedience with an attitude of faith and obedience.

That is what we are aspiring to that when we are being made like him. That is what we are being made like to do everything in a posture of faith and obedience. Whether it takes one day or a thousand years.

Is there the same to God. You say that when we encounter difficult times which we've already admitted we all do from time to time, and these are times of waiting through difficult situations, you indicate and you mentioned this a bit earlier that it's good to lament, describe what you mean by lamenting lamenting can go in a few different directions. One thing that the biblical writers lament over is their own sin and II think we really could do more lamenting over our own sin. Quite honestly, where were we don't want to wait. We want to rush onto that. The part where were forgiven because we know were forgiven and that's an incredible feeling, but to truly understand sin as God does, and to see it from his perspective, which is part of the goal of waiting we do need to lament over our own sin and and how Violet is in God's sight and how incredible Christ's sacrifice was that paid the price for it. That's one kind of lament and in the domain. Other kind of lament is when we lament over circumstances right things that are happening in our lives were unemployed and we need a job somebody and are a loved one has as cancer and were praying for healing our relationship is broken and were praying for for for reconciliation and once again we have that urge took to rush forward to the happy into the story to the part where God answers our prayer the way we wish or he explains to us the answer that we did receive that sorrow that anger that we are very naturally feeling God wants to hear that he wants us to feel those feelings and see those emotions from his perspective because he too is said about sin and the effects of sin in the world and he too is angry about injustice and are little emotions in our little bits of lament need to find their home in God's presence, and we don't have to be afraid.

We can be as honest with him as we lighten it is sometimes the Psalms shot me and like all you can say that you can pray like that you can say that you want.

God is big enough for all that stuff now you and I think that what you're describing is what most of our listeners of experience. Somewhere along the line in their lives. And there's those times when you don't understand things are out of your control and you mentioned some of those situations and when were there. If we can have this sense that you know it's okay to share your questions in your thoughts and your emotions with God because it's a relationship and he expects us to be open and honest with him right right so the other thing you talk about are one of the things you talk about is that there is power and beauty and waiting. How can we begin to embrace that idea in our lives.

I think I might be best Empire able to answer this question by telling a story story is not actually in the book.

So think of this as a bonus example when I first got married I was teaching in Vietnam with the Christian organization and so my wife and I returned. She had also been doing that so we returned to the country of Vietnam as newlyweds and one month after we returned there.

I got the news that my mom had cancer and of course the first impulse is let's go back to the states. Let's be by her hospital bed. Let's be part of her support and encouragement network and we prayed about that and and God was not answering yes it's okay to go home now and in fact my own mother said don't you dare come home and she said God is called you to be where you are. Don't you worry your prayers will be just as effective from over there, another that was hard it was hard to wait for the news and in fact she sheet skip ahead to the end. She is a cancer survivor. She still going strong. Sharing the good news every chance she gets. But that time I didn't know what would happen. I thought God may take her. I may have already seen her for the last time and so we waited for those doctors updates and we waited for the news and in what was going on with chemotherapy and so on, and those were very very long months and even years of waiting, but the beauty that I saw in that waiting and eventually came to experience started with my mom and her attitude towards waiting. Her attitude wasn't all know this is is a disaster.

Everyone please come to support me. She wanted us to pray in support, but she wanted us to get on with what God had called us to do and I found her attitude and orientation powerful and beautiful and ultimately that's why I dedicated the book to her now. Well, that's a powerful story. I remember that you just brought to my mind the memory. When my wife had cancer and we first found out I said okay honey I want to cancel all my appointments everything for the rest the next year and will be with you and she said you know, go cancel anything. She said God called to do that.

And God knew this was going to happen you going to go do what you what's on your calendar for God and you will be here when I need you. And if if you're not here for you have friends here in five minutes and she's right about that unit. I watched her walk through that year of chemo unit losing hair and waiting the whole obit and man, and that was in my mind that was one of the high moments for her to see the YC handle that you know is easily with power and beauty. The beauty of Christ and identify with what you're saying Brad that I said in the beginning the program. This is one of the best books I've read in the last year on waiting well and part of that is because you talk about this from a biblical standpoint. You talk about it. It's almost a philosophical view of waiting, but there is a very practical and have a very human aspect to it to because you tell the real deep struggle that you and your family have gone through and I wonder if you could take us into that story now. Sure, I'll do my best.

You might hear a catch in my voice is as I go along. The story has to do with the birth of my fourth daughter watch the fourth child and third daughter Anna. She was born in 2012 and that we thought that we knew how to do this right fourth time, but the baby out. Let's get her back at home. Let's get through the days of sleeplessness and I could get her incorporated into the family and move on with our lives. We were not in the waiting mood that the nine months of waiting during pregnancy had been, certainly long enough for my wife so we went to the hospital.

She was born. We took her home. We thought everything was on track and then we noticed she was not doing well. She was getting dehydrated she was she was spitting up, apparently not able to eat anything since he was born on a Monday. We took her home Tuesday at her back to the hospital on a Thursday and she was having life-saving surgery by Friday and we were totally taken by surprise. It turns out that she had been diagnosed with something called amount rotated intestine and I just think of her intestines being like a tangled up garden hose and they couldn't fix it without major surgery, and although we had an excellent doctor and the surgery had a high success rate. Of course there was the chance she could die and so we put out the word on social media there. Social media is good for something after all.

And literally we had people praying around the world friends from Asia friends all across North America and Julie and I waited all those hours in the hospital waiting room, probably one of the most intense together times of of our marriage because we didn't know when the doctor came out.

What was he going to say because they didn't know how bad it was. They were in a late charge take pictures inside of and they failed and so they were to go in and just deal with whatever they found and yes we saw the doctor and any Audi comes in and he had good news for us, that it that the tangling hadn't been too bad that the surgery had gone very well and then but she did spend three more weeks in the NICU. You know they were they were weighing every bit of food that when in place that went out to see if those intestines were working or not, and it was a time of waiting like no other with such a pure and simple time there. There was nothing else that I could do. The doctor had done all he could do that the healing was now simply in the hand of the Lord and all I could do was sit in a NICU and hold her and feed her and pray for her all in God's presence and that she made it. Obviously she is a gregarious eight-year-old right now and on her stomach. She still has a scar. She got the surgery when she was young enough that she'll always have that scar and so we told her we told her the story and that that scar is a scar of grace heard the name Anna means favor or grace which we didn't know when we make a mean we didn't know she was can have the surgery and have a scar. When we named her that that we have taught her that that's got her is when God rescued her and saved her life and that she has a responsibility to bear witness to share her testimony with anybody who will listen, but I was a very painful and beautiful. I did a lot of lamenting buttons on it was a time when both Julie and I felt very close to the Lord. It's a powerful story. Linda think anyone is going through difficulty with the child can identify with what you're saying I'd I do want to say one more thing about that.

It's his.

The reason that it was powerful and beautiful. What was God.

Even if he had chosen to say no that he wanted to take my daughter to be with him. We would still praise him for who he is and that's not an easy thing to say but there I'm saying it because I'm sure there are listeners who have lost loved ones who have had God say no to their earnest prayers. Not every story has a happy ending. And yet God is the same and he he weeps with you and he rejoices with you that's waiting on the Lord and man, you talk about faith and and some people tend to have faith in faith that is so unique you believe it and it'll happen. You believe it will happen, but faith is you talk about faith being the object of our faith.

It is the important thing is it's the faith. Is it directed toward the living God, who has the power and the wisdom and knowledge to do what is right and best to talk about that whole thing a bit of perhaps in misplaced faith sure misplaced faith is what we need to be brutally honest with ourselves, your faith is misplaced. If it's in anything other than God and faith is only as good as its object right I mean that those people you are quoting about the having strong faith or having faith in faith, that sort of a power of positive thinking approach that honest, I don't see in Scripture.

As Christians we have more than the :-) emoji available to us. We have the full range of emotions and and God himself expresses those emotions in Scripture but yet that if the faith is not in the Lord. It's been misplaced and I really think we have to be brutally honest because will give lip service to that will say we have faith in the Lord. But what were really trusting in is our education or job or our talents or abilities or our church or our pastor. All these are good things in God's gifts, but they are not God himself, and it's very difficult to make sure where closer to the giver than to the gifts and then the closer we can draw to him. That's face anything. The gifts are secondary as valuable as they are, and we need to be good stewards of them and use them for his glory. Absolutely. But Satan is constantly tempting us to put something good in the place of best and the is only one best and that's God's will, as we come to the end of our program today. Let me ask you one other question, how should we properly pray when we are waiting.

That's a really good question.

Let me first mention that were never not waiting there's and is not just an abstraction either.

All of us for our entire lives. Every Christian all over the world were all waiting for something really important.

And that's the second coming of Christ. And so one of our prayers should always be Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus. But that's big deal be awaiting that prayer should always be on our hearts may be what you're also asking about.

It is small W waiting those seasons that we go through that. Thankfully, art are time-limited in the way that we should pray in those cases is odor honesty knows what you're thinking. Anyway you might as well tell him Telemann faith it's a lack of faith to draw back from God and try to hide your feelings from him. It's an act of faith to step forward and say God knows what I'm thinking. Anyway, he knows best in this situation I'm going to tell them what I'm thinking and then I'm going to listen for his answer, as it were women. This is the only way to pray continuously you know as as Paul urges and exhorts it in first Thessalonians. So when when we're praying yes have that constant dialogue with God say anything you like in faith, but don't withdraw draw near and then always praying that double context. There's the small W stuff that's on your temporary list and there's the big W stuff you always want to come closer to God. You always want to know more about him, you want to know him better. That's the relational aspect of it. He's not a vending machine.

He's a he's a person.

P and I the Psalms provide an excellent model.

It's possible that someone would be too overwhelmed. I've been too overwhelmed to pray spontaneously on my own. Well, there's two things than one is I can use Scripture I can pray Psalms like Psalm 130 I will wait on the Lord my whole being waits for the Lord and then we have Paul's promise from Romans eight that that you know when the spirit will help us pray with groanings too deep for words and that that deep fellowship with father son and Holy Spirit is the part of prayer and is part of waiting and is the goal of waiting.

This is been a challenging discussion and this Chris said that this book is going to help. I think a lot of people so thank you for taking the time to dig in the Scripture sell this whole topic of waiting and share with us on the program as well as in the May God continue to give you wisdom and that what he has for you in the future and let God use this power are waiting on us. Thank you Dr. Chapman. I do pray for the same red grain is been with us today. Find out more about the book on waiting. Well, moving from endurance to enjoyment when you're waiting on God. At five love languages.com again five love languages.com and next week marriage survive infidelity.

How do you rebuild trust with talk about that one would Mark and Jill said before Miguel anything Todd relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman's action radio in association with policies on ministry Bible Institute.

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