Category Archives: Body Of Christ

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In the Waiting Room

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Tomorrow my dear friend Carol is having knee replacement surgery. Carol is a nurse and you know what they say about nurses…

they make the worst patients!

(Carol’s husband tells about the birth of their 1st child and how what he experienced during labor and delivery was like wrestling a grizzly bear)

Why is this? Why do nurses make difficult patients?

Because they know too much.

They know all the little things that can go wrong and that could cause serious concerns during surgery. They have seen things happen that shouldn’t happen. They know that doctors and nurses are humans with feet of clay – just like the rest of us (only smarter). I know Carol will be an exemplary patient tomorrow. She has to be – these are her co-workers!

I visited Carol this evening to take her a little gift, but mostly because I wanted to pray with her. We have been friends since we were two years old and have shared ALL of life’s important events together. (well, almost all…) I wanted to pray that God would bless her tomorrow and give her PEACE.

Now she must wait. It is so hard to wait. Our vivid imaginations can run wild with scenarios of possible outcomes.

We as women are often called on to wait. We may have to wait

  • to get pregnant
  • to give birth
  • for ugly hair color to grow out
  • until “things to settle down”  (does that ever happen?)
  • for children after a practice or rehearsal
  • for children to be potty trained
  • for children to move out
  • for children to come back
  • for answered prayer

This list could go on and on. Life is full of waiting.

These times of waiting can either produce impatience and irritation in us, or peace and calm. The key is where our trust lies.

Romans 8:17-22  (NLT)

17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering     18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

We all, as God’s children, are in the waiting room of God’s kingdom. I believe that we have a faithful God who we can trust to fulfill His purposes in His time.

What are you waiting for?

Do you have peace, or are you impatient and irritable?

I have been impatient at times and at other times I have been full of faith and peace. When I feel that irritation and impatience, I need to “fix my eyes in Jesus” who is the source of hope and peace. (Hebrews 11)

Carol is trusting God.  She has many family and friend praying for her – we will all be in the “waiting room” eager to hear the outcome.

May we all have the attitude David expresses in –

Psalm 62:5 (NLT)

5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.

Amen

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Stay Connected!

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See the rocks that little Daniel is picking up? Even a little child can take one of these stones and throw it into the ocean –

never to be seen again.

I was reminded of a sermon Phil preached several years ago about being connected in the Body of Christ. He shared the Scripture from I Peter 2:5 – 6

5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the

Scriptures say,

“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”

Phil encouraged us to be those living stones that Peter is talking about. God is using us to build His spiritual temple. Each of us is a stone and the Holy Spirit is the mortar that cements us together. Phil went on to say how easy it is to pick up a loose stone and steal it or throw it away. Yet a stone cemented in a wall – well that is another thing!

Tremendous effort and time would be involved in taking a stone from the wall behind my parents , my brothers, and me in the picture below. That stone wall has been there a LONG time!

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When we are connected in the Body of Christ we are not easy prey for the enemy to snatch away. We are also less likely to be deceived if we have brothers and sisters in the Lord whom we are close to. One of them is more likely to say – “Now wait a minute! You know that does not line up with Scripture!”

We all need people to speak truth into our lives no matter how old we are or how long we have walked with the Lord.

I had the blessing of spending the night with some dear friends last night before presenting a workshop in a town 3 hours away. We sat sharing about our lives and catching up on mutual friends. All of us knew of friends from the past who are no longer walking with the Lord. These were friends who we had fellowshipped with over the years – some who had a meaningful impact on me spiritually.

Why have they walked away from their faith and fellowship?

Some have experienced deep hurts from other Christians – so have Phil and I.

Some have faced tragedy personally and in their families  – many of us have as well.

In asking the Lord about this and pondering the circumstances life throws our way, I was reminded of Phil’s sermon.

Those friends who have

  • stayed in fellowship
  • stayed connected to the Body
  • been built IN as living stones

those individuals are still walking with the Lord despite what they have faced – and some are in the midst of the fire right now.

God does not promise us a bed of roses because we are His children. In fact we are assured that we will have trials and tribulations. God does promise He will be with us through the trials and tribulations of life.

When I am connected in the Body of Christ – those around me support and comfort me during my times of suffering. We’re cemented together.

God is our rock and our salvation….

“anyone who trusts in Him
 will never be disgraced.”

Stay connected.