A Good Word
A Ministry of Encouragement
editors
Julie Stephens
Sherryl Myrick
Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up.
waiting on God
I was having lunch recently with a very good friend who serves in Christian ministry and he had asked to meet with me to discuss some ideas that he felt had been placed on his heart. He felt the inner desire to start a new ministry outside of the church where he was employed. There was something in him that wanted him to move on to a new challenge. I enjoy meetings like this, and I am honored to be used to encourage many to follow their hearts while discerning the Lord’s lead. My friend shared his ideas and the needs that this new ministry would meet; I agreed this would be a beneficial ministry that would be a blessing to many. Then I asked, “What are you doing about moving forward with this idea?” He paused, then smiled and said, “I’m waiting on God.”
I must say that the answer given above is very biblical and is a demonstration of the faith we are called to have, but there is a little more to it than just praying, trusting, and waiting. This lesson will benefit you if you feel that an idea has been placed in your heart. The idea doesn’t necessarily have to be directly involved in ministry, but anything we do should glorify God in one way or another. Your idea may be to change careers, mend a relationship, or even start your own business.
There is much frustration in the workplace these days. This in itself has created relationship issues. The economy is sputtering, and we are bombarded by the bad news each day of another company closing, or laying off a portion of their employees. In view of this, business management is placing increased pressure for employees to produce more work, which usually results in longer hours on the job. I’m certain that you have worried a little about this, whether directly or for one of your family members. Perhaps you’ve said a prayer like this: “Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Psalm 5:1-3 NIV). This is a wonderful prayer! I’ve prayed something like it frequently in my own words. If you are praying for another family member or friend, that’s a good prayer to lift up to the Lord, and waiting in faithful expectation is about all you should do. But if this is your cry for help, I wish to encourage you to do a little more than just wait in expectation.
I love the Old Testament stories of Isaiah and King Hezekiah. Both of these great Bible leaders lived during the same time and were connected to many stories found in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Isaiah, and mentioned in several other books. Hezekiah is a good one for us to study in order to understand better how we should be. He is introduced to us by the verse, “And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done” (2 Kings 18:3). As normal as this verse sounds to us, it is actually very abnormal in the history of the kings serving ancient Israel and Judah. Read through the book of Kings and see how most begin with the words “and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.” My first word of encouragement is doing a little more than “ just waiting for the Lord” and instead to “do what is right in the sight of the Lord.”
If you’re not starting a new chapter in your book of life with these words, then your prayers are going nowhere. The Bible says, "Men cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches more to us than to the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?' He does not answer when men cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked. Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it. How much less, then, will he listen when you say that you do not see him, that your case is before him and you must wait for him” (Job 35:9-14). Before you wait for God to direct your steps in His plans of hope and a future for you, you must do right in the sight of the Lord. The Bible tells us: “Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook” (2 Kings 18:5-7). Would you like to be successful in whatever you undertake?
Second, you must lay your concerns and prayers at the feet of the Lord. This economic slow down has turned into much more than a recession to many. I know friends and relatives who would say we are in a depression due to their loss of jobs or added pressures in their work environment. You may have recently heard bad news, or a threat of warning concerning your employment. King Hezekiah received such a threat from another king who not only wanted to remove him from his job, but threatened to take him and his whole family captive as slaves to another country. I must say I’ve received a few threats in my life, but nothing like taking me and my family as captives to a foreign land. The news did bother Hezekiah much. Bad news bothers me. I try to live like the psalmist instructs in Psalm 112:7, “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD,” but my general first reaction inside is “Oh, no!”
Upon receiving the letter of threat from the Assyrian king, King Hezekiah tore his clothes as sign of receiving bad news. Then Hezekiah took the bad news and placed it before the Lord in prayer. The Bible says, “Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD” (2 Kings 19:14-15). The prophet Isaiah sends word to King Hezekiah that the Lord has heard his prayer. I love reading Old Testament Scripture where God speaks directly. Job is a good book full of the Lord’s direct words, and the books with the prophets are full of His words. I like what God says about the king of Assyria, who was giving out threats to King Hezekiah. I think about this when someone gives me the finger while driving just because I’m not speeding at the pace he chooses to drive. My first reaction is to give the finger back, but I know that will not do any good. Then I remember what God says about the Assyrian king who is giving the finger to Hezekiah: “But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me” (v. 27-28). It’s always better to let the Lord work out any vengeance. When someone crosses my path with hateful or rude behavior, I just smile inside and say to myself, “But I know where you stay.” If there is a need for discipline, the Lord will take care of that just as He did to the Assyrian king. The Bible says, “That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp” (v.35). Lay your concerns and prayer requests before the Lord.
So, my first word of encouragement in doing more than just waiting for the Lord is for you to “do what is right in the sight of the Lord.” Second, I said you must lay your concerns and prayers at the feet of the Lord. My third word of encouragement is: You must do something! If you have an idea that you feel has been placed in your heart to pursue, then you can’t just sit idle as you wait for God. Yes, if He has the power to wipe out an entire army in one night, He certainly can drop an opportunity in your lap in an instant. But He normally desires for us to take steps of faith as we trust in Him. Don’t just pray about it, and then just wait on Him. Pray about it then ask Him to lead you toward His will in your pursuit. The Bible says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you” (Psalm 32:8). As you move forward, seek the Lord’s guidance in your decisions. The Bible says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). So the Lord determines our steps as we GO. To go is a word of action, not waiting.
I find another interesting king story in the book of 2 Chronicles. There is a king named Jehoshaphat, who also receives bad news one day. Very much like I said when I first hear bad news I exclaim, “Oh, no!” the Bible says King Jehoshaphat was alarmed. “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 20:3). The Bible tells us about Jehoshaphat: “In everything he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD” (1 Kings 22:43). So here we have illustrations of my first two words of encouragement: Jehoshaphat did right in the sight of the Lord, and when trouble came he placed his concerns to the Lord in prayer. Let’s see if he took any action steps of faith seeking the Lord’s direction.
There was a large army assembled from three different areas coming to attack Jehoshaphat and his people. This was certainly bad news to hear, and Jehoshaphat called upon the Lord to intervene. A prophet of the Lord then gave Jehoshaphat these words of encouragement from the Lord: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's” (2 Chronicles 20:15). So I’m thinking here: I’m dealing with some bad news, and I’ve been praying for deliverance, and I know the Lord goes before me because His Word says: “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Then all I’ve got to do is sit here and wait on God, right? No! You’ve got to take steps of faith, and watch the Lord do His work as you take your position going forward. The “vast” army was approaching King Jehoshaphat, and the prophet told Jehoshaphat that the battle was not his to fight, but then the prophet added a little more instruction from the Lord. The prophet said: “Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you” (2 Chronicles 20:16-17). The Bible says that Jehoshaphat assigned men to sing praises to the Lord as they moved forward (not waiting). As the men began to sing, the Lord sent an ambush on the attacking army, and the army was destroyed.
Today, I offer you encouragement if you have a desire to do something about a certain situation in your life. Your situation may be a stressful work environment, or you may be out of work waiting for a new job, or you may be in a difficult relationship, or you just may have an idea to start your own company or ministry. First, be sure you are in a right relationship with the Lord. Jesus tells us: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). If you are in a pattern of doing things the Bible teaches against, then you are not seeking His kingdom or His righteousness. You may move forward with your plans, but you’ll be going at it alone. Second, lay your petition before the Lord. The Bible says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). If desires have been placed in your heart, pray for the Lord to move you forward with His direction of your position. And last, DO SOMETHING! Say a prayer, and start planning your next step. Move forward in faith! Make that call, send that card, write that letter, or create that business plan. I look forward to hearing from you about what the Lord has placed on your heart. Please write to me about it. I want to pray for your God-glorifying destiny!
Robby
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