Musings on Faith #59
Be About God's Work
"Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee (Psalm 33:22, KJV)." The NIV translation interprets "mercy" as "unfailing love". Both mean the same. The thought came to me this week as to what is meant by "hope in thee". We often hear Christians say "I’m just waiting on the Lord." But are they "waiting" in the right way? Or are we "hoping" in the right way? Does the Lord expect us to sit on our backsides and simply wait and hope? I think not.
 
First of all, I think we all know that we must pray for that which we are seeking. Paul says, in Ephesians 6:18, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests (NIV)". And Peter says "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer (1st Peter 3:12a, NIV)". But we must also have faith that our prayers will be answered. And this is where another important element of our waiting and hoping comes into play. While we are waiting, what are we to do with ourselves, other than to pray and study the Word?
 
One of the most important teachings of Jesus is summed up in this sentence: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40, NIV)". And this is powerfully
(continued)
backed up by the words of James, when he said "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (2:17, KJV)" and "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead (2:26, NIV)". And the writer of Hebrews shows us the spiritual element of works when he writes "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds (10:24, NIV)". I have seen many instances where Christians, faced with daunting, and sometimes seemingly insurmountable challenges in their lives, threw themselves into working for the Lord by devoting themselves to tending to the needs of others. People diagnosed with terminal cancer have devoted themselves to visiting the forgotten in nursing homes, for example, and been cured of their disease. What happened? They prayed to God for an answer to their prayers, but while they waited and hoped, they also went about the business of doing good works for their fellow man, for the "least of these". And while they were about God’s work, He, in His mercy and unfailing love, healed them. So when faced with stiff obstacles and challenges in our lives, let’s not sit on our backsides, waiting on the Lord, but be about our Father’s business while we wait.

Yours in Christ, Tom Woodard
Go to Index Musings on Faith