Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Taking Control
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Lift Us Up to Fall by Tenth Avenue North; Let God Arise by Chris Tomlin; Your Love Never Fails by Chris Quilala; Til I See You by Hillsong United.
Read: Ephesians 4:1-5
Think: All week, following on the sermon theme from the weekend, we’ve been thinking about how God uses times of waiting in our lives. Having accepted that waiting is part of God’s plan for us, and can be a time of great benefit to us, we are faced with questions: what does good waiting look like? How should we wait?
Pastor Ben identified two characteristics of the best kind of waiting. First, when we find ourselves waiting, we need to trust God. Somehow, when we see God’s hand working actively in our lives, shaping events, we can’t help but trust Him. But in the stillness of a waiting time, doubt whispers persuasively, and we can so easily lose faith. We have to choose to trust God, even when the waiting suggests He is gone from us.
We also need to wait expectantly. You see, a season of waiting does not mean that time is standing still. Even while we wait, God is at work, and His plan for each of us – and all of us – is moving forward. With God shaping outcomes, how can we anticipate anything but good?
When we place our trust in God and look expectantly to the future, waiting is transformed into one of the greatest joys of the Christian life – hope. Even better, while we often wait alone, hope is a shared joy, bringing believers together in support of each other. “Be patient, bearing one another in love…you were called to one hope when you were called.” (Ephesians 4:2 and 4:4) Turn waiting into hope, and share it with others.
Do: Who in your circle is waiting on something? Reach out to that person today and help turn their waiting time into a time of hope.
Pray: Lord, it’s not always easy for me to see the connection between waiting and hope. But I want to experience the times of waiting in my life as times of joining with other Christians in hope for the future, trusting in You and expecting You to do great things. Change me into the person You want me to be. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.
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