Writings by Barri Cae Mallin

Weed-be-gone

Tuesday 25 November 2003 - 14:44:38

All of creation looks to God for provision. Human beings, animals, trees and so on are designed to be needy. We are encouraged to pray for our daily bread. God provides, and yet we must wait for, pray,depend on and praise God for His provision.
The eyes of all look to Thee,
And Thou dost give them their food in due time. Ps. 145:15

Sometimes, I am not too fond of that 'in due time'. I don't like 'in due time' at stoplights, waiting for trains, grocery store lines and so on. I know that long-suffering is a fruit of the spirit, but I tend to see
short-tempered Barri instead of long-suffering Barri more often that I would care to admit.

One of the toughest disciplines in our walk with God is the discipline of waiting. Our culture works against this discipline with its 'have it now' mindset. Call it instant jello pudding, yet one still must wait for it to form.

There are several Hebrew verbs that have to do with waiting. Kahvah is to hope for, wait upon or expect. Chakah is to wait or tarry for. In Greek, perimeno means to wait for, or abide, dwell, continue or endure. Apekdeckomai means to expect, or assiduous patient waiting. Websters defines assiduous as careful, unremitting attention, or persistent application.

All through Scripture are examples of waiting.
Patient Waiting
Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation;
For Thee I wait all the day. Ps. 25:5

Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD. Ps. 27:14

Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Ps. 37:7

Hungry Waiting
They all wait for Thee, To give them their food in due season. Ps. 104:27

Waiting for God's Judgments
Indeed, while following the way of Thy judgments, O LORD,
We have waited for Thee eagerly; Isa. 26:8

Waiting in Expectation
I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord , More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. Ps. 130:5-6

Sad Waiting
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait for my God. Ps. 69:3

Waiting for God who is Hidden
And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob;
I will even look eagerly for Him. Isa. 8:17

Waiting for Healing
In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, withered. And a certain man was there,
who had been thirty-eight years in his sickness. John 5:3,5

Seductress/Seducer waiting
For a harlot is a deep pit, Surely she lurks as a robber Prov. 23:27a,28a

Waiting for the Lord's Return
awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Corin 1:7

There are benefits to waiting.

We gain integrity
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for Thee. Ps.25:21

We are strengthened Isa 40:31
Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary. Isa. 40:31

We are blessed
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him. Lam 3:25

God teaches us
Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation;
For Thee I wait all the day. Ps 25:5

The Promise of the Father comes
And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem,
but to wait for what the Father had promised, Acts 1:4

In addition, we are upheld by God (Ps. 37:24) we get counsel (Ps 106:13) help (ps.33:20)
heart's desires (Ps. 37:4) and so on (check them out).

Daniel, a praying man, beseeched God for the meaning of his king's vision. Daniel asked for time, then informed his friends of this need and asked them to pray for him
"in order that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery,
so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon."
Daniel 2:18.
No answers came until Daniel went to sleep and the mystery of the vision was revealed to him in
a night vision. Your interpretation may differ, but I chose to believe that Daniel's friends and he had a prayer service at night. No answers came. Yet when Daniel laid down to sleep, the mystery of the vision was revealed to him. The answer came on God's agenda, not Daniel's.

When the decree was signed that if anyone petitioned any god or man besides Darius. that person was cast in the lion's den, Daniel did not run to his therapist or complain to his friends, he dropped to his knees and praised God. Three times daily. It was this posture that Darius' men saw and reported, and Daniel was thrown in the lion's den. Yet God closed the lions' mouths. The answer came on God's agenda, not Daniel's.

May you are like Habakkuk (Chah-bah-kook), maybe God has given you a vision that has not
come to pass. Maybe you are like the man in John 5, ill for 38 years, waiting at Bethesda to
be healed.

God encourages you to hold on, to wait, to press in, to look up, to look for the
blessings right where you are. Green grass growth takes time. Grass growth
begins with a seed, there is downward growth and upward growth. Downward
roots force upward growth. Waiting is good and has purpose. Give thanks
for where you are, because you could be a weed.
Weeds are plentiful,
weeds grow quickly,
weeds are ugly,
weeds serve no purpose,
weeds suck life from anything,
weeds choke the good grass.
If things are taking a long time in your life to come to pass, Give thanks! Yippee!!!!
Praise God that you get to wait.
Praise God cuz you ain't a weed!

Copyright © Barri Cae Mallin.