Be strong and take heart (June 2013 – Thought for the month)

Do you ever get tired of waiting around ? Waiting to pay for your shopping at the su-permarket, waiting for a train, waiting on the end of a telephone to get through to the people who need to come and fix your TV or washing machine? Sometimes we get very impatient at the thought of having to wait and perhaps try all sorts of tricks to jump the queue and so avoid delays. Our lives can become so busy and our schedule so congested that we cannot afford to waste our precious time waiting in a queue. That’s why it is good at this time of year to be thinking of taking a break and getting away on holiday. A time for leav-ing all that behind – notwithstanding the delays we sometimes face when travelling on the roads or public transport.

Be strong and take heart ….Do you ever get tired of wait-ing around ? Waiting to pay for your shopping at the su-permarket, waiting for a train, waiting on the end of a telephone to get through to the people who need to come and fix your TV or washing machine? Sometimes we get very impatient at the thought of having to wait and perhaps try all sorts of tricks to jump the queue and so avoid delays. Our lives can become so busy and our schedule so congested that we cannot afford to waste our precious time waiting in a queue. That’s why it is good at this time of year to be thinking of taking a break and getting away on holiday. A time for leav-ing all that behind – notwithstanding the delays we sometimes face when travelling on the roads or public transport.The people of Israel as they wandered through the desert for 40 years often took to grumbling about their lack of water and food yet the Lord sustained them with manna and quail and with water from the rock (Exodus 16-17). Years later when they were taken into exile for 70 years the cry ‘How long must we wait’ was often heard. David answered their cry in Psalm 27 writing‘I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord
There’s a modern hymn which also talks about wait-ing upon the Lord – in fact the opening line repeats that phrase 6 times !Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the lord , we will wait upon the Lord (repeat)Our God you reign for everOur hope our strong deliv’rerYou are the everlasting GodThe everlasting GodYou do not faint, you won’t grow wearyYou’re the defender of the weakYou comfort those in needYou lift me up on wings like eaglesBrenton Brown & Ken Riley copyright © 2005 Thankyou MusicHow will you use your waiting time ? Will you grow progressively more tired as you spend it in frustra-tion, impatience, worry, anger and writing letters of complaint – or will you feel your strength rising as you wait for the Lord, the everlasting God who will never grow weary or tired of caring for us.Many people now have ‘Apps’ on their mobile phones with travel information, games and books so that they can while away their waiting time. Help-ful though these are there is another ‘must have’ App that we all need and that is the Bible available now as a free download.

Steve Piggott

Elder

June 2013