GOING FORWARD STANDING STILL
"They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
I am always in a hurry, impatient to get things done, to get going; a lot of the sooner I get going the sooner I can get finished attitude. So the last couple of weeks have been hard for me, with electrical thunder storms, landline struck by lightning giving me haphazard intermittent online access a couple minutes here and there anything long getting wiped out and lost. Sometimes wishing that there are things in my past I have said and done could go the same way. I am digressing again. It was'nt only the storms and the landline, it was also my direct line in my quiet time where there was no clear reception. I kept on getting led to Isaiah 40:31 and Psalm 32:8
To wait, to me, is shorthand for procrastinate and to be banished and usual I questioned this waiting, hanging around....Time waits for no man.....Harvest is plenty workers are few... For urgency I can find dozens of reasons with scripture to back me up ; However waiting!!
The second scripture I was meditating on Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you."
I am often at fault of reading only the part I want to hear or read, like in this verse I skipped over the first part and zoomed in on the second part, "I will counsel you with my eye upon you." That is warm and comforting, gentle; counsel, advice when asking somone for advice I can use it or lose as I wish or see fit, unless it comes from a lawyer where that advice is being paid for, then it is used.
"I will instruct you.." Instruction can also be orders, I dont like anybody telling me what to do, I have a thing about authority, you do your thing and I do mine is all fine, but if my thing is'nt what God wants me to do, then He will teach me what He wants me to do. Which brings me to "They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles."
Smaller birds spend more energy flapping than in flying, and in winter 80% of their energy goes into looking for food, now that is a lot of flapping for little reward.
An eagle on the other hand gives a few flaps in take off the rest of the time the eagle is only a passenger gliding on the currents, till it spots it's prey, even in diving it is graceful. The eagle didnt just hatch one day and fly the next, when it was old enough, or when the mother decided it was time she kicked it out the nest ,by taking it and dropping it from a height, catching it on her wing till it learnt to fly. That little eaglet doesent want to be there doing that but the mother knows and is instructing and teaching. I know I am going to be in situations I dont want to be in, then I also know I have His promise " I will counsel you with my eye upon you."
There is an African expression loosely translated means "Going forward standing still." Toi Toi is dance done by strikers, going forward standing still.
I can only go forward by standing still, by waiting upon the Lord.
I am always in a hurry, impatient to get things done, to get going; a lot of the sooner I get going the sooner I can get finished attitude. So the last couple of weeks have been hard for me, with electrical thunder storms, landline struck by lightning giving me haphazard intermittent online access a couple minutes here and there anything long getting wiped out and lost. Sometimes wishing that there are things in my past I have said and done could go the same way. I am digressing again. It was'nt only the storms and the landline, it was also my direct line in my quiet time where there was no clear reception. I kept on getting led to Isaiah 40:31 and Psalm 32:8
To wait, to me, is shorthand for procrastinate and to be banished and usual I questioned this waiting, hanging around....Time waits for no man.....Harvest is plenty workers are few... For urgency I can find dozens of reasons with scripture to back me up ; However waiting!!
The second scripture I was meditating on Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you."
I am often at fault of reading only the part I want to hear or read, like in this verse I skipped over the first part and zoomed in on the second part, "I will counsel you with my eye upon you." That is warm and comforting, gentle; counsel, advice when asking somone for advice I can use it or lose as I wish or see fit, unless it comes from a lawyer where that advice is being paid for, then it is used.
"I will instruct you.." Instruction can also be orders, I dont like anybody telling me what to do, I have a thing about authority, you do your thing and I do mine is all fine, but if my thing is'nt what God wants me to do, then He will teach me what He wants me to do. Which brings me to "They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles."
Smaller birds spend more energy flapping than in flying, and in winter 80% of their energy goes into looking for food, now that is a lot of flapping for little reward.
An eagle on the other hand gives a few flaps in take off the rest of the time the eagle is only a passenger gliding on the currents, till it spots it's prey, even in diving it is graceful. The eagle didnt just hatch one day and fly the next, when it was old enough, or when the mother decided it was time she kicked it out the nest ,by taking it and dropping it from a height, catching it on her wing till it learnt to fly. That little eaglet doesent want to be there doing that but the mother knows and is instructing and teaching. I know I am going to be in situations I dont want to be in, then I also know I have His promise " I will counsel you with my eye upon you."
There is an African expression loosely translated means "Going forward standing still." Toi Toi is dance done by strikers, going forward standing still.
I can only go forward by standing still, by waiting upon the Lord.
Comments
I agree that without the Lord, it's extremely hard to go forward standing still. Oh, because of Him, how I love the phrase!
Isaiah 40:31 is my favorite verse. I like to quote this verse when I give a card or book to encourage newly baptized believers.
Sometimes, when we are weak we tend to forget Him and take things in our own hands. I have the same problem that I don't like to procrastinate and may act too soon.
I'm also reminded of James "Consider it pure joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds for the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must complete its work so that you are mature and complete not lacking anything."
At one time I was not able to pay for a car installment. I prayed about it and then a neighbor came and requested me to tutor 2 of her kids to prepare them for an exam. I do not believe that it was a coincidence. Anyway, the tutoring fee was sufficient to make my ends meet. Yes, I went forward standing still!
I have a new post which you may want to read. I am a new digg member and I'm not very familiar with it yet.