The Utmost Necessity for Believers to Patiently Wait in Faith on Almighty God! Part 1.

09 Sep 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lamentations 3:25.         The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

A warm welcome to Tuesday, a sunny and fairly warm day, when all the stress and frustrations of Monday have been washed clean from the slate of life, and we’re only dealing with Tuesday and its problems and challenges! Wow! What a nice Bruh Paulean sentence! (smile) At least I am like Bruh Paul in one respect, I can write long and convoluted sentences. 

Anyway, it’s another great day on God’s Planet Earth, so let’s enjoy it the best we can, which includes contemplating a couple of interesting verses from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. They come from that famous chapter 23, and say: ‘The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and  quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:25-26) And those verses are ever so true and resonate with a sense of the difficulty we all have of waiting patiently and earnestly on God. 

It’s like the prophet Isaiah wrote re God’s graciousness and mercy in spite of Israel’s rebelliousness. ‘And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice): blessed are all they that wait for him.’ (Is. 30:18) And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘Because God is gracious and has been willing to wait for His people to return to Him, He will certainly bless those who wait for him. “Waiting” is a confident and dependent trust in God.’ 

And there are many verses in scripture that talk about waiting on God, though it’s not always easy to do. So let’s examine a couple more nuh, like this passage from Psalm 130 which says: ‘I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more that they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-KINDNESS), and with him is plenteous  (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps. 130:5-8) 

Oh friends, that’s how we ought to hope, trust, have faith and wait in the Lord, for He’s promised us oodles of blessings if we wait on Him. And there’s no better example of patiently waiting, especially when there seemed to be no hope, than Abraham and God’s promise of a son from his own loins and thus becoming the father of many nations. It’s as Bruh Paul writes to the Romans re Abraham’s faith. 

‘Who against (contrary to) hope believed in hope, that he might become  the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: he staggered (wavered) not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong  (strengthened) in faith, giving God the glory. And being fully persuaded (convinced) that, what he had promised, he was also able to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.’ (Rom. 4:18-22) 

Ah mih people, how many of us would have waited 25 years for God’s promise of a son eh, especially when the man was a hundred years old and the woman ninety? Not many of us. But Abraham believed that God was able to do what He promised, and thus waited patiently for it. And because of that strong faith and waiting ability, he was considered righteous. And you surely need a lot of faith to wait so long for something that went against the laws of nature. 

And the scholars offer some interesting insights into those verses. ‘There are five essential characteristics of faith. (1) Faith must have a valid content. Paul quotes Gen. 17:5 (the promise to be the father of many nations); the content of Abraham’s faith was valid because that content was the revelation of God. (2) Faith must have a valid object. The object of Abraham’s faith was God, the giver of the revelation. 

(3) Faith is contrary to hope and yet rests upon hope. This is a hope in which there is no element of uncertainty (vs. 18a). (4) Faith has a purpose. The purpose of Abraham’s faith was that he might become the father of many nations, realizing the promises given him in the Abrahamic covenant (cf. Gen. 12:1-3; vs. 18b). (5) Faith produces works. Abraham’s faith conditioned the way he lived. He staggered not (did not doubt) God’s promises.’ 

And these next verses are also very important. Bruh Paul writes: ‘Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for (because of) our offences, and was raised again for (because of) our justification.’ (Rom. 4:23-25) Yes friends, Abraham’s testimony was also an example for us, to encourage us to believe in God, the Father who rescued us from the throes of sin and death by the sacrificing  His Son Jesus Christ. 

And here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘But for us also: The principle of justification valid for Abraham is valid for all believers. Raised again for our justification: Because Jesus was raised from the dead we know that His sacrifice on Calvary was accepted in God’s sight and Jesus’ righteousness is available to all.’ 

Now, there’s much more to say on the subject of waiting on and hoping in God, but it’s too much for this one session, so, as always, if God spares life, we’ll continue on this topic tomorrow. But here’s this classic scripture to end on: In the words of Bruh David: ‘Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.’ (Ps. 27:14) That’s wise advice my brethren, and with it under our belts, let’s go home now declaring (chuhhh!!!) our Tuesday mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And now it behooves us to go out and share the amazing friendship and LOVE of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him the way we do! Much LOVE!

…waiting on God is not easy…but it’s ever so wise…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   17 January 2022 Psalm 86:5.

17 Jan 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 86:5.      For thou Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous (abundant) in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.   

And the miniscule flakes of white stuff fell…and they fell…and they fell…from mid-evening until mid-morning! And such was the magnitude of that white stuff, that it caused endless problems. Ah friends, a snowfall is a beautiful thing to behold from an artistic standpoint…the way it floats gently down and covers everything in a solid blanket of white. But when you have to walk through, drive in or shovel it, then that’s a horse of an entirely different colour. (smile)

And we all know that whatever mankind puts his hands on, or into, he sullies it, and it eventually turns ugly. It’s the same way with the beautiful white snow, when man gets involved in it, it turns black and ugly. But seriously though, I haven’t seen this much snow in one fell swoop for some time. When I opened my side door this morning, I could barely get out because the snow had blown right up against it. And when I did get down to the ground my feet sank down to my knees in some sections of the driveway. That means there was a good six to eight inches of heavy snow in my driveway and in my laneway.

So I can imagine the toll it’s taken on the Monday morning commute, because this extreme snowfall is not only happening in my neck of the words, but all over North America! The U.S. has already been deluged by snow in places that are not accustomed to it, with all sorts of disasters occurring, and more of the white stuff is expected. The same goes for our fair land of Canada. And I could easily put a spiritual spin on the entire situation, saying that it was God’s way of warning us to wake up to our sinful behaviour and return to sincerely and faithfully worshipping Him…but I won’t. (smile)

Although that could be the gospel truth, since our God does move in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. But yuh know what, even if it’s not God’s hand moving to prove a point, we’ve also got to consider the fact that He is allowing it to happen, when He has the means to stop it. He is allowing a whole lot of us to be tested all at once. So much so, that we don’t have the time, the energy or the resources to help each other, because we are too busy trying to right our own displaced house and sunken canoe.

 Now, if I was a wise man, I would certainly ponder the rationale for such terrible weather to be pounding so much of North America at the same time, on top of all the other serious and unresolved problems we are currently facing. But right now, I guess we are more concerned with digging ourselves out of the snow, than pondering the whys and the wherefores of the storm. (smile)

But please, when it’s all over, when the damage has been ascertained, can I please ask us to ponder on those whys and wherefores, because we might just come up with a wonderful reason to turn back to worshipping the God of our forefathers, since nothing else we have tried to do in our own strength is working, or has even come close to a plausible solution. And I just noticed this marvellous and most appropriate verse of scripture from Psalm 86, where Bruh David confidently proclaims: ‘For thou Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous (abundant) in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.’ (Ps. 86:5)

And that’s the indisputable truth my people!  Our God is always ready to forgive and show oodles of mercy to ALL who call upon Him! Forgiveness and mercy, grace and LOVE are the hallmarks of His magnificent kingdom! Nowhere else can you find such an abundance of goodness and mercy as with the Lord God Jehovah! And there are so many scriptures in the Good Book that endorse that point, that we most certainly should look at a couple.

First off, here is the prophet Joel calling Israel to repentance and fasting. ‘Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend (tear) your heart and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil (relents from doing harm).’ (Joel 2:12-13) Oh my people, that’s such an appropriate word picture of our great and wonderful God!

And it’s necessary to hear this explanation from the scholars of those two verses above to fully understand them. ‘2:12-13. The customary way a Jew showed his grief was to tear his outer garments. This external sign could be meaningless. The tearing of the outer garment is useless, unless the heart is broken in repentance and contrition.’ And that’s why we have to be sincere, tearing our hearts and not merely our outer garments as is happening so much today. Insincerity is one of the hallmarks of our current world!

And one last scripture, this from Psalm 145, where Bruh David again proclaims his God’s goodness. ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion: slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps. 145:8-9) And since we are God’s greatest work, then it means that all His grace and mercy, His LOVING-kindness are constantly being bestowed on us, if we sincerely reverence and worship Him.

So, with all that we’ve said today, let’s take this great opportunity to go to God in prayer nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for His divine help and mercy, for grace in this time of great need. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. 

We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. 

That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now let’s remember to rend, to tear our hearts and not our garments, if we want to receive positive answers from our ever-faithful God. Much LOVE!

…let Israel hope in he Lord…for with the Lord there is mercy…and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption… (Ps. 130:7)

P.S. Oh friends, I’d like to sincerely apologize for the lateness of the Bit, but today’s been a somewhat confusing and unpredictable day, with several unexpected things happening, thus causing my whole schedule to turn topsy turvy. But, as they say, better late than never! (smile) And I do think it contains solid stuff for us to ponder on. Much LOVE!

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8