Tuesday, February 12, 2008

10 Minute Tuesdays



Alicia over at Faithful Chick has started 10 Minute Tuesdays. Click here for directions.

Today's verse is Psalm 40:11-17

"Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me. May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" be appalled at their own shame. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!"Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay."

I've read over this verse several times today and the parts that keep sticking out to me (kind of like a Holy Highlighter has marked them) are "come quickly to help me" and "do not delay."

David is desperate for God to act, to be present, to make Himself known. He is especially desperate because not only do his own sins seem to be overwhelming him; he is feeling attacked by others at the same time. (A double whammy.)

This is so how I feel on some days. My sins are so overwhelming and Satan and others are eager to point that out. I become discouraged and doubtful. On those days I am desperate for God to act, to be present, to make Himself known, to rescue me. However, the thought I had today when I read this verse was that I want to be desperate to see God act, to feel his presence and make Himself known everyday, in every circumstance even in the mundane every day tasks of life... not just when I feel like I am drowning and need Him to lift me up out of the pit. I want to seek Him, rejoice in Him and be glad in Him in everything. In other words, I don't want to wait until I am desperate to be desperate for God. I want to have an attitude of "come quickly God" and "do not delay" in everything.

The other reason these phrases stuck out is that sometimes God has a purpose for His delay. He requires a "holy wait" from us. This is a lesson I am still learning and have been for some time. I want to say "Hurry God" "Take care of this quickly" "Let's check this off and move on" but His timeline does not always match mine. I have to rest assured that whenever He acts, it will be in His perfect timing. And if he requires me to wait... it is for a purpose.

14 comments:

fAiThFuL cHiCk said...

Thanks for joining 10 Minute Tuesdays. I enjoyed your post!

God Bless,
faithful chick

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

mmm. I'm in the middle of a "holy wait" right now!

Denise said...

Such a lovely post, be blessed.

Cheri said...

It's very hard to be patient isn't it? I like the "holy wait" it will help me tosee it in a better light. Thanks!
I'm going over to check out 10 minute Tuesday.

twinklemom said...

Love your insightful post about the verse!! Very inspiring!

Celly B said...

Amy,
What a great post! I love how you said that some parts of scripture stick out to you like they have been marked with a "holy highlighter"! I, too, don't want to wait until I'm desperate to ask Him to not delay.

Carol said...

Very good! Yeah, the waiting part gets me too.

Kimberly said...

I am very much a "let's check this off and move on" kind of girl! :) That, of course, just leads to much frustration. I need to surrender to the "waiting" a lot more!

ocean mommy said...

Holy highlighter...I've had a few of those verses lately!

Amy Wyatt said...

Since several of you commented on it...I must confess that I can't take credit for the phrase "holy highlighter". It's much too witty to be something that I came up with... I'm just not witty. That phrase is borrowed from my friend Janet.

Jenny said...

Thank you for a thought in the middle of a mundane afternoon!

Van said...

Your comments on waiting confirmed in my mind that we all struggle with wait - a topic I have pondered for years. So - I wrote a book and titled it WAIT MANAGEMENT and am now waiting to see if an editor might bite! I appreciate your vulnerability.

Darlene said...

I have started reading your blog and I found it from a comment you left on Racheal Olsen's blog. For some reason I was drawn to you. You see, We have been going through struggles with our 18 year old senior daughter. Last week, I felt in the pit and so alone. I was questioning God on why I was feeling this way and I felt so hopeless. Since Oct. (when rebellion sat in) I have kept the faith and prayed so much for her and while I have seen God's hand in alot...just felt tired and not understanding why this is still happening. Like someone alien is taking over your sweet daughters brain and why after all the prayers why God hasn't restored things yet. I wanted to let you know that your blog helped last week. My husband and I got a way for the weekend and left Andrea with family. It was much needed and while I thought God had left me and my prayers was only reaching the ceiling. HE worked out the run-a-way/get-a-way trip for us. It is amazing how everything fell into place...I know it was God who worked out all the details!! I don't know why I am telling you all this....I guess I wanted to explain why I read your blog and I enjoy your posts..they inspire me.
I know this may sound strange..since you don't know me...but, could you add my family to your prayer list?
Darlene

Kimberly said...

Hi, Amy!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Lots of love,
Kimberly :)