March 24

“What circumstances make it hard to wait for the Lord?”  Mart De Haan II, Our Daily Bread, 3/24

That was the question at the end of the devotional about Noah, Abraham and David having to wait for God’s timing.  As I examined myself to see if there was anything I was waiting for, I found that I wasn’t--not because I had everything I wanted, but because I’d given up on expecting the circumstances that had come to mind to ever change.  Was this a holy-giving-up or bury-it-giving-up?  This is what I discovered:  I had indeed given up on the people in my life ever changing and that, instead, what I was waiting for was my ability to love them unconditionally.  I could then see that this was the way to die to Self.  Self needed these people to change so that they would give me more attention and be more considerate of me--my Self.  I realized that for me to focus on being considerate rather than on whether or not they were being considerate was really what this was all about.  I’ve always thought myself to be a considerate person, but it was for the wrong reason because I was expecting consideration in return.  But now, the Lord is telling me I’m to be considerate for His sake, not my own, or even for the other person’s sake.  This will free me from the burden of having to make sure Self gets all the attention it demands--my true enemy--and instead only concern myself with trusting the Lord to work in and through me.

“To thee, O LORD, I lift up my soul.  O my God, thee I trust, let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.”  Psalm 25:1, 2