Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17–4:1
Philippians 3:17–4:1
Luke 13:31-35
‘Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage’ (Ps 27:14). Kia kaha! Be strong and wait for the Lord. Oh if we could wait on God and God’s timing, but we struggle to wait. We have been trained well by the culture with its patience-defying imperatives: “Here it is! It is what you need! You need it now! Come and get it! Pay later!”
In pondering the biblical concept of surrender we see that we have to drop ideas of our needs and desires being instantly satiated. We have to learn to wait on God and what God has in mind. We are taught by Jesus to wait on the Lord: “Your will be done”. But Jesus laments over a Jerusalem that has been sent prophets and messengers and has refused to wait and listen to those God has sent. Under the same threat as those previous prophets, Jesus heads to Jerusalem anyway. He refuses to heed the kindly Pharisees who warn him of an angry Herod. No, he is not afraid of Herod; he is free because he has long since surrendered to God.
In this season of Lent we are invited to wait on the Lord. A careful reading of the Psalm reveals that there is no expectation of an easy ride – there is an army of enemies encamped against the writer! The surrender is not to these enemies and their agendas; the surrender has long since been to God. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” What do these enemies really have when everything has already been given to the God who is like a hen who gathers her brood under her wings?
Rev Martin Stewart
‘Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage’ (Ps 27:14). Kia kaha! Be strong and wait for the Lord. Oh if we could wait on God and God’s timing, but we struggle to wait. We have been trained well by the culture with its patience-defying imperatives: “Here it is! It is what you need! You need it now! Come and get it! Pay later!”
In pondering the biblical concept of surrender we see that we have to drop ideas of our needs and desires being instantly satiated. We have to learn to wait on God and what God has in mind. We are taught by Jesus to wait on the Lord: “Your will be done”. But Jesus laments over a Jerusalem that has been sent prophets and messengers and has refused to wait and listen to those God has sent. Under the same threat as those previous prophets, Jesus heads to Jerusalem anyway. He refuses to heed the kindly Pharisees who warn him of an angry Herod. No, he is not afraid of Herod; he is free because he has long since surrendered to God.
In this season of Lent we are invited to wait on the Lord. A careful reading of the Psalm reveals that there is no expectation of an easy ride – there is an army of enemies encamped against the writer! The surrender is not to these enemies and their agendas; the surrender has long since been to God. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” What do these enemies really have when everything has already been given to the God who is like a hen who gathers her brood under her wings?
Rev Martin Stewart
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