How to Wait Well: He is Enough

by Marilynn Chadwick

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4 ESV).

“But Mommy, all I want is what I want when I want it," howled my friend's three-year-old daughter in the middle of a tantrum. Like little Molly, all I want is "what I want when I want it." Who doesn’t? But life doesn't always work that way, does it? Truth is, I've had to wait for my most fervent prayers to be answered, sometimes for a very long time.

I'm not a patient person by nature. But I've discovered that not getting what I want when I want it is one way God gets me ready for whatever it is I most desire. Waiting gives my character a chance to mature as God prepares me for promotion.

When our character doesn't grow as fast as our calling, look out! Yet I'm sometimes tempted to walk away from my dream altogether than wait for it. Why? Because waiting is painful. Grinding. Frustrating. Boring. Out of my control. In short, waiting is hard work.

I became something of an expert in waiting when we wanted children. Each of our three babies required part medical strategy and part miracle to get here. Altogether, I endured about nine years of infertility treatments, surgeries, drugs, prayers and more prayers. That's about the length of time it takes to earn a PhD. By the time we finally had our three children, I felt like I'd earned a doctorate in "wait training."

Let's face it. Most of life is spent waiting for something. So, it makes sense to find ways to not just survive, but to thrive during our seasons of "wait training." Though my years of waiting were often painful, those years taught me to grow close to the Lord and depend on his strength.

The Psalmist got it right: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act...Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…” (Psalm 37:4,5,7).

Jesus wants to be first among all our desires, not just because he is God, and he is good. But because he is enough. Even today, I continue to draw strength from lessons learned during my times of “wait training.” I've discovered that the words in the Bible are not just pious platitudes. It is possible to find contentment and joy even before we get the answers we so desperately desire.

Then, as a friend of mine so aptly puts it, the longing fulfilled becomes a lovely "add on." I love this quote from John Piper: "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him."

Bad Guys of the Bible: Pharaoh, The Hardened Heart

y David Chadwick

God has written the greatest story ever told. It has both bad guys and good guys. Heroes and villains. But he uses all of them to accomplish his purposes. Nothing is too hard for him (Jeremiah 32:17). Remember, God is always able to work out everything for his good (Romans 8:28). Yes, even with bad guys!

Pharaoh is today’s bad guy. Found in Exodus 7-11, he was the mighty leader of Egypt. He oversaw the slavery of the Israelites.

Moses heard from God to go to Pharaoh and demand that he let God’s people go. Pharaoh refused. So, God brought plagues upon the Egyptians. Pharaoh kept refusing and hardened his own heart. Finally, after consistently rejecting God, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and his ability to repent was irrevocable.

It was Pharaoh who initially decided to have all of the firstborn male sons killed in order to stop the proliferation of around 2 to 3 million Jews who were being born during that time (Exodus 1-2). Interestingly, God’s final plague was the destruction of all firstborn Egyptian sons, including Pharoah’s. It is a sense of payback, of justice, that God initiated upon the one man and nation that tried to commit a holocaust against God’s people.

God is a perfect blend of mercy and justice. Too often, people focus on one extreme or the other. When that happens, they miss a significant part of God’s nature and character. While God is love (1 John 4:16), he also loves justice (Proverbs 21:15). God also operates from the law of reciprocity: you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). In the case of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, God’s wrath came out against those who destroyed his people. They reaped what they sowed.

Every choice that you make is important. You are the sum total of all of your life’s decisions. When you choose a path that opposes God, every choice thereafter will harden your heart a little more. And then a little more. Over time, if you continue to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, eventually, God will hand you over to your desires and harden your heart completely.

Dear friends, keep your hearts soft. Remain pliable and moldable.

Choose today to follow Jesus. Don’t wait another moment. Seek him with your whole heart.

Bad Guys of the Bible: Shimei, The Crooked Chameleon

by David Chadwick

We have taken some time to search out the bad guys and good guys of the Bible. The heroes and villains who God used to write out the greatest story ever told.

Have you heard of a Bible character named Shimei? There are actually 18 different characters in the Bible named Shimei. But the one I want to focus on is found in 2 Samuel 16:5-6. He is today’s bad guy of the Bible.

The Shimei of 2 Samuel 16 was the son of Gera and part of King Saul’s clan. His loyalty to Saul and his kingship was fierce.

When David was fleeing from Absalom after his son’s rebellion, he ran into Shimei who began to curse David. He believed David was stealing Saul’s throne. He blamed David for Saul’s death in battle against the Philistines. Shimei told David that Absalom’s rebellion was God’s judgment on him because of the way he had treated Saul.

As the accusations were hurling toward David, David’s men wanted to kill Shimei on the spot, but David refused to allow it to happen. David’s response showed true humility. He basically said, “Don’t kill him. How do I know that God isn’t speaking to me through him?”

Later on, after David defeated Absalom and his army, Shimei came back and apologized to David for what he had said. Upon showing his face, David’s men were ready to kill him once again, but David wouldn’t allow it. In fact, David promised to never kill Shimei, and he never did.

Interestingly, after David died, Solomon knew of Shimei and his despicable and chameleon-like character. Solomon wanted to keep a watchful eye on this potential traitor. After being instructed by Solomon never to leave Jerusalem, Shemei did so anyway, and Solomon had him seized and executed.

What is the message here? When faced with criticism, pause and listen to it. Ask God if there is any truth in it. If the accusation is found to be unjust and out of alignment with God’s voice over your life, never seek revenge. Let justice remain in God’s hands and leave room for his wrath (Romans 12:19).

Eventually, vengeance came to Shimei, but it came in God’s way and in his timing. Who knows who God may use to correct us? It could even come through a bad guy. If you remain humble, God can use even the most villainous people to refine you and propel you into greater holiness and purity.