Wait in Obedience
Hi Friends,
I hope you are well. God is good. He is faithful and true. I believe that the vision I have to share with you today shows the importance of waiting upon the Lord and being obedient to his instructions. We are all very independent, having a will of our own. We can get impatient and want to take matters into our own hands. This message is for all of us who want to go our own way and do our own thing. There can be very grave consequences! Please read and share!
The Visions
The Fairing Compound
A fairing compound is a two part material that is mixed together and used to repair fiberglass. It is applied with a putty knife or vinyl scrapers to fill and smooth large patches or small holes. In the vision, I saw a small glob or chunk of compound on a surface. It suddenly began to move in a twisting fashion, rising up from the surface. In its new elongated shape, it became like a drill bit, and began to bore a hole into the surface. After creating a hole, it then stayed in place as a filling for the hole.
I was praying for guidance and understanding about the first vision, this scripture came to mind:
The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd. And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:11-14
I believe that the glob of fairing compound represents people who are anxiously waiting to fulfill their purpose or fulfill their hopes and dreams. They want to use the talents and skills that the Lord has given them, but instead of waiting on the Lord, they go ahead and do things to “make it happen.”
There are many situations in the Bible that are examples of this, and the consequences are never good. When we are told to wait, that is what we need to do.
Sarah and Hagar
When Abraham was given a promise that he would be a “father of many nations,” his barren wife could not wait for the Lord to fulfill his promise. Being impatient, she took matters into her own hands and gave her husband, Abraham, her maidservant Hagar, as a surrogate, to bear a child for her. Sarah’s plan backfired, causing much pain and anguish, for Hagar taunted Sarah with the fact that she could not have a child of her own. Sarah felt betrayed, abandoned by God and a failure as a wife.
The son that was born to Hagar was named Ishmael. And even though he was not the son of promise, God chose to make him the father of a great nation as well. Later, Just as God had promised, Sarah had a son and named him Issac.
But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.
God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. Genesis 21:9-21
Because Sarah was not willing to wait for God’s promise, her decision created a problem. The two sons who were born to Abraham represent people groups that oppose one another still today.
When we do things under our own power, and ignore God’s provision, his guidance and his will, then we will certainly suffer. Life is difficult at best, but it is far worse to go against God, and reap trouble. Yet, the Lord is still willing to forgive, when we turn to him.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
If the Lord gives us a promise or a command, then we need to be patient to wait. We should not take matters into our own hands, but be obedient to whatever the Lord has told us. Obedience is always best. Here is another example of impatience causing trouble. It is the story of Samuel and Saul in the First Book of Samuel.
Saul - King of Israel
Since the Israelites complained that they wanted a king like all the nations around them, God gave them a man named Saul to rule over them. Samuel, the Lord’s prophet, anointed him king over Israel and gave him several instructions one of which was to wait for him until he returned to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Saul was instructed to wait seven days.
When that day arrived, Saul was anxious, fearful that his fighting men would leave before Samuel would arrive. So, Saul decided to not wait for Samuel, but to go ahead and offer a sacrifice to the Lord himself. Saul didn’t realize that this was a test of his obedience.
And Saul waited seven days for the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to desert Saul. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up the burnt offering.
Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
“What have you done?” Samuel asked.
And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time, and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
“You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the Lord your God gave you; if you had, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the Lord.” 1 Samuel 13:8
Saul did not know God, nor fear Him. He was impatient and willful. He was more concerned to keep his army together, than to please God who orchestrates all things and gives victory over our enemies. So, it did not go well for him.
On another occasion Samuel gave Saul a mission from the Lord.
And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
Saul failed to learn from his past failure. As before, having no fear of God, he failed to carry out the Lord's directions again, and did what he thought best. And for his disobedience, there were consequences.
And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
Saul chose for himself what he wanted to destroy and what he wanted to keep. He did not see things from God’s perspective. He believed that he could offer to the Lord in sacrifice what the Lord had demanded that he destroy. He did not understand that “obedience is better than sacrifice.” The Lord had commanded him to destroy everything that belonged to the Amalekites including the king, Agag.
The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.”
And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”
And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”
Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.”
And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.”
It is a very tragic story. Today, there are many people like Saul, who are so disconnected to God, that they have no idea who he is, and how he feels about sin and disobedience. People make assumptions about him, believing that he will automatically forgive them, even when there is no repentance.
Samuel made a statement above : “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.” Going our own way and doing our own thing is rebellion, when following our heart’s desire goes against God’s commands. Saul also made a statement: “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” We cannot be people pleasers at the expense of following the Lord. This is “the fear of man,” being concerned for what others may think and what others may say. Saul was operating out of fear, wanting to seem as a great king in the eyes of the people. He even erected a monument to his victory over the Amalekites in Carmel. In order to please God, we cannot allow others opinions to matter.
The Lord once told me, “As long as you are fearful of man, I cannot use you, for you are already being used.”
Wow! It is true. We have to be willing to go against the flow, and stand up to criticism and the demands of others. We have to be willing to go against the ideologies, values and standards of the world. Jesus said:
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love for the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15
Trying to please others to avoid their criticism at the expense of following the Lord’s direction is rebellion. And elevating opinions above God’s is idolatry. That is why the Lord said:
“He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:37
The Lord, seeing our waywardness and our inability to be faithful, came to earth to show us the Father.
“If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” John 14:9
“For I and the Father are one.” John 10:30
The Lord will never plead with us or make us follow him, but he gives us freewill to choose him. He came as a sacrificial lamb, to shed his blood on the cross to pay for our sins. He wanted all to be reconciled to the Father. He wants none to be lost but all to come to salvation, making a lifelong commitment to him.
“If you love me, you will keep my commands.” John 14:15
He is king of Kings and Lord of Lords, the creator of the universe. He is asking us to follow him, to be obedient, and to love him. It seems so simple, yet so few make him Lord of their lives. Even some in the church are not truly saved.
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23
Neither Sarah nor Saul knew God. They each wanted to fulfill their destiny, yet they took matters into their own hands because they did not trust or fear God. The vision of the fairing compound, demonstrates the desire to fulfill one’s purpose. The compound “knew” that it was designed to fill holes and repair fiberglass. It was impatient so it reformed itself becoming a drill bit and drilled its own hole, and filled the hole with itself.
We were designed to love and serve the Lord. He has given us gifts and talents but we are to allow God to use us as he will, not as we direct ourselves. Let us choose to surrender everything to God and give him free access to our time and talent. Let us not value anything or anyone as being greater or more important.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
God bless you all! Thanks for reading and sharing!
