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"I called him but He gave me no answer" (Song of Solomon 5:6).
Prayer sometimes waits like a petitioner at the gate until the King comes forth to grant her request. The Lord has been known to try great faith by long delays. He has permitted His servant's voices to echo in their ears as from a brazen sky. They have knocked at the golden gate, but it has remained immovable, as though it was rusted upon its hinges. Like Jeremiah, they have cried "Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through" (Lamentations 3:44). True saints have continued long in patient waiting without reply. This was not because their prayers were not intense or because they were unaccepted. But the delay pleased Him who is Sovereign and who gives according to His own pleasure. If it pleases Him for our patience to be exercised He will do as He desires with His own! Beggars must not be choosers concerning the time, place, or form of their answer. But we must be careful not to take delays in prayer for denials. We must not allow Satan to shake our confidence in the God of truth by pointing to our unanswered prayers. Unanswered petitions are not unheard. There is a registry in the court of heaven where every prayer is recorded. The Lord has a bottle in which the costly tears of sacred grief are stored and a book in which your holy groanings are numbered. (see Psalm 56:8). You will prevail. Only be content to wait a little while. Your Lord's time will be better than your own. He will answer you to make you put away the sackcloth and ashes of long waiting. He will clothe you with the scarlet and fine linen of your heart's desire.
--C.H. Spurgeon
This is one lesson in my life that the Lord has been shouting from the rooftops for me to hear-I’ve heard it in the sermons at church, in my Bible study, my personal devotions, from friends and mentors. Ok, Lord. I’m listening!
Isaiah 61 has been one of my life passages lately which also depicts the ministry of Jesus Christ. In vs. 3, God promises to us that He will:
“give to them beauty instead of ashes, The oil of joy instead of mourning, A covering of praise for a spirit of weakness, And He is calling to them, `Trees of righteousness, The planting of Jehovah -- to be beautified.'”(Young’s Literal Translation).
It’s always amazing to me the pictures the Scriptures use to show us continual renewal, redemption, the putting away of the old and the coming of the new. As with every process in life, it comes with a price. Change and growth hurt. But through it all, Christ is with us giving us a “covering of praise for a spirit of weakness”. We can emerge from our trials, stand before the Lord while he brushes off the firey ashes and watch him exchange them for beauty, like a Phoenix raising itself up again in new life. We’re stronger, closer to the shape that God would have us be to reflect His glory. We're “clothed with fine linen” as Spurgeon so eloquently describes above. God is always seeking to exchange our filthy rags of sin for robes of righteousness-His ultimate demonstration of that love was sending his Son Jesus to die a humiliating and painful death on the cross. He’s always seeking to do a work in our lives through waiting, challenges, “sifting.” We can rest assured that the end result will be more beautiful and blessed than we could ever imagine.
So Lord, I submit to you. I submit to the work you’re doing in my life. I sit at the gate, bended knee, palms outstretched, waiting for your healing and your promises. I feel the sinews of change, spiritual maturity and more of You weaving themselves together in my soul, strengthening my walk with you like muscle strengthens my body. There is a ripping, a bleeding as I work out my salvation, lifting the weights of trials and struggles. But always after there is repairing, renewing, strengthening…a planting of righteousness, a building of spiritual strength and the ability to rest in You.
Merry Christmas to everyone! May you remember the TRUE reason we celebrate this Christmas and that Jesus Christ is the best gift anyone of us could receive.
