HomeWord - May 22, 2006

Sacrificial Love
This devotional was written by Jim Burns

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. Luke 23:44-49   

I’ve been learning a lot about waiting. I don't like to wait and I don't wait very well. I'm the guy who cuts across the grass to get there quick. I watch for the checkstand to open and try to get there first. When I played baseball I wouldn't wait on the curve ball, and in track I'd jump the gun at the start.
My friend Don Springer taught me a good lesson about waiting. I love to snorkel. There is almost nothing I would rather do than swim in the clear blue waters of the world looking at tropical fish, coral, and the water underworld. (Okay, so you think I'm strange!)

Don took me snorkeling in Napili Bay, Maui, Hawaii. He's a retired fireman who also likes to snorkel. He drove me crazy. He would stop for minutes at a time; I'm one of those people who is constantly swimming and moving to the next site.

But a funny thing happened when I would stop long enough to wait for Don. I saw more fish, more eels, more movements in the water than I had ever seen before in my life. Don taught me to stop, look, and listen in the water. Although I've snorkeled at Napili Bay before, I had never experienced Napili Bay until Don showed me how to wait.

It's a good lesson for life. Maybe we should quit rushing around trying to find God. Maybe we should stop, look, listen, and wait. He's there, you know. He has something to reveal and say to you today.

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GOING DEEPER:

1.    What's the message to you in Psalm 27:14?

2.  In what areas of your life do you have a difficulty with waiting?

FURTHER READING:

Psalm 40:1-3

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