Oras Ng Pag-aaral - Naghihintay sa Tunawan - Lesson 11

A SUMMARY OF LESSON 11/ 3rd Qtr, September 3-9, 2022 by Don Leo M. Garilva, DMin WAITING IN THE CRUCIBLE Memory Text “But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . longsuffering.” Galatians 5:22, NKJV INTRODUCTION: HOPE and MEEKNESS, as essential TOOLS for overcoming CRUCIBLES, are both defined by WAITING. The concept of BIBLICAL WAITING, however, is NOT ONLY about WAITING but also WAITING with PATIENCE. God’s people WAIT patiently in the CRUCIBLES, because GOD HIMSELF is PATIENT. GOD is PATIENT because HE is LOVING in character and because HE also CHOOSES the best MOMENT to INTERVENE. Here are the THREE POINTS that SUMMARIZE our lesson this week: 1. GOD AND PATIENCE (SUNDAY & MONDAY) We are normally IMPATIENT about THINGS that we REALLY WANT or have been PROMISED but DON’T HAVE yet. And when WE ARE in this STATE, it is ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to maintain PEACE and TRUST in GOD. WAITING is PAINFUL by DEFINITION. In HEBREW, one of the words for “WAIT PATIENT” (PS. 37:7, NKJV) comes from a HEBREW WORD that can be translated “to be MUCH PAINED,” “to be WOUNDED.” Learning PATIENCE is NOT EASY; sometimes it’s the VERY ESSENCE of what it MEANS to be in the CRUCIBLE. While we WAIT, we can CONCENTRATE on ONE of TWO THINGS: We can FOCUS on the THINGS that we are WAITING FOR, or we can FOCUS on the ONE who HOLDS those THINGS in HIS HANDS. What makes such a DIFFERENCE when we WAIT for something ISN’T so much HOW LONG we have to WAIT but our ATTITUDE while we WAIT. If we TRUST the LORD, if we have PLACED our LIVES in HIS HANDS, if we have SURRENDERED our WILLS to Him, then we can TRUST that HE will do WHAT’S BEST for us WHEN IT’S BEST for us, NO MATTER how HARD it is sometimes to BELIEVE it. ROMANS 5:6 and GAL. 4:4 tell us about GOD’S TIMING. In these VERSES, PAUL tells us that JESUS came to DIE for us at EXACTLY the RIGHT TIME. But PAUL does NOT TELL us WHY it was the RIGHT TIME. Does this TELL US about LEARNING to WAIT for things in GOD’S TIME, even if it takes what SEEMS to us a LONG TIME? We may also ask, WHY is the LORD waiting SO LONG to ANSWER my PRAYER? Yet, there are MANY important SPIRITUAL REASONS why we will experience WAITING TIMES. FIRST, WAITING can REFOCUS our attention away from “THINGS” and back to GOD HIMSELF. SECOND, WAITING allows us to DEVELOP a clearer PICTURE of our own MOTIVES and DESIRES. THIRD, WAITING opens the door to DEVELOPING many SPIRITUAL STRENGTHS, such as FAITH and PERSEVERANCE. FOURTH, WAITING allows GOD to put down OTHER PIECES in the PUZZLE of the BIGGER PICTURE. 2. HUMANS AND PATIENCE (TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY) In 1 SAM. 16:1-13, we see DAVID anointed by SAMUEL as KING. However, it was a LONG JOURNEY from the FIELDS of his father, JESSE, to the THRONE in JERUSALEM. No doubt, AT TIMES, he FELT he was in the MIDST of a CRUCIBLE. Now we read 1 SAM. 26:12-25 that DAVID refused to kill SAUL. Think about how easily DAVID could have JUSTIFIED killing SAUL. Yet, his ACTIONS speak of TRUE FAITH in GOD. Looking at the whole of DAVID’S ROAD to the THRONE, we could perhaps SUMMARIZE it in one short SENTENCE—DON’T GRAG what GOD has NOT YET GIVEN. GOD’S GIFTS are always BEST RECEIVED from HIS HAND and in HIS TIME. This may REQUIRE a very LONG TIME of WAITING. Then we have the EXPERIENCE of ELIJAH. As the STORY went, the SHOWDOWN on the top of MOUNT CARMEL had ENDED (1 KINGS 18). FIRE had come out of HEAVEN, all the PEOPLE had ACKNOWLEDGED the TRUE GOD, and the FALSE PROPHETS had been put to DEATH. GOD had been VINDICATED. But instead ELIJAH’S FEAR caused him to RUN and FIND HIMSELF in the WRONG PLACE. We can READ the REST of the STORY in 1 KNGS. 19:1-9. ELIJAH’S STORY illustrates something IMPORTANT: when we RUSH, we can very EASILY FIND ourselves in the WRONG PLACE. In ELIJAH’S CASE, it was his FEAR that caused him to be OVERWHELMED and RUSH into the DESERT, WISHING that he MIGHT DIE. 3. GOD’S PATIENCE AS DELIGHT (THURSDAY) “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (PS. 37:4, NRSV). PS. 37:4 is a wonderful PROMISE. Imagine GETTING what you have ALWAYS WANTED. But getting the DESIRES of our HEARTS hinges on having HEARTS that take DELIGHT in the LORD. So, what does it MEAN to “take delight in the Lord”? When we READ the CONTEXT of PS. 37:1-11, especially PS. 37:4, it is surprising what he said. DAVID is WRITING about being SURROUNDED by PEOPLE who are working AGAINST GOD and against HIM. When PEOPLE are working AGAINST US, the NATURAL RESPONSE is often to get ANGRY. But DAVID ADVISES something DIFFERENT. CONCLUSION: This week’s lesson HIGHLIGHTS TWO MAJOR THEMES: (1) We understand that PATIENT WAITING is CRUCIAL in our OVERCOMING CRUCIBLES. (2) WAITING PATIENTLY becomes POSSIBLE when we KNOW and TURST the PERSON we are WAITING FOR.