At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:1-4
Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:31
What or who has trained you to wait? The internet? Your phone? Search engines? Instant access? Or have these trained you to be impatient and skeptical, full of cynicism, and doubt? If you don’t get an immediate answer or fulfillment now what’s your reaction? What has happened to hopeful anticipation? What has happened to your faith, hope, and love? Has the internet and phone trained you to look to it for all the answers? Soon it will be AI. Who do you turn to first with your questions? Is your first ‘go to’ something or someone else other than Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Who actually is your … source of all things? Today …it is everyone’s phone NOT God.
Is your normal response now to any piece of information someone gives you …skepticism and or cynicism? Or do you immediately take it to Jesus and the Holy Spirit for confirmation and counsel, asking Him how you are to respond or what you are to do with the information? These are perilous times where we are inundated with lies that teaches and trains us in everything and anything BUT the fruit of the Spirit. Who has taught us to be content in the present? Who has taught us to be grateful in the moment? Who has taught us to give EVERYONE and EVERYTHING back to Him for He cares for us? Are you learning those things at deeper and more intimate levels with Him? Is He teaching you to be hopeful? How is your anticipation? Is it hopeful or worrisome? Are you anxious or full of peace concerning your day or future? In what or who do you place your hope and trust and turn to in the moment? Your phone? Or Jesus?
If God doesn’t immediately answer your prayer do you automatically think He hasn’t heard you or that He is saying “No.”? Have you learned to ‘wait upon the Lord’ with excited anticipation to see what He will do or say? Do you really know He is good? Do you trust Him? How much? What is your reaction now to most things you hear or see? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you your reactions in the last week. Ask Him to show you what you’ve been ‘feeding’ on. Who or what is your first thing you turn to when you first open your eyes? Your phone? Or Jesus? What or who is the last thing you’ve turned to just before falling asleep?
Put your phone down. Take some deep slow breaths. Connect with Jesus. Allow your prayer time to linger on Jesus. Allow peaceful silence back into your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to restore your hopeful childlike anticipation back into your life. Learn to ‘wait upon the Lord’ with hopeful anticipation, for He cares for you. Jesus loves you.