Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
9:00am & 10:45am,
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Lord, give me patience, but please hurry

…For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.”– James 1:4 (TLB)

We are in the second week of our Be Rich series at Northstar. We have talked about the subject of riches and the corollary messages of prosperity, blessings and generosity. My hope is that as we talk about these important subjects, you will be in prayer seeking God’s will and guidance on how to best apply the principles we are teaching to your life. First, we need to be patient.

We live in a culture of instant gratification, so we expect instant answers to our prayers. And we have developed a predetermined idea about what that Yes answer will look like. It is human nature to ask God to guide us and immediately after we say amen, we walk away to start assisting God by wading into fixing the problem without waiting for an answer. We pray from our Be Rich series text in 1 Timothy 6: “God, I want you to give me wisdom; help me not to be arrogant or put my hope in wealth. Help me to put my hope in You, who richly provides me with everything. Help me do good and to be generous and willing to share. Lord, help me take hold of the life that is truly life.” But we think God needs our help. So we start doing our part. We start figuring out what changes we need to make.

God has promised to give us wisdom, if we will ask. Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view. Wisdom is the ability to make decisions the way God makes decisions. God never makes a bad decision. He never makes a mistake. He says if we trust him and listen to him, He will guide us. But only if we ask and wait for His answer.

Listen to what James 1: 5-7 says: “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind; and every decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way and then that. If you don’t ask with faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.” (TLB)

There is a beautiful song that is part of the Fireproof movie soundtrack by John Waller called “While I’m Waiting.” The chorus says, “I will serve you while I’m waiting. I will worship while I’m waiting.”

I do not know what God may be trying to teach you through the Be Rich series. But I do know that if He is calling you to seek His will on the subject of riches and any other subject.

Questions:

1. If we are going to seek God’s will and plan form the blessings and riches He provides us, what do we need to believe about them?

2. Are you ready to open your heart to really listen in prayer, to be patient for His voice? Even when we do not initially agree with or understand the answer?
3. Habakkuk 1:5 (TLB) says: “The Lord replied: “Look, and be amazed! You will be astounded at what I am about to do! For I am going to do something in your own lifetime that you will have to see to believe.”Pray and ask God for the trust and faith to understand that when it seems nothing is happening. a lot could be happening behind the scenes. You just can’t see it.

4. Ask God to help you seek Him in very situation, not when we hit rock bottom. Why do people seek God in the bleakest moments? How can you change that in your life?

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