Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

• Psalm 27:14

From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;
    lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the foe.

• Psalm 61:2-3

I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
    as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he shows us his mercy.

• Psalm 123:1-2

Where there is strife, there is pride,
    but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

• Proverbs 13:10

“Evaluate anything you hear by asking these questions:

* ls it consistent with God’s written Word?
* How will it affect other people?
* What will be the consequences?
* Does it conflict with human wisdom?
* Does it clash with your fleshly nature?
* Does it challenge your faith?
* Does it call for courage?
* Have you taken enough time?
* What do other godly people say?
* Will this enhance your spiritual growth?
* Does the decision give you peace in your spirit?”

• Charles Stanley, How to Know God’s Will

I found this short pamphlet in my wife’s things.  I keep finding nuggets like this.

I was talking to my son the other day, and we lamented that our timing is not God’s timing.  We keep looking for the answer, but the deadline looms and we take what we thought was the best choice, and it becomes a nightmare.

I think if we prayed our way through the bullet points, which summarizes the entire pamphlet, we might have made a different choice.

The first few bullet points can be answered with a lot of research, Bible study, and maybe even a talk with the pastor, which of course is one of the other bullet points.

How often does the choice we make challenge our faith or call for courage?  We want the stress level a little lower, friends around us that have our back.  But God shows Himself more freely when we realize that we are in over our heads.

And is the deadline a hard and fast deadline?  With my last job, I postponed the deadline for a month.  At the end of that month, nothing else came up, so I took the job.  On one hand, it was steady employment, but the constant fear of layoffs.  I had some of the worst bosses that I ever had in my life.  So, nightmare, right?  No, I learned to find blessing in the worst of situations.  If I had a dream job, would I have become complacent?

And the only job I have ever had that gave me peace in my spirit is what I do now, writing these things.  I skip meals sometimes because I am just having the time of my life.

You can learn about God and yourself in the crucible of suffering, but when you let all your cares go, and just praise God, He does things to you and within you.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.