Waiting and praying

James 1:5-8, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

This is such an applicable passage. When new ventures present themselves, it is somewhat like an old fashioned horse-drawn wagon and we jump on for the ride. If we are not excited and sure about where the ride is heading to, we’re going to have one leg hanging off just to be ready to jump when a stop comes up.

Doubt, fear, being “unsure”… whatever you want to call it, can be obstructive to ever accomplishing anything, much less the goal or vision that you were given.

One reason why I feel this new church is a God-lead vision, is that I haven’t let doubt creep in one bit, despite having some folks around me voicing their concerns. It would be almost fatal for me to do so, because if I start doubting what I’m aiming to do, then I’m setting myself up for failure. Confidence (notice I didn’t say ignorance) is key here. There’s probably a more spiritual term for it like, “blessed assurance” that may fit better.

And after all the initial excitement, when stuff falls into place at a rapid rate, comes a time when everything slows down a bit. Not that you can change it, but rather you have to simply “wait and pray” when things are out of your control and in the hands of others.

So that is a very important lesson in all of this, that patience plays an equal part to movement. This applies to various facets of our life, and not just the whole chasing-a-dream part.

I remember when I was “courting” my wife Heather. We dated for six months before I decided to pop the big question, which she of course accepted. Those six months seemed like a fair amount of time, but others felt like we were rushing things along, making a hasty decision. Did I let that bother me? Not a bit, because I knew that God had led me to her and her to me. The real challenge came when I had to wait 10 months for the wedding! But the wait paid off.

So will be the case here. During moments where doubt could creep in if I wanted it to, I simply don’t allow it because I know waiting is part of this whole crazy exercise of faith. God honors our devotion!

That all said, please continue to keep the church in your prayers as we await news from the realtor, and as we move closer to the launch this fall!