FAITH CAPSULE: Waiting on God is keeping His way.

Matthew 6
 
King David, a man after God’s own heart, shared his experience in Psalm 37:34 stating, “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land…” Undoubtedly, waiting on God is keeping His way. The way of God is the Word of God. Jesus the living Word of God stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Keeping the way of God is in praying, fasting, spending time in His Word and watching for the manifestation of expectation.
Waiting in Prayer: Jesus taught about prayer in Matthew 6:5-8, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Who can instructor or teach waiting in prayer more ideally than Jesus?
Waiting in Fasting: Just as Jesus mentioned waiting in prayer, so also He mentioned waiting in fasting. Matthew 6:16-18, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”  To wait on God by fasting will not end in wasting.
For both praying and fasting, Jesus did not say ifyou pray or fast, He specifically stated, “When you pray and fast” indicating fasting and praying as a must be done by His disciples.
Wait by spending time watching: Micah testified to spending time waiting and watching. “Therefore, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.” (Micah 7:7) In looking up to God and waiting to hear from Him, one will receive only when one can see in the spoken word of God. Looking up to God, spend time in His living Word. He is a faithful God and He will speak His Word that never fails.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace of keeping His way in your waiting.

FAITH CAPSULE: Without absolute trust in waiting on God, there will be no absolute result emerging from waiting on God.

Isaiah 40
 
God does not waste word. Have you received and believe in Christ as Lord and savior through the word as documented in the pages of the Bible? Why not take every word with passion? God promised in His word, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) God is not a man that He should tell lies and whatever He says He will do is a done deal. Remember, the word of God does not return back to Him void. (Isaiah 55:11)
Are you lacking in the area of His rest?
The way into God’s rest is in waiting on Him. Not waiting on Him is the way to go astray. Going astray is rooted in the heart. Manifestly, any heart that goes astray will miss His way. God is a good God and to end in a bad way is not of God. This is to say what is not good is not God. God is a God of time and process. His time is not like man’s time; likewise His process is not any man’s process. God’s timing is perfect and His process is a preparation for where He has timed for every man to be.
Waiting on God can be defined as: remaining unmoving, inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens; to look onward to expectation eagerly. Waiting on God is also putting off further activity until later. Waiting on God usually entails staying for a short or long time and for a definite purpose; that is, for something expected. Without absolute trust in waiting on God, there will be no absolute result emerging from waiting on God. The Psalmist testifies, “O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.” (Psalm 25:2-3) Trusting in God is what energizes waiting on Him. Trusting in God does have blessings and not trusting in Him will also generate curses. God spoke in Jeremiah 17:5, “…Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.” In regard to blessing, the same Word of God states in Jeremiah 17:7, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord”. How can you wait on whom you do not trust? Evidently, having trust in place will enable waiting on Him.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace of waiting to have a place in your life.

FAITH CAPSULE:God hears you every time you communicate.

Numbers 14
 
After the bondage of over four hundred years, the Israelites took to the route of termination by virtue of their communication. Despite great act of God when coming out of bondage, they could not confess positive in their response to the negative report of the men who went to spy on their behalf. The children of Israel responded to the negative report with negative communication by stating, “…If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’ So they said to one another, ‘Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.’” (Numbers 14:2-4) God, who yearns jealously for our faith in Him, responded to the negative that He heard from the mouth of the children of Israel, “…I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.” (Numbers 14:27-29) God hears you every time you communicate. The children of Israel spoke and pronounced death. As a result, death became their portion and they all died and did not get to the Promised Land; except for Joshua and Caleb. In a journey where the Red Sea could not terminate them, they allowed their communication to terminate them. Communicate positively at all times, regardless of any confronting challenge and do not terminate your existence. Just as negative communication gets His attention so our positive communication (PRAYER) gets His attention. It is recorded in the Book of Luke, during the time of John the Baptist, “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:21-22) Jesus demonstrated that prayer is the Heaven opener. Some might have been getting baptized with nothing happening, but when Jesus opened His mouth and prayed, God heard Him and the Holy Spirit showed up. God’s voice was heard and Jesus was identified by God. The word of God points it out we are to praise God with understanding (Psalm 47:7), it is worthy to note that we should also pray to Him with understanding. He hears and sees it all. Always speak positively and abstain from negative confession.
 
Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to constantly and consistently remain positive in every of your word.

FAITH CAPSULE: A careless thought will bring forth a reckless communication.

Genesis 11:1-10
 
In the hands of God there is no accident. When God blesses, He does not bless by accident. In addition, when we speak to His hearing it is never going to be considered as an accident. Have you been very conscious of your communication? How much control are you allowing your tongue in communication? Proverbs 18:21 specifically stated, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” The Bible warns in 1 Peter 3:10, “He who would love life and see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil…” How much are you paying in attention to your tongue, the unruly evil? The book of Ecclesiastes warns us, “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error…” (Ecclesiastes 5:6) Whatever progresses from our mouth under heaven, either in making a vow or praying or careless talk must be constantly positive and productive. The God that we serve is the God who hears and responds to our spoken word. The Bible points out in Psalm 94:9-10, “He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct…” The God we serve is the living God who allows nothing to pass by Him either in communication or intents of the heart. Our God does have His ear to hear all of His creation. Are you engaging yourself in a positive or negative communication? It does not matter if you are communicating as a group or individual. Be careful and understand what your communication is about because there will be no excuse if it brings forth negative response. Through the pages of the Bible, different communication brought about different consequences. Once in the days after the flood, men gathered and stated, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4) A careless thought will bring forth a reckless communication. They communicated pride and what it will take to terminate pride when they stated that they did not want to be scattered. God who planted ear and eye heard and saw the reckless motive of His creation. God responded, “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.” (Genesis 11:7-8) Evidently, when God heard the communication and saw the move of the people, their agenda was terminated. Be warned; put your communication in line of positive statement.

Prayer for today: Whatever it is that causes negative communication let it not be my portion in Jesus name. 

FAITH CAPSULE: Do not assume what He has not called you to be.

Numbers 16
 
Engaging wrong assumption is wrong. There are times we assumed wrongly and come out of it without grave consequence. The grace of escape is not a license to make it our habit but it is a sign that a proper care has to be taken to avoid assuming wrongly. Frequent leaning on one’s own understanding is a free way to assuming wrongly. The word admonish in, Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Korah, Dathan and Abiram engaged a wrong assumption and they were eliminated in their assumption. When one assumes what he has not been called to be, one will become that which he hates to be. Numbers 16:1-3, “Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ’You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?’” In your church, home or among any of your gatherings or at your workplace, can any of your assumption be backed with action like that of Korah and his group or rebellious ones? Have you been thinking you can be of better service to the congregation than your pastor or your boss at work? Do not assume what He has not called you to be. The move of Korah was not a pleasurable one for Moses as he went before God and requested from God to show the difference between which He has called and those that are assuming he was not called. Moses requested from God to do the unusual that would determine and demonstrate who He called from the ones He did not called. Numbers 16: 31-33, “Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.” What about not engaging wrong assumption anymore?

Prayer for today: Ask God to help you and deliver you from every wrong assumption in every area of your life so that your story will not be like that of Korah and his rebellious team.