But They That Wait Upon The Lord
A page filled with articles about focusing on God
This page is best enjoyed by scrolling down. But if you want to quickly hop to one particular article, pick one below:
Bible Verse Isaiah 40:31
How To Spend Time With God And Enjoy It
A Video On Hearing And Following God’s Voice
A Poem by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: Patient Trust
But they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.
“This God-given power is experienced only by those who will wait upon the Lord. Left to themselves, old and young alike will find human might so frail and inadequate, “but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength.” Those who place their hope in God are strengthened by the Lord Himself. They are enabled by God to live above their circumstances, looking down on life from heaven’s perspective. “They shall mount up with wings like eagles.” When it is time to press energetically ahead, they can do so without becoming exhausted. “They shall run and not be weary.” When it is more appropriate to plod along methodically and persistently, they do not collapse. “They shall walk and not faint.” All of this results from the power of God working within those who wait upon Him.”
Bob Hoekstra in ‘Day by Day by Grace’
€ 2,50 – € 15,00
a candle + A warm drink
When you have a moment – early mornings or evenings are especially suitable for this – sit down with your favorite hot drink and light a candle.
Both the drink and the candle serve a purpose. When you find yourself getting up before you’ve finished your drink, you’ve probably rushed through and not really connected with God.
The same goes for the candle. When I blow it out I’m more aware that I’m moving on to something else. Without a candle I would often just get up somewhere in the middle and forgot I was having time with God. Plus the candle makes the time with God special, different from other parts of the day and helps to slow down a bit.
a walk + A warm drink
Pray, listen to a sermon, or meditate on a Bible verse while walking. When you come back you make a nice cup of hot drink. You sit somewhere where you feel comfortable and do what you haven’t done while walking. Either praying, writing or reading the Bible. You can also look up scriptures from the sermon you listened to.
If you walk with someone else, try to keep the conversation on God. For example ask each other how you saw God work in the past days, or what you’ve heard/read about God lately. Really try when you come back home to have a little time with God as well. Even if it’s just the time it takes to drink your hot drink.
at the office
When you have kids or find it difficult to find a quiet moment at home this one might help you.
Go to you work earlier than needed, or stay a little longer at the end to read the Bible. You can combine this with the time you commute between the two places.
In your commute you can pray, worship or listen to a sermon. At your office you can read the Bible and maybe write your thoughts down. Try to find an empty room at your office, or make use of the quietness before or after regular work hours.
while doing easy tasks at home
When you have (small) kids at home it can be challenging to find a moment to connect with God. What might help is to pick a task that comes back daily or at least multiple times a week. For example, laundry. What you could do is every time you have to hang/fold laundry or iron that you take that time to communicate with God. Put on worship music and sing along, or take time to pray, for yourself, for your children and the people around you. Or just ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, have a little moment in which you are open and able to hear if He wants to tell you something. You can also read a page in a devotional you’re reading before you start laundry and think it over while doing it.
Make sure your kids are playing by themselves or watching something, so you can set your thoughts on God. If you have had your time connecting with God you’ll probably be a better parent the rest of the day. So don’t feel bad about that.
This way laundry becomes something you might enjoy because it gives you a sense of rest and peace in your day. Laundry is a good one because it doesn’t require much thinking, you can have your mind on other things and still do laundry well. Plus after you’re done with the laundry you can make you favorite hot drink and just enjoy it, sit down comfortably and have a few minutes of rest.
Questions to ask yourself
to make your time with God more joyful
What place in your house do you find most peaceful and comfortable?
Use that place, if possible, to read and/or write.
What is your favorite hot drink?
As I wrote before, this can help you spend a little more time and not rush off to the next thing. Plus it makes time with God special and enjoyable.
What slows you down?
For me, lighting a candle helps, but it can also be certain music, or intentionally looking outside at nature. Writing can also help to let go of your thoughts. Do these things while or before you’re spending time with God.
What can make your time with God more joyful?
If you know better now what it looks like, how can you make it better? For example buy a fancy pen or notebook that bring you joy to use. Or choose for the hot drink something special you normally wouldn’t make. Eat something you enjoy. Or make a playlist with your favorite worship songs. Buy a new Bible that brings you joy to look into or nice colored pencils to highlight scriptures. Or instead of writing, make something with materials you enjoy using.
Patient Trust
by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881 – 1955)
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
A look into a 1837 notebook entry on fall
Rembrandt and I
– A journal entry
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