Waiting Upon The Lord

“But why do you call me when you can’t give me my insulin now anyway?” bickered one of the female insulin-dependent diabetics.

“Oh, Ms. R. I don’t know why you keep getting upset when you already know for a while now that our doctor had specifically ordered for nurses not to give your insulin if your food is not there yet in your unit. You know that your insulin works within minutes. We don’t want your blood sugar to bottom out. That’s very risky to give it to you. Yes, we’re doing it now, because all the diabetics come to be tested at this time and yours is not an exception,” I answered.

She went to one of the plastic chairs inside the waiting area and still with a sour face, tried to focus on the morning news being shown from the tv set.

“Just wait…patiently. As soon as I hear that your chow is on its way to your unit, I will give your shot right away and will send you back to your unit, okay?”

Not wanting to smile, she let out a forced, “Thank you, Ma’am”….

This morning, as I was waking up, it seemed as if the Lord was etching the word “wait” in my heart. As I try to gather my thoughts now and as I consult the Lord about this, I found asking myself on “why is it always hard for us to wait?”

Our hearts often always seem to be crying in agony. We feel oppressed. Rejected. Constrained. We yearn for freedom and provision. We pray for miracles and wait. We pray for a spouse, a job, for healing, for wisdom, for ministry and other things. Sometimes, we think the spiritual enemy is tempting us. True at times but sometimes, it may be God testing us for He wants for us to draw nearer to Him.

Waiting is a crucial step. As we face a mountain of trials, our weaknesses emerge. And at this point, our hearts become desperate, our faith is proven and our hope is purified.

Just like that helpless inmate waiting for my “call”, waiting upon the Lord are those times when we have limited or no resources even, no answers, no directions. We are most of the time, confused, poor, broken-hearted and limited. But if we live by confidence with our own sources and abilities, won’t we become self-confident? What glory will it bring to God?

Yes, waiting is hard but in this process, God enables us to depend on Him so that we may know and realize that it’s only Him Who does wonderful things in our lives.

Waiting upon God…Protects us…Deepens our trust in Him…Forces us to seek His ways…Brings Him the most glory…

…“but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” ~ Isaiah 40:31




Let us patiently wait then….But look Who’s been waiting patiently, too for us to draw nearer to Him:

Immanuel

This is a song the Lord gave me on December 5, 2003. This is what I wrote that day:

Lord, even though there are so many traditions that make people celebrate Christmas in different ways, there is only one, true meaning of Christmas - when You came to save all mankind from the wrath of the Father. You did this out of love for us.

Thank You Lord for Your unfailing love. Matthew 1:23 - “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son and they shall call Him ‘Immanuel’, which is translated ‘God with us’.”


Long ago in a lowly manger
A Son was born, He was the Redeemer
His Name was to be Immanuel
God with us, until today

Jesus, Who sets us free from sins
Son of God, Who came to Bethlehem
Crucified but He rose again
His Spirit dwells within…until He returns…

Do we celebrate Christmas because it's a tradition or others expect us to? But Christmas is about Jesus...We must speak of Jesus, love Jesus, sing unto Jesus...

Lord, with Your strength, help us to worship You in Spirit and in Truth. Help me to keep my eyes on You and help me to be a loving and compassionate witness of Your love and grace to others. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Because Of Us - Spiritual Sundays

Please visit Spiritual Sundays to read more about how God is working in so many of His children's lives. Thank you to sisters Charlotte and Ginger for hosting this special place. Merry Christmas to all of you and remember the "reason" why Jesus came.

The middle-aged inmate walked in, clutching his stomach. Prior to his arrival, the unit called and said that he was having trouble breathing. But the unit where he came from was far from the Infirmary. If he made it all the way down to the Clinic with steady gait, all of us knew, he wasn’t having trouble breathing at all.

He sat there, appearing like he was sobbing. But when he thought no one was there [he didn’t know we were observing him], he sat calmly on the bench and watched the tv, hoisted up in a corner of one of the walls.

The charge nurse summoned him to come to the big glass window.

“What’s wrong?”, she asked.

“Ma’am, I’m having a severe stomach pain,” he replied with his eyes closed.

“Open your eyes!” yelled the charge nurse. To which he opened his eyes immediately.

He didn’t know, right there, we already knew that he wasn’t in pain. Because if he was not able to open his eyes, then, he was truly having a big discomfort. We noticed, too that his complaint changed from having shortness of breath to stomach pain then. He had a history of heroin abuse.

“I am looking at you,” he uttered. But his eyelids kept opening and closing.

“Just open your eyes so you can see! There is no bright light that can hurt your vision,” commanded the charge nurse.


“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.” ~ Matthew 1:23 [NIV]

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” ~ John 3:16,17 [NIV]

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” ~ John 14:6 [NIV]

“Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” ~ Hebrews 12:2 [AMP]


When Moses had a meeting with God inside a tent, God told him that he wouldn’t be able to look at His face and live [Exodus 33:20]. So, same with us. None of us are able to see God, first, because sins separate us from Him and that none of our own efforts can restore that broken relationship we have with Him. Man’s religions can not make us go to heaven and be with God. God knows we are hurting but we are walking in this life’s journey with eyes closed. And that’s what He did…He gave the Best Gift to mankind so we can be saved. God’s love came down to earth. This is the reason we must rejoice, not only on Christmas Day but in every day of our lives.

This Christmas, open your eyes so you can see that Gift! God sent His Son Jesus as the Light that we are able to look at. If only we open our eyes and focus on Jesus. Focus on the reason why he came here to live with men. Focus on his ways to be our example of how to be and who to be, not anyone else on earth. Focus on his death on the cross. Focus on his resurrection.

Yes, we are that reason why God sent Jesus...Because He loves us all.

Christian ID

I was barely approaching the Master Control area of the prison when I noticed that the door was already open before I even had set my feet near the metal door. I knew that by the time I parked, whoever was watching from all the cameras in the jail’s perimeter could recognize the staff.

Still, with the darkness of the night, it would still be hard to identify people’s faces as they entered the prison walls.

So, we must show our ID’s in order for them to recognize us at a glance. I always had my ID badge clipped to my scrub uniform, always in plain sight.

One time, I remember that I had a co-worker who, despite wearing a scrubs outfit, needed to summon someone from the Clinic to identify him and made sure that he was one of the medical staff, before he could be let in. He was upset but there was no reason for him to do so. “A rule is a rule” that everyone needed to comply to.





How awesome it is that we also have ID’s in Christ! That when we invite Him into our hearts, we become new creations. [2 Corinthians 5:17]. I am feeling ecstatic reading some of them today:

[Life Application Bible]:

“We are justified.” - Romans 3:24

“No condemnation awaits us.” - Romans 8:1

“We are set free from the law of sin and death.” - Romans 8:2

“We are sanctified [made holy] in Jesus Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 1:2

“We are pure and holy in Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 1:30

“We will be made alive at the resurrection.” - 1 Corinthians 15:22

“We are made right with God.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21

“We are one in Christ with all other believers.” - Galatians 3:28

“We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” - Ephesians 1:3

“We are holy and without fault.” - Ephesians 1:4

“We are adopted as God’s children.” - Ephesians 1:5,6

“We are marked as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit.” - Ephesians 1:13

“We have been raised up to sit with Christ in the heavenly realms.” - Ephesians 2:6

“We share in the promise through Christ.” - Ephesians 3:6

“We can come with freedom and confidence into God’s presence.” - Ephesians 3:12

“We are set free from our sinful nature.” - Colossians 2:11

“We will have eternal glory.” - 2 Timothy 2:10

Those are only a few….There are many more....Thanks be to Jesus.


How about you, what’s your identity?