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Advent Day 12 A Shepherd’s Heart: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out A Shepherd’s Heart!

The Questions

1) Who is the shepherd?

2) Who is the recipient of the shepherd’s care?

3) What does the shepherd provide?

Psalm 23:1

“The LORD is my shepherd. I have what I need.”

Original Intent

1) Who is the shepherd?
The psalmist begins by acknowledging that it is the Lord who continually provides all he needs. “The LORD … is my shepherd.” The image of a shepherd suggests the writer is considering himself to be a sheep under the care of the Lord, the genuinely good shepherd. The psalmist expands the metaphor in the following verses of the chapter and describes how the Lord is like a shepherd to him. Each verse is packed with images about the shepherd’s character and care. Bible translation notes offer us insight into the Hebrew language used in the verse. “The imperfect verbal form is best understood as generalizing; the psalmist highlights his typical or ongoing experience as a result of having the Lord as his shepherd (habitual present use).” (netbible.org) The Lord provided constant care to His servant, David. In verse 6, David says to his Lord and shepherd, “Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.” (Psalm 23:6) This shepherd of David is the same God who passed in front of Moses displaying His glory, “The LORD came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, ‘the LORD.’ The LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed: The LORD—the LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7) This is the One to whom the people of Israel sang when the ark of God was returned. David himself was leaping and dancing before the Lord in celebration of Who He is, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.” (1 Chronicles 16:7-18 34-36)

2) Who is the recipient of the shepherd’s care?
Psalm 23 is a “psalm of David.” This same David was the people’s unlikely choice for king of God’s people. (1 Samuel 16:10-13) Theologian, Charles Spurgeon, said of the psalmist and songwriter, “I like to recall the fact that this psalm was written by David, probably when he was a king. He had been a shepherd, and he was not ashamed of his former occupation. When he had to wear a crown, he remembered the time when he had handled the shepherd’s crook, and as a lad, with his sling and stone, had kept watch over his father’s sheep in the wilderness.” (www.spurgeongems.org) Being a shepherd was a familiar role for David. He had cared for his father’s sheep as a youth. As a shepherd, he knew the constant watchfulness it took to be a faithful and protective shield for the sheep in his care. (1 Samuel 17:12-15, 34-35) As David’s shepherd, the Lord provided him with peace, even when he was pursued by enemies. (Psalm 23:4-5) As Rebekah stated yesterday, “When the going got tough and trial upon trial came up, David repeatedly relied upon the One whom He referred to as ‘The Lord, my Shepherd’. King David understood that his position, a God-given one, was a position of being under God’s protection even as he lived in anticipation of the ultimate Shepherd, King Jesus.” Shepherding was considered a noble occupation for the Israelites before the social shift began with Egyptian prejudice toward them. (Genesis 46:33-34) Still, most shepherds never became kings, and most kings had never been shepherds. God gave David a unique perspective as the shepherd-king.

3) What does the shepherd provide?
Sheep are vulnerable animals for several reasons. Most of us understand they are susceptible to predators because they are defenseless creatures. They have many natural predators in the wild, but those who care for them tell us sheep are their own worst enemy. They have a natural tendency to wander off and get lost. When they stray, they put themselves in danger of being lost, attacked, and even becoming disoriented to the point of tragically killing themselves by drowning or falling off cliffs. The shepherd’s job is an offensive and defensive one. He guides the sheep to places that will provide for their needs, while being constantly on guard to protect them from prowling enemies. (Psalm 23:2-4) As a king with enemies, David faced many days of fear and worry. Several of his psalms reflect his human emotional turmoil and suffering. It was a natural response for him to have dread and anxiety when his life was in danger. Yet, time and again, David took his fears to his God, the Good Shepherd. He resolved in his heart to trust the God he had come to personally know and trust, the One Who was faithful and generous in love. (Psalm 13)

Everyday Application

1) Who is the shepherd?
As our Shepherd, the Lord provides us all with His personal care, direction, protection and presence. When David declared the Lord as His shepherd, he was acknowledging the connection he had with God. As we read through the Old Testament books, we find that the relationship God had with His people dynamically shifted when Jesus came to earth as a man to bring us nearer to Him. Yet, even the patriarch Jacob had a comprehension of the shepherding heart of God. When he blessed his grandsons, he spoke of the “God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day.” (Genesis 48:13-16) The prophet Isaiah also referred to the coming Messiah as a shepherd. (Isaiah 40:9-11) As our gracious and gentle shepherd, God revealed His good news at night to a group of men in a field caring for their flock. How beautiful it is that the angel announcing the birth of the Christ appeared to shepherds! Years ago, I sang a chorus with these words: “Gentle Shepherd, come and lead us, for we need You to help us find our way. Gentle Shepherd, come and feed us for we need your strength from day to day. There’s no other we can turn to who can help us face another day. Gentle Shepherd, come and lead us, for we need to you to help us find our way.” Friend, during the season of Advent (when we prepare for the celebration of Christ’s coming), we can worship our Good Shepherd with joy and thanksgiving. The One who chased after David also pursues us with His goodness and mercy, which He will continue to do all the days of our lives. (Psalm 23:6)

2) Who is the recipient of the shepherd’s care?
Like others in the ancestry of the Christ child, David was an unlikely pick to be king of Israel. When Samuel anointed him, David had yet to defeat Goliath and establish war strategies. But, sister, who doesn’t love a good underdog story? As usual, God chose to lead His people in unexpected ways by calling on a young shepherd boy. As a shepherd himself, David was able to savor the sweetness of having a personal shepherd. He understood the implications of the imagery in the verses in Psalm 23. He said of God, “the Lord is MY shepherd.” Although the prophet Nathan shared a vision with David about his future (2 Samuel 7), I am doubtful that David fully comprehended his part in the fulfillment of the Messiah’s coming. His name would be forever inscribed in the greatest story of all time. “Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. Then she gave birth to her firstborn son …” (Luke 2:4-7, emphasis mine) To all who call on the name of Jesus, we too become recipients of the Good Shepherd’s goodness and mercy. Oh come, friend. Let us adore Him. “Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.” (Hebrews 13:20-21, emphasis mine)

3) What does the shepherd provide?
David was acutely aware of his own need for a shepherd as evidenced in his gut-honest psalms. Only God could fully supply everything he needed. Jesus said we are all in the same condition of need, both spiritually and emotionally. What comfort during this Advent season to know that it is precisely our need that leads us to find the source of our lasting joy. (Matthew 5:3-5) Charles Spurgeon said that to know the Lord as our shepherd, we must first understand our own wandering nature, “for he cannot know that God is his Shepherd unless he feels in himself that he has the nature of a sheep.” (Spurgeon.org) I recognize how I am prone to wander away. Thank You, Father, for sending Jesus to us. Sweet sister, He is our only hope!
“In the process, in the waiting, You’re making melodies over me. / And Your presence is the promise, for I am a pilgrim on a journey / You will lift my head above the mighty waves; / You are able to keep me from stumbling. / And in my weakness, / You are the strength that comes from within. / Good Shepherd of my soul, take my hand and lead me on. / You make my footsteps and my path secure, so walking on water is just the beginning. / Cause my faith to arise, stand at attention, for You are / calling me to greater things. / Oh how I love You, how I love You! / You have not forsaken me. / Oh how I love You, how I love You! / With You is where I want to be.”
(Shepherd by Amanda Falk)

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with A Shepherd’s Heart!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Advent Week Two!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Hallel Day 14 Love That Frees: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Love That Frees!

The Questions

1) How does the Lord help when I am being pushed hard and the enemy tries to make me fall?

2) How can the Lord be my strength and my song?

3) What does it mean that the Lord’s right hand performs valiantly?

Psalm 118:1-16

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”

5 I called to the Lord in distress;
the Lord answered me
and put me in a spacious place.
6 The Lord is for me; I will not be afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?
7 The Lord is my helper,
Therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humanity.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in nobles.

10 All the nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they were extinguished like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.
13 They pushed me hard to make me fall,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.

15 There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!
16 The Lord’s right hand is raised.
The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!”

Original Intent

1) How does the Lord help when I am being pushed hard and the enemy tries to make me fall?
In Psalm 118, David recounts the ways his enemies have tried to harm him and how the Lord has delivered him each time. In Psalm 118:13, David declares, “They pushed me hard to make me fall, but the Lord helped me.” Author John Gill explains how David could be referencing Saul, who tried to kill David many times.  He also points out that the reference describes Christ and “His many enemies.” One such enemy of Christ was Judas, who lifted up his heel against Him, and betrayed Him into the hands of His enemies; or how the devil thrust sore at Christ by Herod in His infancy, who sought to take away His life; and by the Scribes and Pharisees, who attempted it in different ways, and finally got Him nailed to the cross.”  Others also see Psalm 118 as a Messianic chapter, noting that “When Jesus quoted Psalm 118, He was referring to Himself, just as He spoke of other passages in the same psalm as applying to Himself” (Jewsforjesus.com.)  God shows himself as David’s Savior, helping him escape his enemies.  Similarly, Psalm 118 foreshadows the coming Messiah, who will deliver everyone from their difficulties and sins.

2) How can the Lord be my strength and my song?
Psalm 118 is a Hallel, or hallelujah praise, traditionally recited at Passover. All four Gospels record that as Jesus entered Jerusalem in the days leading up to Passover, crowds gathered, acclaiming Jesus as the one “who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Jewsforjesus.com) As author G. Campbell Morgan explains, we are not sure of the author of Psalm 118.  Morgan surmises, “though this was likely David’s psalm, it was also Jesus’ psalm.” This is pre-eminently the triumph song of the Christ, He the ideal Servant, He the perfect Priest, He the Leader of the people. How much all these words meant to Him as He sang them on that night in the upper room.” Author Alexander Maclaren also cites that this psalm is about the Messiah.  He writes that, “Quoting Miriam’s song (Exodus 15:2), the singer knew not only that God could bring strength and a song, but that Yahweh Himself became their strength and the song of those who put their trust in Him.  Going even further, the palmist understood that Yahweh had become his salvation.  Yahweh is these things for His people.”  If we put our trust in God, He becomes our strength and our song; He is our salvation.

3) What does it mean that the Lord’s right hand performs valiantly?
In Psalm 118:15-16, the phrase “the Lord’s right hand performs valiantly” is repeated twice.  According to Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, the word “hand” “represents the ownership, power, or control that its possessor (either an individual or a people) exercises.” It goes on to say that in particular the right hand of God is “understood as a place of salvation, refuge, and protection.”  Author April Motl explains, “when Scripture uses the image of God’s right hand, it is meant to be a picture of the pinnacle of strength and ability. In passages that specifies God’s right hand, strength is a key focus.” Indeed, the Scriptures are filled with verses that mention God’s right hand (at least 166 references!). For instance, in Psalm 108:6 David pleads with God to save him with His right hand.  In Psalm 44:3, the psalmist says he conquered the land because of the Lord’s right hand.  David describes not only the strength shown by God’s right hand, but also how it performs valiantly, or, according to author John Gill “acts powerfully. This is repeated for the confirmation of it, and to show how much the righteous were affected with it, and how desirous they were of glorifying it.” Our God is not only a strong God who acts with power, but He is our strength as well (Psalm 118:14). We are blessed to find not only our protection, but also our strength, in Him.

Everyday Application

1) How does the Lord help when I am being pushed hard and the enemy tries to make me fall?
Do you ever have days when it seems like the whole world is making a concerted effort to take you down?  Your own daily stresses (like the dishwasher leaking, the dog puking on the carpet, or your kid being bullied), combined with worries about your friends (your pals divorcing, your neighbor with depression), and the ongoing conflicts in the nation (inequalities, injustices and fast-spreading viruses) make you feel like you’re going down for the count. It is true that our enemy, the devil, wants to take us out.  The Bible tells us he is “prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” (I Peter 5:8) The Lord faithfully helps us when we are being pushed around by the enemy. The Bible tells us the One who is in us is greater than the devil. (1 John 4:4) God also encourages us in His word by saying, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10) Our God promises to be with us and strengthen us no matter what we are facing.  We might get a little bruised and battered, but we are promised victory in the Lord!

2) How can the Lord be my strength and my song?
I have read plenty of verses telling me God is my strength. The Bible tells us God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1), the strength of our life (Psalm 27:1), and that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).  However, the idea that God is my song is not as familiar to me. I have heard songs based on Isaiah 12:2 and Psalm 118:14, but I’ve never contemplated what it means for the Lord to be my song.  Author Alexander Maclaren explains, “When the Lord is our song, it means He is our joy and our happiness. We find our purpose and life in Him, and He never disappoints.” Author Joseph Benson connects the idea of strength and song by saying that since God gives us strength, He is “the just object of my praise.”  The idea is that God in His grace and mercy gives me strength, and that makes me want to sing His praises!  It works the other way around as well, for the Bible tells us, “the joy of the Lord is my strength!”. (Nehemiah 8:10) Whether God gives me strength that makes me sing, or His joy gives me strength, the Lord provides me with the strength I need to make it through each day.

3) What does it mean that the Lord’s right hand performs valiantly?
One winter day when I was a little girl, my younger sister and I were walking the two blocks home from school on a snowy day.  Following us was a big, 5th grade bully, so we were moving fast.  In our haste, my little sister lost her red rubber snow boot, and the bully quickly pounced on it and began tossing it over our heads to her pal.  We just booked it home, leaving the boot in their clutches. Later my mom walked us back to retrieve the snow boot they had left lying in the snow, and I felt ashamed that I had not protected my sister from the boot-thieving bully. At times, I still feel helpless all these years later when I can’t do anything in my own power to free myself or a loved one from anxiety, physical pain or relationship struggles.  Today, I know I am not really helpless and I don’t have to run. I know the “Lord’s right hand performs valiantly.” (Psalm 118:1) I cannot do much to fight against the enemy on my own, but I am learning I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) When I rely on God to help me with my struggles, He delivers me (Psalm 34:19) With the Lord on my side, I don’t have anything to fear. (Psalm 118:6) God says that through Him, I am more than a conqueror. (Romans 8:37) Sometimes I still feel like that little girl, quaking in her snow boots before the big bully, but the truth is that God fights my battles for me and I have no need to fear!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Love That Frees!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Hallel Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Hallel Day 13 Love That Frees

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 118:1-16
Exodus 15:1-3
Isaiah 53:10-11
Matthew 26:20-30

Hallel, Day 13

“His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1-4)

The truth of these words brought the disciples comfort as they walked to the garden, singing this refrain. It had been a strange and unsettling evening. What began as a joyous celebration commemorating God’s deliverance of His people from slavery had taken a much more serious turn over dinner . . .

Talk of betrayal and suffering,
bread being broken and wine poured out,
all pointing to death . . .

Something in Jesus’ manner was different tonight, and it left them uneasy. The comfort of these familiar words surely heartened them.

“His faithful love endures forever.”
Everything will be all right.

For Jesus, the words were a reminder of why He had come and what He had to do. God’s faithful love endures forever, despite humanity’s sin and rebellion, and He was about to demonstrate the depth of His love once and for all . . . at an incredible cost.

“I called to the Lord in distress;
the Lord answered me and put me in a spacious place.”
(Psalm 118:5)

Freedom!

The disciples longed for freedom from Roman rule and they trusted Jesus was the promised Messiah, the One who would deliver their freedom. Just as God freed the Israelites from Pharaoh’s rule so many years ago, surely He would do the same for them. If God was on their side, they would be victorious. There was no reason to fear.

Freedom . . . 

Jesus needed to focus on the reason why He was going through with this. It was for these dear friends walking alongside Him, and for many others who would believe through their witness.

His death and resurrection would set them free, liberate them from sin and death forever, and cast out fear of God’s judgement by making them righteous. True, eternal freedom for His beloved friends was worth all that lay ahead.

“The Lord is my helper. Therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.” (Psalm 118:7)

Perhaps the disciples’ voices grew louder, more confident, as they pondered these words.

Jesus had spoken of enemies tonight, but they wouldn’t have the final word. Against all odds, the Israelites had triumphed over Pharaoh and his army. God had shown His power, and He could do it again. Surely the Lord was for them.

But did Jesus’ voice grow fainter as He sang, wrestling inwardly with what was to come?

“I know there are many who hate me.
They will do their worst.
Death will look like defeat.

O Father, help Me endure.
I know this is necessary, and I know it will be worth it.
I know death will not have the final victory.
I know this will be a mighty triumph over the powers of hell for eternity . . .
but I also know it will be painful and bloody.
Please give me strength.

And help My brothers, Father.
My death will seem like a crushing defeat to their faith.
Please give them strength to endure.”

“All the nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.” (Psalm 118:10)

No matter what comes against us, no matter what enemies surround us,
we can defeat them in God’s power.

“Very soon, I will be surrounded by enemies, whipping and spitting, mocking and jeering, rejoicing in My demise. Already, the true enemies, the spiritual forces of evil and darkness, invade My mind, urging Me not to go through with it, to use My power to break free.

And I could . . . but I will not.

Only through My death will these enemies be truly destroyed, and My children set free. O Father, give me victory over the temptation to quit. Help Me be strong.”

“The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.”  (Psalm 118:14)

As they echoed the Israelites’ song of victory after crossing the Red Sea, praising God for His mighty power, hope rose in the disciples’ hearts. God was with them. Victory was sure . . .

As for Jesus, He looked to the suffering awaiting Him, knowing through His death, He would become their salvation. It was the only way.

Only in death would they, and all who would believe, be set free to embrace eternal life . . .

Great suffering lay ahead; Christ must hold onto hope, and cling to the truth that death would not have the final word:

“I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the Lord has done.”  (Psalm 118:17)

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Kaleidoscope Day 1 Patient Father

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Exodus 16:1-20
2 Peter 3:8-13
Joel 2:12-13

Kaleidoscope, Day 1

“Be patient, be patient,
Don’t be in such a hurry!
When you get,
Impatient,
You only start to worry.
Remember, remember,
God is patient, too!
And think of all the times that others
Had to wait on you!”

My mama is a singer; as such, my entire life has been like one big musical. The little song above was just another little ditty my mom used to sing when impatience filled the scripts of our lives. This song can be found in scenes when we were stuck in Las Vegas traffic in 100-degree weather, or when I was anxiously waiting for my cousins’ arrival to play.
Now, in an entirely new act, I sing this song to my daughters.

But sometimes, even as I sing, I don’t feel so patient.
Sometimes I sing with gritted teeth, or after biting my cheeks to keep from saying something I shouldn’t. Sometimes, I begrudgingly sing it to my daughters with a cheery smile plastered on my face, my forced enthusiasm convincing my heart to actually be patient.

Patience, I’ve learned, isn’t just “waiting for the pot roast to be done” or “for your nails to dry” (although both have definitely grown my patience massively).
It also means long-suffering.
Excruciating “waiting for your adult child to come to Jesus”, or even
“persevering and fervently praying in the midst of turmoil and grief”.

Patience looks much like waiting on the Lord and His timing.

Maybe He’s called you to do something….
become a missionary,
start a ministry,
find a new job,
adopt,
or move,
and then He told you to wait.

Patience.
Long-suffering, nail-biting, gut-wrenching patience.

Because our God is gracious, never asking us to do what He would not, we find His loving patience everywhere.

The Old Testament speaks often of God being slow to anger like in Exodus 34:6-7 when God reminded Moses of His patience towards stubborn Israel and her disobedience.

Before saying, “Enough!” and nearly wiping out all of humanity with a flood, God literally waited over 4,000 years for hearts to repent!

In Numbers 14:18, Moses recounted again how Israel was saved from utter destruction, even though she clearly deserved it, because of the Lord’s long-suffering patience.

When Israel, freed from slavery in Egypt by the mighty hand of the Lord, grumbled and complained, “But, Yaweh! We’re hungry and starving and it would’ve been better for us to just be slaves!”

God lavishly poured out heaps of patience and love by giving them fresh, flakey bread (manna) and quail (what a delicacy!) every single day! Through the waiting, He taught them dependency on Him, teaching them to trust His daily provision.
They grumbled and complained and His response was gracious patience and provision!

When David, the young boy appointed King of the Israelites was finally made King, he had an affair and then murdered that woman’s husband!
The Lord’s response?
Loving Patience.
God had every just right to kill David, or at least remove him from the throne, for his grievous sin, but because God is lovingly patient, He sent a prophet to come alongside David, reveal his sin to him and allow David to repent!
God’s patience brought loving discipline to King David, one God called “a man after God’s own heart.”

From the moment sin entered this world through Eve and Adam, God’s great plan for redeeming mankind through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was already set in place. For its fullness to be completed, the Lord w a i t e d with long-suffering patience

And Oh!
The patience displayed by our Savior as He allowed Himself to be tortured beyond recognition then hung on a cross to die a long and excruciating death where He slowly suffocated hour by hour.
His shredded back scraped the rough wood of the cross each time He raised Himself up to catch a breath. His head throbbed from the thorns piercing into His skull.
He spent hours dying by the worst form of death in human history, intentionally allowing Himself to fully feel the agony, not hurrying His death sentence as He, the Author of life and death itself, could easily have done. He gave His life for you and me.
Patience even in death.

Astonishing.

I took a nap with my daughters this afternoon, praying as I fell asleep for Lord to speak to me about a situation in my life. Instead, I heard Him talking to me about His patience in a way I’d never considered.
God’s love for me is individualized.
It is a passionate love uniquely for me, just as His love for you is uniquely crafted to meet you. His love cannot be measured, it looks different for every person.
The love I have for my three daughters is special and intimate for each of them. Similarly, God’s love for us is just as individualized and special.
God delights in you and in me and He loves having a personal relationship with us where He loves us each in our own, special way. How great His love for us that He would patiently wait millennia for us to choose to know Him intimately! His heart is for all to choose Him! (2 Peter 3:9)

Love is patient.
Because God is patient.

Patient Love weaves together 4,000 years of events, inspiring 40 different authors to write words that all point to One Redeeming Savior.

Patient Love teaches disciples, followers, curious onlookers, and malicious people about the Father and His redemption while delivering people from sin and disease and performing miraculous wonders along the way.

Patient Love endures grotesque abuse, taking a guilty punishment of death, though innocent, in order to rescue beloved children who rightly deserve wrath.

Patient Love rises from the dead, forever defeating Sin and Death by His victorious life!

Patient Love walks with me in the most dire of circumstances when I’m being pushed, stretched, and pruned, even when it all feels out of my control.

Love is patient.
And God is love.

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Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Kaleidoscope Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

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