Monday, January 18, 2010

It's a new day, it's a new dawn

I started reading My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers on Jan. 1st of this year. Each day has a short, one-page devotional with an excerpt from scripture included. A friend gave me this book several years ago, and I have read several passages from it, but I have never read it all the way through, each day for a whole year. I hope to shares passages as they inspire me, encourage me, convict me...as they teach me. The very first one of these was on Jan. 4th:

"When God brings the blank space, see that you do not fill it in, but wait. The blank space may come in order to teach you..."

This devotion spoke specifically to waiting on God. Do not try to rush God or act before He would have you to act. If you are uncertain, wait. God may be trying to teach you something. Mr. Chambers gave the example of Peter in the Bible. Peter said he was ready to give his life for Christ, and Christ told him he would deny him three times that night - because God knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. Peter needed to be converted first.

I have been thinking over these words, and particulary the phrase "blank space", for several days now. (I guess 14 days to be exact!) When it seems like you have been sitting on the bench game after game (can I use a sports analogy as a female?), it's reassuring to read that God knows exactly where you are and who you are, and try to learn in the blank space.