Wednesday, 19th August 2020
Title: Waiting
Author: Pastor Wallace Ong

Psalm 27: 13 – 14
13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

I am quite certain that many of us would agree “waiting is difficult.” Generally speaking, people do not like to wait. If you are parents or teachers, you will know that “waiting patiently” does not come naturally especially in little children. Since young, we all need to be taught this important skill — to learn how to wait. Above all, this skill is not easily acquired.

Why is “waiting” so hard? Waiting implies that our circumstances are beyond our control. In our daily lives, we like to believe that we can always achieve the outcomes we want in all situations, yet if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that we can barely see/visualize the hour beyond our present existence. The Bible advises us in James 4:13-15, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

In our Christian walk, God often does not reveal to us everything yet to come. He wants us to walk closely with Him one day at a time. Some days are especially long – times and seasons of our lives which are dreadful and horrendous. Psalm 27 is a wonderful Psalm that can help us to pull through our difficult situations or trying times. We can learn from David to have the confidence and assurance that no matter how long, how gruelling, how unexpected the days may seem, we can definitely see the goodness of God happening in our life. Holding fast to this truth allows us to patiently endure the difficult times.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,
You are good and merciful. You are our God who care deeply for us. We stand firm on Your promise and seek Your face. Lord, You are the sovereign God who hold the future. Help us to have courage and take heart, oh Lord, as we come to You for strength every day. As we wait upon You, help us to persevere in our prayer for we know we will see Your goodness in the land of the living. In Jesus’ precious name, we pray. Amen.

每日灵粮
星期三, 2020年8月19日
标题：等待中
作者：王振威传道
翻译：杨惠光弟兄

诗篇27：13-14
13我对此仍然充满信心：我将在活人之地看见耶和华的恩惠。
14等着耶和华。要坚强，振作起来，等待耶和华。

我非常确定我们每个人都会同意“等待是困难的”。一般来说，人们不喜欢等待。如果您是父母或老师，您将知道“耐心等待”并不是自然而然的，尤其是对于小孩。从小开始，我们所有人都需要被教导这项重要技能— 学习如何等待。最重要的是，这种技能不容易掌握。

为什么“等待”如此困难？等待意味着我们的情况超出了我们的控制范围。在日常生活中，我们希望在任何情况下都能取得想要的结果，但是，如果我们对自己诚实，我们必须承认，除了现在，我们根本无法知道下一刻的事情。圣经在雅各书4：13-15中告诫我们：“嗐，你们有话说：“今天、明天我们要往某城里去，在那里住一年，做买卖得利。” 其实明天如何，你们还不知道。你们的生命是什么呢？你们原来是一片云雾，出现少时就不见了。“

在我们基督徒的生活中，上帝常常不会向我们启示所有尚未发生的事情。祂希望我们每一天与祂紧密同行。某些显得特别漫长的日子都是我们生命中艰难及不好过的时候。诗篇27是一篇奇妙的诗篇，可以帮助我们度过艰难的时刻或试炼。我们可以从大卫那里学习，以满满的信心和确据，无论日子多久，多么痛苦，多么意外，我们都可以肯定地看到上帝的良善正在我们的生活中彰显。持守这一真理使我们能够耐心地忍受困难时期。

祷告：

亲爱的天父，你是善良而仁慈的。你是我们的上帝，深切关心我们。我们坚立在你的应许并寻求你的面。主啊，你是掌握未来的主。上帝啊，当我们每天向你求助时，请帮助我们鼓起勇气并振作起来。当我们等待你时，请帮助我们坚持不懈地祷告，因为我们知道我们将在地上看到你的良善。我们奉耶稣的宝贵名字祈祷。阿们。