From 1 I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. 2 He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. 3He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God. 4 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God, turn your backs on the world's "sure thing," ignore what the world worships;5 The world's a huge stockpile of God-wonders and God-thoughts. Nothing and no one comes close to you! I start talking about you, telling what I know, and quickly run out of words. Neither numbers nor words account for you. 6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you - that's not what you're after. Being religious, acting pious - that's not what you're asking for. You've opened my ears so I can listen. 7 So I answered, "I'm coming. I read in your letter what you wrote about me,8 And I'm coming to the party you're throwing for me." That's when God's Word entered my life, became part of my very being. 9 I've preached you to the whole congregation, I've kept back nothing, God - you know that. 10 I didn't keep the news of your ways a secret, didn't keep it to myself. I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough. I didn't hold back pieces of love and truth For myself alone. I told it all, let the congregation know the whole story. 11 Now God, don't hold out on me, don't hold back your passion. Your love and truth are all that keeps me together.
It is a place where we all have been; in need of God and it seems God is hesitant or slow to answer, and the longer God takes, the deeper we sink into a mud of despair or worry. But then comes the answer, pulled out by God's loving hand and seer once again on the path on which we were, this time in a more secure place so that we wouldn't fall again. And this made us sing (most of us anyway, though we should all sing when we're happy!) a new "God-song" praising God for what God has done. Some of us wait until Sunday, but we still sing. And the truth is God is answering prayers in the lives of many people. The real blessing is to the ones who give themselves wholeheartedly to God, rejecting the "sure-things" of the world for the sure thing of God's love and care. We say no to the things the world worships (see the plot line of "The Wolf of Wall Street" and/or any of those "greed movies. I'm not endorsing you see the movie, just Google spoiler-alerts about the movie). What God offers is much more lasting and satisfying than the things of the world. Two days ago in Houston, we passed a mall where Nellie and I stopped after I picked her up at the airport, she was in town to meet my parents and for us to announce our marriage, and I wanted to buy her a sweater but she refused. "I know how much the church was paying you for being an intern; you couldn't afford it and I didn't want you to spend your money!" Wow. Even today it impresses me about this woman, but I said to her, "You knew how poor I was and you still wanted to marry me?" And here's a great answer: "You were the richest man I knew; money is not what makes us rich." Wow, again.
Nothing comes close to what God can offer and share with us. And all God desires is a relationship with us, for us to love and trust God, for us to walk and talk with Him. I love what this version (The Message Version) says next, "And I'm coming to the party you're throwing for me." That was the point, the writer says, that "God's Word entered my life, become part of my very being," and this is what the writer preached and shared and witnessed to among all people. He shared the whole story of God.
The prayer closes with the plea that the writer still wants and needs God's passion, love and truth alive and present in his life as do we.
PRAYER: May this be our prayer as well. Thank You, Loving God, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
