Heart Tracks - In The Mean Time

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31....."Life may be spelled in three words: 'Hurry, Worry, Bury.' We are getting on, but on where?" Vance Havner......"In the meantime can be a very 'mean time.' " Sheila Walsh

Isaiah 40:31 is a favorite verse of many. Renewed strength; mounting up with the wings of eagles; such makes our hearts soar. Let me ask, is this the experience of most when it comes to waiting? How much closer is our experience to what Havner and Walsh are saying? Do our hearts and spirits soar with eagle wings in our times of delay, especially in waiting with a complete sense of helplessness? Waiting on Him in a time that the flesh says we must act, take hold of the situation, do something. I heard a man say that when we find ourselves in that place between the closing of one door and the opening of another, it will "hell in the hallway." In the meantime really can and will be a very mean time.

We are born into life with an overwhelming desire to be in control. One of the main points of satan's temptation of Eve was the offer to put her, and not the Father in control. Our flesh rises up each day to seek that same control and nowhere will it be more evident than in the time of waiting. In the mean time, the hallway time. I once had a conversation with a young person who was in much turmoil over a relationship. They told me they could be at peace "if they just knew how it would all turn out." There is the key to the problem. We have to know the end. We cannot survive the "meantime" unless we do. We cannot endure the hallway without this knowledge. That's why the quote from Havner is far more indicative of our life experience than Isaiah 40. From cradle to grave, our lives are marked by "hurry and worry." Always on the move, mostly seeking to manipulate our life and the lives of others, and always filled with anxiety that what we desire to happen, won't. We're totally earthbound. Our hearts and spirits never know the sensation of soaring in His freedom. There is only one way that we can; bringing all of ourselves to all of Him in surrender.

The question in the old hymn still pierces our heart; "Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?" I'm not sure that we possess any greater "treasure" than our perceived right to ourselves? Can we make the sacrifice of placing this fully upon His altar? Leaving it, and the "all" that it contains, in His hands. Surrendering, trusting, leaving, and waiting....on Him? In Him? Everyone wants to soar. There is only one route to such a life....His cross. Burdens are lifted at Calvary. Especially the burden of ourselves. Only at the cross can our spirits take flight.

Are you in that mean time right now? Do you know the hell of the hallway? We are called to soar in His Spirit, but we never will so long as our hands tightly grip the things of this life. If we will surrender them into His hands, we will find ourselves living out the power of Isaiah 40:31. His sky is calling us. Will we mount up? Or do we go on living in the mean time, in hell's hallway?

Blessings,
Pastor O