Wrtten by Rev.Zheng on 19 March 2023
“but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)
Eagles could fly at a speed of up to 60 miles per hour. They could dive at a speed of 75 to 100 miles per hour to grab their prey with their sharp talons.
The soaring of an eagle is a spectacular sight! God used the mighty wings of eagles to represent His mighty power. For those who belong to Jesus, “He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29 So the way to overcome spiritual burnout and a wavering faith is to call out to God and await His deliverance.
To wait for the LORD means to walk behind God instead of rushing ahead of Him. The greatest hindrance to waiting for the LORD is disbelief, that is, when we do not truly believe that God has the power to resolve our situation, nor God truly love a sinner like me. So for us to be patient with God, first we ought to put our hope in God, to trust that He is able and He is willing, that He loves us, not because we are lovable but because we are His. Then from young till old, we will receive timely and sufficient strength to hold on to our faith. It is the same for the church.
We have begun our pilgrime on the 17th year. In the past 16 years, God has put us through a few severe tests to see whether every ndividual truly loves His church, i.e. willing to respond to His call for the church in one heart. We thank the Holy Spirit for helping us to see some areas of improvement for us individually and corporately as a church. Besides the church systems, we have drawn two essential spiritual lessons:
The first lesson is for the pastors, elders and deacons to “deny oneself” for Christ’s church. The leadership must be willing to carry the cross of putting aside personal ambitions, ideals, comfort, pride, friendship…etc. so as to submit to Christ and build Christ’s church according to Christ’ entrustment as one man. No individual should insist on building the church according to one’s own ideals.
The second lesson is for every member to re-examine oneself whether he or she truly love the church. If we cannot love the church that we can see, then we cannot love God whom we cannot see. (1John 4:20) Are you willing to make personal sacrifice to contribute to the growth of the church? If each of us is only passionate about building the wall in front of our house, i.e. we only serve in the ways we want to, then we are loving ourselves, not the church.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us put aside our personal gain and come together in one heart, and wait for Christ who builds up His churches according to the eternal decree of the Father. If we can do that, Truth Baptist Church will soar on wings like eagles in God’s will!
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