Worship as Waiting

From a 2011 02 04 message by the Rev. Randy Thornton

“God wants to know you personally and intimately in a deep way,” said the Rev. Randy Thornton, preaching recently at Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C. “What does it mean to worship God while you’re waiting?”

Thornton, a husband and a father of four adult children, serves as Grace Church’s senior pastor. He said a Christian can fall into a routine and neglect his relationship with God.

“One of the key things in life is learning how to put ‘margin’ in your life,” he said.

Our culture is fast-paced. Men and women work hard. They need time for recuperation or exhaustion comes.

“Soon, you’re two strangers in a house,” Thornton said.

He read Genesis 2:2-3: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

“Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest” (Exodus 34:21).

Thornton said, “On the seventh day, he (God) said, ‘It’s chill time.’ We need a day to ‘connect. Sometime my wife just says, ‘Talk.” And I’ll say, What about?’ And she’ll say, ‘I don’t know. Just talk.’”

Our culture is doing everything it can to keep us from spending time with God and with the family, he observed.

“It’s hard for Americans to slow down,” he said. “We can’t sit still. Why are the kids on Ritalin? We can’t sit still.”

Thornton gave these warning signs that indicate a person is too busy and on the edge of burnout:

A sense of hopelessness

Frequent tears

Difficulty concentrating

Decision-making comes hard

Irritability

Insomnia

Lowered activity levels

Lack of mental attentiveness

Eating disorders

Aches and pains

You have to make this decision: Getting healthy is a top priority.

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (Psalm 40:1-2 NIV).

Sometimes our prayers are “whining,” Thornton said. “Some of us are bogged down in our lives. We have lost perspective. When they waited patiently, he lifted them out of the slimy pit. We need God to fill our emotional tanks. Some people seem to be in one life crisis after another.”

God wants to fill us on a daily basis, Thornton said. He then asked, “How many could spend 20 minutes with God? Say, ‘God, I want to come before you and wait patiently.’ Tell God, ‘I’m here. Speak.’ Invite him to come and be with you. His manifest presence becomes almost tangible.”

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods” (Psalm 40:3-4 NIV).

Thornton noted, “God says, ‘Let me give you my love to love others.’ Rearrange your schedule. It has to be intentional…if we want to win the race in the long run.”

He said “Chick-fil-A” honors God by not opening its restaurant on Sundays.

“Chick-fil-A is one of the most successful businesses in the fast-food industry,” Thornton said.

He noted that God wants us full of his Spirit and that if we are full of God, when someone asks us to ‘talk,’ we’ll have something to say.

“Turn off the electronics and talk, connect,” Thornton said. Making an appeal particularly to men, he said, “Can you spend 20 minutes (with God)…could I extend that to one hour? Take one hour and spend time with God, without an agenda.”

He concluded by praying, “God, I know you want everyone here to know how to wait upon the Lord.”

“…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; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).