“But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” (Mark‬ ‭14:28‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

God gives us promises in the light so we can hold on to them in the dark. A couple weeks ago my husband and I met with a very wise woman of God to pray. She urged, “What promises has God given you in the past? Hold on to those.”

We’ve got to remember what God said when the lights go out.

Did the disciples? I mean, this was the Last Supper and Jesus was issuing instructions and hope, but were they listening? Would they remember His words when the cross completely obstructed their view of their Teacher? It doesn’t seem so. But when the promises unfurled over their life again, their faith was bolstered.

The sooner we learn to live confident of God’s promises, the better. The disciples belief was reinforced post-cross and their ministry multiplied post-Pentecost. What might it take to reinforce and multiply us?

When we begin to wonder about God’s faithfulness we need to remember His cross.

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans‬ ‭8:32‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

If God was going to backtrack on a promise, wouldn’t the cross be the one to reconsider?

Yet, Jesus was faithful unto death, faithful all the way through resurrection and still today. We can trust Him with lesser things. Everything is lesser than the cross. Jesus has already addressed our most pressing issue. Everything else is small potatoes.

The thing is, it’s so hard to hear God’s promises over the rush of grief and worry in our own heads. Beloved, that’s when we need to hear them the most. His promises are our lifelines; we’ve got to grab on and refuse to let go. When we do, He carefully, faithfully tugs us to the other side.

“My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” (Psalm‬ ‭119:50‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

Lord, please help us hear and treasure Your promises in the light, so we can hang on to them in the dark. We see how You spoke to Your disciples pre-cross. You issued instructions and hope for the hard days that would follow. We realize You speak to us pre-pain; You hand us the lifeline for the tough times that follow. We remember that You have already addressed our biggest problem. We can trust You for the lesser stuff. Help us hear You today and still remember Your words when tomorrow comes. Amen.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm‬ ‭27:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

We don’t enjoy waiting, do we? The very act of waiting weighs on us, makes us feel like we could be doing something more useful. Sometimes we even get angry because we are convinced that time is being taken from us.

When the tremendous project of “Estate” first unfolded in my lap, I felt this way. The lawyers told me it would be a full year before we buttoned it all up and filed it away in an office somewhere. The latest estimate? Two or three years. Initially, I was furious. How could the financial death of my parents steal all of 38? Then, I was impatient. I thought if I could just do my part quickly, efficiently, perhaps we could shave some months off this process. It turns out that some things cannot be hurried, no matter how one might try.

I realized it in growth groups a few weeks ago; we were talking about waiting and how we respond. I could suddenly see it so clearly; one of the many gifts I’ve ‘inherited’ as executor is the fine art of waiting. See, I have spent so much time waiting that I am finally getting good at it. Waiting doesn’t eat at me as it did at the beginning. I am currently waiting on my parent’s house to close, waiting on my brother’s brain surgery, waiting on a important decision from the Veteran’s Administration, waiting to hear from a publisher on my manuscript, waiting on legal proceedings that could claim the entire estate, waiting to find the natural rhythms of our now-family of five. I have learned in this last year to be an excellent waiter.

How? Because somewhere along the way I figured out what waiters do. They serve. They put on an apron and they look around to see who they can bless in the hallway while they wait for the next door to open. They realize that waiting time is not wasted time but limited opportunity.

The truth is, we’ll only occupy this precise space for so long, so we need to use our time wisely. Look up and around; who can we serve right here and now?

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter‬ ‭4:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

This passage goes on to tell us that the strength we find in life’s hallways is strength for serving and it comes straight from the throne room. We might think we are the source of some stamina to serve while we are waiting, but actually God is giving us a supernatural boost so we might be most effective in the darkest, loneliest places of life.

Hallways are serving halls and wait-ers are stewards girded with heavenly strength, all aligned to bring God glory. Our time in the hallway of life isn’t accidental, it’s intentional. God isn’t aiming to frustrate, but mature us and make us more like Him, more ready for Kingdom use.

Lord, thank You for hallways and opportunities to mature in patience and service. Grow us into good waiters, ready to serve wherever You set us. Cultivate our appreciation for life’s delays, convince us of the good stuff that happens when we are made to wait on You and maybe others, too. Let us learn to be Kingdom stewards wherever we stand. Amen.

“When these things begin to happen, watch out! You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.” (Mark‬ ‭13:9‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

We don’t really appreciate opposition. We find it frustrating, annoying; and uncomfortable. We run into resistance and wonder if maybe we heard God wrong and we don’t actually belong here at all. We search the room for a way out.

Jesus is telling us that opposition is thinly disguised opportunity. Opportunity for what?

“For the Good News must first be preached to all nations. But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mark‬ ‭13:10-11 NLT)

Gospel expansion. Personal growth. Holy Spirit empowerment. All good things in the Kingdom.

Crazy. This whole past year of my life has been plum-full of opportunity camouflaged as opposition. Today I’m pulling back the curtain and calling it what it it’s worth; Kingdom Expansion. First in me, and then in the world around me. I’m encouraged and quipped. How about you?

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James‬ ‭1:2-4‬ NLT)

Lord, thank You for helping us see the truth about opposition today. Help us keep this in mind as we stretch and grow and persevere on behalf of Your Kingdom. Please continue to equip us with Your Spirit. Amen.

“After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.” (Numbers‬ ‭4:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

God assigns some heavy, holy loads to some specific people. This small faction of the Levites shouldered the sole responsibility of shuttling the pieces of the sanctuary and the sacred utensils from one campsite to another. The tricky part? They could not touch it, even lay eyes on it. Aaron and his sons did the packing. The Kohathites did the heavy lifting.

Sometimes the Lord calls us to cumbersome, complicated tasks. Sometimes these tasks don’t make much sense and maybe even seem cruel. That’s when we must remember that if God has called us to move it, it must be for His Kingdom. We can’t see the whole picture of humanity, we don’t know how our tiny, leaden responsibility might play out in the Kingdom.

The Kohathites helped carry the physical presence of God into the Promised Land. They participated in the establishing of God’s home here on earth. Their pack-mule obedience made way for the temple. Their muscles participated in the unfolding of history. And they were oh-so-close to the things of God.

The Kohathites (and maybe us also) were hard-pressed into Kingdom service, but what better Kingdom could we serve?

What wears like a burden today is surely a Kingdom blessing tomorrow. So we straighten our backs and commit to carrying our loads with grace and dignity, certain of the One who assigned it.

“Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.” (Galatians‬ ‭6:4-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” (Mark‬ ‭12:30‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

Lord, we trust Your knowledge and Your sovereignty. We realize that You alone are the assigner of burdens. You will not allow us more than we can bear with Your help. Remind that we are participating in something Kingdom, and give us the grace and strength for another day in Your service. Amen.