Saturday, December 31, 2022

Wait on the Lord @ Union Gospel 12/31/2022 New Year Service

Psalm 27:14, Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

 

A man standing by the bench at the bus stop and notice a butterfly that was starting to hatch from its cocoon. He sat down and watched the butterfly for hours as it struggled to force itself through a tiny hole. Then, it suddenly stopped making progress and looked like it was stuck. This is a process called metamorphosis

Therefore, the man decided to help the butterfly out. He took a pair of scissors and cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, although it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man thought nothing of it, and he sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to support the butterfly. However, that never happened. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable to fly, crawling around with small wings and a swollen body.

Despite the man’s kind heart, he didn’t understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get itself through the small hole, the purpose is to shed the reddish liquid that covered the body and anything that the body does not need. This final stage of the metamorphosis is to cleanse the body preparing it to fly

 

There’re many restricted cocoons in our lives but we must recognize their purposes. They maybe there to heal old wounds, to force out bad habits, to change behaviors. Therefore, it is important to wait and allow God to complete His work on us. We must wait on the Lord

Prayer

Lord, we thank you for always answering our prayers, give us the strength and the wisdom to accept your answer in your way when it comes. Help us to pray with faith consistently and repeatedly, to believe, wait, and then move forward in Your timing. Help us to be patient in prayer, not give up, and trust You even during the time of our most difficulty, even at time when we are filled with negative emotions. God, we don’t want to live by our feelings, instead, we want to turn it over to you and live by faith. Help us not to take matters in our own hands. Today as we move into the new year, we are committed to trust you Lord. As we move into the promise of the new beginning of the New year, we refuse to believe the lies of the enemy. We choose to be faithful in prayer. With your help Lord, deepen our understanding, and give us greater knowledge of what You are doing in our lives. We have chosen to hold unswervingly to the hope that we profess. Your scripture has taught us today: “be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” Strenght our faith amid our waiting, just as You did with Your disciples when encountering a storm at sea. We thank You that You have all the wisdom and will answer our prayers in the perfect way. Guide us as we move onto the New Year 2023, In the name of Jesus, amen.


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