"For All Saints," by Andrew Murray

This is from a 30-day devotional I've been reading through the past couple of days. It is by Andrew Murray, a very old Biblical scholar. I think this was originally written in the 1830s. So, its language is a bit old school, but personally I love me some old school language. I'm the girl that read Shakespeare in 7th grade and loved it. So, I encourage (beseech) you to take some time and read through this. Maybe one day I'll update the whole thing in more modern language, but for now, I've copied and pasted it into here, so it's all intact. The different font is my own additions to it, things that the Lord just laid on my heart as I read. So, I hope you can understand and hear the Lord speaking to you through it! 

JULY 1, 2012

Day 6. FOR ALL SAINTS

"Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed." Ps. 25:3

Let us now, in our meditation of today, each one forget himself, to think of the great company of God, saints throughout the world, who are all with us waiting on Him. And let us all join in the fervent prayer for each other, "Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed."

[My notes, as I read this, look at the verse in my Bible, and meditate this morning]—First, the meaning of the word shame : ”A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior; a loss of respect or esteem; dishonor.” That word painful is key to me. God does not want to cause us any pain. He cannot lay a hand of pain on us. Very true, we go through very painful times, and yes those times have passed through the hand of our God and been allowed to take place, but in that they have become sanctified & holy. They have a bigger purpose than simply pain or suffering; those emotions are not His end, but His means to an end that is glorious for Him and good for us. In that belief we WAIT when we experience hard times.  We wait for Him to bring the resolve that will reveal Himself to us and, perhaps more importantly, to others around us who have not experienced this waiting & revealing just yet.

So, how important is it to ask with the psalmist “let us not be put to shame”? I know firsthand the feelings of going through a situation of suffering that has taught me how to wait upon God. And I also know what it is like to sit & speculate & stress about the what-ifs and what-nots, and be left completely overwhelmed—distressed—from all the intense thinking (not waiting) I had just done. I find myself daily being assaulted by doubts [note: FROM THE ENEMY] that all of my waiting is in vain, that it is going to turn out shamefully. But now I see this verse & think, oh, I need to petetion God for this, both because prayer is our first line of defense against the enemy at all times, and also because our only offensive weapon we are told of in the Word is the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. AND if we put those two together, Satan has no case against us. He cannot attack us while we are full-on attacking Him. But we must attack. Even in waiting, attacks of the mind are strenuous and must be fought. If not fought, it only festers and becomes worse until all you have are your doubts. The Word can lose its tender touch upon your waiting & aching soul when doubts are your constant companions.  To keep that from happening, we must keep praying in our waiting. Keep praying and beliving that, according to the Word, we will NOT be put to shame. None who wait upon the Lord shall be put to shame—look at that verse again. [In the ESV] Verse 2 is the asking verse, but verse 3 is the battle cry of promise.

“This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your PROMISE gives me life.” Psalm 119:50.

Just think for a moment of the multitude of waiting ones who need that prayer; how many there are, sick and weary and solitary, to whom it is as if their prayers are not answered, and who sometimes begin to fear that their hope will be put to shame. And then, how many servants of God, ministers or missionaries, teachers or workers, of various name, whose hopes in their work have been disappointed, and whose longing for power and blessing remains unsatisfied. And then, too, how many, who have heard of a life of rest and perfect peace, of abiding light and fellowship, of strength and victory, and who cannot find the path. With all these, it is nothing but that they have not yet learned the secret of full waiting upon God. They just need, what we all need, the living assurance that waiting on God can never be in vain. Let us remember all who are in danger of fainting or being weary, and all unite in the cry, "Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed!"

If this intercession for all who wait on God becomes part of our waiting on Him for ourselves, we shall help to bear each other's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

There will be introduced into our waiting on God that element of unselfishness and love, which is the path to the highest blessing, and the fullest communion with God. Love to the brethren and love to God are inseparably linked. In God, the love to His Son and to us are one: "That the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me, may be in them." In Christ, the love of the Father to Him, and His love to us, are one: "As the Father loved me, so have I loved you." In us, He asks that His love to us shall be ours to the brethren: "As I have loved you, that ye love one another." All the love of God, and of Christ, are inseparably linked with love to the brethren. And how can we, day by day, prove and cultivate this love otherwise than by daily praying for each other? Christ did not seek to enjoy the Father’s love for Himself; He passed it all on to us. All true seeking of God and His love for ourselves, will be inseparably linked with the thought and the love of our brethren in prayer for them.

"Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed." Twice in the psalm David speaks of his waiting on God for himself; here he thinks of all who wait on Him. Let this page take the message to all God’s tried and weary ones, that there are more praying for them than they know. Let it stir them and us in our waiting to make a point of at times forgetting ourselves, and to enlarge our hearts, and say to the Father, "These all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season." Let it inspire us all with new courage-for who is there who is not at times ready to faint and be weary? "Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed" is a promise in a prayer, "They that wait on Thee shall not be ashamed!" From many and many a witness the cry comes to every one who needs the help, brother, sister, tried one, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that wait on the Lord."

Blessed Father! We humbly beseech Thee, Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed; no, not one. Some are weary, and the time of waiting appears long. And some are feeble, and scarcely know how to wait. And some are so entangled in the effort of their prayers and their work, they think that they can find no time to wait continually. Father, teach us all how to wait. Teach us to think of each other, and pray for each other. Teach us to think of Thee, the God of all waiting ones. Father! Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

"My soul, wait thou only upon God!"