“Me and all my
friends
We’re all
misunderstood
They say we stand for
nothing and
There’s no way we ever
could
Now we see everything
that’s going wrong
With the world and those
who lead it
We just feel like we
don’t have the means
To rise above and beat
it
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to
change” – John Mayer’s “Waiting on the world to change”
For many years, Romania
was under an oppressive and dehumanizing communist dictatorship. However,
by 1989, the Romanian people decided enough was enough, violently overthrowing
and assassinating Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, ending the communist
regime. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc country to use violence to
overthrow communism. Though their means were questionable, the citizens
now enjoy a semi-presidential republic. Oppression changed to hope, and
the country is now in repair.
Yesterday I had the
opportunity to talk to some guys living in a rehab facility run by Teen
Challenge. They are all heroin addicts and alcoholics, seeking
rehabilitation in their lives both physically and spiritually. God is
working on their hearts and they recognize the need for change in their lives.
Romania is a country
full of communist architecture; large, cold, stone buildings with no character
or personality line every street. As I’ve learned while in Romania, all
communist government buildings contained auditoriums, facilitating the exposure
of communist propaganda whenever it was deemed necessary. On Sunday I
attended a church that now meets in one such facility. The room, which
was once used by Evil to perpetuate suffering, has been reclaimed, now
spreading a message of hope and joy. The building’s purpose has changed.
Change is a funny thing;
it’s normally hard and always comes with consequences, both good and bad.
As a Christian, it can be rather easy to recognize the need for change in
people, places, situations, etc. where God isn’t present. We can see the
need for change, so therefore it’s our job to facilitate it, right?
Waiting is also a funny
thing; most of the time it’s frustrating as hell. “Let’s just do it
already, why wait?!” If Romania had listened to the song lyrics
above, they may still be “waiting on the world to change”, suffering
each day with only 1 loaf of bread per person for food. There was a need
for change, so why wait?
My time in Malawi was
extremely frustrating because it was SO disorganized. Ministry was
fruitful, but I spent so much time sitting around waiting that my attitude was
tainted. Yeah, a man was saved today, but I sat around waiting for 5
hours before our contact showed up. I let my perceptions of the
environment around me dictate my personality and attitude. The Islamic
influence in Nkhotakota was tremendous! Why sit around and wait? We
know scripture, we know how to evangelize; we’ve even got some experience
working with Islamic people, so WHY WAIT?
The Bible is full of
references to waiting on God’s timing. One of my favorite verses is Psalm
27:14, which says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait
for the Lord.”
There is a fine line
between being willing to take action and waiting for the Lord’s timing.
As Christians we are called to be active, to fully engage our bodies and
our minds for Christ. But our
bodies and our minds become fully engaged for Christ only when we’re IN Christ.
Dan and I found that out the hard way in trying to make some ministry
contacts here. For 4 days we worked on our own, not once taking the time
to pray about it. It’s not hard to figure out that not much came from
those 4 days other than lots of unanswered emails. Once we slowed down
and asked God, we started to get results.
Have zeal for God, have
passion for change, and be willing to go against the grain and stand out.
But change for God without God is a waste of time. If you’re in
prayer, then the Holy Spirit will tell you when it’s go time and when it’s wait
time.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of
your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do
this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your
cause like the noonday sun. Be
still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men
succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes…For evil men
will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.”
Psalm 37:4-7,9
