Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Waiting.  No one likes it.  I don't care how patient you are, waiting is a pain.   As Christians, we are to wait on God.  We also wait for God.  We wait for Him to answer prayer and not take matters into our own hands (hopefully!).  We wait for Him to reveal truth to us about a situation, to give us His wisdom because we simply don't know the truth as He does. I have been waiting on God for about ten years now to answer a very vital prayer in my life.  He has yet to budge.  Oh maybe a tad, but not completely in the way I expect Him to. "You get what you expect."  No, you don't.  You can "claim" Scripture, believe in "manifesting" answers for yourself, but the truth is, when God is not doing something that only He can do, it ain't happening. Now most would say I have a very strong faith.  And I do.  But when my unanswered prayers cause me pain, disappointment, and heartache, it's like a hammer and chisel taking a chink out of my faith. T

We are all familiar with the three Wise Men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. One brought gold. The other, frankincense. And the other, myrrh. If you want to learn more about the symbolism of these gifts, you can read more  here. But I want to talk specifically about the gift of gold. What is the "gold" that we bring Him?  What is the most valuable thing that we possess?  Are we giving it, or them, to Jesus to show Him honor and respect? I think of worship.  When we worship the Lord, it is truly golden.  It is precious to Jesus.  When we worship with our whole hearts, it is even more priceless.  He is worthy of all praise, honor, glory, and worship.  So when we give Him what is due Him, we are bringing our best to Him.  It is costly because in the flesh, we are not prone to worship God at all.  So it costs us our "natural" inclinations.  It costs us time and attention.  It costs us focus.  Time is precious and valuable.  So when we give of our time to worship Christ