A Theology of Waiting: Day Two

Readings: Psalm 119:1-24, Isaiah 2:1-11

Yesterday, I came before You and searched the Scriptures to find that waiting begins with the cry and the act of repentance. Today the Scriptures are pointing to a very difficult piece of repentance that I struggle with, and I'll go out on a limb and say it's a piece that everyone struggles with. A huge part of repentance is obedience.

Repentance always seems really simple to me. My view on repentance has always been that it is about admitting our sins and feeling bad about them. It is about humbling ourselves before God's laws and God's presence. I've always thought, Lord, that I'm a fairly introspective person, and I don't mind admitting that I've done wrong. So many times I've come before you with admission of guilt.

But connecting the feeling of penance to actually changing the way I behave is much harder. I've tried all sorts of schemes, but it always seems that my self-control and my will power to live in accordance to Your word is not up to snuff with my ability to identify wrong. I know that I'm human, and I'll always be covered in sin, but the same things plague me day after day.

Repentance involves a turning away from things that take us away from You. Perhaps I should take up the chorus from Isaiah 2: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths."

One of the reasons I seek Your presence in daily life is because I need to be filled with knowledge and desire to walk in Your ways and not my own. Obedience is the next action step after reflection. I pray that You can truly be inspiring that change in me during this Advent season.

What I've learned so far about waiting...
Waiting = Cry + Repentance + Obedience