Verse of the Day for May 15

Paul wrote this from prison, and he knew he might never see the Philippians again. So he praises them for obeying not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.

The waiting room is a place of absence. The doctor has not come out yet. The letter has not arrived. The person who used to guide you is not there. It feels as though nothing is happening.

Verse thirteen says something is. it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do. Both. Not only the doing, which we can sometimes see, but the willing, the wanting, which is hidden even from us. God is at work on your desires while you sit in the plastic chair.

That is why verse fourteen follows so naturally. Do all things without murmurings and disputings. Waiting rooms are where grumbling grows best. Paul does not deny the wait is hard. He simply asks us not to let it turn sour.

If you are sitting in an actual hospital corridor today, waiting for news, you are not outside God's work. He is shaping your will even here, quietly, while the clock above the door moves slowly.

Absence of guidance is not absence of God.

Wait without grumbling, and let him work where you cannot see.