January 5, 2010  by Ron Clegg

 Micah 7:7, “But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”

 I read this passage this morning, and it seems to encapsulate what I want in this next year.  Like Micah, I want more and more to wait on the Lord alone and not run after false and empty gods.  That is easy to say, but how can I actually do it?  I think Micah also gives me that answer as well.  He says, “My God will hear me.”  This does not mean simply receiving the audio signals from my lips.  It is intently listening, being engaged, listening with His heart of love to the cries of His beloved son—me.  That is the part I have been missing lately.  Last year was a difficult one, and many days I did not deal with the struggle very well.  What I was forgetting was how much I am loved.  You would think that a pastor and a missionary would know this very basic truth, but it slips from my hands so easily.  When I forget how much I am loved, I try to make life work on my own terms, which normally ends in failure.  Yet, when I do remember His love, His promise to care for me, and His desire to bring me deeper into His heart, there is hope in the struggle.  Through the lens of His love, I can see that the hardness of the moment is creating a wealth of glory and deep transformation into His likeness.  Deep in my soul, that is what I want more than anything.  Now all I have to do is believe that He loves me and then cry out to Him.  So simple, yet so difficult!  HELP!  Pray for me that I might believe.