This morning, I was sitting in my big chair reading when I glanced to my left, taking in the snow-covered yard and the drab-looking trees on my lawn. Everything had that winter grey look, when something caught my eye. Off in the distance, I noticed two large spruce trees. They, too, were covered in snow like the trees in my yard, but they were emitting a warm orange glow. The sun was coming up! And it was already shining over my house and lighting up trees in the distance.

Maybe your life feels a little grey right now. Pastors, church leaders, maybe your ministry feels a little drab right now. You have made it through the highs of Christmas, both with the church and with your family, and now you are experiencing the post-Christmas letdown. Or maybe it’s even more than that. You have been feeling a little discouraged or disappointed for a while. You don’t see the excitement you have at other times. It seems as if God is not working like you wish he was.

It’s time to lift your eyes to the distance. Maybe you need to look around, behind you, beside you, and out to the horizon. God is breaking through. God is at work, though not always in the same powerful way in every situation. If it’s not right in front of you or in your immediate experience, look up and look out. Where is God working? According to Jesus, God is always at work. Maybe He is working in a ministry you haven’t been paying attention to. Is it possible you have been too busy to see where He is already breaking through?

A little later, as I glanced up again, I noticed that the trees in my yard were now also beginning to reflect that early morning orange glow of the rising sun as it was climbing up over my house. It’s hard to wait on God and to wait for Him to work in our ministries, but sometimes we need to persevere in our waiting for Him to come with His power in His time. Sometimes we need to wait on Him just a little longer until we see His glow reflected in the ministries that feel a little drab right now.

If God is seemingly not working in your ministries right now or stirring your church members’ hearts like you wish, continue to wait. As you wait, look out and around to see if God is working somewhere else and you need to join Him there. As you wait, wait on the Lord. Continue to trust Him, continue to talk with Him, and wait.

Psalm 27:14 encourages us: “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” The psalmist asks God for help but declares he will confidently wait on God. Just as we know the sun always rises and will break into the day every morning, we can live with the confidence that our God will always break through for us as we patiently wait for Him.

Wait patiently for God to break through and make His presence and power real and noticeable.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe