Have you ever been in a season of waiting?
Are you anxiously waiting upon the Lord to show you the next step or give you an open door? If so, I want to encourage you to actively wait with eager anticipation trusting the Lord will open a door in his perfect timing. Also, I challenge you when the door opens to take courage and walk through.
We gain a posture of actively waiting through Scripture.
Psalm 130:5-6 says, "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word do I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchman for the morning, more than watchman for the morning."
We are to wait upon the Lord like a watchman waiting for the morning. A watchman is always eagerly anticipating the morning. The watchman is active in his waiting and is continually looking for movement. He is hoping in the morning.
In Psalm 130 the biblical words יחל (wait) and קוה (hope) are used interchangeably. When we hope for something we are also simultaneously in a posture of waiting. We are waiting for that which we hope in. Psalm 130 describes a person of God hoping upon the Lord to bring an open door.
We gain courage to walk through our open doors through others' experiences.
In 2016 and 2017 I was fortunate to have lived in Petah Tikva, Israel. Petah Tikva was one of the first towns the Jewish people resettled after almost 2000 years of being dispersed from the land. Although a remnant of Jewish people have always lived in the land of Israel, the first large movement of Jewish people returning to the land of Israel began in the late 1800s and mainly from Russia, this was due in large part to the Russian pogroms (anti-Jewish revolts, 1881-1884).
Why did the Jewish people name their first settlement Petah Tikva?
In Hosea 2:15, God promises the Jewish people that He, God Himself would bring the Jewish people from the valley of Achor (deep darkness) and give them an open hope, literally meaning a petah tikva פתח תקווה. Therefore, when the Jewish people returned to the land after 2,000 years of exile they named their first settlement Petah Tikva. Petah Tikva was the Jewish peoples' open hope.
Tikva תקווה in biblical Hebrew means "hope" but can also be used interchangeably with "door." Through affliction and suffering came an "open door" to resettle the Jewish homelands. Early settlers began to farm these lands because they lay adjacent to the Yarkon Springs, a rare fresh water source.
What is the modern physical and spiritual condition of Petah Tikva?
Like the rest of Israel, modern-day Petah Tikva is economically thriving! Petah Tikva is one of the largest cities in Israel (350,000 people) and includes many of Israel's new tech start-up companies. Many families love Petah Tikva as it sits on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
The Baptist Village, which sits in the exact location of these earliest settlements is currently the only evangelical voice since Paul's day! But the Baptist Village is located on the outskirts of modern Petah Tikva and therefore is limited in effectiveness. In the city center there are two Ethiopian Greek Orthodox congregations that meet in secret, but there is still yet to be a permanent physical evangelical voice in Petah Tikva.
The bones, sinews and flesh (Ezekiel 37) of Petah Tikva have come together, but the city still awaits רוח - God's Spirit. Pray God's people living in Petah Tikva will experience true life. Pray God will blow on this city and give many of His children a true "open hope." We must not be silent, but go on speaking for God has many people in this city!
Petah Tikva became an open door and an open hope for the Jewish people. The Jewish people saw an open door and took advantage of the time. How about you? Have you recognized your open door and are you ready to walk through?