Thy Kingdom Come: A Blumhardt Reader - Plough

will bring his decisive help.For the person who waits for the Lord, everything heawaits in hope already comes into view. I think of this waitingas something alive in me; and obviously that which isalive is sustained with food; What, then, is the bread ofwaiting? The bread of waiting is the deeds of God. Withoutthe deeds of God, the waiting of the heart dies.Yet we must not expect too much from our hearts alone.Surely we do not consider ourselves strong enough that wecan say, “I wait for the Lord, but for the time being I don’tneed him. I’ll manage somehow.” Yes, you will manage allright; but how?In an ungodly way, just as the world manages. Where Godis permitted to be nothing but a spectator. It ought not tobe so. Rather, when I wait, my waiting should be groundedin the acts of the Lord. My waiting acquires its durabilitybecause the Lord performs his actions. And my waiting willfind its goal in a great action of God performed upon meand upon all creation.We have experienced that the Lord is our help and shield,and that is why we can wait. Also, we have experienced thatthe Lord can become our help and shield suddenly, surprisingly.Thus, we always wait for the Lord in such a way as toexpect an early manifestation from him; we cannot imaginethat there will be boredom when dealing with the Lord.“He is our help," that is, he snatches us out of the evilsinto which we have come—body, soul, and spirit. It is notnecessary, of course, that there be impressive, outwardly vis­17