Tag: bible

The Grace in Waiting

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Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18 NKJV

Delays are not denials. Men would pluck their mercies green, thwarting the love and wisdom growing there, when the Lord would have them ripe … “Do not grieve Him by doubting His love. Lift up your head and begin to praise Him even now for the deliverance which is on the way to you, and you will be abundantly rewarded for the delay which has tried your faith….” ~ Adam Slowman “Expectation Corner” reprinted in Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Cowman.

“God is a wise husbandman,…He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive the blessing to our profit and His glory. Waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen the soul for blessing. Waiting under the cloud of trial, that breaks in showers of blessings, is as needful. Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious….” ~Andrew Murray reprinted in Streams in the Desert.

Wait in the sunshine of His love.

But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;… Malachi 4:2a NKJV

Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper. 2 Chronicles 20:20b NKJV

Hear the Word of the LORD. BELIEVE. Be firmly persuaded. Believe solidly. Be established in the LORD and you will be established. Amen! — is another way of saying “it” — the thing, the word — is solidly, firmly, surely, verified and established.

Allow me to reiterate with Slowman: Delays are not denials.

In John 11 we find a man named Lazarus who was sick. His sisters sent word to Jesus saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” v. 3

Jesus’ response? “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” v. 4

Let’s look at this:

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. v .5, 6

Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you;…

Be gracious is to be inclined to have compassion or bestow favor on someone. It is an attitude marked by compassion, generosity, kindness and a consideration that will refrain from further wounding the bruised and suffering.

When the days of Lazarus being dead are tallied up, he had already passed when Jesus got the message that he was sick. Jesus already knew that. He did not delay His going so Lazarus would die. He did not delay to punish or ignore the sisters. Then the age old question, Why?

“And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.” v. 15

His delay was going to produce a greater miracle.

As soon as Martha heard Jesus was coming she went to meet Him. She declared that if Jesus had been present Lazarus would not have died. True. Then she made a profound statement:

“But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” v. 22

Do we have that kind of faith in the midst of our losses?

Even after their exchange, the one in which Martha stated that Jesus is the Son of God, she slightly wavered when He commanded the stone to be rolled away. Mind you, Lazarus had been dead FOUR days. The commentary I read said many resources say that the Jews in that day held the belief that the spirit of the deceased hung around for up to three days looking for re-entry, but four days? That exceeded all reason of explanation. Not only that, there is decomposition to consider.

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” v. 39

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” v. 40

Has Jesus said that to you concerning your situation? Do you believe? Are trial and time making you weary? I get it. The things I’m sharing here with you today, they are born of my own wrestlings, of entries in my own journal, and ruminations. I can relate to Martha’s slight hesitation, but I know that if I can hold on like she did, I will receive the greater miracle. And so will you. Beloved, Delays are not denials. There is grace in the waiting, and if we ask, He will reveal it to us.

Apparently she established her belief because they took the stone away. The next part of verse 41 is essential for victory:

And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.”

That is reminiscent of this:

Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against (against their enemies);…and they were defeated. 2 Chronicles 20:22 NKJV (parenthesis mine)

These are the instructions in the great Book:

I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4

“But I can’t,” you say, “I am broken, crushed.”

You would have to read about David to appreciate all that he’d been through and it finally came to this: in I Samuel 30 we find that David’s ragtag army had returned to their city, plundered. Their refuge, burned. Their wives and children taken captive. The men who once stood with David were now talking of stoning God’s anointed.

Now David was greatly distressed,… v. 6a

Most likely an understatement, …

…But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. v. 6b

This was his choice of action before the verse was finished. And how do we strengthen ourselves? The joy of the LORD is our strength! (Nehemiah 8:10) We must refuse to allow our trials to swallow us whole and:

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 NKJV

May we, like Martha, declare Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, and trust in His love, that He will perform the greater miracle for the glory of God, in His time. And may we, like Jesus, offer thanksgiving first. praise, Praise, PRAISE!

By the way, Lazarus was raised from the dead (v. 44) and, Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. v. 45

Join me in believing in Him . . . no matter how long the wait. Our commandment during the wait?

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV

Lamentations — If Only it Was Just a Book in the Bible

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A friend and I were lamenting and confessing things to each other recently. Back and forth we volleyed as only those who know each other best can do. Suddenly, I burst out laughing.

“What?” she asks. “I want in on it.”

“God loves me anyway,” I laughed, “ugly and all.”

Yes, my attitude that day was ugly, but the laughter changed that; it triggered joy and conversation on the goodness God poured out on us. I hate complaining. I hate to hear myself complain. There are those couple people in my life who must see my ears as garbage cans because they regularly make dumps. I hate to hear them complain as well.

The truth is, people are going through some awful circumstances lately. There are days when it feels like the walls are caving in; you’ve had them, I’ve had them, and often times if we’re not currently in that situation, we’re crying out to God for those we know who are. There is no one else to whom we can go. And yet …

I see that note I had tacked up so long ago: Complain only to God … and in moderation.

I’m not saying don’t share your griefs; we are called to bear one another’s burdens. But face it, we usually know when we crossed the line from, “Please, HELP!” to “Have I got something juicy to complain about to you!” The first brings relief, the second adds to the landfill inside. Know what will cleanse the second? Laughter and praise, and it does a quick work.

Here’s another tip: When we find our minds filling with the kind of darkness that brings on depression, get in the Word. One cannot stay depressed while in God’s book for therein lies our Hope. Want proof?

“Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” Romans 15:4 NLT

“Scriptures give us hope and encouragement…” These are the scriptures I highly recommend to help pull us up out of the mulligrubs:

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NLT

I know, I’ve used this verse before and often, but it bears repeating over and over again. It goes perfectly with the first scripture; we will learn God’s will for us, which is pleasing and perfect, by being in the Word. And the best things to think about while we transform our thoughts from the commotion and tidal waves all around us?:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 NLT

Isn’t that good stuff? I don’t want to be the old, complaining, whiny person that I used to be. I don’t want to suck the air out of a room at my appearing, I want to be full of hope and encouragement, the reflection of the Son when I walk into a room. Further, I want my mind to be consumed with positive thoughts and the Word which is teaching me God’s will and what is good.

It all begins with knowing we are loved — at least that’s where it begins for me. In times past, lamenting and complaining would put me into an, “Oh, God, forgive me! I’m not worthy!” state. And then I’d be self-condemning and focus on my failure for a period time which wasted precious time. There are times to ask Holy Spirit to lead us in a self examination, to see if we have veered from the right path, but it oughtn’t lead to groveling and mindsets that put us at arm’s length away from God. It ought to lead to repentance and restored sensitivity to His Presence. That day with my friend, I caught myself and remembered God loves me even during my rants. Joy came up inside for His patient enduring with me, blessings upon me, and never failing me.

Dear Reader, are you in a difficult place right now? Are you distracted with the waves crashing all around you and the fire surrounding you? (Or know someone who is?) Then let us pray:

Father, I thank You that You love me — even and especially when I don’t deserve it. When man would pull away, You come alongside. You see the waves all about, you see the walls of fire, yet I am reminded in Your Word that when I go through the waters I will not drown and when I walk through the fire I shall not be burned (Isaiah 43:2). You have not failed me yet; You will not begin to do so now.

I repent of worry and complaining and exchange them now for trust in You and praise to You for You are worthy. You will see me through; whether it is to testify as to how You walked with me in the midst of it all or how You snatched me up from the midst of it all. One way or the other, I will triumph. I wait for Your direction and look expectantly for Your deliverance.

Thank You. I love You.

Amen.

Thanks for joining me today as we turn our minds and our hearts back to the Word and our mouths to praise.