Meeting God in the Delay

God is sovereignly displaying His might in these days and it is with a sense of awe that I write this post. If you have ever experienced a delay in your time of waiting for His promise, then you will appreciate what I am about to say. May it minister grace to you, the hearer; and encourage you that His ways are above our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Isaiah 55:8.

I went with a friend two weeks ago, to have a surgical procedure done; which was simple, routine, and timely. Knowing Jesus as Healer, she wasn’t particularly thrilled with the Lord’s method of choosing this route to heal her. She held out for His Hand of intervention – but knew, somehow, that He was in the surgery. So as we sat in the hospital room that day, we began to look for signs as to what it was He wanted to accomplish. Her surgery was scheduled for 10 am. When 1 o clock came and there was no doctor in sight – we began to wonder what was taking so long. Two o clock came and still no doctor…..

She got out of the hospital bed, iv and all, just as the doctor came strolling up the hallway. He apologized for the delay and said he was ready for my friend. As he exited the room, the anesthesiologist entered. Knowing we were Christians, and wanting us to know he was a Christian, he let us know in code language that the reason for the delay was due to an abortion gone wrong in the same operating room my friend was to be operated in – and by the same doctor’s hands my friend was to be operated on by.

What we found out was that the lady had two positive testings (one by the surgeon) for her pregnancy. And when the surgeon went in that day, to take the baby out – he could find no baby! The lady was so distraught, she had him do another test. Neither one of them could believe there was no baby in there!
And therefore was the delay. Meanwhile, my friend was being prepped for surgery by this same doctor.
I heard that part of it prior to the surgery; however, I was amazed by what I heard when I got to her hospital room the next day!

She couldn’t sleep through the night and found herself talking to the Lord – who had initiated this chain of events. At an early hour, her doctor appeared at her bedside. He was in conflict. My friend (who is old enough to be his mother) asked him how he was doing and then began to minister to him. “Come here,” she gently persuaded him. Obediently, he walked over to her bedside. She pulled him into an embrace and he fell into her arms. “You know sometimes we have difficult choices to make, ” she said. In that embrace, alone in her hospital room, her unsaved doctor confessed to her some of his decisions regarding other abortions he’d done. He was in a stupor, as he was lovingly held in the Arms of His Creator, through the life of my friend as she lie in that hospital bed.

You see, from our perspective, we were bothered by the inconvenience of a surgical procedure that caused pain and discomfort. But from God’s perspective, He used my friend’s body to interrupt an abortion and wrap His arms around a doctor He wanted to introduce Himself to in a personal way. The delay became a point of praise. The pain became overshadowed. The reason for the surgery now collapsed in my friend’s arms, like a helpless child.

The next time you are facing a delay in your circumstance, look for what God is about in that circumstance. Just because we don’t always “get” the things we walk through doesn’t mean that God isn’t at work in a marvelous way. Isaiah 55:8 – 9 declares, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than you ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” He wants to meet you in the delay.

To Wendy: With Love

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” Charles Dickens penned. That seems to sum up where things are in the world today. There is a lot going on all around and some is good and some is not so good. Some makes sense and some makes no sense. Some works for our good. Some, for evil. In view of this – how are we to live?

At this juncture in time we must know how, more than ever before, to carry out the words of Paul found in Ephesians 6:13 KJV: “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God; that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all – to stand.” God wants us to set ourselves in a place with Him that no matter what goes on around us, we can stand firm in Him. In other words, even if it is the “worst of times,” there is a place in Him where you can stand and will be okay. I like His proposition!

About a month ago, I experienced a “worst of times” scenario. And believe me – they can just spring up seemingly out of nowhere! A friend of mine, who I’ve spent the last 7 years praying with on Friday nights, died. I had seen her 2 weeks prior to her death. And I did not even know that she was sick until after the fact. The point is – neither did she know that she was sick. It just happened and she just went. I am grateful it was quick and without prolonged suffering. Yet at the same time, I felt stunned in the midst of her sudden absence. She is in the presence of the Lord; and according to Paul again, “to depart and be with the Lord is far better!” Philippians 1:23 KJV. But moving on and remaining fixed on the promises of God requires a focus. The word, “stand” in Ephesians 6:13 means to make firm, establish, to be kept intact (I like this one), to escape in safety, to establish a thing, to uphold or sustain the force of anything (I like this, too), to set in balance. We must learn to live in a place before the Lord where we are not shaken in these turbulent times that are unfolding before us.

I am climbing more and more into this place of safety and am learning how to stand in the evil day. I want to be useful for Him in these last days. I don’t wanna crumble with the world when sudden destruction comes upon the earth. 1 Thess. 5:3. I pray you will purpose to do the same as we see the day approaching!

The Great Ambush!

Periodically, I will camp out in a certain portion of scripture – or a text. As of late, I can’t get off of Isaiah 30:18 KJV: “And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement: blessed are all they that wait for Him.”

The word “wait” here, in Hebrew, means to wait for, to tarry, to wait in ambush, to long for! Did you know our God wants to ambush you? Not in an accusing kind of a way – but with a purely gracious intent. He wants to get to you to extend favor to you! Gracious also means to show direct favor, to have mercy, to show consideration.

He longs to show mercy to you! My take on that is that He sits thinking up ways to get His favor directed into our lives. He sits, having conversations with Jesus, about how He could get His goodness into our lives! From Him comes goodness! Psalms 52:1 says, “…the goodness of God endures continually!” Meaning – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Morning and evening!

I’m discovering more and more by the day that it’s not about what I can do or can’t do. It’s about who He is and what He’s done in my stead. The more I can focus on that – the more I can live in the place He has called me to live. It’s not about behavior – it’s about blood. His blood. And as I intentionally make this shift of my focus from off of me and on to Him – then He somehow is able to direct His goodness and mercy into my life. Psalm 23:6 says “surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life…”

May you learn to be more aware of Him than your circumstances or any other earthly thing that would hinder you from a conscious stream of God’s goodness!

11 Thoughts For 2011

Some New Thoughts For the New Year:

1. Don’t look back and compare where you were last year to where you are now. It’s a new day!

2. Trust the Hand of God that has taken you this far. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” Phil. 1:6

3. Don’t let your thoughts legislate who you are. The Word of God is what we measure our lives by! Try to take captive every thought – it’s good discipline and sound biblical advice! 2 Corinthians 10:5

4. No weapon that is formed against you will prosper! Isaiah 54:17

5. Wait on Him! David said in Psalms 40: 1: “I waited patiently for the Lord and He heard me and delivered me!”

6. Add someone new to your prayer list every day! What you sow is what you will reap. Galatians 6:7.

7. Don’t confuse your circumstances with God’s heart for you. He waits to be gracious to you! Isaiah 30:18

8. Sing a new song! Psalms 96:1

9. If you’re stuck in a rut – try going back to the last thing God said to you and make sure you’ve obeyed. Obedience is better than sacrifice! 1 Samuel 15:22

10. Ask the Lord to speak to you in a new way. Step out and try to recognize His voice in another avenue. Acts 2:17 to name a few.

11. Try to learn another facet of God this year! You cannot exhaust Him! Romans 11:33.

What Are You Birthing?

I awoke very early this morning with Mary’s magnificat on my heart: “My soul doth magnify the Lord; and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior…..For He that is Mighty hath done for me great things; and holy is His name.” Luke 1: 46-50 KJV.

Mary spoke this after the angel visited her and told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and overshadow her and that she would supernaturally give birth to a Son. Of course this refers to a specific event in history – the birth of Jesus. But as followers of Jesus, and as those who walk in daily relationship with Him; we should be in a position to be overshadowed with His glorious presence. And from that place of divine intimacy – there should come from us something of substance that will give life to those around us.

John 15 talks clearly about abiding in the Vine. Specifically, verse 2 says that if we bear fruit; He purges us so that we can bring forth more fruit. To “bring forth” here means “to “carry. Mary carried some precious Fruit in her womb that brought Life to the world! And as we abide in His presence, we are called to carry fruit within us that will bless the lives of those around us.

After Mary received the word from the angel she went to the house of Elisabeth, and there was a confirmation of God’s word to her! Luke 1:41 says that when Mary greeted Elizabeth and Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice – she was filled with the Holy Ghost! And then Elizabeth responded to Mary, confirming what the angel had said!

As you spend time with Him and He deposits something of substance into your spirit; and then you leave that place of intimacy and walk in relationship with others – not only will He confirm what He is doing in you – but He will cause it to spill over into others lives! It will cause new life to be deposited into them as well!

At this precious season of the year, as you reflect on the miracle of Christmas, I wonder if you realize that Jesus wants to divinely overshadow you with more of His life and fullness? And as you spill over into the lives of others, do you know He wills that you go about confirming His word and influencing many with a taste of heaven? Mary gave birth to a Living Savior. As you behold Him, what are you giving birth to?

What Do You See?

As I began this blog, I noticed a comment concerning my last blog on “Adjusting Our Focus In The Dark.” After reading what was written my heart was stirred to write a little more on the subject. If ever there was a time where we need to be able to see clearly, it is the days we are living in! Amen?

We’ve all heard it said, “there are two sides to every story.” That can be said of us. But it is especially true of God. It’s important to not only see clearly, but to see what God is seeing in each situation that we find ourselves. No wonder Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote in Ephesians 1:17 – 18: “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened….” I personally pray that prayer every day over my life. And in it, Paul is asking the Father to override his judgement and his perception of things with a greater capacity for spiritual truth. He’s asking to have the power of understanding come to him from God’s take on things. In other words, it’s not enough just to be able to assess things from an earthly perspective. He’s suggesting that we ask God to show us what He’s seeing about everything. How we need that!

Theres a powerful example of this found in 2 Kings 6. Syria was at war with Israel. And the prophet, Elisha, kept telling the King of Israel where not to camp – because the Syrians were following them. And when the Syrian King found out that Elisha was telling Israel’s King the words he spoke – he wanted to capture him. So it says that he sent chariots and horses to the city of Dothan. Not just a few – but a great host of an army that completely encircled the city!

And in the morning, when Elisha’s servant got up and went outside, he saw the chariots and horses and became dismayed. He ran to get the prophet and asked him, “What will we do?” Verses 16 – 17 says, “Elijah answered, ‘Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘Lord I pray you, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

Two people were in the same circumstance. One saw the circumstances from a spiritual perspective and one from a natural perspective. One perspective brought fear and dismay. One perspective brought great comfort and confidence! As you look at your circumstances this day, what do you see?

Adjusting Our Focus In The Dark

With all the recent rain storms that have blown across the region and up and down the coast, several have left us without power. Don’t you love it when that happens? I do! Something about it being sporadic and unexpected leaves me with an excitement to run and find candles. And something about switching things up intrigues me, too. I’m given to spontaneity; so I don’t mind living for a time without the conveniences we all take so much for granted. It’s like going back to the basics.

I think in a similar way, there are times when God has to “pull the plug” on us to get us to stop and see things from His perspective as well. Our lives tend to slow down when we’re operating from a dark place. We’re more cautious about what we use our daylight hours for. And in a similar way, when events and unexpected circumstances of our lives – ie a bad health report; a major financial disaster, a lost job, etc. – interrupt the ebb and flow of our daily lives, I think we walk more cautiously where God is concerned.

I don’t think we mean to to, but by and large, I think we often fail to wait patiently before the Lord in most of our daily affairs. Living in the dark for a time can help us to shift our focus from earth to heaven. Seeing our lives from heaven’s perspective opens us up to experience God in whole new dimension. It invites us to behold the glory of the Lord in a brand new way. David says it like this in Psalm 24:7: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory SHALL come in!”

That verse isn’t only referring to the gates of the city to open up for the King! They also refer to a place of entrance in our lives personally where we need the Lord to enter and shine His glory – in an area of sin; in a marriage; in a financial situation; in a certain body part racked with pain or disease; in a situation on the job – It’s a place where we invite Him in the dark to radiate and shine! And when we intentionally do this, God intentionally comes and visits us in that area and releases His glory!

I’m thinking of about ten areas off the bat where I need God to come and shine His glory! How bout you?
So we say along with David, “Lift up your heads o you gates; even lift them up you everlasting doors and the King of Glory shall come in!”

“Finding God’s Goodness In Battle”

Have you ever had a “life scripture”? One that you know fits you to a “t”? One that you can fall back on at any given point in your life and it’s you – inside and out? Psamls 27 has always been my scripture. I felt unctioned to memorize it early on during my walk with the Lord – and I have lived out of it most of the days of my life. If I didn’t have any other scriptures in the Bible to go on, I could have a diet of Psalms 27 and I think I’d be okay. It’s been that helpful to me. It is a psalm of battle. It is a psalm of war. And living out of it has helped me to be more skillful in battle. It’s helped me to be more victorious in warfare.

I wanna skip right down to verse 13, because that’s what’s been on my heart as of late: “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” The word “confident” is used in the NIV; but in KJV it uses the word “believed.” In the Hebrew it literally means to be upheld; as if by a foster father or foster mother. It can mean carried by a nurse or one who supports. In other words, sometimes our faith needs supported or upheld by those around us. We need people of like faith to help us stand and believe when our foe has risen up around us.

Are you alone in your battle? Are you waiting on the promises of God to manifest in your life? Perhaps you need some warriors standing with you to help you believe you will see the goodness of the Lord. Maybe you’re not called as David to stand against Goliath on your own. Maybe the battle you’re facing is a Gideon size battle that needs the help of 300 brave warriors to defeat the Midianites around you. In these days of uncertainty, may the Lord give to you discernment to understand the battle around you so that His goodness will not be cut off from you.

Don’t Bail Out In The Wait!

I feel like I have been living out of Psalm 40 for quite some time. How bout you? I’ve been waiting on the Lord in several areas of my life for His timing and for fulfillment of some long awaited promises. And not just in one area of my life – but several areas. As I was talking to Him about about this waiting thing – I heard Him tell me I was waiting wrongly. “What?” I asked Him. I opened the Word back up to see what He meant. I stumbled over the first three words, “I waited patiently…” and it felt like His hammer fell. I stopped reading. Jeremiah 23:29 says the Word is like a hammer which shatters a rock. Something shattered within me. It began to dawn on me that I had been waiting, but not waiting patiently.

The word for patience, recorded there, means “to bind together by twisting, to collect, to be gathered together, to be joined, to meet, to lie in wait for someone, to expect, to await, TO LOOK FOR PATIENTLY, to hope, to be confident, to trust, to be enduring…” Just to name a few! But the Lord was telling me I had not been waiting patiently! Ouch. He reminded me that it’s “through faith and patience that we inherit the promises.” Hebrews 6:12 I had been waiting on Him outwardly but not acting patiently inwardly.

One of the things I have come to learn in this time of waiting is that we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit as we are waiting on Him for the different areas of our lives. He is the One Who shows us things that are yet to come. And since He can see both the beginning and the end; we would do well to work with His timing in all things. I love what Ecclesiastes 3:11 records: “He has made everything beautiful in His time.” And it’s beautiful in His time; and it’s ugly out of His time.

As we sense the nearness of fulfillment in these areas of our lives; both individually and corporately, what the Lord has shown me on a personal scale, I want to share with you. His words to me were, “Don’t bail out in the wait!” So I pray you will let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:4

Untying The Knot

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via Untying The Knot.