Glynnis Whitwer, editor of Proverbs 31 magazine, has written a wonderful book called When Your Child is Hurting (Harvest House). I wrote a Top 10 list of things that help overcome the fear for our kids’ well-being, and she posted it on her blog today. Take a look! www.glynniswhitwer.blogspot.com
Hi everyone! Yesterday I had the privilege of doing an interview for Christian Devotions Speak Up! You can listen to it on the website: www.christiandevotions.us It’s posted on the front page for now. Later it can be accessed by clicking on “speak up” and finding it in the archives. Enjoy!
God’s love for us supersedes our wildest imagination. This morning I discovered a nugget in Isaiah that says He rejoices over us as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride (62:5b). Wow – think about that word picture!
Last month I had the opportunity to attend a family member’s wedding. When the pastor pronounced the couple as Mr. and Mrs., the new hubby’s smile lit up the room and his eyes spilled tears of joy. His love for his bride was obvious to all. He delighted in her, he was captivated by her beauty, and no doubt he couldn’t wait to whisk her away to celebrate their wedding night.
I must admit I’ve never really thought about God’s love for me in those terms. In fact, based on this verse, my understanding of His love has been a little warped or shallow. Why else would I think I have to perform well to earn His favor? Why else would I be afraid to say yes when He gives me an assignment? Why else would I ask forgiveness for the same sin over and over and over?
Scripture says God rejoices over me like a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. That makes me wonder…do His eyes light up when I put busyness aside to spend time in His presence? Does He smile when I tell Him that He’s wonderful? Does He spill tears of joy when I walk by faith because I trust Him? Does He long to be intimate with me, and me with Him? If Isaiah’s word picture is accurate, then the answer is yes.
This one nugget is so rich and deep. I think I need to ponder it, meditate on it, relish it…and let it change my life. How about you? What thoughts come to mind when you think about this word picture that describes God’s love for you?
I spent the weekend in Alberta with an amazing group of women from the Airdrie Alliance Church. The weekend’s theme was Born to S.H.O.P. (Serve Him on Purpose), and what a fun theme that was! Here are a couple of highlights from the sessions:
I think the weekend’s theme fits well with Isaiah 41:8 – “But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from my friend Abraham, I have called you back from the ends of the earth so you can serve me. For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”
Sometimes serving God seems too risky, too time-consuming, costly, and exhausting. We feel overworked, misunderstood, and underappreciated. Before long, discouragement sets in and we feel like resigning. When that happens (or maybe before it gets that far), we ought to reread this verse and take heart.
God’s purpose for us is that we serve Him. For some, that means caring for small children in the home. For others, it means helping senior parents, or driving tweens to and from extra-curriculars. It may mean cooking a meal for a grieving family, visiting a shut-in, or befriending the grumpy neighbor across the street.
Whatever the serving situation, it’s likely we’ll face a few challenges along the way. Sometimes those challenges are easily overcome; sometimes not. In that event, we can be encouraged with the knowledge that God’s presence is with us. He will strengthen us, help us, and hold us in His victorious hand. What more do we need as ammo for successful servanthood? But guess what…it gets even better! If we’re faithful to Him, then Isaiah 41:16 holds true – “And the joy of the LORD will fill you to overflowing and you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.”
Wow – God calls us to serve Him, equips us with everything we need to do it, and then He fills us with overflowing joy. Sounds like a good deal to me. Here’s a question to toss around: What challenges have you faced in serving God? How did you see God’s promises to strengthen and help you fulfilled?
Scenery along Highway 1 as I drove from Calgary to Abbotsford.
Once upon a long time ago, I attended a conference at which the speaker said something like, “When people look at you, can they see that you belong to Jesus?” He gave an analogy about how children often bear a resemblance to their parents – their eyes are the same color or their ears are the same shape. Maybe they even demonstrate the same mannerisms.
In my case, I thought about my nose. By no means is it dainty. It has a bump on the bridge and a bulb at the bottom, and wouldn’t ya know it? It looks just like my dad’s. In fact, the older I get, the more it resembles his. It’s obvious that I’m Henry’s daughter; the shape of my nose is his mark of ownership on me.
In the spiritual realm, God has placed His mark of ownership on us by giving us His Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 says, “And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.” And when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He produces character qualities in us such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22,23). These characteristics demonstrate to a watching world that we belong to Jesus. They are His mark of ownership on His children.
The speaker’s question – “When people look at you, can they see that you belong to Jesus?” – is the only thing I remember from that conference. It challenged me then and it challenges me now. I’m sure there are days when those who know me best would hesitate before answering positively, but my prayer is that, overall, the answer comes back as “Yes!”
How about you? When people look at you, can they see Jesus’ mark of ownership on you? If so, that’s wonderful! If not, what needs to change?
We can’t choose when the storms of life strike, nor can we choose their nature. But we can choose how we’ll respond, says Max Lucado in his new book, Fearless.
When the wind blows and the waves thrash, we sometimes respond based on our emotions. We throw angry words at our husband and kids. We seek solitude, isolating ourselves from family and friends. We allow our minds to be overrun with fearful thoughts. The result? Stress, ulcers, and sleeplessness. There’s a much better way…
King Hezekiah faced a storm when his enemies threatened his kingdom. His response is a great example for us to follow (Isaiah 37:1-3):
When the storms of life blow in on us, we’re faced with a choice. How should we respond? Let’s not allow our emotions to dictate our actions. Instead, let’s do as Hezekiah did and take our fears to God. Let’s be honest with Him about how we feel, and acknowledge our dependence on Him. Then let’s enlist the help of godly friends who will support us in prayer.
God will answer us, just as He answered Hezekiah. The outcome might not be what we expect, but we can rest assured that God is in control of every detail.
Do you have any insights re: the choice we face when the storm blows in?
Learning to wait patiently seems to be a lifelong lesson. I remember Christmas mornings as a young girl, sitting beside the decorated tree in our family’s living room and drooling over the stack of wrapped gifts. “Can I open one…just one…pull-eeeeze?” I begged.
“No,” said my dad. “You have to wait until Mom has finished stuffing the turkey.”
“Turkey? Forget the stupid bird and feed me bologna sandwiches,” I felt like saying. “I just wanna open my gifts!” But Mom and Dad and the dead bird won, and I was forced to wait until the time was right.
Years have passed, and I’m still learning to wait patiently. The issue isn’t unopened Christmas gifts, however – thankfully I’ve outgrown that one. Now I’m learning to wait for God to answer specific prayers for family and friends. One struggles with chronic pain. Another longs to meet Mr. Right. One desperately needs a pay increase. Another needs a place to live. Every day I knock on heaven’s door and ask God to do something on these people’s behalf – to grant healing, a godly husband, an employer’s favor, and a home – and I see nothing happen. And so I wait…and I knock…and I wait some more.
Waiting to open Christmas gifts wasn’t a fun activity for me when I was a kid. Neither is waiting for God to answer my prayers today, but I’m developing patience. I’m learning to let go of my expectations to embrace God’s eternal purposes. I’m developing an attitude of anticipation: What’s God up to? How is He going to answer? And I’m beginning to understand the meaning of Galatians 5:5 – “But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive everything promised to us who are right with God through faith.”
And so, even though the answers to prayer seem a long time coming, I choose to wait…eagerly…joyfully…patiently…for I know that God’s timing is perfect. He is never late.
How about you? Have you ever spent time in God’s waiting room? What lessons have you learned there?
I’ve had two days to ponder some disappointing news: Moving From Fear to Freedom will be remaindered by the publisher in January. That means it will no longer be available in stores. What happened? Sales didn’t meet a certain standard, just like a gazillion other books pulled from publication after two years in public view.
I know how I struggled over writing this book…the labor pains involved in bringing it to birth. Now I feel like a mother watching someone pull the plug on my baby because he didn’t think it deserved to live. Sounds melodramatic, perhaps, but that’s just how an author feels when this happens.
Couple that with feedback that readers send me:
In the past week, two local women have told me they’ll be studying it with their small groups this winter. Good things are happening. God is using it to change lives. But the sales aren’t good enough to keep it on the shelves. Go figure.
As I grappled with my disappointment, the Lord gave me these words: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on you. Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock” (Isaiah 26:3,4).
The key word for me is fixed. My thoughts are tempted to flit and flutter from here to there and everywhere – wondering why marketing efforts didn’t produce more, wondering what more I could have done, yada, yada. But God says to super-glue my thoughts on Him and Him alone. He has a purpose. He promises to accomplish all that concerns me. He knows what He’s up to even though I don’t understand. And He tells me to trust Him.
It’s been a difficult two days, but it’s been a good learning time. I’m practicing all those things I encourage my readers and audiences to do when they face disappointment. And guess what? I’m beginning to experience peace about it, just like God promised.
How about you? Have you faced a situation in which you fixed your thoughts on God and then experienced His peace?
Here’s a thought for the day, based on Galatians 2:4 where Paul wrote about false Christians spying on him. These folks were entrenched in religious rules and regulations, but they’d heard Paul’s message about “freedom in Christ” and wanted to see what that looked like in real life.
When people – especially those entrenched in hopelessness or fear – look at me or you, what do they see? I’m not talking about the color of our shirt or the highlights in our hair. I’m talking about other stuff…our countenance, the reflection in our eyes, and our body language. When people look at me or you, do they see…
a) a woman wrapped in peace or warped by worry?
b) a woman who faces the future with confidence or with anxiety?
c) a woman who reflects joy or the jitters?
Hopefully we can circle the first option in each of the above. And hopefully we don’t need to add a conditional clause such as, “When others look at me, they see a woman wrapped in peace except at certain times of the month,” or “When others look at me, they see a woman who faces the future with confidence unless that future is lookin’ a bit gloomy,” or “When others look at me, they see a woman who reflects joy except when circumstances don’t turn out the way she wishes.”
If we profess to know Christ, then let’s ensure that our lives reflect the hope and peace that’s at our disposal. That doesn’t mean we have to be “happy, happy, happy” all the time – personally, I think that mentality’s a farce. In real life, we face tragedies and heartbreaks, and we shed real tears. But in the midst of those difficulties, we have hope because Christ lives in and through us. He will never leave us or forsake us. He promises to provide for us, care for us, and hide us in the shelter of His wing.
When people look at me or you, let’s ensure they see Christ in us, the hope of glory. For me, that means learning to express immediate thankfulness to God no matter what circumstances come my way. What change (s) must take place in your life for that to happen on a consistent basis?
God’s Word is filled with amazing promises He’s made to those who follow Him. Psalm 57 contains three of them:
* God will fulfill His purpose for us (v. 2). Whatever His specific purpose for our lives is, He takes responsibility for ensuring that it happens. We only need to say yes to whatever He asks, and He looks after the rest.
I’ve seen this happen over and over again, especially when my husband and I sensed Him asking us to launch International Messengers. For us, that meant moving to a new location, finding suitable housing within our price range, building our support team to help cover additional living and ministry costs, and starting a new ministry in Canada from the ground level. We saw Him keep His promise to fulfill His purpose for us as each detail fell into place. We only needed to say yes.
* He will send help from heaven to save us (v. 3). When we call on His name, He answers. It’s fun to recall various ways in which He does that. On one occasion for me, it came in the form of a little man in a Polish train station who appeared out of nowhere not once but twice, and helped me with heavy suitcases. And a train conductor who appeared suddenly and motioned for us to follow him to a different train car. He was politely persistent, so we did as he said even though we couldn’t understand a word he said. Seconds after we’d resettled in a different car, the train stopped, disconnected, and then headed in two different directions. If we’d stayed on the first car, we would have ended up in who-knows-where.
* He will send forth His unfailing love and faithfulness (v. 3). Without God’s love and faithfulness, we’d be unforgiven sinners without a shred of hope for now or eternity. How’s that for bleak? Thankfully that’s not our situation. We have every reason for hope, joy, and peace because of this promise.
These promises are true for you today, if you’re walking in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. How have you seen them fulfilled in your own life?
Peaceful Moments to Begin Your Day: Devotions for Busy Women
DVD for Moving from Fear to Freedom study
Participants’ Guide for Moving from Fear to Freedom study
Moving From Fear to Freedom
10-Minute Time Outs for You and Your Kids
10-Minute Time Outs for Moms
Hot Apple Cider
Tuck-Me-In cards
Couple Minute cards
Grace’s Speaking Sessions- CDs & DVDs
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