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Waiting Period

waiting-periodsAbout a week and a half ago the Lord told me, “Good things come to those who wait [on Me].” This soft spoken word of encouragement came as an answer to the cry of my heart, when I was at point giving up on receiving (seeing) the answer to a prayer. This was not the first time He chose to encourage me throughout the last year and a half while I’ve waited to receive the answer to my prayer. But this word was different; it reminded me what my responsibility was during this period…to wait on Him.

Doesn’t He understand the wait is “killing me”? Yes He does, and that is His point. During these periods of waiting we are forced to choose to either surrender our wants and will to Him (“die to self”) or go down our own path and try to make it happen our way. This is where a test of our faith happens…Will we stand on His word and trust Him, believing what He has already told us? Or will we doubt Him and/or ourselves, wondering if we really heard Him correctly, and try to find another answer or another way to our answer?

I chose to stand in faith on the words He has already given and He did not abandon me in my time of weakness. Instead, He came under me, lifted me up and gave me strength. He rewarded my faithfulness by encouraging me through the remembrance of other times of waiting, when great answers to prayer and blessings came only after very l-o-n-g periods of waiting. If we had given up on those prayers when all hope seemed to be lost, then we would not have seen the awesome power of the Lord manifested in our lives.

And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up. – Galatians 6:9 (TLB)

In most states there is a “waiting period” when someone purchases a hand gun. During this period the person is given the time to “cool off” and consider the motive, the real reason, they are purchasing the gun. God does the same thing with some of our prayers; He gives us a chance to work through the motives behind our prayers. I believe He also takes this waiting period to kill off parts of our flesh and mature us in the Spirit, until we are able to receive and walk in the blessings that will come through the answer of our prayer. If a child is always given what they want when they ask and are never forced to wait, they will never learn to appreciate what is given to them. They will never be satisfied and will never treasure any gift that is given to them.

God is not a gumball machine that we can put a prayer into and receive whatever we ask. Rather, He is a loving Father who is always looking for ways to love and bless His children…ways to teach them how to hear His voice and stand strong on His word. Just like for our own children, we sometimes withhold a blessing until we know the time is right and our child is mature enough to handle it rightly. If we give them too much too quickly we are not loving or blessing them, we are setting them up for failure.

God knows how long the wait must be for the answer to be a “good thing”. Will you choose to wait on the Lord and His perfect “good” time or will you try to make you own way in your time?

gods-time-best-time

No Mediator Needed

hands of christThe bible says we are all to be ministers, we should all be the hands, feet, and mouthpieces of God [we all have a purpose in the Body of Christ]. When we go to work, go to the store, or even go to the playground we should be ministering to those around us. How many of us “go to church” on Sunday morning, when we should “be the church” everyday of the week? It is not one “man’s” job to teach us or lead us, that job of man died on the cross with Christ. When Christ died, the veil of the temple which separated us from God was torn, opening the inner chamber, the Holy of Holies, allowing all believers to enter. It was not torn by man, but rather by God! He wants us to have a direct link to Him, a personal one-on-one relationship.

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, – Matthew 27:51 (NKJV)

Christ died so you could have a personal fellowship (friendship) with God. The veil of the temple separated man from God to protect us, because of our sin. God cannot be in the presence of sin, He strikes it down immediately. But when Christ died on the cross, He washed our sins clean, allowing us to walk in the presence of God, just as in the Garden of Eden. So why do so many Christian still live behind the veil of the temple, allowing a pastor or priest to be the mediator of their relationship with God? After the veil was torn this job was no longer man’s, it became the Holy Spirit’s job.

But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you. – John 14:26 (AMP)

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. – 1 John 2:27 (NKJV)

We need to take back the responsibility of our relationship with God and allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through our lives, teaching and leading us. It was never God’s plan for us to be lead by man, the people demanded a king and God gave them Saul…and we are still in the rut of demanding a king rather than accepting our King. How great is the gift of the fellowship of Christ, yet most Christians have never experienced it.

Early on in our marriage, before cell phones were available to the public, my husband worked away from home during the week. I can remember counting the days until he would call, then sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring, watching as each minute passed on the clock. My heart ached to hear the sound of his voice, to hear him say “I love you”. This is how we should be toward God; our heart should ache for Him, to hear His voice! And when we are with Him, we should never want it to end.

Having a relationship with God [Christ] should not be difficult, programmed, nor should it be handed off to someone else to mediate. Each of us has a unique purpose in the Body of Christ and should also have a unique relationship with Him. If we are to find and fulfill our purpose in the Body of Christ, we must develop our relationship with Him through prayer and fellowship. Just as we build earthly relationships by spending time with someone, so should we build our relationship with Christ. We cannot get to know Him if we do not make spending time with Him a priority in our lives.

Who’s moderating your relationship with God…who is your Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby? (John 14:26 AMP)

kneeing at cross matthew

Light of Christ

light on a side of a hill

We often think of God’s grace as His “unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing “(John 1:17 AMP), but it is so much more than this. It is the power and strength to do things by His Spirit that we would otherwise be unable to accomplish. It is by His grace that the impossible becomes possible in our lives. We do not deserve His blessings in our lives nor do we deserve to walk in His wisdom or power, but we do by His grace. His grace is a wonderful thing, a gift that should not be overlooked or forgotten by anyone.

When we struggle and fight with life, we are not walking by His grace. When we feel like we want to quit and cannot go any further, we are not walking by His grace. When the storms of life knock us down, we are not walking by His grace…for it is by His grace we find His strength in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9). It is through the many storms in our life that we learn to walk by and in His grace, the times when we can look back and see that the Lord was with us in our darkest hour (see my post “Rainbows of Life”).

How much more in our weaknesses do we see the power of God, than in our strengths?  We should not despise our weaknesses, but glory in them, for it is through them at we are able to glorify God! Even Paul said that he would gladly boast in his infirmities (his weaknesses), so that the power of Christ would rest upon him.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  — 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV)

In order to glorify God in our weaknesses, we must let His light shine during the storms of our life, becoming a lighthouse, or a city on a hill. We should not hide our light or keep it to ourselves, but instead hold it up high, letting it shine it brightly for all to see.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. — Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)

Just as the light in a lighthouse helps guide mariners safely to shore, the light of Christ shining in us helps others navigate through the storms of life. A lighthouse must be strong and stable, able to stand against the winds and waves of the storm; and its light must shine so brightly that is is able to pierce through the darkness. The lighthouse keeper must stay attentive to the light, making sure it does not go out, or lives might be lost on his watch. He must be prepared at all times, ready to weather any storm that may come against his lighthouse. Each storm helps him prepare for the next one, perhaps showing him a weakness that must be strengthened before the next storm arrives. If we are to be a lighthouse of God, we must be strong and stay attentive to the “Light” that shines in us.

We need to thank the Lord for the storms in our life, thank Him for adversities and people who rub us the wrong way. It is only through these storms that our weaknesses are revealed and we can be made stronger in Christ. We must surrender our will, wants and desires, accept our weaknesses, and allow His strength to carry us through the storm. It is times like these that we need to press into the Lord harder and ask Him to change us, make us stronger, to stand in the midst of the storm.

I can remember the day I learned that I needed to pray for the Lord to give me the strength to make it through, rather than praying for the Lord to remove or change something in my life. I hit my limit and I was done, I could not continue the way I was going, literally. Something needed to change, either me or the situation. I learned that I need to stop and lay whatever it is at His feet and admit that I am at my limit, that I can do nothing without Him. I learned that I could ask Him to change me, to strengthen me to deal with whatever happens in my life.

We can still ask Him to change the situation (or other person), but we need to also accept that it will more than likely be us who He will change to deal with the situation. He very rarely changes the situation, more often He changes us, making us stronger and our light brighter! It is never “fun” to go through a storm, but it is AWESOME when the Lord uses us as a lighthouse in someone else’s storm. Let your light shine, let it shine, let it shine!

We should let the light of Christ shine so brightly out of us, that we become the light at the end of someone else’s tunnel…lighting their way back home. Are you letting your light shine for other’s to see, or are you keeping it to yourself, hiding it under a basket?

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