iShineInMinistry

Romans 8:25 (NKJV)

 

But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

 

 

 

I am playing a particularly fantastic version of the wait game this week. There are quite of few life alterations that can potentially come to pass in the next 72 hours…or maybe three weeks, I’m really not quite sure what the timeline is actually. I’m sure you can relate.

 

 

 

We always seem to be waiting for something…then when we get it, our attention shifts to the next thing to wait for in life. It’s a never-ending obstacle course – well at least that is what it can feel like at times.

 

 

 

If you are in school right now you are probably waiting for summer vacation to come on down! Perhaps you are a senior in school (high school, college, grad school) and you are waiting to GRAD-U-ATE! It’s almost over…and then you can wait for the next chapter in life. Work…yay!

 

 

 

Could it be that you are waiting for a call from the dream job, the realtor for your dream home or a text from the dream guy? The waiting possibilities are just endless for us! Now that I’ve stressed you (haha, sorry though) are you waiting in hope, anxiety, expectancy, doubt or perseverance? There are so many ways that we can wait.

 

 

 

Obviously the best way to wait is hopefully and in the Lord. He will give you peace, rest and the will to trust no matter what the outcome is in the end. Maybe you won’t get into that college, but you get an amazing internship. Perhaps that guy found the “perfect girl” on match.com leaving you in the dust and still single; but your best guy friend with a heart for the Lord is still there and the Lord is doing a new work in your heart. Or maybe your dream house got a better offer that you could not afford to counter…but a darling townhouse with your name and budget on it has become available. God always knows what He is up to whether or not we understand it at the time.

 

 

 

Seeing is not always believing ladies – but trusting in the Lord is always amazing in the end! Have a little dance party intermission during your wait-game and don’t get so panicky all the time. Live in the joy of the moment that takes you from here to there and see what God will do for you!

 

 

 

Romans 5:5 (NIV)

 

And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Psalm 48:3 (NKJV)

 

God is in her palaces;

 

He is known as her refuge.

I love this area of scripture for a number of reasons. Number one…it says palaces and the little girl in me always thinks of princesses and castles when I see this bible verse. The other reason I love this scripture is the truth that God’s presence is there – that is truth that we can know, keep and grasp tightly!

 

 

Defender, stronghold, fortress, refuge – I looked up a few translations of Psalm 48:3 and these are the synonyms to describe how God is known. Does the Lord feel like all of these things to you today? Do you realize that you are protected, have refuge, a stronghold and a defender for you in wonderfully blessed times and moments of great despair? Do you cling to this truth or let your grip loosen as you look at how great or tragic things in your life are going at this very moment?

 

 

Sometimes we are on cloud nine and think we don’t need God’s help anymore; then there are other times when we think that God isn’t there in our trials and we forget about Him…mostly because we think He has forgotten about us. My question for you (and me) today is, will you trust and let God be God? Will you let Him continue to grow your godly character, no matter what it takes? Are you willing to let Him be your refuge, defender, fortress and stronghold? Or…do you want to try to analyze, overthink, plan, strategize and make a plan in your own strength and understanding? What will He be to you?

 

 

Today, I want to encourage and exhort you to write this scripture on the tablet of your heart. I also want you to think about an area of your life that you are fiercely trying to manipulate and control on your terms and in your strength. Then, I want you to pray (and keep praying), release, submit and surrender it to the Lord…and wait patiently for Him. Grab a friend (or five) to help, pray and hold you accountable too. Let’s make sure to walk this walk together so that we can edify one another, be a blessing and let God be everything He wants to be in our lives.

 

 

Lamentations 3:25 (NKJV)

 

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,

To the soul who seeks Him.

Mark 9:24 (NKJV)

… “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Are you having one of those seasons? We all have them and know them well; it’s that kind of season where you are kind of a “Nelly Negative” and your entire outlook is negative or pessimistic. There’s always a down side to your great news and nothing is quite ever as good as it could be. While we would prefer to not camp in this place…let’s face it, sometimes we just stay in this proverbial raincloud and let our emotions outweigh what we know to be truth. Today, let’s get out of the place of sad mittens, “Everything is bad and God is ignoring me” or “It will happen for everyone else, but God will not bless me in that way” kind of attitude and remember who we are dealing with here!

God will not withhold any good thing from us. So guess what…if we don’t have it yet or it’s not time, it may not be a good thing for us right now.

Also, please note all the orchestration that takes place to make things come to fruition that has absolutely nothing to do with us. God is working, moving and directing all in the manner that is fit for your particular situation. Just hang tight and grow in godly character until you get to the blessing you are waiting for.

And finally, admit that you are having a hard time believing, just as the father did in this area of scripture. He wanted to believe Jesus would do what He was able to do and heal his son; but at the same time the father could also see what his son was going through in that moment and it looked a little impossible. Let God know that you need Him to help you believe…He already knows anyway, might as well stop trying to keep up appearances!

I pray that we will allow God to work in and through our lives, that we will cling to His word so that we can believe that with God all things are possible; and finally I hope that we can come to the Father and say, “Help my unbelief” in the times when it just seems like you cannot believe on your own. Keep praying, trusting, believing (or asking help if you can’t) and waiting on the Lord…He will do what He says!

Have a fabulous evening as you seek the Lord.

Listen to this song and let the Lord be all that you need – then trust and believe that He is Who He says He is and will do what He promised!! Have my sparkly-blessed week and remember that this is the year of #greatexpectations so you can believe for big, amazing and miraculous things!

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Luke 1:45(NKJV)

Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your love, grace, truth and blessed hope that I have in You. Thank You for inclining Your ear to me and giving me the comfort that comes from the promises in Your word. Thank You for healing me when I’m brokenhearted and blessing me even though I don’t deserve it. Thank You for giving me joy, faith and hope in the middle of storms.

Lord, I ask for a special blessing upon each of us ladies and ask for You to move mightily in our lives. Please help us surrender and submit to Your will and let our spirit yield to Your perfect plan. Remind us of Your faithfulness and help us to trust, believe and obey. Continue to minister to our hearts, be the lifter of our heads and give reminders of Your perfect love when we are discouraged, frustrated, dismayed and losing faith. Remind us that You will show us the way that we need to go and light the path as we take this journey of faith. Remind us that Your are a strong and firm foundation that we can trust at all times.

I pray that we will love, serve and obey You with genuine and sincere devotion. I pray that we will turn from our sins and unrighteousness and stop lying to ourselves. Please search our hearts and bring to light the things that hinder us from fully trusting Your plan, then give us the strength to relinquish those things to You.

We love You, Lord Jesus and thank You for Your faithful, perfect and amazing love. Please hear us as we cry out to You and let us wait in patient, hopeful expectancy as You get ready to answer our prayers. In Jesus name we pray all of these things, amen.

2 Peter 1:5-8 (NKJV)

…add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this age of fads, trends and other passing pop-culture mayhem, we seem to have lost our sense of true faith. We add new ideas of the “correct” way of worship, new rules on the best styles to dress modestly, new ways to try to reach Jesus and new traditions that have absolutely nothing to do with genuine faith in Christ. God did not send His only Son so that we could get saved, and then place a new set of “holy rules” on each other to define what a real follower looks like. He also did not put a timeline on the sanctification process and each person’s journey of faith…in contrast He said that the work He began will continue until the day of Christ. With this in mind, we should make sure that we are adding the correct things to our faith in Jesus and not just coming up with a new law to follow.

The scripture above tells us what should be added to our faith as we grow in our relationship to God. Virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love – If we are being virtuous, our heart will be to do what pleases the Lord, not a set of rules to follow. If we are gaining knowledge from the word, we will know how to discern what’s real and what’s just a new fad in the church. If we have self-control, we will not fly off the handle when we see something on social media that we don’t agree with. If we have perseverance, we will continue to run this race, even when things look hard and faith is the hardest route to take. When we have godliness, the desires of our heart will be in alignment with God’s will for our life. If we have brotherly kindness, we will not judge someone else’s walk with God just because they are not to the “level” we think they should be at. Finally, if we have love our desire will be to find ways to show love to others, even if they don’t return it.

I hope that we are all adding the correct things to our relationship to the Lord; let’s frequently check our hearts and motives. It’s so easy for us to get caught in the mix of trendiness that we lose sight of God. Let’s add the right things and follow after Jesus!