The best is yet to come

“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived- the things God has prepared for those who love him- these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. . . . we have received the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.”- 2 Corinthians 2:9-10, 12

As Charles Stanley concludes Chapter 7 of Waiting on God, he states that if we truly cherish our heart’s desire- respecting and honoring the Father- we will exhibit patience, faith, and obedience as we wait for the Lord to act.  We never should give up, especially when we’re on the brink of blessing from God and His answer is closer than ever.  We’ve invested a great deal of time, energy, prayer, and confidence in God.  We must not abandon our hope.

Dr. Stanley began Waiting on God with a list of “nevers.”  He prays that the principle and biblical truths he presented in this book will strengthen us in our time of delay:

“You can and should endure expectantly with the joy of knowing God will never let you down.  You can and should keep hoping even when the nevers of life bombard you, realizing that the Lord is the One you really hope for, and He perfectly cares for all that concerns you.”

We can know with certainty that the best is yet to come . . . always!

Today’s question: What sections of Dr. Stanley’s book have had the greatest impact on you?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Prerequisite for a miracle”

Coming Monday: the Annotated Bibliography of Waiting on God

 

 

 

The best is yet to come

Faith, patience, and obedience

“It is resting in the Lord, in His will, His promise, His faithfulness, and His love, that makes patience easy.”- Andrew Murray

Charles Stanley concludes Chapter 5 of Waiting on God with a reminder that it is crucial we test our motives when it comes to God’s promises and while we wait for Him to answer our prayers.  The Father will not compete with any longing that replaces Him.

When we wait of God, He always will show us His grace, goodness, love, and mercy, as Dr. Stanley explains:

” . .  . delight yourself in the Lord, make His the priority of your life, wait for Him, cling to His promises, and trust Him to give you the desires of your heart. . . . He wants to fulfill them in a manner that reveals the awesome way He loves and provides for you.”

As we wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises, Dr. Stanley notes we have three responsibilities.  We must exhibit faith, patience, and obedience.

1.  Faith.  Dr. Stanley defines faith as “the confident conviction God will do as He’s promised.”  Our faith and trust in God will grow when we believe even though every earthly indication is fighting against that faith.

2. Patience.  One of the New Testament Greek words for patience is hupomone, meaning “steadfastness, constancy, and perseverance.”  It is the picture of a Christian who remains on the course Christ has set, despite all obstacles and trials.

3.  Obedience.  Whether we understand God’s direction to us or not, we must allow Him to guide us to our destination step-by-step.

Today’s question: What Bible verses have strengthened and sustained your faith, patience, and obedience?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Courage and determination”

 

Faith, patience, and obedience

Insight and patience

“A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”- Proverbs 19:11

As Sara Horn continues Chapter 6 of How Can I Possibly Forgive?, she pauses to unpack Proverbs 19:11.  She believes there are great truths in this Scripture that we can apply when we desire to let go of our hurts.

1.  Insight.  Insight develops patience.  Patience, in turn, gives us the ability to overlook things normally offensive to us.  Sara stresses that merely having insight won’t prevent us from being hurt.  We must be firmly grounded in God’s Word so that we’re prepared and ready to deal with the hurts that inevitably come.  When we apply God’s truth that is in our hearts, we are able to more quickly let go of those hurts.

2.  Patience.  The practice of patience enables us to understand that people aren’t perfect.  They are flawed human beings, just like we are.  As Sara notes, patience helps us stop holding on to thing that aren’t ours to hold on to in the first place:

“This is where patience comes in.  When we lower our expectations of people and increase our trust in God, we worry less about what people do and more about what God wants us to do and how he wants us to respond in every situation.”

3.  Overlook the offense.  Being offended by others is not a new problem.  And we’re said hurtful things to others.  We need to stop taking things so personally.

Today’s question: Following your vocation loss, what offenses have been most difficult to overlook?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Three practical steps”

Insight and patience

Holding on

“So we must not tire of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.”- Galatians 6:9-10

In Chapter 6 of How Can I Possibly Forgive?, Sara Horn sates that the human will is one hard cookie.  To illustrate, she relates the story of how hunters catch wild monkeys in Africa.  Hunters hollow out a coconut or cantaloupe with a hole slightly bitter than the monkey’s hand.  Inside hunters place a banana or peanuts.  When the monkey makes a fist around its “prize”, the monkey no longer can pull its hand out of the hole.

Essentially, the monkey gives up its life by refusing to let go- by holding on.  When we refuse to let go, we miss out on opportunities to serve God.  Furthermore, God can’t work through us or in us.  We convince ourselves that no one cares.  We overlook God’s blessings and gifts.  Sara offers these words of encouragement and challenge:

“But God cares very much.  He will put people in our paths to remind us of that fact.  He will also put people in our paths to challenge us.”

As we grow in our understanding of God’s bigger picture in our lives and the lives of others, we will develop patience.  With patience, we’ll be more willing to disregard the negative words and actions of others.

Today’s question: To what offense are you still holding on?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Insight and patience”

 

Holding on

Joyful confidence in God

As John Ortberg concludes Chapter 16 of Soul Keeping, he notes that Walter Brueggeman speaks of “psalms of disorientation.”  The are psalms in which the soul is disoriented, God appears to be absent, and darkness is winning.  The psalmist vents and boils over at God rather than demonstrating a polite piety- an honest faith.

John speaks of his own darkest time some years ago, when his greatest disappointment was deep and unfixable.  He questioned his calling.  John contacted Dallas Willard, eager for his answer.  Dallas responded:

“This will be a test of your joyful confidence in God.”

Pastor Ortberg cites nineteenth-century writer Frederick Ferber (Growth in Holiness, 1854), who described the patience that leads to joyful confidence:

“In the spiritual life God chooses to try our patience first of all by His slowness.  He is slow; we are swift and precipitate (rushing headlong or rapidly onward).  It is because we are but for a time, and He has been for eternity. . . . Wait and He will come.  He never comes to those who do not wait.  He does not go their road.  When He comes, go with Him, but go slowly; fall a little behind; when He quickens His pace, be sure of it, before you quicken yours.  But when He slackens, slacken at once; and do not be slow only, but silent, very silent, for He is God.”

As John concludes, “the soul is a ship that needs an anchor.”

Today’s question: How have you developed joyful confidence in God following your vocation loss?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Dealing with conflict”

Joyful confidence in God