Waiting is a Process. Don’t Give Up! Don’t Stop Believing!

I was encouraged by this today and thought I would share it with you. It is a daily devotion from Alma Rivera. (New York, NY
Christian/Gospel / Praise & Worship)

Have you been praying about a situation in your life and found yourself waiting for a breakthrough?

All of us will wait passively, or we’ll wait expectantly.

Be a person who waits in Expectation believing the answer is just around the corner

In Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

 Are you going to wait the wrong or right way?

If you wait in the wrong way you will complain and feel sad, depressed and frustrated. If you are willing to wait in the right way, your thoughts will be line with the Word of God believing what His word says.

To avoid frustration and the temptation to quit, remember that there is a due season and an appointed time for every harvest.

When people patiently and expectantly wait on God in the midst of horrible circumstances, suddenly God breaks through.

Remember God is working on your favour Even if you Don’t see how.

“For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome”. Jeremiah 29:11

“Wait with the right attitude and “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way” James 1:4

Be Blessed!

Mark

Don’t give up on your vision a miracle is on the way!

I read this story the other day as I was preparing my next sermon:

A young man had a vision for his future. In his last year of school, his teacher gave him and his class a big assignment for their final exam.

She said, “Write out your dream – your vision of what you want to do in life”.

This young man got so excited. It took him only a couple of hours to draw out a seven page plan for his dream.

 A huge 200-acre horse farm, where he could train, house and treat horses. Included was a large five bedroom home, and the best of features.

With excitement, he handed in the paper.

 Two days later, he received his paper back with a big red “F” and a note, “See me after class.” She told him, “Your dream – your vision is too big. It doesn’t make sense. But if you re-do this paper and bring it down to something practical, I will re-grade it.”

 The young man took it home, considered re-doing, but then handed it back to the teacher, exactly as he had handed it in before. No changes. And as he turned the paper back to her, he said, “Teacher, you can keep the “F,” and I’ll keep my vision!”

God gives His people a vision.

We need to thank God for the blessings of the past.  God has been good, but God has given a vision for now and for the future.

When we look at our situations with our natural eyes we have to admit that our resources are woefully inadequate to meet the need.

We are to take inventory and bring what resources we have to Jesus.

Remember the lad with five loaves and two fish (luke 9) He had just enough for himself. He placed them into the hands of Jesus for Him to do what He wanted with them and in the process, released control to Him and Just as he did for that lad Jesus will bless what we do have and place it back in our hands, multiplied, more powerful than we could have imagined. That boy was not hungry after he ate his share nor were thousands of others!

But the devil will come every once in a while and say:

• your vision is too big.
• It’ll never happen.
• Why don’t you quit.

There are times the devil tells me -

• you can’t preach -
• you don’t have a calling to be a pastor -
• you don’t have what it takes -
• what’s the use – it just won’t happen.

That’s when I get alone with God.

And God reminds me of those that have been saved, the churches that have been planted through the ministry He has given me.

God reminds me of the Prophetic Words that He has spoken over us as a family.

God reminds me of His vision that He has for His church.

And that’s when I go back to the devil and tell him, “Devil, you can keep your “F,” I’ll keep my vision!” There’s a miracle in the Making!

 Someone wrote..

A miracle will take place in this nation…

If all the sleeping people in the church would wake up.

If all the lukewarm people in the church would fire up.

If all the dishonest people in the church would confess up.

If all the disgruntled people in the church would sweeten up

If all the discouraged people in the church would cheer up,

If all the estranged people in the church would make up,

If all the gossiping people in the church would shut up,

If all the dry bones in the church would shake up

If all the non-tithers in the church would pay up

If all the negative people in the church would grow up

If all the saints of the church would pray up

If all the believers in the church would stand up,

WE WILL EXPERIENCE A MIRACLE!

 God is going do it!

                     There is a miracle in the making.

There’s no question about it.

It’s not a question of whether or not God’s going do it,

The question is . . . will you and I be a part of it? 

The Big Picture

God wants us to see the big picture!

Our personal vision, the vision for our Church, can become unclear when we lose sight of, or don’t see them, in the context of the greater vision that God has for the Church at large.

In Genesis 15:5 we read, ‘The Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can”‘

Abram was at a crisis point when God spoke those words. And like us its the often the only time God can get our undivided attention.

There are times in our lives when it seems that, looking at our present circumstances, we have to admit that we are seeing no fruit and that there are promises still unfulfilled. And we begin to question, “Is it now too late?” “Has God moved on without me?”

Reading through this chapter I see Abram facing three things:

FACING FEAR:

Abram had just defeated four kings and rescued Lot with just 318 men – It was a great victory! But now with time on his hands he begins to think about and consider what he had done, thinks about retaliation and his apparent lack of resources, “Oh no what will happen if…”

Faith often gets confronted by fear. Remember how Elijah ran from Jezebel after the victory over the prophets of Baal at Carmel.

There are times when we can feel overwhelmed with what God has given us to do in the light of our apparent lack of resources.  But it is in these times that God often steps in and reveals to us much more of Himself and what He can do both in and through us.

FACING FACTS:

God had promised Abraham many descendants but it now looked too late for that promise to be fulfilled.  Both were too old for children.

FACING GOD:

Abraham is talking to God. The best place to be in the time of crisis …

Sure we can go to the Pastor, friends, counsellors but more of the time we need to be like Abraham talking direct to ‘The One’ who is able to do…

exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,   Ephesians 3:20

Two of the most powerful keys I have discovered for a balanced healthy walk with God:

God must dominate our thinking – Not our circumstances.

Our vision must never be captive to our circumstances

If our vision is not held captive to/by our present circumstances then we step outside of our immediate circumstances, we look to God, hear from Him, and then see things as He sees them.  There is no better viewpoint! 

God called Abraham outside and turns his attention upwards.

God speaks and He reinforces previous promises,  And instead of what we would naturally do, reduces Abram’s expectations, God shows him even more of what He is going to do!

Abram receives a revelation of the greatness of God

v5 Look at what I, God, have already done – Look at my creative works, I am the source of everything, all of creation

Abram receives a revelation of great fruit

Do we need that today? = Absolutely!  Give us that revelation today Lord of great fruit in our lives and churches.

the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. THAT’S HOW MANY DESCENDANTS YOU WILL HAVE!”

ABRAM APPEARED TO BE TOO OLD TO HAVE THE SON GOD PROMISED HIM - But -

God is now saying not just a son and a family… BUT A NATION!

His history, his circumstances said, “Impossible!”

But

His potential with God said, “Possible!”

When we come to those places of, apparent, fruitlessness we need to remind ourselves of the words Jesus spoke, “If you abide in Me you will bear much fruit.”

“FORGET YOUR PAST, LOOK TO ME” God was saying to Abram

SAME MESSAGE TODAY

God wants to give us many spiritual sons and daughters, in-fact nations for our inheritance!

Psalm 2:8 Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.

Abram receives a revelation of a great inheritance

Gen 15:18-21 There was a land to be taken and God was giving it to him.

No more was Abraham to be a nomad / wanderer, but a possessor of a great land.

Our enemy appears to hold much land that is rightfully ours

God wants to transfer those resources from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. OUT OF OUR ENEMIES HANDS INTO OUR OWN!

How much of the land are you believing for:

In your own life? – In your family? – In your Church?

God wants us to be a people with an enlarged vision.

Abram:

a)  Faced fear.         He received a revelation of the greatness of God.

b)  Faced facts.        He received a revelation of great fruit.

c)  Faced God.         He received a revelation of a great inheritance.

The Proof Of The Pudding Is In The Eating!

You can sit at a great banquet and see all the lavish food set before you, and you can say, “That looks so good.”, and you could describe all the colours and textures.  You can smell the wonderful aroma’s of the steaming food and you could describe just how those smells are so good and what they make you feel like.

The person next to you could tell you just how wonderful the food is.  They could describe how the roast potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside, they could tell you how the beef just melts in the mouth. And as they come to the sweet they again try to explain the different flavours of what they are eating and how wonderful it all is.

But until you actually start eating for yourself you will never know what it is really like to eat such a banquet.  That is what King David meant when He said in Psalm 34 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

That ’Oh’ is a very expressive word in this context, just like the ‘Mmmmm’ & ‘Oh, that’s sooo good!’ we use during a great meal.

Experience is what God wants to give you so why not ‘Taste and see for yourself?’.

 

Weebles Wobble But They Don’t Fall Down!

“Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down!” That song for some reason has been stuck in my mind over this last week or so.  It was the catchy song for the tv advert of  a childs toy that would never fall down and would never stay down no matter how often or how hard they were pushed.

If only we as Christians were more like ‘Weebles’.  When the hard times come and when people and situations push us to our limits, even when it seems that all is lost we would ‘Do’ Scripture and wearing the whole armour of God, and having done all, stand. Eph 6:13 instead of our whinging and whining we have become so proficient at!

If you have done everything you can in a situation, if you can’t see the way out, if you have brought it before God then like Moses told the Iraelites I say to you, and remind myself, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD” Ex 14:13

Wobble if you must, and we all do at times, but remember God is on your side! God has you at the forefront of His mind keep Him at the forefront of yours!

Paul writing to Timothy said this: For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 2 Tim 1:12

Faithfulness.

When God is looking for someone to do something special, He looks for someone who is faithful in what he is currently doing. While we may feel that some jobs are too menial for us, no position or job is too small or too menial to prove faithfulness. It could probably even be said that the smaller and more insignificant the job seems by human standards, the greater the opportunity to prove faithfulness.

Jesus put it this way, “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever desires to be first shall be the slave of all.” Mark 10:43-44

If you have a task you are doing for the Lord right now that seems unimportant or unnoticed , and you would like to be used for something greater, the pathway to that greater task is to increase your effort in what you are doing right now.

God reached out and took David right out of the sheep pens of his father where he was faithfully doing what he was charged to do.

God can do the same with each one of us, if we are faithful.

Protected!

It never ceases to amaze me how intimately God is interested in my life, He never takes His eye off of me, He never gets distracted, He is always watching over me, Isn’t that amazing!

In fact His covering is overwhelming.

He has set His Standard before me. Isaiah 59:19  …When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. 

Underneath me are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27  The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; 

The Glory of the Lord is my rearguard. Isaiah 58:8  Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 

I am under the shadow of His Wings.  Psalm 91:1  He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  Psalm 36:7  How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

Nothing can happen to me that God hasn’t checked out and made sure that it will ultimately be for my good – I am safe and secure – How about you?