Drenched in His Love

In my head and in my heart I know I can trust God, but why do I sometimes still feel fear and anxiety?

I've had a few weeks of deep stress. I felt so out of my comfort zone with responsibilities that now are mine. My heart cried out to God day and night.

That sounds a lot like the Psalms, doesn't it? And, each day as I open the Psalms, I'm reminded that King David also experienced a lot of stress and anxiety, but that through every trial, he kept his focus on God's lovingkindness, His unfailing love. I too pray daily, "O Eternal, drench us with your endless love, even now as we wait for you." (Ps. 33:22 The Voice)

Of course, Jesus knew stress, too, and He knew waiting. The Bible says Jesus was troubled in spirit when He knew one of His disciples would betray Him. When He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, His soul was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." Clearly Jesus knew every emotion we could ever feel.

So, we may feel fear and anxiety, but we are not to dwell there. We are to abide in our great God, focusing on His unfailing love. Psalm 33 also says, "We live with hope in the Eternal. We wait for Him, for He is our divine help, our impenetrable shield. Our hearts erupt with joy in Him because we trust in His holy name." (Ps. 20-21)

I truly have moments where my heart erupts with joy as I see how God is answering my prayers. While I no longer have Ted and all the wonderful things we had together, God has sent amazingly thoughtful people to walk with me through this sometimes dark and foggy valley. Each beautiful person reaches out and meets a different need (listening, companionship, prayer, encouragement, physical help and expertise, confidence, comfort and love). Each one is an unmistakable representation of God's lovingkindness in my life.

It will take me a lifetime to pay forward all the beautiful kindnesses that people have blessed me with these last months. But what a good goal that is to have!

Walking through grief or other struggles of life can be heart-wrenching, to be sure. But God's amazing grace and unfailing love abound every single day, if we keep our senses tuned to recognizing it.

Lord, you are all powerful, all knowing and your love is truly endless. Thank you for drenching me in your love! May God richly bless every dear person who is blessing me and loving me so well.

A More Magnificent Plan

Many of my prayers are still awaiting an answer. How about yours?

Some days my heart aches, longing to see these issues resolved. They are situations far out of my control -- there is no other way but for God to step in. So I call on Him...and wait. Sometimes the waiting is so long. It can be difficult and painful.

The "unknowns" loom out there, and we wish for resolution. My mind could wander down the path of "what ifs," but I call it back and tell it to focus on God and His goodness.

I know God is all good from the countless hours I've spent with Him, listening for His voice amid all the distractions. He has Heaven and Earth in His hands, including my prayer requests and yours. There may be days when we don't see much happening -- but things are not always as they appear.

Remember Good Friday... what appeared to be the most awful day of all turned out to be the most beautiful redemptive grace of God in action! What appeared to represent death and loss turned out to be glorious life and gain!

Another example is the life of Joseph whose brothers sold him to slavery. Later, Potipher's wife had him wrongfully imprisoned. Things appeared quite hopeless, but Joseph kept his eyes on God. And God brought great good for a whole nation out of what others intended as harm. (Genesis 50:19-21)

It can be that way with our prayers, too. What appears to be a hopeless situation, is not at all. Our heartfelt burdens can be the very reason we draw close to God, learning to more fully abide in Him and depend wholly on His grace. God loves to have His children close and to provide for all the needs of His faithful. From the throne of Heaven, He sees all and knows what's best. His plan is more magnificent than the immediate solutions we can see and hope for. What seems like forever for us to suffer in a situation is more like five seconds in God's time. He is at work changing hearts and orchestrating details into place for the more elegant tapestry yet to be revealed. 

Yes, we can have joy while we are waiting -- by keeping our eyes on Him and putting all our faith in Him -- no matter how long the wait.

Awesome God, continue to teach us what it is to walk in joyous faith, remembering the awe of who you are and what you are doing behind the scenes. I humbly bring you my requests, but I bow to your more magnificent plan.

Inspired by an earlier post, on April 20 I will be speaking on "Joyful in the Wait" as a breakout session at the Women's Breakaway in Chilton.

Joyful in the Wait

When I read the book of Habakkuk recently, I realized what a man of faith he was. Though he heard earth-shattering news, he stood in awe of God and trusted Him to bring about His just and good plan. Habakkuk could be joyful in hope even when he only saw doom and gloom. (Read his short inspirational story.)

The prophet at first pleaded with the Lord, "Why aren't you doing something?" Then, when he realized that God had a plan and was working, he was humbled and awed. He was encouraged in the wait.

How I need to remember that in my life! When the waiting gets long, I will remember that one day "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (2:14)

And even though I don't see things happening, I can know the Lord is at work. "Though the fig tree does not bud... the olive crop fails... there are no sheep in the pen... yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God, my Savior." (2:17-18)

God wants us to be joyful in the wait. That is the mark of our faith. "The righteous will live by his faith." (2:4) We all have things we are waiting for. The wait is what draws us close to God and we realize our dependence on Him. The waiting actually becomes a blessing.

If I live by faith, I am sure of what I hope for. When my desires are like God's, they are as good as done. They will surely come to pass -- but in God's time, not mine. I can live in faith and joy because God's plan is the best. He gives the ultimate. He won't settle for the lesser things for us -- His love is too great!

What are you "waiting" for? Can you have joy while you wait?

Oh Lord, thank you for your goodness, your graciousness, your love and mercy. Why does doubt ever even cross my mind? I will be strong and take heart as I wait for you, Lord!

The book of Habakkuk is a short little ancient book, but it answers some of the timeless and major questions of life.

Persistent in Prayer

The Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee in Spring

A long unanswered prayer gnaws at my heart again... "Why not now, Lord?" I wonder. But deep down, I know God wants me to press in and be persistent in prayer, knowing His timing is perfect.

All through the gospels, Jesus commends those who have faith. He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Like the friends of the paralytic (Mark 2:1-5) who lowered their buddy through the roof to get him close to Jesus. Like the centurion (Mark 8:5-13) who knew Jesus could just give a command and his servant would be well. Like the hemorrhaging woman (Mark 5:25-34) who reached to touch the hem of His garment to be healed.

Oh, how I want to be like these people! I want to trust God wholeheartedly.

I feel like the man who brought Jesus his son, possessed and made mute by an evil spirit. The man admitted some doubt..."I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

After Jesus cast out the spirit the disciples were unable to dispel, they were again alone with Jesus and they asked Him why it did not work for them.

Jesus replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."

What was Jesus was saying?

• That there are different kinds of spirits and that this really tough one will only listen to Me? No, because He expected (v. 19) the disciples could have driven out the spirit.

• That they should not only command the spirit to come out, but they should also pray? Yes, I believe Jesus meant the disciples should pray, which connects them to the Father -- upon whom they depend for answers. They should not for one minute forget Who was doing the work. It was not by their own power, but by the Lord's.

When Jesus said this can only happen by prayer, He was saying,  

"Stay connected, keep trusting, keep depending, keep looking to Me...persist in praying it through."

Many, many, many in the Bible had long unanswered prayers. We are not alone. If we did not have these great needs and prayer to draw us close, we'd start to think things happened by our own power.

But, by our simple act of obedience (prayer), we do draw closer to God, we become more connected, we increase our faith, our trust, our dependence. We see Him at work in us and around us, and we know that all will be well. Our prayer journey becomes sweet time with the Lord and the answer is worth the wait!

Dear Lord, You call us to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12) I pray You would strengthen our faith and keep our eyes on You. You are the God of the universe and we trust in Your perfect plan.

Write a comment. Do you have a long unanswered prayer? Let's be persistent together in prayer!

Every Parched Thing

You may have noticed, I've been having a dry spell. Blogging is one of my favorite things to do, yet my flowing words have come to a slow drip.

I haven't published in a few weeks, though "the experts" advise regular posts to keep the conversation going with loyal readers. I have started with an idea many times, only to have it dry up on me. Will it sound too preachy? self-righteous? judgmental? I don't want any of those things.

Maybe I've been too eager, putting too much emphasis on getting something accomplished, putting too much weight on a self-imposed deadline. Maybe I'm trying to run ahead of God. Trying to do, do, do, instead of just "be." I need to listen, I need to wait, I need more practice with abiding in Him.

If I break the "bloggers' rules" then so be it, but nothing comes before God -- not even a blog talking about the wonderful things God has done!

It's not about my effort, or my timetable -- it's not about what I DO to please God... I realize, once again, total dependence on Him is what's essential. From my every breath to my every creative thought to my direction on what's next. They're His messages, His words. I'm just the scribe privileged to write them on the page.

I got a great picture of total dependence a year ago in May when my husband and I visited seven national parks in Utah. We traveled many hundred miles through deserts with gorgeous rock formations of every hue and texture. The signs posted often warned about flash floods, though there was not a drop of water in sight! But, that's just the way life is in the desert. Water comes eventually, but you have to wait.

When the rains finally come, the water pours down the mountains and gushes through those dry gullies and every parched thing comes alive again! Every dependent creature praises the Lord!


Lord, You will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. (Isaiah 44:3 NIV) Let my roots reach to the water! (Job 29:19 NIV) Nothing matters more than unity and relationship with You. I look to You in total dependence. Thank you for teaching me more about abiding.