I'm Not Through Yet, But I Will Be!

Waiting. A lost art. We live in a world of instant gratification. Gone are the days of anxiously waiting for the mailman to deliver the letter from the one who lives out of town. Today, we just skype, and chat face to face realtime. No need to wait for the annual showing of "The Wizard of Oz"- just stream from the Internet and watch instantly. Trips that used to take days now take hours. No more waiting for that roll of film to be developed. Instant... Instant... Instant...

But some things still take time. A caterpillar still has to cocoon before it transforms into a butterfly. A mother still has to carry her baby for nine months before she gets to experience the joy of holding her child for the first time. Sometimes there are no shortcuts. Sometimes we have to wait. Sometimes we have to go through, when we want God to deliver us out.

Often times while I am waiting, my circumstances are not comfortable. At times life has been painful. I have found myself wandering in the wilderness, a place of testing and transition and wanting God to deliver me out of my trials. However, I have learned that if I want to enter into the promises of God, sometimes I have to go through the wilderness, through the water, through the river or through the fire (Isaiah 43:2).

The last few months have been a time of testing and trial for my family. A time of waiting. I was reminded of a promise God spoke over our church through Pastor Chris - God would prepare a table in the wilderness. And He has. Just as He provided for Moses and the children of Israel, we have feasted at the table of His goodness. He has provided rest, peace and joy. We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good!

We may not be through the wilderness yet, but by His grace, we will be.  And when we come through, we will be as gold.



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Peek-A-Boo, I See You!

I love playing peek-a-boo. The smile and laughter of a baby brings so much joy. As the baby grows, the game changes from peek-a-boo to hide and seek.

I was always amused when Brittany would play hide-and-seek. Her idea of hiding was to place her head face-down on the couch! In her mind, she couldn’t see me, so I couldn’t see her! I would pretend to look for her, call out her name, and comment on how hard she was to find. Without fail, she would lift up her head and smile really big and say, “Here I am!”

Brittany is in college now, but I find myself still playing hide-and-seek. And I find that I am just as good at hiding as Brittany! You see, it is really hard to hide from El-Roi, the God who sees (Genesis 16:13-14). Just as Hagar tried to hide from Sarah in the wilderness, I have been guilty of trying to run to the wilderness and hide; of trying to hide from offense, pruning, God's call on my life, difficult decisions, failures, insecurities.

I would hear God calling and unlike Brittany, I would crouch lower and bury my head, not wanting to be found. But when I least expected it, I would hear His voice saying, “Peek-A-Boo, I See You", and He would pick me up, hold me close, reassure me, and carry me home.

He will do the same for you. You are never out of His sight. He is always looking and calling for you. He is forever El-Roi, the God who sees. Lift up your head and smile really big and say, "Here I am!" and then get lost in His embrace.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Quite The Introduction!

Introduction is defined as:  a formal personal presentation of one person to another or others.

I love God's introduction of Himself to humanity in Genesis 1:1:  "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  God chose to introduce Himself as Elohim, our creator.  God is establishing His authority and power right from the start.  He is the only one to create something out of nothing.  Think about that! 

Look around at His creation.  Smile at His creative genius.  Stand in awe of how He has sustained the earth and all He has created.  Then, proclaim with the prophet Jeremiah, "Ah Lord God!  Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.  There is nothing too hard for You." (Jeremiah 32:17)

And believe.  There is nothing, no thing, too hard for God. To the One who speaks things into existence, there is no river too wide, no mountain too high, no desert too dry, no situation too hopeless, no marriage too broken, [insert your need here] that He cannot speak peace and healing into.  He is more than able.  He is more than willing.  He is waiting... open up your hands, open up your heart and turn your situation over to Elohim.  Allow him to create something new in your life.  He doesn't need much to work with, just your obedience.

In the beginning God... Your new beginning can start today.

When God Is Silent

Matthew 4:1-11

This passage begins with the Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness, and this is interesting, to be tempted by the devil. This passage ends with the devil leaving Jesus and angels coming to minister to Him. As I was reading this morning, my attention was taken to the silence of God.

Christ was in the wilderness, a place of isolation. Totally dependent on God. Similar to Elijah at the brook Cherith. And His Father was silent. No cheering from the sidelines, no encouraging words. Silence. But only for a season. For when the time of testing was over, God sent His ministering angels.

When you find yourself in the desert place, waiting on a silent God, remember that even though He is silent, He is not absent. He is Emmanuel, God with us. You are never alone. In His time, He will do for you what He did for Christ. He will send His angels to minister to you.