Waiting

Remember

April 17, 2016 by standing

Remember? If you’re going through a relationship crises, remembering may be a painful thing. Seeing an old photo or driving by a location may cause you to remember a time when things were better in your relationship. Remembering even these good times can be a painful experience in the light of your current crises.

And then there are those other memories. The painful memories of conflict, of words said that you wish you could take back . . . but can’t.

But in Christ, Remembrance during hard times is an important part of drawing close to God. This special Remembering can be wonderfully healing and is a guardian against depression and hopelessness. This remembering involves reviewing all the things the Lord has done. I think about all the times the Lord has come through for me in the past – the amazing “coincidences” where I prayed about a problem and He came through. Or the times when I was suffering, but I know Christ was right there with me.

There’s an example of this Godly remembrance in the Bible.

In Psalm 77, the writer is going through a crises, and in the middle of the night he can’t sleep because of his anguish. He tells the Lord “You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.” But he turns his mind and begins to remember the Lord’s care and love for him. He says “I call to remembrance my song in the night.”

And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds.

So he acknowledges the crisis (“this is my anguish”) but remembers and rests upon the past years of the Lord’s goodness.

The final act of this remembrance is to recall one thing: the Lord’s goodness has not changed even during your crises. If the Lord came through in the past, he’ll come through again in His own special way. As the psalmist says in Psalm 27:

I would have despaired, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.

Filed Under: Loneliness, Pain and Hurt, Waiting

Hot on your Heels

July 19, 2013 by standing

What’s coming up fast chasing you? Monsters? Your past failures? Bill collectors? Family members?

Well, if you’re in Christ, the Word of God makes it clear something very Good is coming up fast behind you.

Isaiah 51:11 Those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (NIV)

Psalm 23:6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (NIV)

Filed Under: Family, Fear, Finances, Forgiveness, Loneliness, Pain and Hurt, Trusting God, Waiting, Work pressures

Throw off the Weights- Spending time with the Lord

May 20, 2013 by standing

If you’re like me, your time is consumed by all the busy ways of modern life, work, chores, events, family. I really don’t spend enough time with the Lord to listen to Him and read His word in the Bible. But this is something we must do. It is a matter of priority. If you are a believer in Christ, then by Christ we are the daughter and sons of God, and we are commanded to spend time with Him.

Paul, in Hebrews 12 exhorts

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

The term “everything that hinders” in this verse in the original Greek is “ogkos” and this means a burden and heavy weight. This includes our worries and the many “to dos” we have. It is good to be responsible and a good worker, but let’s remember the Lord is more important than these things. One hundred years from now, you and other people won’t care about today’s “to dos” But you will wish you had spent more dedicated time with the Lord. Spending time with the Lord is an eternal investment.

Filed Under: Prayer, Trusting God, Waiting, Work pressures

God’s Will and the Worry of Making Decisions

February 2, 2013 by standing

You want God’s will, but it’s not always clear what His will is. So you worry about making the wrong decision. Sound familar?

Listen to this short audio message that offers some freedom right from God’s word:

God’s Will and Making Decisions (mp3)

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. Proverbs 3:5-6

Filed Under: Audio, Fear, Finances, Media and Publications, Trusting God, Waiting

Remember your destination

November 19, 2012 by standing

Imagine you are a child on a long difficult car trip on a very bumpy road. Now imagine you didn’t know where you were going. That would be hard.

But then picture the same scene, long trip and a bumpy road, but you knew you were going to see your grandparents. Their house was filled with all sorts of goodies, lovingly prepared for you. You didn’t know when you were going to get there, but you knew there was a good destination ahead.

This is the position we are in as followers of Christ. There is no doubt we are on the long, rough road of life, but Jesus did not keep us in the dark about our ultimate destination.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” — John 14:1-4

Jesus wants us to know our ultimate destination to comfort us. Let’s not forget our destination, and every pothole that shakes our bones is part of the same road that brings us to Him and pure joy beyond our comprehension.

Filed Under: Trusting God, Waiting

When you can’t see . . . hope

November 9, 2012 by standing

Sometimes we read that the Lord is with us and and will help us, but things get worse and we don’t see the reality of these words. In the bible, Job, who went through many trials, also felt this too. He said of God:

When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. Job 23:9

Listen to this short message of encouragement, for God is at work!

When You Don’t See Or Feel (mp3)

Filed Under: Fear, Trusting God, Waiting

God wants to bless you more

November 6, 2012 by standing

It’s easy when we’re going through trials to think that God is mad at us. The reality is is God wants to bless you, and he’ll give you more than you ask for. Listen to this short message:

God wants to bless us more than we ask (mp3)

Filed Under: Audio, Fear, Prayer, Trusting God, Waiting

Bow down so He can lift you up

October 22, 2012 by standing

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10

Have you ever been in situation where you have to rely on the Lord? Where there’s no human way out?

Well, I’m in one of those situations now. I look around me and it seems like there’s no hope. But I know this. The Lord is the one who brought me into this world. And this is one of those times where I just have to get low and say, “Lord you’re the only hope I have.”

And then I remembered all of the times that the Lord got me out of troubles. And David in Psalm 124 also remembered this as well.
Bottom line is we have to get low, not relying on our own strength, to trust the Lord.

Psalm 124
A song of ascents. Of David.
1If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2if the Lord had not been on our side
when men attacked us,
3when their anger flared against us,
they would have swallowed us alive;
4the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7We have escaped like a bird
out of the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Filed Under: Fear, Loneliness, Prayer, Trusting God, Waiting

He knows the way that I take

October 15, 2012 by standing

Is your future uncertain? Do you wake up in the night playing out the scenarios and none seem good? If you trust in Jesus, God holds your future securely in His hands and will work them out for your ultimate good. Listen to this short audio message of comfort:

He knows the way that I take (mp3)

Referenced scriptures: Job 23:10, Psalms 139

Filed Under: Audio, Fear, Finances, Media and Publications, Trusting God, Waiting

Our role in the salvation of our loved ones

September 23, 2012 by standing

I’m sure you have loved ones, perhaps a family member, who you want to come to the Lord. Here’s a quick two minute audio message on some importent things to remember about God’s mercy, his salvation and our role in prayer and forgiveness.

Our Important Role as Intercessor in Salvation (mp3)

Filed Under: Audio, Family, Forgiveness, Prayer, Waiting

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