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"But they that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength: they shall lift up the wings, as the eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 In the very center of a storm is a calm. This is known as the "eye" of the storm. Directly outside of the "eye" is the "eyewall" which contains the storm's strongest winds. In this picture from nature we can see a perfect analogy of the storms of life. Do you have questions to be answered? Guidance you are seeking? Find that place of calm and rest in Him ~ first ~ wait for His peace, and then His answers, His guidance. Aside from all the chaos of the world, the confusion of our own minds, the problems of the world... There is a stillness in the midst and if we will calm ourselves...we will find it. It's when we come out of that "eye" of peace and trust that we falter and become confused...life gets chaotic. "And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves dashed into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the stern asleep on a pillow: and they awoke him, and said to him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose up, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, and be still. So the wind ceased, and it was a great calm. Then he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" Mark 4:37-40 In the midst of the storm...he had rest and peace... He is rest and peace... No matter what is going on around us and even in us ~ He is there ~ the "eye" of the storm is there ~ calm and rest. "Behold the fowls of the heaven: for they sow not, neither reap, nor carry into the barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking care is able to add one cubit unto his stature?" Matthew 6:26-27 "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me rest in green pature, and leadeth me beside the still waters." Psalm 23:1-2 In His care is nourishment ~ from His own hand. We find strength in our weakness, forgiveness for our failures, answers to our questions, calm in our confusion. The Lord is my Shepherd ~ Let Him lead. We shall not want ~ there is no lack in His care, neither in our body, in our soul, or in our spirit. He maketh me rest in green pasture ~ In Him is rest and peace. He leadeth me beside still waters ~ In Him is found refreshment. Follow His gentle guidance into that place of trust, hope, and peace. To know that place is to know Him. He is our hope ~ Our Prince of Peace. As Women Finding Grace ~ Let the gentle hand of our Shepherd guide us to find rest in green pasture and refreshment beside the still waters, even in the midst of our storms. He is there with us...
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Over the last thirty years of walking with the Lord I have learned that to "wait on the Lord" is a submission of my will, my timing and my purposes. His ways and His thoughts are most definitely not our own and it takes trust, patience and a true longing to know the Lord to be able to wait on Him and learn Him. Sometimes answers, direction and guidance can seem delayed to the point that we lose faith and sight of why we even prayed. Sometimes silence is the answer ~ for now. Trust is the key. To be able to trust the Lord in silence and darkness when nothing makes sense is a true test of faith. Could it be that, as a gardener, He is patiently working and weeding and sowing seeds of patience to bring forth fruit? Whatever the delay, He is God and He is trustworthy and faithful. Let's turn our hearts to trust Him and His Word above what we see, feel, and think on our own. This devotion from Rev. Charles Stanley speaks volumes. "Right timing is critical in a believers walk with the Lord. However, trusting His timing in important decisions, uncertain direction, or pressing needs is extremely difficult when everything within us cries, "Do something!" Because we want action, waiting for God seems so passive. To wait for the Lord means to pause for instruction while remaining in the present circumstance. It is a purposeful, expectant focus on God--a choice to be actively still and quiet in our hearts, listening for His voice and watching for His intervention. The wait is not for events to work out as we want, but rather for God's will to be done. The Lord's voice often comes to us through His Word which is the Creator's instruction manual for our lives. There have been instances when a Bible passage jumped out at me while I was reading--the guidance I sought was right there, almost as if it had my name written on it. To hear from God in this way, quiet meditation is essential. At times, God will change a situation to redirect us, or He will motivate another person to give advice and guidance. However, always remember that any voice offering us direction must align with the Lord's will as revealed in His Word; otherwise it is not from Him. The first step in waiting for the Lord is submission to His choice of how and when He will act. What are you hoping God will do? Are you seeking Him, or are you seeking only the thing you want from Him? Because He alone knows what is best for you, let go and trust that His decision will be the best path." Psalm 130:5-6 "I have waited on the Lord: my soul hath waited and I have trusted in His word. My soul waiteth on the Lord more than the morning watch watcheth for the morning." As Women Finding Grace ~ Let us be found "waiting on the Lord" and not "leaning to our own understanding," ~ trusting His guidance and timing in all things.
This devotion comes from 'Streams in the Desert" one of my favorite devotion books... Genesis 22:16-18 "And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." And from that day to this, men have been learning that when, at God’s voice, they surrender up to Him the one thing above all else that was dearest to their very hearts, that same thing is returned to them by Him a thousand times over. Abraham gives up his one and only son, at God’s call, and with this disappear all his hopes for the boy’s life and manhood, and for a noble family bearing his name. But the boy is restored, the family becomes as the stars and sands in number, and out of it, in the fullness of time, appears Jesus Christ. That is just the way God meets every real sacrifice of every child of His. We surrender all and accept poverty; and He sends wealth. We renounce a rich field of service; He sends us a richer one than we had dared to dream of. We give up all our cherished hopes, and die unto self; He sends us the life more abundant, and tingling joy. And the crown of it all is our Jesus Christ. For we can never know the fullness of the life that is in Christ until we have made Abraham’s supreme sacrifice. The earthly founder of the family of Christ must commence by losing himself and his only son, just as the Heavenly Founder of that family did. We cannot be members of that family with the full privileges and joys of membership upon any other basis. —C. G. Trumbull We sometimes seem to forget that what God takes He takes in fire; and that the only way to the resurrection life and the ascension mount is the way of the garden, the cross, and the grave. Think not, O soul of man, that Abraham’s was a unique and solitary experience. It is simply a specimen and pattern of God’s dealings with all souls who are prepared to obey Him at whatever cost. After thou hast patiently endured, thou shalt receive the promise. The moment of supreme sacrifice shall be the moment of supreme and rapturous blessing. God’s river, which is full of water, shall burst its banks, and pour upon thee a tide of wealth and grace. There is nothing, indeed, which God will not do for a man who dares to step out upon what seems to be the mist; though as he puts down his foot he finds a rock beneath him. —F. B. Meyer As Women Finding Grace ~ Let's not be weary at the cost ~ but always looking ahead ~ at the goal and we will find our strength in Him to finish the race.
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