Watching

I remember where I was when I heard her say it to me.  A friend.  One who knows this heart of mine and all it’s broken pieces.  One who had walked beside me in the pain.  One who understood the fear and related well to all of the unanswered questions.

We were having coffee.  And she said the words my heart had longed to hear.  “The story that will come from this is going to be amazing - and I can’t wait to watch it all unfold!”

She wouldn’t know the impact of those words.

But my heart would always remember.

Because the reality sometimes is more painful than we’d like to admit.
And sometimes the fear of the unknown is more frightening than we’d care to claim.

But God is always good.
And we are always loved.
And His faithfulness, honestly, endures forever and ever and ever.

And I remember well the day I turned to my husband who was facing an enormous amount of grief, and I said the words out loud.  The ones that easily left the lips, but were still a little more challenging to live, “Oh how God is going to use this!  He’s gonna make something beautiful from it - and I think it’s going to look much different than we could ever dream up or imagine ourselves!”

Oh sometimes the mouth speaks even before the heart has had a chance to process.
And it’s so for the one who seeks after the heart of God.
Because He speaks to the HEART.  And out of the mouth the heart speaks.
Ah, yes, so it’s important what is stored inside of there.  SO important!

And as time has a way of doing… it flew by.  Months and months would pass.  Days that somehow in the moment seemed to last an eternity, but now, by miracle and looking back appear to have disappeared at warp speed.

The days that were painful - but filled with Presence!

Because through it all - He never left us.
Not for one minute - NOT ONE - were we ever forsaken or abandoned or forgotten. 
Not once were we neglected, rejected, or discarded.

He answered every prayer.
He sent the right people.
He gave when we lacked.
He patiently waited when we doubted.
He listened when we cried.

He remained steadfast in His love and extended to us crazy, radical, relentless grace that we did nothing to deserve.

And I would hear it in the words of the song that’s been on repeat in my brain for weeks and weeks, “Now Im standing in confidence, with the strength of your faithfulness; and I’m not who I was before…”

That’s it.

And isn’t that the point, really?

To not be the same as I was before?
To be different?

Because every pain has purpose.
And in every hurt there is hope.

And so I can be thankful for the discomfort that lead us to this place.
I can rejoice in the disappointment that threatened destruction.  Ahh - - because what does not kill us makes us stronger, right?
Absolutely right!

And so now as we stand looking forward - we wait.  And we watch. 
I sort of feel like Habakkuk… “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post.  There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how He will answer me.” (Hab 2:1)

Because my word this year… following a season of waiting… is watch.
WATCH.  From Psalm 130:5.

It’s my season to watch what He will do.

And He’s already doing!
Because He loves us that much!
He loves all of us… THAT much!

We will stand in this season and watch.
And yes, friend, I’m already so anxious to see it all unfold!

To be continued….

Rotted Fruit

The truth really is that when our heart is not properly managed... our speech is gravely infected... and everyone we encounter is negatively affected.

Matthew 12:34 says, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."

And so how our heart is managed... how it is protected... how it is responsive in obedience to the commands of Christ... matters.

According to Proverbs 10:20, "The words of the godly are like sterling silver; the heart of a fool is worthless."

It's the connection of heart and tongue.

"A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." Luke 6:45

What we say matters. More than we will ever know! And it is my personal conviction that we become spiritually stunted more by what we say than by anything else! We invite more damage and attract the greatest amount of corruption into our lives by the speech we insist upon and the words we choose.

We remain stuck in our cycle of pain by keeping chained to the destructive patterns of ill communication.

Our speech is to be edifying.

Our vocal performance needs to be encouraging.

Our lips are to be utilized for praise.

Our words are to bring life.

It's defined by one commentator as, "the service of speech." He goes on to say that, "good breeds good, while evil cannot keep itself alive!"

We are to be peace-makers. Joy-deliverers. Our conversations are to be uplifting and inspiring.

And what is inside of a heart is evidenced by the outward signs of fruit in a life. What is seen outwardly is direct proof of what's going on internally. We fool no one.

Let's pay attention to the heart work.

Let's manage what comes in so that we can properly superintend what goes out.

It all matters.

The fruit produced from an unmanaged heart will lie rotted upon the tongue.

 

 

Do Not Seek to Withdraw, But To Withstand!

Hebrews 10:38 says this, “And My righteous ones will live by faith.  But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” 

Hard to read, perhaps, but completes the prophesy proclaimed by Habakuk in chapter 2, verse 3 & 4, “… If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.  It will not be delayed.  Look at the proud!  They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.  But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.”

So faith and patience are partners?

Yes.

Wait patiently.
Live by faithfulness to God.

We must maintain patient endurance.

And I know how hard it is.  It just is.
The reality of waiting is that it tends to affect our faith.
Especially when the promise proclaimed is slow to materialize.

The Greek word for patience is the word Hupomoné.
Meno = stay, remain, continue permanently, abide in one place. 
It is the same word used in John 15:7, where Jesus says, “Abide in Me.”
It intimates being rooted, unmovable, stable.
It signifies a person who, though under a great heavy load, is resolved in staying put in one spot.  Regardless of how burdensome the load is, or how long it takes to remove it, he refuses to move from his position because he knows where he's to be and what he’s supposed to do.

The “righteous” ones, as described here, can be defined as: humble, meek, sincere, resigned to the will of God, and reliant on God’s wisdom, power, goodness, and faithfulness.

My commentary says it best in a phrase I’ve been chewing on for weeks.  “May we never faint in combat; nor withdraw from it.”
It’s really not our business to remove ourselves from difficulties.  And it’s my personal conviction that not every hardship is intentioned by the enemy.
Sometimes we are simply asked to remain steadfast and faithful in the adversity, so as to learn all we can from the unfortunate interference.
Sometimes we are being conditioned to withstand.

I must live hupomoné.  I must not seek always to withdraw, but to ultimately withstand.

Keep Your Heart In Love With Jesus!

John 15:8 (red letter of Jesus) says this, "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father."

And shouldn't it really be the ultimate goal of the Christ-follower to bring great glory to the Father?

It's holy living that we should be after. Hearts surrendered to Him; lives aimed at representing His character well. As we exemplify godly behavior, we evidence our connection to the Father and in the process, excite others toward a relationship with Him!

And the truth really is that fruitfulness is not accidental, it is intentional. It is something that is aimed for, worked at, and cultivated consistently.

Those who produce much fruit in their lives are faithful, humble, devoted, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. They see things from a different perspective - a heavenly perspective - and it's unmistakable by the beautiful ripe fruit they produce.

There are some distinctive things that hinder growth in Christ. Things we ought to be aware of as we journey through this life. Things like:

• idleness/laziness

• unworthiness

• unwatchfulness

• carelessness

• involvement in sinful ways of the world

• deadening absorption in the cares and the pursuits of this world

Fruitfulness reveals the nature of God. And so it becomes our responsibility: keep our hearts in love with God.

And so I place before me this question: Am I producing much fruit? Is it evident in the way I live? Others, by viewing my life, are detecting, discerning, and ultimately deciding for themselves if Jesus is real.

Am I conscious of improving daily? Where is my focus if it's not truly on the improvement of my soul? After all - this is the part of me that will forever live with my King!

I must maintain a deep awareness of God's goodness, and I must focus on being better than I was last week, last year.

It all really matters! THIS brings great glory to the Father!

 

 

Development Over Destruction!

We could let disappointments disable us. OR we could choose to let them develop us.

-------

 

On a Wednesday afternoon in early June it happened. I could feel the brakes giving out in my truck.

And I had been warned. There was the indicator light that had been on for a couple weeks. But because my sweet husband had filled the brake fluid to capacity, I thought I was fine.

Turns out I wasn't.

And the short story is that the brakes would go out completely, in another city 45 minutes away, at the most inconvenient time, and under the most unfortunate of circumstances.

And yet God in His infinite wisdom and grace would reveal to me something in the pages of His Word just hours before in my quiet time. Because this soldier is always in review. Because... truly... I cannot afford to miss what He's saying, and how He's working.

And He is always the gracious teacher - ready to train the most hungry of hearts.

John 4:34. The red letter. Ahh, yes, the important pieces to take close examination of:

"Then Jesus explained, 'My nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me, and from finishing His work.'"

Jesus left us with an example: to do the will of God as He did: to make a career... a business out of it.

Jesus was rapt in the will of the One who had sent Him.

He knew why He had come.

And He was content in doing precisely that.

And sometimes we forget.

Sometimes we forget that our point and purpose is the same as His. To reveal the heart of the Father.

And it's often that He will present a challenge before us to see just how we will behave. How well we will do in RE-presenting Him to a hurting world.

Ahh... and it comes through the most unlikeliest of circumstances.

• Disappointment.

• Discouragement.

• Disability.

• Disadvantage.

And it's so funny that I would read, in review, just hours before a debilitating hardship the words I had journaled months before:

 

The main business of life is not to avoid pain, inconvenience, or fatigue, or to even seek the removal of them for personal gain, but to simply DO the will of God, regardless of the cost.

He did.

And the theme has been coming up again and again and again this year... my year of waiting and watching... this idea that God is not just a burden-lifter, seeking to "get me out of" a painful situation, but to learn what it means to effectively navigate the rough waters, and to go through it successfully, with great confidence and ultimate victory.

Because the truth really is that there is more to gain spiritually by learning to properly maneuver tough storms than to avoid danger altogether, experiencing safety on the shore!

And so it could be even now... and for you too... that God is at work in your situations threatening to undermine your spiritual strength and vigor. Because not every hurtful woe is aimed from the enemy himself.

God is at work!

Always.

• Strengthening our faith.

• Deepening our awareness.

• Growing our trust.

Disadvantages, disappointments, and discouragements are what damage the fragile heart the most. Don't let them destroy you, but develop you!

 

 

Wait With Confident Expectation

I know many of us are in a holding pattern... a waiting season.

And it doesn't feel very good at times.

Ahh, but Psalm 27:14 is like hope breathed on dry bones this morning:

"Here's what I've learned through it all: don't give up; don't be impatient; be entwined with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope. Yes, keep on waiting - for He will never disappoint you!"

Waiting = expect, hang, linger, remain, standby, stay, stick around, watch, abide, anticipate, foresee, hold on, look for.

Just.. wow.

Some of those words used to describe waiting are unbelievable to me.

Watch?

Anticipate?

Look for?

Yes.

Maybe what He is truly after is hearts seeking not after pain-relief, but after soul-growth. Maybe we're to wait in humble recognition to His will with a heart fixed and a mind stayed on Him.

Because I had read it in a commentary months ago, "If we will not wait, He will not come."

God is too good to remove the medication used to heal before it has had a chance to be made effective! He has not medically released us before a cure has be made available and taken well advantage of.

We must wait - but wait with confident expectation.

Oh that we would learn to wait well. His perfect timing cannot be hurried.

We must wait at His door with prayer.

We must wait at His feet with humility.

We must wait at His table with service.

We must wait at His window with expectancy.

God, teach us to wait well for all You have for us.

Your perfect timing, God. Your perfect will!

 

 

Don't Dispute, Simply Distance

2 Timothy 2:14 says, "Remind everyone about these things and command them in God's presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them."

Paul is reminding His student, Timothy, and He is reminding us, too, His students, that, "fellowship with Christ in suffering, will be succeeded by fellowship with Christ in glory." (words just before this found in 2:11-13.)

Disputing over words is proof that love of self has taken the place of love of truth. There is no profit. Useless arguments is placing truth in an unnecessary disadvantage. When your focus becomes that of winning an argument verses offering truth in love, we all lose. 

 

And we reveal the bitterness that truly lives in our heart.

And we know those situations well. The ones we should avoid. The conversations that do nothing but stir up disunity and create more damage. We know those individuals of whom we must remove from our company because the discussions always pull us away from destiny.

Maybe today we can begin again.

Maybe today we can stop disputing over words and simply distance ourselves from that which comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

Oh it all matters.