Timing and Trust

His Hands are big. He can handle what we can not.  

Trust simply means...letting HIM.

Our Heavenly Father "withholds" information from His child 

because its better in His Hands than ours.  He "holds - 

with" care, for the right time. In due season. While we wait, we are 

tested...will we trade trust for knowledge, like Thomas? 

Unless I see and touch? We are more ready to move, than be still 

and listen.We want more control, rather than to let Him lead. To 

Have knowledge, rather than to Hold Trust.

It is a glorious thing to get to know God in a new way in the inner chamber. It is something still greater and more glorious to know God as the all-sufficient One and to wait on His Spirit to open our hearts and minds wide to receive the great things, the new things which He really longs to bestow on those who wait for Him. 

~Andrew Murray

Those who complain that they make no progress in the life of prayer because they "cannot meditate" should examine, not their capacity for meditation, but their capacity for suffering and love. For there is a hard and costly element, a deep seriousness, a crucial choice, in all genuine religion. ~Evelyn Underhill

His Refining

"Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction"

Be patient, suffering soul!

I hear thy cry

The trial fires may flow,

but I am nigh.

I see the silver,

and I will refine

Until My image 

shall upon it shine.

Fear not, for I am near,

thy help to be;

Greater than all thy pain,

My love for thee.

H.W.C.

God takes a thousand times more pains with us than the artist with his picture, by many touches of sorrow, and by many colors of circumstance, to bring man into the form which is the highest and noblest in His sight, if only we received His gifts and myrrh in the right spirit.  But when the cup is put away, and these feelings are stifled or unheeded, a greater injury is done to the soul than can ever be amended.  For no heart can conceived in what surpassing love God giveth us this myrrh; yet this which we ought to receive to our soul's good, we suffer to pass by us in our sleepy indifference, and nothing comes, of it.  Then we come and complain:  "Alas, Lord! I am so dry, and it is so dark within me!"  I tell thee, dear child, open thy heart to the pain, and it will do thee more good than if thou wert full of feeling and devoutness.  ~J. Tauler
Above taken from today's Daily Strength For Daily Needs

His Hidden Purpose

Peace was not His purpose

His instrument was pain

A regimented suffering

designed to increase strain

I tried to comprehend it

in vain to understand

the more I sought the truth to grasp

it slipped right through my hand

Loneliness and sorrow

became familiar friend

His answer to my fainting cry,

"Endure unto the end"

What was His aim I muttered

with hope and vision dim

I thought that my surrender

would make me more like Him

Then suddenly I saw it

a figure bruised and marred

beyond all recognition

His body ugly scarred

through tear filled eyes now gazing

the dawning light did see

His still voice broke the silence

"You asked to be like Me"

The Work of Waiting

There is some times an explainable deeper work done in the heart when time has said “wait.” 

 We are tried in what we wanted, or did not want and are then faced with our inability to do anything about it. A heart that wrestles with waiting does not understand fully the REST of God. 

 Maybe, we have tasted it, but have hardened our hearts when our Father wanted to lead us to a much FULLER land of His abundance. 

The Israelites, 

wanted Promise without pain. 

 They wanted riches without having to reign over giants. 

 We want, without waiting. 

 Good things come to those who wait.

Why? Because they are not allowing WANT to lead, and will not settle for anything less than what the Father desires.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.” Is. 40:31

“ A good life makes a man wise according to God and gives him experience in many things, for the more humble he is and the more subject to God, the wiser and the more at peace he will be in all things.” 

~Thomas a Kempis

Care

CARE.

Caution inhibiting

Anxiousness debilitating 

Reservation vacilating 

Expectation diminishing

The cares of this life will choke out His word's affect in our hearts. How do we keep daily cares that seem to come so often from having this “choking affect” on our hearts? How can our Father's words do their wonderful work so that the roots of our faith can grow deep in His love?

“Come” is what came to my mind.

Chorus of praise.

Open heart.

Minding His affections.

Entering His presence.


Stress steals our Solace...
Trust takes us to His Care.

“This deliverance of soul from all useless, selfish and unquiet cares, brings to it an unspeakable peace and freedom. This is true simplicity. This state of entire resignation and perpetual acquiescence produces true liberty; and this liberty brings perfect simplicity. The soul which knows no self-seeking, no interested ends, is thoroughly candid. It goes straight forward without hindrance. Its path opens daily more and more to 'perfect day,' in proportion as its self-renunciation and its self-forgetfulness increase. And its peace, amid whatever troubles beset it will be as boundless as the depths of the sea. ~Fenelon

Embracing, Enduring and Enjoying

Always Embracing,

Assured in Enduring,

Afterward Enjoying.

"Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.  But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be (people) perfectly and fully developed (with no defects), lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4 ampl.

The END of any matter, 

where Christ is our Focus, 

will lead to a quiet mature JOY.  

A settled heart.

The beginning is a choice
 to enter into all that is given
 to me this day.  

And for those who understand the YOKE of Christ, plowing in HOPE is the longer part of this process of growth in our lives. His YOKE is only light and easy for those who stay under it.  It is when we get outside of His yoke, we experience what labor is without HIM, 

unproductive and

 without LIFE. 

This is where endurance, steadfastness and patience must have their full play. 

My definition of embracing is:  

Holding on to HIM 

until His work is done,

 in my Heart. 

Enduring: Hoping During this process.  

Enjoying:  Pure fellowship in His presence...the way He always intended.

"It has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day.  It is when to-morrow's burden is added to the burden of to-day that the weight is more than a man can bear.  Never load yourselves so, my friends.  If you find yourselves so loaded, at least remember this:  it is your own doing, not God's.  He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present.  ~G. MacDonald

“While reason is puzzling itself about mystery, faith is turning it to daily bread, and feeding on it thankfully in her heart of hearts.” ~Frederic Dan Huntington

Faithfulness

The test of the life of a saint is not success, but faithfulness in human life as it actually is. ~Oswald Chambers

“An occasional effort, even of an ordinary holiness, may accomplish great acts of sacrifice...Constant discipline in unnoticed ways, and the spirit's silent unselfishness, becoming the hidden habit of the life, give to it its true saintly beauty, and this is the result of care and lowly love in little things. Perfection is attained most readily by this constancy of religious faithfulness in all minor details of life, consecrating the daily efforts 
of self-forgetting love.” 

~T.T. Carter

Selfless savior 

Murmurless master 

Simply a servant 

Lovingly last 

Father’s faithful 

Generous giver 

Only for others 

Always alive 

Always alive 

Always asking 

Hoping and seeking 

Vessels to break 

Vessels to fill 

Fruit to abide

~Joe Garrity

JOY made Simple

"Did Pete cry?  Goodness, no!  Buttons come and buttons go.  He kept on singing his song:..."

A child understands this powerful present joy of what is given to them....NOW.  Not what was, or what will be...but what is right before them.  They do not measure loss, the way we do, because their world is smaller, and trust comes easy.

Yes, sometimes their world can be self-focused, and their NOW becomes their present WANT (just like us;) but we can learn with them (and Pete the Cat ) to count what we have, as enough.   

And the songs that will have the greatest meaning, most often come from understanding loss is temporary, and gratitude changes our heart. 
 "In HIS presence, is fullness of JOY." Ps. 16:11   (Ps. 77:6; Act 16:25)

"Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity...it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

"In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thes. 5:18

Above is a picture of Alan reading Pete the Cat to our grandchildren.  

We had just moved to S. A. and all the children came to see us.  At that time, we had only 4 grand children, and now the present count is 13.

Fast Living

Our great Aunt Amy shared some wisdom as we sat on the couch near my great grandmother’s coffin.

 I had just observed the rising death rate of people in the 20^th century.

Her response spoke volumes…

“They live too fast”

“How do you live slower?” I asked.

“Well... You enjoy what you have…

You work hard, a

nd you don’t get excited about things that aren’t exciting…

I laughed and hugged her tight. 

In order to live to our fullest-

We must tune our hearts to a different beat, 

match our stride to a different march.  

Who cares how it looks to the world...

It's His eyes we want to capture.

(Thought above from Whitney)

Happy New Years, my friends. I am praying that this would be my heart for the coming year.   Living before An Audience of ONE.

The Art of Anticipation

 One of the meanings found for anticipation is “Foretaste; previous view or impression of what is to happen afterward; as, the anticipation of the joys of heaven”. Anticipation is a present hope for what is to come. Its presence adds a bounce to our steps or gives the present moment a lift. It is like the aroma of food to the hungry. Anticipation is an attitude of heart of the one looking ahead in hope. It adds beauty and warmth to a home, whereas the cares of this life take them away. There is an art to learning how to change the ordinary, common task into something we look forward to. If we learn to anticipate each day as a gift that must be unwrapped, and willingly receive whatever it might hold, we will be graced with more treasures in learning than we could ever imagine. This does not guarantee that all will be easy, only that all is designed to work His good in us. If I anticipate a good meal, and find one that is overcooked, even then I still come away from this experience learning something.

The reason anticipation is an art is because it is not automatic. It takes work. Those who learn the artistry of it will eat its fruits. The anticipation I’m referring to is one that will produce hope for others, not expectations from them. Many a marriage suffers for the lack of it, and what was first love becomes lost. They lost it, because they were looking for how love should serve them, instead of serving from the overflowing love of Christ. Anticipation that walks with hope is never disappointed because it is the secret treasure of living by giving. God has prepared a feast of learning before us, and as we taste of His faithfulness, anticipation will become as natural as breathing and eating.

Grow Heart Grow

 

E. Stanley Jones speaks of the difference between "Thronging or Touching? when speaking of the woman with the issue of blood.  "If I were only to touch him, I would be healed" The disciples only saw the throngs of people, but Jesus felt her touch. He goes on to write, "Sunday after Sunday the multitudes go to church and listen.  Their thoughts throng Jesus.  But how many of the thronging multitudes really touch Him, set up a connection with Him, and live by Him?  How many touch Him so that they go away not merely better, but well?"

We have been influenced to believe that LOVE, is what we give and take. The crowds wanted without wonder, would take from HIM without touching They looked for Him, without longing.   They were inspired by what he said and did, but unlike the woman who threw herself against the crowd, just to touch his garment, she was changed.  Have we considered how different our relationships would be, if we, like her, experienced the transformation of His touch.

This would change our relationships, from expecting them to meet our needs, to pouring out love from a filled heart.  This kind of love takes the stretching of our hearts, to be filled up with His love.  Stretching that sometimes means laying down our own expectations.  The Love of God shed abroad in our hearts, looks very much like Paul's description of love in 1 Cor. 13 

Growing hearts IN HIS LOVE means Guarding them, too.  Max Lucado says it well in, Grace Moments:

Guard the Gateway

“The devil, your enemy, goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat. Refuse to give in to him, by standing strong in your faith.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

You've got to admit, some of our hearts are trashed out. Let any riffraff knock on the door, and we throw it open. Anger shows up, and we let him in. Revenge needs a place to stay, so we have him pull up a chair. Pity wants to have a party; so we show him the kitchen. Lust rings the bell, and we change the sheets on the bed. Don't we know how to say no?

Many don't. For most of us, though management is, well, unthought of. We think much about time management, weight management, personal management, even scalp management. But what about thought management? Shouldn't we be as concerned about managing our thoughts as we are managing anything else? Jesus was. Like a trained soldier at the gate of a city, he stood watch over his mind. He stubbornly guarded the gate way of his heart....

If he did, shouldn't we...”

Painful Joy

Painful Joy. This was the expression I saw on Anna’s face as she awkwardly clutched the chains of the swing, as I pushed her into the wind. Her one hand gripping the chain, while the other arm was wrapped around half touching the other chain. She was not fully aware of the correct way to feel secure—but oh the joy, to feel the push. She started to laugh so hard that sound stopped coming out, and it was then I saw a look that could have passed for pain. It is a mixture of both fear and pleasure. This painful joy state is not uncommon for those of us who have special needs children. Our children can become over simulated by the simplest things. It’s like happiness without the benefit of full understanding. While others watch the joy of it, we are aware of the pain. It’s a stimulus that has no shut off regulator, and we become responsible for the pacing of it.

Anna’s spontaneous laughter flows often lacking understanding. We smile and laugh with her, but its superficial. Sometimes we stand as a silent witness, as others look for understanding, wanting to simulate her more, because everyone loves laughter. Quietly we wait, and in the moments when all have gone, we offer her something much more valuable than fleeting fun; Commitment. Sorrow has presented to us opportunity to learn lessons of commitment that only come in the trenches. There is one thing I’ve learned in these places, and that is very few can walk with you in them. Laughter and Joy take on a much deeper meaning, because sorrow has plowed deep. You see beyond the surface, and do not always feel like the answers are necessary for going on.

It’s nice to be on the playground now and then, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Laughter works like a medicine, but pain carries with it the enduring quality of patience. Anna’s uncontrolled laughter is a reminder of how everything is not as it appears. I stop the swing and calm her and the significant of our day at the park will be more about my presence with her, than what we did. A.B. Simpson expresses beautifully the fruit of painful joy in this way, “There is a shallow, superficial nature, that gets hold of a theory or a promise lightly, and talks very glibly about the distrust of those who shrink from every trial; but the man or woman who has suffered much never does this, but is very tender and gentle, and knows what suffering really means. This is what Paul meant when he said, ‘Death worketh in you.’”

We can not separate ourselves from the shallow things of life. There presence with us points us to the painful things we can not change. How we respond to them, is more important for the present, than finding answers. I will continue to push my daughter on the swing, because these simple exercises of play show my other children that we choose to participate in LIFE, even though life does not always give us back an equal return for our efforts. We are learning that commitment has a price, and it will not be supported by anything less than Faith. This painful joy must have been what Paul also experienced in this life when he wrote;

“As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” 2 Co 6:10

We will go as far in our faith, as we seek to want more than what we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, or touch with our hands. Anna offers this gift daily to us. In her non-verbal way she shouts, “I believe and trust you!” Her only requirement is our nearness. Does my own heart say this to my Heavenly Father, even in the midst of troubles and trials? When swung into the air of unexpected circumstances can I rest in my heart in the faithfulness of the One whose pushing my swing?

Anna will be turning 25 years old soon, and when most young ladies are growing in understanding and maturity, learning how to handle the complexities of this life. Anna could probably be seen at our near by park, being pushed on a swing, simply holding on tight in rapturous joy. Her mother is coming to appreciate the beauty of this painful joy and this keeps her pushing, while resting in His love.

Sleeping in the Storms

“And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, ‘What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’” Matt. 8:24-27

There is a faith we can have that allows us to meet each storm in our lives with a confidence and calm that expresses itself in a life of spiritual REST. But like the disciples who cry out to Jesus (as he slept) “Lord save us: we perish”, we too hear from our waking savior, not words of comfort, but rebuke, “Oh Ye of little Faith.”

The very One who created life, nature, and man, was close enough to touch, so why this reaction to the storm? Why the panic? What is it about trials, sorrows, and storms that draw out these reactions even though we know God is in control? I’ve observed this in many of my peers and I’ve seen this in myself that this lack of living in the REST of God is often commonly summoned up in three simple words; “Don’t you care?” However, the root issue has more to do with saving self, than trusting God. Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter. He saw through the “Don’t you love us, Lord” issue, to ways we are hindered from going on in our spiritual lives. There are three areas of lack I’ve discovered (from my own falling and finding out:) that point to hindrances of walking by faith.

PRIDE takes on all kinds of forms, but in conflict it can dress itself in depression or defeat. In some ways, those who live in these attributes of pride might very well be sleeping right along with Jesus in the boat, because they have checked out. “A storm? Wake me up when it’s over!” They don’t care, and this form of SELF-PERSERVATION calls out for God to make their world better. Often in conflict and struggles this is the first area that our Heavenly Father touches. J.I. Packer expresses it this way, “ Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and sovereignty... acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours.”
Denying SELF, is the first step to understanding true life and freedom in Christ. SAVING SELF was much more on the disciple’s minds than riding out the storm. Corrie Ten Boon says “If a bird is flying for pleasure, it flies with the wind, but if it meets danger it turns and faces the wind, in order that it may fly higher.” Resentment of conflicts will eventually cause the very things you fear the most to destroy you in the end. The bird knows to use the same winds that beat against its chest, to rise above the danger. These storms are designed to take us to His higher, safer destinations.

CONTROL is another chief contributor to our lack of REST. Its expressions are often anxiousness and fretting. No one is allowed to sleep when we are operating in this spirit. We deceive ourselves into believing we need or want something enough that we must wake up our Lord to inform Him. This type of control is similar to the waves of the sea. It reflects a life of one who has continual up and down experiences. They think that what they want is answers, but their true motives are merely peace without conflict. If they can’t command the storm to stop, they look to manipulate the one who can. C.S. Lewis describes it in this way, “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” Their self-serving prayers are aimed to be delivered from the discomfort instead of learning endurance in the conflict. This is so foundational in how our own children learn to approach life and understand the love of God. Jesus stopped the storm, not for their comfort, but to expose their unbelief. Many families wonder why their older children do not have more depth, while failing to see that following Christ always has a cost. Do we want our children to be happy, or to take up their cross? Those who grow in faith will allow the conflicts to draw them closer to a deeper understanding of the love of God and His purposes: which are to conform us into Christ’s image.

LACK OF VISION is another reason we rage at the coming waves. We are too prone to trust in our feelings and eyesight. Our emotions become our reality and we fail to see that goodness and mercy are always following close behind. This place of REST (seen in a believer’s life) is a marvel to the world. How can this man sleep, in such a storm? People who lack vision only go as far as they see naturally. Their lives are limited, and you are more apt to see them isolated, safe on the shore, and going nowhere. They have been on that boat, and because they blame others for their own lack of progress, they are not getting on that boat again! Faith was needed to continue, but all they remember is the rough ride. At this juncture, the Father proved their heart, as He did his disciples: it was about them, not HIM. Oswald Chambers sums up the disciples dilemma of faith in this way;

“Our trust is in God up to a certain point, then we go back to the elementary panic prayers of those who do not know God. We get to our wits' end, showing that we have not the slightest confidence in Him and His government of the world; He seems to be asleep, and we see nothing but breakers ahead. "0 ye of little faith!" What a pang must have shot through the disciples - 'Missed it again!' And what a pang will go through us when we suddenly realize that we might have produced down right joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, no matter what was ahead.

In His presence is fullest of joy. The original meaning of joy here is calm delight. It’s a trust that is mature and settled in heart. It is not shaken by what may seem like chaos in the world. It stands firm, and allows the waves to wash over rather than knock down, knowing that all things work together for them who love God and are called according to His purpose. Those who have come to know this calm delight, have been with Jesus, and are not threatened when He seems silent. They have learned to put their confidence in “things (Him) not seen, but eternal!”

"When thou passest through the waters"
Deep the waves may be and cold,
But Jehovah is our refuge,
And His promise is our hold;
For the Lord Himself hath said it,
He, the faithful God and true:
"When thou comest to the waters

Thou shalt not go down, But through."

Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,
Bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,
Rolling surges of temptation
Sweeping over heart and brain
They shall never overflow us
For we know His word is true;
All His waves and all His billows
He will lead us safely through.

Threatening breakers of destruction,
Doubt's insidious undertow,
Shall not sink us, shall not drag us
Out to ocean depths of woe;
For His promise shall sustain us,
Praise the Lord, whose Word is true!
We shall not go down, or under,
For He saith, "Thou passest through."
--Annie Johnson Flint

Pictured above Wind Torn

God is Working

God is working

I am waiting

Hope is born

Anticipating

God is working

I am waiting

 in my soul

His life creating

God is working

I am waiting

peace is born

 pride is breaking

God is working

I am waiting

His promise true

Invigorating

~Anonymous

God has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events and reserved for himself the knowledge of them, that he may train us up in a dependence upon himself and a continued readiness for every event. 
~Matthew Henry

There are always uncertainties ahead, but there is always one certainty--God's will is good. ~Vernon Paterson 

Hope is patiently waiting expectantly for the intangible to become reality. ~Avery D. Miller 

Cultivating Faith or Feeding Doubt

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as wellas unto them; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Heb. 4: 1, 2

The people of God stood at the brink of entering into a land that promised the rest that they had longed for. Gardens already planted and houses ready for their dwelling.

As a mother with children standing by her side, having traveled in barren lands, today held something more than a longing! Stability, food other than manna, water always available, grass instead of dirt, etc.

Did that young mother realized that she was one more doubt away from losing it all? Did she understand that her walk through the desert was a test to strengthen faith for this very day. The Israelites lack of faith to enter into the promise land started back at the Red Sea, and continued each test they met along the way.

They practiced doubt, and the habit of it became so much a part of their lives, that when the ultimate test came they were blinded from seeing the goodness and grace that God was offering them.

We must be very careful not to underestimate the power of doubt, in every little test we face.

“Today if you hear his voice, 
harden not your hearts.”

Each new day holds the challenge of cultivating faith or feeding doubt. One leads to rest, and seeing the goodness of God, the other leaves us standing there, watching others enter in.

Faith is the mother of virtues. Faith is the fire which consumes sacrifice. Faith is the water which nurtures the root of piety. If you have not faith, all your graces must die. And in proportion as your faith increases, so will all your virtues be strengthened, not all in the same proportion, but all in some degree. ~Charles H. Spurgeon

"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." ~Thomas Aquinas

"The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials." ~George Muller