The Most Precious Answer of All

It’s difficult to do but waiting has benefits far
beyond we can perceive at the present moment

Waiting is probably one of the most difficult things for
a single person to do. I know. I waited for many, many
years before I met “the One.” I knew that the Lord had
someone in store for me because I believed I was called to
the married life. But it was the waiting that was killing me!
When the pain of loneliness would strike, I’d turn to the Lord and
sometimes pray, “I know You can do it. In a blink of an eye, You could
send that man for me. So why don’t You just do it?”
The Lord would often answer me with silence. Maybe because He
knew that I knew the answer to my own question anyway.
Yes, God has a purpose for making us wait that many times we
don’t see. In my case, I now realize that the many years I spent as a
single woman wanting to be a bride has equipped me to be a coach to
countless others on their “wait training.”
Just the other day, a single woman emailed me. She read my book
and was greatly encouraged. But her birthday was coming soon and,
somehow, her body clock seemed to tick louder than usual. She wrote,
“In my lack of perfect faith, I am ashamed that I still worry about
getting old and not being able to find the man of my dreams.” Oh, that
could have been my theme song when I was in her shoes years ago.
So to women like her, and to all of us who, at one time or another,
have to wait for an answer to a prayer, I share a poem entitled, “Wait.”
Its author is unknown but it was originally intended for a woman
waiting to have a child of her own.

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried.
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, He replied.
I pled and wept for a clue to my fate.
The master said gently, “Child, you must wait.”
“WAIT!” you say, “Wait?” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened, or have You not heard?
By faith I have asked and I’m claiming Your Word!
My future and all to which I relate,
Hangs in the balance and you tell me, ‘Wait’?
I am needing a ‘Yes’ or a ‘Go ahead’ sign
Or even a ‘No’ to which I could resign.
And Lord, You have promised that if we believe
We need but to ask and we shall receive.
And Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry,
I am weary of asking, I need a reply!”
And quietly, softly, I learned of my fate.
As the Master replied once again, “You must wait.”
He seemed then to kneel and His eyes met with mine.
And tenderly He said, “I could give you a sign…
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause the mountain to run.
All you seek I could give and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want but you wouldn’t know
Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint,
You’d not know the power I give to the faint,
You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair,
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.
You’d not know the joy of just resting in Me
When darkness and silence is all you can see.
You’d never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You’d know that I give and save for a start
But you’d not know the depth and beat of my heart.
The glow of My comfort late in the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask,
An infinite God who makes what you have last.
And you never would know should your pain quickly flee
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee!
Yes, your dreams for that loved one
O’er night would come true.
But the loss, if you lost what I’m doing in you.
So be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And how often may My answers seem terribly late
My most precious answer of all is still, “WAIT!

Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God
chooses. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Forgiven?

Have you ever done something in your life that you regret now, and you
wish that it had never happened and that you could start all over again?
I know I have, and not only once, but a few times. It must be
devastating for people to live their lives with the guilt that comes
from believing that they *can’t* be forgiven, and to keep on living in
that lie.

Jeffrey Dahmer, who was indicted on fifteen murder charges, near the
end, ultimately declared himself a born-again Christian. This conversion
occurred after Jeffrey read some evangelical material that his father
sent him, and a Christian minister visited him in prison and studied the
Bible with him. Jeffrey was later immersed in water for the remission of
his sins. He believed that God had forgiven him.

1 Corinthians 6:9a,11 – Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall
not inherit the kingdom of God ? Such were some of you. But you were
washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (NASB)

In our eyes, some sins and mistakes, like murder, seem unforgivable. But
in God’s eyes, any mistakes that His children make have already been
forgiven by His Son’s death on a cross. Jesus’ resurrection brings us a
second chance at a new, forgiven life! No one is beyond Christ’s
forgiveness.

Colossians 2:13-14 – And when you were dead in your transgressions
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with
Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the
certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was
hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to
the cross. (NASB)

So, in the same way that God has forgiven us, we must also forgive each
other.

Ephesians 4:32 – And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving
each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (NASB)

Prayer: Father in heaven, we give You thanks that You have sacrificed
Your Son, Jesus, so that we can live as a forgiven people and start all
over again. Amen.

Remove it Quickly

The other day, I pulled out some stain remover to clean a little spot on our carpet. I noticed that on the bottle the directions read, "Get to the spot as quickly as possible, hopefully while it's still wet." Why? Because the longer it stays there, the more difficult it is to remove. Do you know that it's the same way with us? When anger, bitterness or offense comes, it's like a stain on your mind. If you allow it to set hour after hour, day after day, it's going to get harder and harder to remove. It's so much easier to forgive right when the incident happens. And it doesn't matter what the other person does, you can choose to forgive and give your mind a clean slate. In Ephesians six, the Bible talks about how we should put on the armor of God. One of the most important pieces is the shoes of peace. In the same way that shoes protect our feet, peace protects our spiritual walk. But I've found that too many people are going around spiritually ba refooted. They're always upset and bent out of shape about something—they get offended at the neighbor because they weren't invited to play in little league, offended at the department store because they wouldn't take something back, offended at their spouse because he left in such a hurry. What's the problem? They're not putting on their shoes of peace. Today, make the decision that no matter what comes against you, you're not going to get upset. You're not going to get offended. You're going to stay in peace. Have the attitude, "If somebody ignores me, that's alright. They're pro ba bly just having a ba d day. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and move on. Somebody is rude to me? No big deal. I'm an eagle; I can rise above it." Remember, God is your vindicator, and when you remove offense quickly so you can walk in peace, you are allowing Him to fight your battles and lead you into victory all the days of your life!