Weekend Devo — The Best Truths Bear Repeating

This is a post from last October that just seems to need repeating. I know it's a truth I need constant reminder of. Trusting God is key, and keeping our hopes in Him is the source of our enduring strength. Have a blessed weekend! Hugs! ~Dineen

Waiting on God
God never ceases to amaze me in the intricate perfection of his work and plan. Have you found yourself in a place where you see how the details surrounding you are linked together and blooming like a flower? And as the petals open, the legitimacy of each event suddenly comes into view, perfectly planned and coordinated in an intricate pattern of destiny?

I love those moments. Though I’m sure I don’t see them all, I know I’d miss more if I didn’t constantly and intentionally draw closer to God. We need to stay in a place of yearning for more of God and less of this world.

Otherwise, we might miss what God’s doing in our lives.

I know I’ve said this before, but bear with me. Waiting is a big part of our Christian walk. Hard to do in a world so focused on how fast something can be done. We’re becoming a culture of impatient people. I see it in my own children. But I know from experience that waiting is critical in our walk with God.

Now I’m coming to understand a new dimension of waiting. For the last year, my constant question has been, “How do I rely on God’s strength instead of my own?” I run out of strength, then wonder what happened. What did I do wrong? How do I know when I’m operating in my own strength and not God’s?

I think I got part of the answer yesterday at Bible study. A very special group of ladies meets every week at my church. I love these women, because they are the most authentic and God-hungry women I know. Right now we’re studying Esther by Beth Moore.

Let me first confess that I’m a big Beth Moore fan. Her studies have impacted my life more than any others I’ve done, except for Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. But this Esther study by far exceeds them all. I think Beth crawled into my very situation and wrote it just for me. ☺

Yesterday we received a nugget that I believe is key to answering this question I’ve had about God’s strength. Take a look at Isaiah 40:31 (ESV):

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Waiting and strength are linked here in a way I hadn’t thought of before until Beth said something like this:

“We will lose our strength when we wait on the event, thing, or person instead of waiting on God.”

Talk about a “whoa” moment. Suddenly the pieces fell into place. When do we feel like we can’t go any further because we have no more strength?

When we’ve prayed over and over again for our spouse to believe in Christ? For a child to be healed? For a job?

For a difficult situation to resolve and find a peaceful solution?
For a loved one to come back to us?

Add yours to the list. (Tell us about it in the comments.) Now ask yourself this. “What am I waiting on?” Did your answer look like one of these:

For my spouse to come to faith.
For my child to be healthy again.
For the right job.
For this situation to be fixed and go away.
For my loved one to come home.

Is your strength lagging? Are you tired and want to give up? Are you asking why God isn’t strengthening you? I know I have.

The key is right in the first line of Isaiah 40:31:

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.

Like Beth said, when we wait on our spouse to choose God, for our child to be okay, for a job, for peace, for restoration with a loved one, we’re waiting on that specific event, circumstance, or person. We’re waiting on it, and not God. And we lose our strength.

It always seems to come back to where we point our eyes, doesn’t it? Keeping our eyes on God and waiting on Him. Let’s put it to the test, shall we? See if it works? I’m ready to wait on God and let him renew my strength.

How about you?

Praying and believing,
Dineen

The Safe Life - The Crazy Life

Are you living the safe life or the crazy life. Francis Chan author of Crazy Love.

Thankful Thursday -

Let us give thanks. It is Thankful Thursday.

Wow, can you believe July is almost over. I had a blast hosting Thankful Thursday in July. Next month we will meet up with Laurie of Women Taking A Stand and in September we will share our thanks with Iris of Grace Alone. 

My month of hosting Thankful Thursday is at an end. We will meet back here again in October. Wow, fall is around the corner. Next week let's find each other for another week of praise over at Laurie's place.

Before we leave summer too quickly, I want to share something from my summer with you. Take a look at this photo I snapped a few weeks ago. It a photograph of a morning glory that vines on the little picket fence surrounding my garden.

 

It may be difficult to see in this small version but if you click on the photo you can see a larger photo. What I want to show you is the Awe of our God.

Now look at the center. Do you see it? It actually glows. It glows in a brilliant white. 

How does God do that?

I am often moved to moments of awe and wonder of our God in the small details of our world. Most people would miss this amazing phenomenon of a glowing flower but I didn't. When I look upon such amazing beauty and mystery, I am moved by the Lord.

I am moved to thank the Creator, my Lord, for the majesty and mystery and magnificence of His creation.

Today, share a photo with me of something that inspires awe in your heart and let's honor the Lord with our worship and thanks. Be blessed, Lynn

PS. I would be so thrilled if you would join me in a few weeks for The Intentional Marriage. It will be on August 13th and I have a challenge for you and your marriage. I promise it will be worth your time. You can write about the challenge on your own blog and link up here.

God created the design of marriage to help us understand His relationship to us and our relationship to Him. That is what The Intentional Marriage is all about. Let's discover more about growing in our love for Jesus and our spouse. See you soon. Lynn

(turn on the speakers because the music is happy *grin*)

Step Three: Obedience

Last week I had the chance to catch up with a dear friend. Over lunch, we brought each other up to date on the details of our lives. At one point after relaying my own family’s current events, she paid me a compliment in regards to my patience with my husband.

The firmness of my answer surprised me. “I’m simply doing what God is telling me.”

Obedience isn’t easy, especially when it affects our own lives adversely. To the outside world, we may seem foolish and even spineless, but here’s where that first choice to love our spouses becomes so critical. If we’ve chosen to love only when times are good, which is easy in the moment, our resolve falls away when times get tough.

And let me emphasize again that this decision is not based on our own feelings or the ability or inability of our spouses to meet our expectations. It’s a decision based in obedience to God and to His calling to love a lost soul.

In review, we can see these steps are very interconnected. First the decision to love, which is what opens the door and allows God to work in our own hearts as well as our unbelieving spouses.

Second, keeping our focus on God, not our circumstances. Remember Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” Not hope in our spouse’s conversion or change. No, we are to keep our hope firmly placed in God. That’s where our strength comes from, which is vital if we’re to persevere in step three.

Step three: Obedience. Whatever God is telling you to do, move forward in the confidence that He will supply what you need. Makes sense, but think it through. God certainly wouldn’t tell you to do a difficult task and then bail on you. That’s not His character. He’s going to strengthen you in ways you won’t even realize.

Like the confidence I had when I answered my friend. I know that wasn’t me. That was God working in me. As the words left my lips, I knew the truth of them resided deep within my spirit. I know what God is calling me to do in my marriage right now. To stand firm by my husband’s side in support and trust.

Because God told me to. So my thinking is if God says I’m to trust my husband in these new ventures we're about to embark upon, that’s the same as God saying, “Trust Me.”

God asks us to love as his Son. Jesus loved without conditions. Without expectations. Without restrictions. And it’s that kind of love that spoke the loudest of His presence and salvation.

So whatever God is calling you to do in your marriage, walk forward in confidence. Ignore those who criticize and carefully consider those who caution. Then know that you know that you know that what God is asking you to do is for Him.

And trust that God will give you the strength to persevere.

Praying and believing,
Dineen

This Story Will ROCK Your World!

I have a question for you:

* How many different versions or renderings of the Cinderella story do you think there are in our world? -DON’T Google it. Just give it a guess. 

If you were in the audience for the One Marriage Conference, you know I asked this same question and the answers ranged from ten to hundreds. Well here is what I found at Wikipedia: 

"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" (French: Cendrillon, ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre) is a classic folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances which suddenly change to remarkable fortune. The word "Cinderella" has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes are unrecognized, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect. The still-popular story of Cinderella continues to influence popular culture internationally, lending plot elements, allusions, and tropes to a wide variety of media. 

My teen daughter studied the phenomenon of the Cinderella story in middle school. Her textbook credits more than 900 different versions of this classic which are told in every culture. Some renderings are ancient. Of course, we know this story well. It's the account of a poor little girl who falls victim of evil, (stepmother and stepsisters in Cinderella’s case). She is then rescued by prince charming, they marry and she inherits riches, the life of royalty, and lives happily ever after. 

My daughter's dreams of Happily Ever After began years ago as a toddler with The Little Mermaid, Cinderella and Snow White. Years passed and our stories morphed into new tellings such as The Princes Diaries and one of my personal favorites, The Princess Bride. Then there are the more grown up versions; Jerry McGuire and Sweet home Alabama and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. 

Awwww. Warm and Fuzzy  

We grow up believing in Happily Ever After. 

It’s no wonder, as children we read all of these stories and we watch every romantic comedy which exists. We dream of our Prince Charming and Happily Ever After and living the life of royalty. 

Each of us want happily ever after. Deep down inside we crave adoration, to feel beautiful and respected, loved to distraction, intimacy, and ~perhaps a few servants that come with royalty might not be bad either. 

We search for our prince and marry to live HAPPILY EVER AFTER. 

These stories are fantasy. They are a Fairytale. 

Or are they? 

I’m about to tell you a fantastic story which is absolutely true. Every Fairytale ever told is modeled after this story. 

Let me introduce to you the King: (read every word and allow the Lord to work in you this moment)

I heard a loud voice shout from the throne: 

God's home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever. 

Then the one sitting on the throne said: 

I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted. Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give water from the life-giving fountain to everyone who is thirsty. All who win the victory will be given these blessings. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Revelation 21:3-7 (CEV) 

THIS….. is the real story of Cinderella. 

And this story is our story. 

It belongs to each of us who believe in the Lord, Jesus Christ……. 

It is trustworthy. 

It is true. 

Tears are vanquished.

We the believers, His bride, will inherit the Kingdom. 

It's no wonder we love to believe the Cinderella story? 

It’s our true story. 

So this very hour, I say, “Cast off your temporary sadness. See your burdens in the light of the truth. See the King who conquers the evil of this world and freely passes on to you an inheritance of vast riches, which will last forever.” 

Praise the name of Jesus. Rejoice you are a son, a daughter of the King. 

Now go and live like the royalty that you are. 

Love boldly. 

Take chances. 

Forgive easily and take every opportunity to tell someone the truth of this powerful story. 

Be blessed, Lynn 

*This post is inspired by Dr. Clay Jones of BIOLA. Thank you Dr. Jones. You ROCKED my world.