God has planted eternity in the hearts of men. Ecc 3:10
It doesn't take a wise person to know that people long for more than earth. When we see pain, we yearn. When we see hunger, we question why. Senseless deaths. Endless tears, needless loss… We have our moments. The new-born on our breast, the bride on our arm, the sunshine on our back. But even those moments are simply slivers of light breaking through heaven's window. God flirts with us. He tantalizes us. He romances us. Those moments are appetizers for the dish that is to come. "No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him" (1Co 2:9 ). What a breath-taking verse! Do you see what it says? Heaven is beyond our imagination. … At our most creative moment, at our deepest thought, at our highest level, we still cannot fathom eternity. When God Whispers Your Name (Max Lucado) Doing what is right occasionally of for a short while will not bring the breakthrough we need in life. Second Thessalonians 3:13 exhorts us to continue to do the right thing. One of Satan’s favorite things to do is to try to get us to give up! God however tells us to endure, persist continue and finish. He teaches us to be long-suffering patient, determined and steadfast, do not give up, keep on keeping on
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace! (Psalms 29:11) There is a wonderful story about Carey Barker who used to play football for the Washington Redskins. One night after a game Carey Barker was walking in the snow to relax. He came upon a lad sitting on a curb and crying. "What's the matter, son?" Carey asked. "My daddy sent me to the store to buy a loaf of bread," said the boy, "and I have lost the dollar he gave me. And I'm afraid to go home." Carey took the child into a store and purchased the bread for him. The lad departed, saying, "Gee, Mister, I wish you wuz my daddy." Carey Barker said he walked the streets that night trying to find another boy who needed a dollar and a dad. There is nothing in life that will bring a good feeling into your life like giving to another. Twenty years of marriage, three kids, and now he’s gone. Traded her in for a younger model. She told me her story, and we prayed. Then I said, “It won’t be painless or quick. But God will use this mess for good. With God’s help you’ll get through this.”
Remember Joseph? Genesis 37:4 says his brothers “hated him.” Far from home, they cast him into a pit, leaving him for dead. A murderous cover-up from the get go. Pits have no easy exit. Joseph’s story got worse before it got better. Yet in his explanation we find his inspiration: “You meant evil against me,” he said, “but God meant it for good..." The very acts intended to destroy God’s servant, turned out to strengthen him. The same will be said about you. You will get through this! GENESIS 26:12
Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. When you sow apple seeds, you get apples. When you sow seeds of friendship, you get friends. If in the natural, you receive in the area in which you sow, how much more will you receive in the supernatural when God blesses you! The Bible tells us that when Isaac sowed in the land, he reaped a hundredfold even though there was a famine in that land. (Genesis 26:1) The reason was that “the Lord blessed him”. So if you are believing God for a breakthrough in a particular area, sow in that area. A brother wrote a note to me at a conference I was preaching at in London. He shared with me how he was one of only two employees promoted in his department and given a substantial increase in his salary despite the economic downturn in England and retrenchment exercise at his workplace. The sum of the increase in his salary was “more than 10 times” what he had sowed into God’s kingdom at the same conference the year before. It could only be the Lord blessing him. And He “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think”. (Ephesians 3:20) Whatever money or time you give to the Lord, He will multiply it back to you. For example, you have 24 hours a day like everyone else, but the Lord can make your day very fruitful. And even after doing all that needs to be done, you will find that you still have time left to rest. Even when you have nothing to give but prayers, your prayers will not return to you void. God can answer them exceedingly above what you have asked. When Job lost everything that he possessed, he prayed for his friends, and the Lord not only restored his losses, but He also “gave Job twice as much as he had before”. (Job 42:10) So start sowing seeds in the area that you are believing God for, and know that before long, you will be reaping your harvest! I've been doing some crying, lately.
A while back I noticed that a young waitress who often serves Jack and me when we go out to eat seemed unusually quiet and withdrawn and there was a strain on her countenance. When I went to wash my hands in the ladies room, I had a chance to pull her aside and ask if something was wrong. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she told me her husband had just asked her for a divorce. Imagine the pain of having your husband or wife look you in the eye and say, "I don't love you anymore-I want out of this marriage." I can't even begin to comprehend the shock, sorrow, and grief one would feel in such a situation. I didn't know what to say to this poor girl, but I put my arms around her and comforted her the only way I knew how...with my tears. Also in recent months, I have felt an increased burden for my unsaved friends and loved ones. Bible prophecy makes it so clear that time on this old earth is running out fast and that surely Jesus is coming soon...perhaps today! So I have been praying...and weeping ...for my unsaved loved ones. It is the only way I know to minister to them! What is a tear? The great preacher, T. DeWitt Talmage (see bthe io at bottom this message), once wrote, "Help me explain a tear. A chemist will tell you that it is made up of salt and lime and other component parts; but he misses the chief ingredients-the acid of a soured life, the viperine sting of a bitter memory, the fragments of a broken heart. I will tell you what a tear is: it is agony in solution." These are powerful, moving words. And perhaps all of us have either witnessed or personally experienced the truth Talmage sought to convey. But, I suggest to you that there is more to tears than sadness, sorrow, regret, and pain. Tears can be a release from stress and anxiety, a vent for frustration, a safety valve for overpowering emotions. Tears can be the most sincere expression of compassion and love. And just as raindrops wash the smoke, smog, and impurities from the atmosphere, so tears can wash away the stains of bitterness and disappointment from our souls. A time to weep As Solomon, perhaps the wisest man who ever lived, once declared, To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...A time to weep, and a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4). We live in a time when everyone wants to laugh all the time, but no one is willing to weep. And if someone does cry, it makes people really uncomfortable. Children are hushed and told not to cry. Men are taught that tears don't go with a macho image...that only sissies cry. And women who weep at some sadness or loss are interrupted and advised to wipe their eyes and get control of themselves. No! No! No! Let me cry. It's all right to cry. I need to cry. In fact, one of my goals is to minister to those who are weeping. I want to do all I can, to say what I can... and when there are no deeds or words that can help, to weep with them. Perhaps my resolution is best expressed in the words of Richard Gehman in his moving book, Let My Heart Be Broken With the Things That Break the Heart of God. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”(2 Peter 3:8, NIV)
Have you ever thought, “It’s too late for me?” That’s what two sisters in the scripture thought, Mary and Martha. Their brother, Lazarus, was extremely sick. They sent word to their good friend, Jesus, to come to their city and pray for him. A day went by and Jesus didn’t show up. They asked the messengers, “Did you tell Jesus it was us?” “Yes, we told Him.” “Did you explain how sick Lazarus was?” “We explained it to Him.” They couldn’t understand why Jesus wouldn’t come immediately. Lazarus ended up dying. Four days later, Jesus showed up. Mary said, “Jesus, if You had been here sooner, my brother would still be alive.” Have you ever felt like God showed up too late? If He’d just got there a little sooner, maybe things would have worked out. That’s the way these sisters felt. But Jesus spoke to Lazarus, and he came back to life. The sisters wanted Jesus to come and heal their brother. But Jesus wasn’t thinking about a healing, He was thinking about a resurrection. A healing would have been good, but Jesus had something better in mind. Always remember, God has another option. No matter how bad your circumstances look, it’s never too late with Him! Father, today I choose to trust Your timing. I trust that my days are in Your hands. I ask that You breathe life into my circumstances as I give You the glory for everything in Jesus’ name. Amen. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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