Courage and Strength to Wait

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. – (Psalm 27:14, NIV)

Wait for the Lord’s help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord’s help. – (Psalm 27:14, ERV)

Please answer me: Don’t give up. Wait for the Eternal in expectation, and be strong. Again, wait for the Eternal. – (Psalm 27:14, VOICE)

In today’s society, we are not very good at waiting. Because we have more access to simple solutions than ever before, we tend to be less resilient in the wait. If we need information, we have endless options at our fingertips. If we are somewhere to make a purchase and the lines are too long, we can pull out our phone and order it online to be delivered. Our instant gratification society makes waiting for anything an act of our own will and discipline. God’s timing is not ours, and there is no Prime delivery option. He hears us the instant we ask, but the way He works is on purpose and for a purpose. Most of us have areas where we need to grow in patience. Waiting on the Lord grows us in patience, perseverance and trust. Sometimes, that is as much what we need as whatever it is for which we asked. As we wait, it requires strength and courage to trust that the Lord will help. He is faithful and will move in His perfect timing. Often, His answers or solutions are far different than we had hoped or imagined, yet always, He has purpose through how He provides. Many times, what transpires goes far beyond what we could have dreamed or done on our own. In all things, He is good and worthy of our trust. May we ever seek the Lord for answers and ask Him for help, for He is faithful as we wait on Him and trust Him for the strength and courage we need.

Choose wait on the Lord,

Crabbing is a practice in patience…

for He is the One;

who shows us what’s right,

how battles are won.

He grants us courage,

when we are afraid;

He supplies His strength,

to walk in His way.

In all things, always,

the Lord will be near;

ready to help us,

and make the way clear.

Trust in His goodness,

in patience, choose wait;

His way is the best,

and He’s never late.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that as we seek You and trust in You, You supply the strength and courage we need to wait on You to show us what is next. Thank You that You lead and guide us in Your way, and that You provide answers that are best for us. Forgive us for the times that we have navigated on our own or quit waiting and took matters into our own hands without direction. Teach us to seek You and slow down to quietly listen. Lead us in Your love to care well for those around us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we seek You for answers and then trust in Your strength and courage to wait for Your direction. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience… – Colossians 1:11

Growth to the Seeking

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. – (2 Peter 1:5-7, NIV)

Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith, add goodness; to your goodness, add knowledge; to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. – (2 Peter 1:5-7, ERV)

 

The blessings we behold grant us the capacity to bless others. We are given some specific ways that we can continue to grow and be more effective in loving others well. To do this best, we must make effort to further expand our capacity to grow in faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness, and love. As we allow God to change us from the inside out, we are better able to love Him and those around us, which are the very things that we are commanded to do. Growth can be uncomfortable, as our greatest measure of increase most often comes in seasons of struggle. We must understand that we cannot do all things in our own strength and need faith in our Heavenly Father to deepen our dependence on Him. Goodness expands exponentially as we recognize the reality where goodness is lacking. Knowledge comes through actively seeking answers, rather than complacently standing by, hoping for wisdom to whack us on the noggin. There is no comprehension of need for self-control without the understanding how detrimental a lack thereof becomes. Patience grows in opportunities to wait, not in instant gratification. Devotion to God is desperately needed to find patience when we want answers or results right now. Kindness is an extension of our love for God and others made visible. May we seek and depend on the Lord to continue to grow us in all of these things that strengthen our love for God and for all people.

 

To love people well,

Photo by Dee Jones of Open Door Photography ❤

We need ever seek;

The Lord and His love,

As we act and speak.

To love the right way,

We must keep growing;

Let faith and goodness,

Abundant, flowing.

Seek understanding,

Control and His grace;

So what our lives bring,

Reflect His embrace.

Patience, devotion,

And kindness to all;

Equipped, empowered,

To answer Love’s call.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You not only call us to love You and love people, but You unpack for us, the ways in which we can grow and expand to do so according to Your good and perfect will. Forgive us for not leaning into You to equip and strengthen us to love as You love. Teach us to trust You more, recognizing that our greatest growth comes through struggles. Show us how to love those around us well, so that they may recognize Your heart for them as we love. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we seek You to grow us more like You each day. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Luke 10:27

The Season Between

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. – (Hebrews 10:36, NIV)

You must be patient. After you have done what God wants, you will get what He promised you. – (Hebrews 10:36, ERV)

You need the strength of endurance to reveal the poetry of God’s will and then you receive the promise in full. – (Hebrews 10:36, TPT)

 

God is faithful forever and His promises are true. The challenge for humanity is that our sense of timing is not the same as He who is the very Creator of time. When we are called to begin to move in a certain direction, as an act of faith, most of us anticipate that after we take the first step, things will suddenly fall into place and become easy. Clearly this is not the case, for the terms persevere, patience, strength and endurance would not be used to describe what it takes to complete the very thing to which we have been called if it was a simple “one-and-done” sort of journey from the promise to its fulfillment. God is faithful to provide the strength that we need to persevere, yet we are the ones who have to make the choice to keep moving in patient persistence in the direction to which we are called. May we choose to persevere in His patient power provided, as the Lord leads us the way that He intends for us to go. For in His time, the fulfillment is well worth the struggle along the way.

 

We must be patient, 

Choose follow the Lord;

Rise up and do right,

Move in one accord.

For in His good time,

The Lord shall fulfill;

His promises made,

As we do His will.

In patient pursuit,

Let us choose endure;

The trials life brings,

For our hope’s secure.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are faithful to fulfill Your promises in Your perfect timing. Thank You that You are patient with us, even though we desire instant gratification as we step out in the direction to which we are called. Forgive us for our lack of faith and trust in spaces that You have spoken promises. Teach us to trust You more, even when we cannot yet see the evidence of Your hand. Show us how to love those around us with faithful endurance, so that they may recognize Your consistent love in and through us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we trust in You to provide the patience, endurance and strength that we need to persevere in the season between a promise and its fulfillment. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth (Moreno) Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

For I have always been mindful of Your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on Your faithfulness. – Psalm 26:3

Trust in His Timing

As soon as I pray, You answer me; You encourage me by giving me strength. – (Psalm 138:3, NLT)

 

God is faithful to meet us when we pray, however, His answers do not always look the way that we hope they might. Sometimes, the Lord answers only with encouragement and strength to keep pressing on for another day, and then the next morning, will do the same again. We are a fast food, instant-gratification society, so waiting for answers from the Lord is difficult. Answers sought online can be “googled” and discovered in mere moments, but those presented before the Lord can take days, weeks, months or even years. His answers come in a gentle whisper, not in a bright pop-up screen. Our hearts must be intently focused on hearing His, or we may miss what He has been speaking all along. Beyond the hearing, often there is an additional step required of us – the actual doing. I cannot think of a single example of my own asking something of the Lord that did not require some sort of step of faith on my part as well. May we pray in faith, trusting that He hears and answers, ready to act in obedience as He encourages us and gives us His strength.

 

Let’s pray to the Lord,

In faith, may we seek;

The Lord for answers,

His love is complete.

The Lord is faithful,

And goes to great length;

He hears our heart’s cry,

Builds up and grants strength.

It may take some time,

To hear the Lord’s heart;

To see the answers,

We’ve sought from the start.

Be patient in prayer,

And trust in His time;

The Lord’s always good,

With the best in mind.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You hear our prayers and that You answer us. Thank You that though You don’t answer in our timeframe, You encourage us and give us strength as we wait. Thank You that Your timing is perfect, and we can ALWAYS trust that You have the very best for us in mind. Forgive us for our lack of patience and persistence. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would wait patiently on You for the answers we seek, and trust You and Your perfect timing in all things. Show us what steps we are meant to take to walk forward toward the answers You have for us. Lead us to love those around us in a way that helps them see Your goodness and grace. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we seek You and trust Your timing for answers. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

May God Almighty grant you mercy. – Genesis 43:14

Encourage Each Other

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. – (Hebrews 10:24, NIV)

 

We should think about each other to see how we can encourage each other to show love and do good works. – (Hebrews 10:24, ERV)

 

In our instant gratification culture that tells us to do whatever “feels” good, it is critical that we take this verse to heart. We need one another to be encouraged to continue to do the next right thing, even when the world is suggesting otherwise. Christ came and modeled a life lived in love. His heart was for everyone who came near. Our charge, as disciples of Christ, is to live likewise. Both Christ in us, and Christ in those around us, spur our spirit to let His love lead, even when it is difficult. May we consider how to encourage one another to show love in our every word and deed.

 

Let us consider,

how we may show love;

both to each other,

and to God above.

We must encourage,

lift each other up;

give mercy and grace,

as He fills our cup.

Spur each other on,

to love and good deeds;

give what we’re given,

to all those in need.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You give us so much more than we deserve. Thank You for Your mercy and Your grace. Thank You that You forgive and receive us, just as we are, and encourage us to love and serve. Forgive us for fixating on our failures, and help us to instead, fix our eyes on You, so that we may consider and recognize how we may encourage each other to best love and serve as You call us to do. Help us to love and encourage well, just as we are loved and encouraged by You. May many come to know You as their Savior and King, as we live and love as You call us to do. Be glorified, O God. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. – Psalm 23:6

 

Supplied by the Spirit

Each of us, whether we are aware of it or not, has an assignment.  God has created and gifted each one of us with something special in mind.  However, we are not born with an instruction manual, nor do we receive a special guide book at our moment of redemption, thus we find ourselves in a space of needing to seek Him to find out what He has planned.

We do have an instruction manual of sorts for our lives, as the Bible shows us how to live in love and trust in Him, among other essential things found in a life formed by faith.  Also, because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are able to call out to God in prayer, any time, and ask whatever we need.  The critical element in helping discover our given assignments, is the gift of the Holy Spirit.  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – (Acts 1:8) When we invite Christ into our lives, we invite the Holy Spirit as well.  Just as the early disciples received God’s power to do as He had called them to do, we too, can receive the very same power to do all that He is asking of us.

Three things that the disciples did, that we must still do today, are: to join together with fellow believers, pray together in faith, and wait.  It seems that the first two are the easier of the three to manage.  In this instant gratification society, waiting is a tough sell.  Patience and perseverance are characteristics that seem a rarity, rather than the norm.  The standards that were established all those years ago, still apply today.  All things that are worthwhile take work and waiting.  We are told that the same is true with our walk with Him.  “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” – (Romans 5:3-5)

The disciples were told to go and wait after Jesus had ascended into Heaven.  We also, are meant to wait on Him, when we need to know what comes next.  As we are faithful to wait, the blessings discovered by spending time intentionally in His presence, are well worth the investment.  He is faithful to answer as we ask, we simply must press in and persevere, trusting that He hears our every prayer.

Call on the Lord,

then faithfully wait;

for His answers,

not early nor late.

Patiently pray,

for the Lord is good;

He knows our need,

we are understood.

Allow access,

to both heart and mind;

trust Him to touch,

He is gentle, kind.

God will equip,

us to do each task;

know what He says,

and do as He asks.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You made the way for us to be in a relationship with You, and that the very same power You poured out on the early disciples, is available, ready and dwelling in the hearts of those who believe.  Thank You that You equip us for all that You ask, and that You strengthen and encourage us as we listen and wait on You.  Forgive us for forgetting to slow down, or for growing impatient in the waiting.  Teach us to trust in the wait, and help us to persevere, so that we may hold the holy hope You have for us.  May we live in love as we walk in obedience to all that You ask, and may many come to know You as a result.  Be glorified in all that we say and do.  Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.