Tag Archives: rest

Aug24

God In The Waiting Places

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God In The Waiting Places

Hurry is the death of prayer.

Rick Warren

What does it mean to station yourself before God as in the graphic scripture?

“It means stay put. It means, “I’m not moving.” It means, “I’m going to be still. I’m going to sit here and I am not going to move until I hear from you, God.” Rick Warren

Do you live your life revved up? Yep- me too!

How do you put the brakes on and slow down?

For the last 15, almost 16 years, we have lived life in the fast lane. It most assuredly has lived up to its mantra- guaranteed to blow your mind.

At MRO we joke~ the race waits on no one!

Monty and I have faced a Goliath of late. SCAD- spontaneous coronary artery dissection. In laymen’s terms, a tear in the lining of an artery in the heart.

The race waited on no one. We would miss two recent races dues to search for a more definitive answer and as well to determine the fate of our coming days.

God allows us moments of still and wait….. even though the race goes on. Right?

So how do we slow down when we live fully enthralled with excitement of the hustle and hurry?

Where is the time to calm our minds by relaxing our bodies?

Can you remember the last time that you took a deep breath relaxed your muscles and let the tension drain out?

Yep. Me either. Until the weekends of Pocono and Watkins Glen this month we were trudging alongside of every heart that we serve.

The Bible says David sat before the Lord. Some people think you have to kneel in prayer, and that is one of many appropriate ways to pray; but it’s not the most common way of praying in the Bible.

The most common form of praying in the Bible is standing with your eyes wide open looking up to heaven and talking out loud to God.

And as for Monty and I, we have learned a new posture of prayer over the last few weeks.

Jehoshaphat was a good King. He battled opposition and once he cried out to God for wisdom and help.

“Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”….

Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

“As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the enemies and they were defeated….. the fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for His God had given him rest on every side.” 2 Chronicles 20

Rest. The wait expectant. Prayer.

You see when Jehoshaphat was surrounded on either side, he “bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.”

POur new position of prayer would become one of bowed face and heart to the ground in surrender and worship.

When ones literal bridge between life and death is the heart’s beat you get seriously receptive to surrender and gratitude in the face of the eternal.

This would be a time when the woman of many words would bow low, face to the ground in prayer for the complete of her- her beloved.

There were no flowery poetic words necessary. Not one complete sentence was prayed. Just my sincere heart groaning and everyday conversation with Abba Father for 36 more years to love and so life with this man to whom I have been blessed to call my own. The surrender comes when like any conversation, I stop talking and listen and ~wait to hear from God.

Praises stirred in this heart as God brought to remembrance the good. The good that has historically outweighed the bad and with head bowed low, I rested in God’s perfect plan for our lives.

I am reminded today that David teaches us three things to do as you wait:

*  Wait quietly — “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, because my hope is in him” Psalm 62:5

*  Wait patiently — “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” Psalm 37:7a
* Wait expectantly “I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised” Psalm 130:5

And this is so important:

To pray believing is to expect to hear from God!

Waiting is truly the faith factor. We wait expectantly, and waiting on God is never a waste of time. In fact, it’s some of the best time you will ever invest in your lives!!
Jehoshaphat led the people of Israel and he taught them to pray and praise to win the victory.

Time would tell that no matter the outcome, God was still faithful and our faith should never be dependent on the outcome.

Life altering. Life changing circumstances does not ever change our position going into battle no matter the faith battle we face.

Prayer.

Praise.

Worship.

Victory.

“The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for His God had given him rest on every side.”

Rest. On. Every. Side.

Peace above the circumstances.

Praise Him unto victory.

Rest that God is with us. He is for us and not against us.

Jehoshaphat lived out his days and did right in the eyes of the Lord.

A worthy pursuit. God has a beautiful way about Himself in that He knows the number of our days.

Sometimes we gain the view in light of eternity. We learn to trust and praise Him in the storm and are compelled to tell of the things we learn that change the coarse of our days.

Sometimes we get a second chance for life not because we cheat death but because God uses our lives to tell HIS story through our story.

History Defined:

1. the branch of knowledge dealing with past events

2. a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., usually written as a chronological account; chronicle

So we bow our heads to the ground and we worship God. We thank Him for more time to share our narrative of life and living.

Quietly we wait.
Patiently we trust.

Faithfully He finds us.

He lifts our face to His and we know what it is to be found by love.

With expectant hearts, we wait assured that we are not in this battle alone but surrounded held by a power and presence that is good, merciful, gracious and faithful.

Until the next waiting place……we praise.

There will always be that tomorrow that we cannot know or control. So the Lord uses these moments to teach us to number our days.

Thank You God for being true to who you are.

“Find me grateful

Find me thankful

Find me on my knees

Find me dreaming

Find me singing

Find me lost in Your grace

Fill the depths of my soul

Till all I know is I’ve been

Found by love

Find me grateful

Find me thankful

Find me on my knees

Find me dreaming

Find me singing

Find me lost in Your grace”

Jonathan and Melissa Helser

Feb19

Everyday Moments of Grace and Compassion 

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There have been notable moments in my life where the Holy Spirit has prepared my heart with an overwhelming presence of grace and compassion. To date, I have known great joy in keeping my heart open to God’s work in the midst of life’s ordinary moments. 

This past Thursday was just that kind of regular, ordinary get it done day!
Last stop of the day and the shopping was done and done! Truthfully, there had been no real notion that this would be one of those interesting distraction kind of days where the Lord facilitates an opportunity to live out God’s love, grace and compassion in a very real way.
While loading the car after an arduous “Back To MRO” grocery and supply run, I saw a gentleman from the corner of my eye park his bicycle by where the grocery cart return was located. While within close proximity of my car, the Holy Spirit quickened in me a heart to be wise, don’t worry he is safe, watch and listen day.
Within a moment, our eyes made contact, he introduced himself as Will and I knew in an instant that He seemed to respect my caution but yet welcoming posture. 
He took a guarded first step toward me and raised his hand to show me that he wanted a peaceful conversation. He spoke, “My name is Will. It costs $10 to stay at the Salvation Army Shelter tonight and I only have $6.00. I have not been drinking,

I just want a warm bed and something to eat. 
He began to share His story and it was much like I would assume. A broken life, family, tragedy and the loss of his job due to an extended hospital stay after he was hit by a large truck while riding on his bicycle. Scars on his arm told the story. He stood for ten minutes and shared every little detail of his hope in the Lord.

My heart was overwhelmed with compassion. I never give money to people but the Holy Spirit quickened me to help insure that he would have a warm place to sleep and food to eat that night. Just one small act of love and compassion might be the catalyst for change in his life. And that I will forever pray over Will’s life.
Tonight I rest well knowing that Will is going to find God’s perfect plan for his life. He asked me to keep him in my prayers as he has a job interview this coming Monday… Would you join me in praying for him? For God to make a clear and good path? To provide for everything that he needs. Permanent shelter, a job, food, companions in His life and that he would draw even closer to the Lord.
I grabbed a quick selfie with Will just after we prayed together right there in the middle of the chaotic WalMart parking lot. I wanted you to see his face, consider his kind way and intercede on His behalf. 


Wherever you are tonight Will, you are loved and the Lord God is with you! 
For my new friend Will:
“God’s not finished. He’s waiting around to be gracious to you. He’s gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right….” Isaiah 30:18

Jan31

Waiting Places

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Waiting Places

Waiting On The Lord

Precious friends, there are so many of you that we love who have been caught or are in some challenging waiting places…… Oh, how we have prayed and continue to pray for you. Your story and heartfelt needs have not been overlooked. My journal is filled with your stories. I want nothing less than for you to know how very much….
You. Are. Loved.
I want to encourage you to “take heart” from the view of MY waiting place.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

A late December back surgery and “waiting” January recovery has become for me a sanctuary and beautiful God pause. Believe it or not, it has been a most needed and welcomed stillness, peace and gift. There has been a beautiful sense of calm over our home, in our lives and in MY spirit. It has fallen on me with the same sweetness that came as Monty and I watched the first layer of snowfall this winter cover the ground.

Quiet. Calm. Peace. Comfort. Love. Beauty. Fullness.

As I lay in bed with the window blinds open to watch God’s beauty in my waiting place, I considered these truths.
Nowhere to go.

Nothing to do.

Nothing but silence but truly a place to listen and hear.
Truth is, there have been hard days and if I am honest, it has been a struggle. Not a struggle with God, oh no, a struggle within my own mind and heart.

You see, I am much more of a doer than one who waits well. Not really about patience either as that requires an entirely different conversation that I will defer to another day. Ugh. Yes. I have a bit of a “get ‘er done” personality in me and have (has) a real problem sitting still. Not that I don’t appreciate moments of quiet, peace and calm. Oh yes, those are great. But the truth is some days I’d ask God, “Can’t I (we) just DO something?”

I can just imagine the side-turned eye of my Heavenly Father shaking his head as all loving fathers do thinking to himself, when will she ever learn? #peacebestill

Later that day, with the excitement of snow and all, I smiled so soul deep when our grandson shared his sadness that there was only a little snow. Nothing to do! We consoled him and encouraged him with the suggestion that maybe there would be more so that he could go sledding and Emma would enjoy her first real snowfall….. and there was. His little heart was so exhaustingly happy.

As the day was closing and night was falling, my heart was still so filled with the joy that came with the new fallen snow that we had all had awaited.

We were able to FaceTime Mason and as we shared stories, this small heart gave thanks for memories made, a present God and hearts cared for.

One thing I knew before time for bed, was this renewed closeness to my creator would have so often before be lost to busyness. Today, in my beautiful waiting place, Jesus held me close, loved me so very real and I did not want to forget a single moment.

Most of my life, I have worked so hard for all the right reasons and in every opportunity afforded to me.

Going. Doing. Striving. Being. Fixing. Planning. Caring for my family. Working. Making it all happen. Perfection has been a formidable foe and an always taunting enemy. #setfree

I end every day by writing in my journal and these four words are my prompt:

At this day’s end…..
That night, God ever so gently, as is his nature, whispered lovingly into the quiet of night……

He spoke INTO my “waiting” as I wrote…

So….
“What CAN you do?”
“HOW can you do it?”
I put my pen down and turned out the light. I purposed to still my mind and heart in rhythm with each other. I did not want to miss one thing. No. Not one thing.

The truth is, this day and all of its relaxed busy was simply about me “DOING” things DIFFERENTLY as I wait.

I soon fell off to sleep. I awakened the next morning to watch the sunrise in the stillness. The very power of God who spins our world from night to day awakens in me a new and more refined waiting view.

Thank you Lord for another day in waiting and surrendered obedience.
I CAN…..

Encourage every person that I can.

Experience personal growth.

Listen for whispers from the Lord.

Pray in faith believing God for answers to be given to every person that has shared their specific needs.

Read every book that I have intended to read if there were just more time.

Grab hugs that linger.

Be purposeful.

Memorize God’s Word.

Call someone who is on my heart.

Lean in close to hear when someone is sharing their deepest pain without any cluttering noise.

Write a note.

Be at peace.

Write many words that form run-on sentences.

Be fully in the presence of God in worship without distraction.
At this day’s end, I am not really sure what I was “waiting” for?
Beloved of God, may you know the love of God in YOUR waiting place. He is there and waiting to meet you where you are. He is near.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning…” Psalm 139:5-6a

For every waiting heart…..
Share how we can pray for you to find your waiting discovery.
For every heart that has a waiting discovery story, please share with us so that we can rejoice alongside of you!

Please check out the new book Wait and See by Proverbs 31 speaker Wendy Hope.
“Wait and See” looks at God’s faithfulness through the stories of everyday women and the life of King David.

Amazon is offering the e-book for $2.99. It is a great read for every heart that is looking for a deeper understanding with the hope of finding their own waiting discoveries!