When I was a young child, I remember that my grandmother created Hidden Pictures for Highlight’s Magazine. She is a talented artist and was able to hide everyday objects in the lines of drawings of cute mice or squirrels. It was always an adventure to try to find all of the hidden pictures. Do you remember trying to solve those kinds of puzzles when you were a child or maybe even with your own children?
Matthew 28: 5-8
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, who hath been crucified.
He is not here; for he is risen, even as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly, and tell his disciples, He is risen from the dead; and lo, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.
Little girls will wear big pastel colored hair bows and little boys will be chased and wrestled to the floor just for dad to get their neckties on. Some moms and daughters will even wear matching outfits, hats and all. Afterwards there will be Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets, candied Easter eggs, pretty bunnies and oh I almost forgot the cute little baby chicks (yellow ones of course). And don’t forget the annual Easter Feast; some will have fried chicken or ham, may be even turkey, potato salad, green beans, rolls, cake, pies etc. Sounds wonderful!
I’m so thankful for the active obedience of Christ.
No hope without it.
John Gresham Machen
Psalms 107:1
(KJV) O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalms 69:30
30I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Oh how it would please our God if we came before Him just to say thank you. If we came just to express our gratitude for how he provides and takes care of us in every way from our spiritual needs to our physical needs. He has carefully thought of and provided everything according to what he knows is best for each of us individually and as a whole. The very air that we breathe is a gift from Him. Our salvation of course is His greatest gift to us.
Many times we fill our days with complaints of this or that. We grumble not realizing that we are so, so very blessed.
The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others.
Albert Schweitzer
Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.
Henry James
We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.
Dwight L. Moody
The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless.
Billy Graham
A women’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”
Max Lucado
Matthew 25:35-46
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
There are two kinds of people: those who say to God,
“Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says,
“All right, then, have it your way.”
C.S. Lewis
God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him.
Jim Elliot
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Psalms 37:7
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him…..
Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on 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.
God’s Waiting Room
Psalms 37:7
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him…..
Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on 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.
Oh the pain and agony of waiting. I don’t know anyone that enjoys a good wait.
Whether at the doctor’s office or a hospital waiting room, or long checkout lines during the Christmas Season or the absolute worse, waiting in traffic , we all seem to cringe at the thought of waiting. We live in a micro-wave society and we don’t understand this cave-man concept called waiting. As I have listened to women who are having a hard time and struggling in their personal lives, I hear them say repeatedly, “this is so hard why do I have to go through this, I just want it to be over” or they say “ I feel like God has forgotten me”.
Well, we all have been there. The truth is, we all are waiting for something. In a lot of ways the wait can seem unbearable. Some of you are waiting for the perfect mate, some are waiting for a failing marriage to finally turn a corner and show promise. Others are waiting to have their first child . Some are dealing with sickness or the illness of a love one. Many are waiting for a wayward child to return to his Heavenly Father. Others are waiting for a new job or a better job, or waiting to retire or waiting for a new home and the wait goes on and on.
It seems that we live our lives waiting for something. We move from one wait to another. We live our lives frustrated because God has us in “His Waiting Room” and it seems that there is no escape. We start to feel that we have been forgotten , because He is not moving quickly enough to suit our time line. We want a breakthrough and we want it now.
Just think of the ocean and how calm it can appear and all of a sudden here comes a massive wave. That’s because there is a current at work underneath this seemingly very calm water. Many times God works the same way. Remember, He is working on our behalf even when we can’t see it. Even when we can’t see it we have to trust His unfailing love for us.
The truth is, when we are waiting we feel as though we have no control. And guess what we are right. We are not in control so we might as well relax and let God do the driving. One other frustration with waiting is that the outcome is uncertain and that drives us crazy. There again we are not in control. A very wise person once said the only thing worse than waiting is wishing you had waited.
Psalms 106:13-15
13 But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his plan to unfold.
14 In the desert they gave in to their craving;
in the wilderness they put God to the test.
15 So he gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease among them.
Don’t jump ahead of God. Trust his timing. He knows that some of you have been waiting for years for a change to come. It will all be worth it when it does come, just hang on. Remember that just as He knows the number of hairs on your head, he also knows the number of tears that have run down your face.
Isaiah 38:5
5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.”
Psalms 116:8
8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
Psalms 6:6
I am worn out from sobbing.
All night I flood my bed with weeping,
drenching it with my tears.
Don’t forget life is now, don’t get so caught up in the waiting that you miss how blessed you are right now and miss what a blessing you can be to others while you are waiting. It will be ok. God’s timing is always perfect.
Be Blessed while you wait.
The Blessing that comes from waiting
9 The Lord has heard my plea for mercy. The Lord accepts my prayer.
Psalms 6:9
Consequences of not waiting
Genesis 16:1-16
Psalms 106:13-15