Lynn Mosher

Encouraging the Heart~Uplifting the Soul

The Season of Waiting

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The season of waiting!

Ooo…remember waiting for Christmas to come when you were a child? Felt as if the thrill of Christmas morning was about to explode within you, right? And would never get here.

Of course, the anticipation was usually about opening gifts. But if you were good at finding Mom’s hiding place, and were a good rewrapper, you already knew of a couple things good ol’ Santa was bringing.

And now that you’re a grownup? Christmas presents are bought, wrapped, and hidden away, just waiting to be given. Are you still excited?

To be honest, I am! The excitement is still there. But it’s not the receiving. It’s the giving.

And so it is with God, as He waits to give us His answers to prayer, His gifts. The ones all wrapped up, just waiting to be given.

Are we excited as we wait for those gifts, those answers to prayer? Unfortunately, we’re like passengers in an airport, standing there, shifting from one foot to the other, as we wait for our luggage to arrive at the baggage carousel. Hurry up! Luggage after luggage passes by. Where’s mine?

And we ask the Lord, “Where’s mine? Where’s my answer to prayer?” But what do we do in the in-between-times? The take-a-ticket-take-a-seat-times? The eyes-spilling-over-with-tears-times? The when-will-God’s-plans-unfold-times?

How do we wait?

We whine and complain. We become impatient that it’s taking too long for an answer. We get perplexed and confused. We’re disappointed. No results. Sometimes, we stop believing. Or we give up.

But waiting is sooo hard, isn’t it?

So, how should we wait?

We wait out the season…expectantly!

David said, “The eyes of all look expectantly to You,” (Ps. 145:15 NKJV) as He meets our needs in due season.

Wait for it…believing!

In your waiting, “Do not grieve Him by doubting His love. Nay, lift up your head, and begin to praise Him even now for the deliverance which is on the way to you, and you will be abundantly rewarded for the delay which has tried your faith.” (Unknown)

Wait for it…patiently!

Paul told the Romans, “But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.” (Rom. 8:25 TLB)

Wait for it…and be renewed!

Isaiah gives us that familiar promise for waiting, “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.” (Is. 40:31 NKJV)

Wait for it…and be blessed!

The Lord also waits. Why? Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.” (Is. 30:18a NKJV) For “blessed are all those who wait for Him.” (Is. 30:18b NKJV)

Wow! Are we blessed as we wait?

Are we still before the Lord, and in praise, waiting eagerly, patiently, expectantly, for Him to answer?

Wait for it! Something is coming!

In many of the episodes of the old television series is M*A*S*H, the character Radar, with his sixth sense, would stop in the middle of doing something, look up, and yell, “Choppers!”

“I don’t hear anything,” someone would respond.

Radar would always answer, “Wait for it!”

Wait for it. May your season of waiting overflow with all good things.

Keep listening. Keep looking up. Something is coming!

Hooking up with…
Soli deo Gloria Sisterhood
Laura Boggess
Purposeful Faith
Words of Life

Love Suffers

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Love Suffers

“Love suffers long and is kind.”
(1 Cor. 13:4 NKJV)

Maybe the version you have says “love is patient.” The Greek definition of suffers long means to be patient; therefore, to persevere patiently and bravely, to endure misfortunes and troubles, to bear the offences and injuries of others; to be long-tempered, refusing to retaliate with anger; patiently endure, not to lose heart. One source says showing divinely-directed patience.

The Greek word used above for love is agape, meaning benevolence, good will, esteem, and refers typically to divine love.

I once wrote a post entitled What is Love? I asked those on Twitter to answer that question, and I got some great answers. However, the main answer I received was this: Love is sacrifice. Someone responded, “The essence of love to me is one word, sacrifice. If we’re not willing to give something up for another, it’s not love.”

When we receive this sacrificial love into our lives, do we then willingly pour it out to others? Or are we too selfish and set in our own ways?

Peter tells us, “Now you can have real love for everyone because your souls have been cleansed from selfishness and hatred when you trusted Christ to save you; so see to it that you really do love each other warmly, with all your hearts.” (1 Peter 1:22 TLB)

Do we love others unselfishly as Jesus does, whether our spouses, families, friends, or others? Do we forget ourselves in order to help another? Do we endure being uncomfortable in order to make someone else comfortable? Do we forgo acquiring something in order to give to another?

Remember, “Whoever lives in love lives in God.” (1 John 4:16b NIV)

This agape love is a verb; it is an action. It is not just a feeling, for feelings can be fickle and change. Real love does not. Real love, Godly love, is more than feelings. Real love is kind, giving, believing; it honors, blesses, supports, praises, comforts, cares, forgives, shows grace and mercy. It sacrifices.

The Greek word for kind means to show one’s self mild, to be kind, use kindness, to show oneself useful, to act benevolently.

Therefore, Godly love perseveres patiently, enduring and showing benevolent kindness, not anger, towards others.

How does love live out kindness to others? By treating another as if that one were Jesus. With kind and encouraging words. With caring acts to show the love of God. With giving of time, money, or goods to bless another. With giving comfort or support to a hurting soul.

So, to whom, then, do we share this patient kind of love and its benevolent kindness? To those whom the Holy Spirit nudges us to help, like someone in the grocery line, in a restaurant, on the street, next door, in church, at school or work, or family. Whomever. Wherever. We are to be open and sensitive to those heavenly nudgings.

In Love Without Hypocrisy (from the series Behave Like a Christian), I used the scripture, “Let love be without hypocrisy.” (Rom. 12:9 NKJV) Paul wrote that to the Roman church, exhorting them to have real love for one another.

Do you see the face of Christ in others?…

To the Philippian church, Paul wrote, “Be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own. The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God.” (Phil. 2:3b-6a GNT)

Unfeigned, unmasked, unbroken, unreserved, undisguised, no deceit, no pretense, all-out, pure love…without hypocrisy. That’s the kind of love I want to have for God and for others.

~Lord, may my love for You be so pure, so true, so undivided, that it flows effortlessly out of my heart to encompass all those that cross my path. Amen!

“Love endures long and is patient and kind.”
(1 Cor. 13:4 Amp)

***Our church has been doing a series entitled Love Where You Are. All the sermons are great, but this one, You Are Here, fits so well with this post. It’s only about 25 minutes. I hope you’ll take the time to watch it. Your heart will be truly touched. Here

***Since February is considered the love month, the Lord nudged me to take apart and divide Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and do a series on it, spreading it out over the month.

Hooking up with…
Mondays…
Soli deo Gloria Sisterhood
Laura Boggess
Tuesdays…
Purposeful Faith
Wednesdays…
Words of Life

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Wait for It!

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Wait for it

If you’ve been a reader for a while, you know one of my favorite old television series is M*A*S*H. Almost in every episode, the character Radar, with his sixth sense, would stop in the middle of doing something, look up, and yell, “Choppers!”

“I don’t hear anything,” someone would respond.

Radar would answer, “Wait for it!”

Wait for it; something is coming.

Reminds me of the story of Elijah.

Elijah had proclaimed to Israel that heaven’s doors would slam shut and no rain would come in punishment for their sins. At the end of three and one half years, Elijah dueled it out with the 450 prophets of Baal to see whose god would show himself as the true God, and God won, of course.

Elijah then sent King Ahab to get something to eat and drink, because, he said, “I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” (1 Kings 18:41b NLT)

Wait for it!

Meanwhile, Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel “and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.” (v42b) Then, he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” (v43a)

His servant went and returned to Elijah, saying, “I didn’t see anything.” (v43b)

Wait for it!

On the seventh try, the servant came back to Elijah and said, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” (v44a)

Excited, Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’”

As turbulent, black clouds gathered and a swirling wind carried a great rainstorm, Ahab quickly hopped in his trusty chariot and headed for Jezreel.

Then, the Lord empowered Elijah with special strength, and he ran so fast that he passed Ahab’s chariot and beat Ahab to Jezreel.

Sometimes, we pray, pray, pray, and pray again, waiting years for an answer. But do we watch expectantly for that answer as Elijah did? Do we watch for the slightest sign of God’s movement? Or do we give up waiting and implement our own action?

All our self-efforts will always hinder God’s working and the answers to our prayers.

Some answers need that wait-for-it attitude. Many in the Bible waited years: Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, Paul, and others.

Someone once said, “The hardest ingredient in suffering is often time.”

But in those waiting times, how do we wait?

Penned out of some pressing trial in his life, David wrote, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.” (Ps. 40:1 NKJV)

God will hear us when we cry to Him; we wait eagerly and in expectancy for His answer.

Wait for it…expectantly!

God may seem delayed on our schedule, but the buses of heaven always run on schedule to take us where we need to go, if we will have patience as we wait.

Paul told the Romans, “But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.” (Rom. 8:25 TLB)

Wait for it…patiently!

Isaiah gives us that familiar promise for waiting, “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.” (Is. 40:31 NKJV)

Wait for it…and be renewed!

The Lord also waits. Why? Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” (Is. 30:18 NKJV)

Wait for it…and be blessed!

Are we still before the Lord, waiting eagerly, patiently, expectantly, and in praise for Him to answer, or are we whining and complaining that He hasn’t responded?

Bow before the Lord as Elijah did and…

Wait for it! Something is coming!

Hooking up with…
Thursdays…

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Fridays…

Sundays…

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Another Lesson from the Silly Dog

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Another Lesson frm the Silly Dog

I turn down the thermostat on the furnace for the night.
Turn off the computer and TV.
Grab my glass of filtered water and head for the bedroom.

Hubs turns out the lights and checks the doors and tries to get the dog to go out one more time. But she won’t go out.

I brush my teeth.
Put on my PJs.
And take care of the rest of my night-time rituals.

I plop into bed. Slather on the hand lotion and turn out…oops! Forgot again to turn off the light first! Works better that way.

I crawl under the blue, quilted coverlet with the fleece blanket on top of it, tuck up my socked-feet in my usual fetal position, and pull up the covers around my chin.

Hubs gets in and turns out the lamp on his side.

I turn on the TV for a few moments (another rerun of M.A.S.H); it helps put master and me to sleep. It sucks the junk out of my day-filled brain and lulls hubs to sleep.

All snuggled down and comfy.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see two, black, pointy ears sticking up. Not wanting to move to give it away that I’m aware, I slowly turn my eyes to look, making sure not to move my head, because I know what I’ll see. Yup, sure enough, I see the silly, inherited dog staring at me.

She wants me to let her out. I don’t move a muscle. She gives up and walks to the other side of the bed and stares at her master. She does this sometimes.

Most often, she times it perfectly just as hubs has undressed and now wants to go out. The dog, not hubs.

She won’t obey the command to go outside before bed and now she wants out.

When we’re already in bed, one of us gets up; usually, it’s not me.

How patient hubs is with her delayed obedience. Me? Not so much.

Makes me think: How many times do I delay obedience and then attempt to obey later? I wonder how patient my Master is with my delayed obedience.

No wondering; I know.

Hooking up with…

Mondays…

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On In Around button

Tuesdays…

Wednesdays…
Rethinking My Thinking
Life: Unmasked
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Patient in Tribulation

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Today is the next segment in our series. I’m happy to bring you the post of another cyber-friend, Sandra Heska King. Be sure hop over and visit her site, SandraHeskaKing.com.


Patient in Tribulation

“. . . patient in tribulation . . .” Romans 12:12b (NKJV)

My apologies to the men in the audience, but as I studied and meditated on these three words, my mind returned again and again to this example, flawed as it may be.

Many women of a certain age go bravely each year into a place where men dare not go. Where we willingly place a portion of our body on an ice cold altar to be pressed and crushed between two plates.

At some point, the vise releases, only to readjust and squeeze again. We are asked to grab a support and lean into it, and we remain in place, abide the stress, because we know that “this, too, shall pass.”

We have hope that we will pass the test and prove clean. Or that the films will expose bumps and lumps that the doctor can remove before they cause extensive damage.

Okay, so maybe it’s not a perfect illustration. In the scheme of things, really, a mammogram is just a minor discomfort, an inconvenience.

The tribulation Paul talks about is thlipsis, and literally means a pressing together. It carries the idea of stomping grapes to make wine or even mashing potatoes to create something delicious.

It’s big-time life stuff. Affliction. Crushing circumstances. Things that test our character and our faith. Things that tempt us to run from the only One Who supports us. Things allowed by the One Who wants us to shine like diamonds.

And what about patience? That’s hupomone and means to abide, stay, and remain under. To bear calmly and with courage. It’s also translated as perseverance and endurance. We don’t resign ourselves to a bad situation, but we face it knowing that God will ultimately turn it into something good.

It’s hanging in and hanging on. It’s the starch in our spines that bears us up. It’s discipline and a perspective that allows us to see sorrow tinged with glory.

It’s Beethoven’s resolve when he faced his deafness and stated in a letter that he would “seize Fate by the throat; it shall not bend or crush me completely.”

It’s Derek Redmondwho leaned on his father and hobbled across the finish line in excruciating pain to complete his race.

Amy Carmichael wrote in Candles in the Dark that “the best training is to learn to accept everything as it comes, as from Him whom our soul loves. The tests are always unexpected things, not great things that can be written up, but the common little rubs of life, silly little nothings, things you are ashamed of minding one scrap. Yet they can knock a strong man over and lay him very low.”

And anyway, it’s not like we shouldn’t expect tribulation. Jesus said we’d face it.

“These things I have spoken to you, that you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NKJV)

But we can rejoice in and through the hard times because we have hope.

“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18 Msg)

Amen.

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