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Author
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Topic: ALWAYS WAIT ON GOD'S PROMISES!
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LaurieFL
Advanced Member
Member # 3794
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posted
Amen! I am going through a period in my life of waiting and quiet contemplation, and while I suffer emotional ups and downs, I find myself growing stronger in the Lord through every cycle. I am also finding myself able to really enjoy this quiet time of growing in the Lord and contemplating His word.
I have worried that if God gave me what I feel I am waiting for that I might fall away from my faith, by getting the easy way out of this situation, so I agree with you that this time is good to enstill a deep sense of patience and reliance upon our Heavenly Father. I look at it as a way to make sure my roots are indeed deep and not shallow ones that will burn up in the sunlight.
Posts: 700 | Registered: Aug 2004
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GODSmessenger
Community Member
Member # 4198
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posted
ALWAYS WAIT ON GOD'S PROMISES!
All throughout the Bible, we've seen
many examples of people receiving
promises from GOD ... and then waiting
for many years. Moses waited for 40
years before he became the deliverer
of the Israelites out of Egypt, Abraham
waited for at least 25 years before
his promised son & heir was born, &
Joseph endured many years of slavery
& injustice before GOD fulfilled his
dream about being a great leader. Why
does that seem to occur? One reason
is that our LORD wishes to prepare us
for these great Blessings so that we
don't misuse them or worship the gift
instead of the Gift-Giver. He knows our
flawed human nature better than we,
ourselves, do -- and the tendency of
human nature is to turn a long-awaited,
much-desired promise into an idol.
Another reason is that GOD wishes to
test us throughout the waiting period
-- to see if we will stay faithful to
Him or abandon Him in a discouraged
temper tantrum. For the record, GOD
NEVER TESTS US FOR HIMSELF, FOR HE
ALREADY KNOWS THE END FROM THE BEGINNING.
He actually tests us for OUR benefit,
to show us that He is has instilled the
Faith within us to stay devoted to Him
-- no matter how long it takes or how
brutal our trials are. How many of us
have secretly wondered if we would desert
GOD'S ship when the going got too rough
or many years went by since He made us a promise? I suspect that most of us have
that fear, & that's one of the reasons He
tests us. Once He has chosen us, we can
never be plucked from His grasp. A third
reason for testing is that we must grow up Spiritually, just as we must mature from
infancy to adulthood. Anyone who truly
desires to become one with our LORD will
have to walk His Walk & expect to undergo
the "Spiritual growing pains" of trials & tribulations. Remember, He is not going
to give us powerful Blessings without any
change or Spiritual maturity on our part.
Would we give a 5 year-old the keys to a
Corvette simply because he wants it? Of
course not! That child has to mature
physically & mentally & demonstrate that
he's ready for the RESPONSIBILITY for
driving privileges, right? So why would
our infinitely wiser Heavenly Father treat
His blessings to us any differently? As
hard as it is to go through trials & wait endlessly for His promises(and, yes, it
is natural to wonder if we were even
mistaken about them when the wait seems
to go on forever), we have to trust GOD'S
Wisdom & know that His timing is the BEST
timing.
However, we've also seen examples in the
Bible of those who got impatient with
waiting for GOD'S timing & tried to "help
Him out" by acting on their own. Moses,
for instance, killed the Egyptian who was
beating an Israelite & ended up fleeing
into the desert to tend sheep for 40 years
until he learned patience & maturity. And,
of course, we all know about Abraham &
Sarah's huge mistake when they decided
to "help GOD out" by siring Ishmael with
Sarah's maid, Hagar. What was the result
of that fiasco? Marital discord between
Sarah & Abraham when Hagar became arrogant,
a longer delay for the birth of Isaac
(after GOD made it clear to Abraham that
his promised heir was to come from the
union between him & his wife), the
eventual dismissal of Hagar & Ishmael
from the household (think of the emotional
injury to that boy to be passed over &
then finally rejected by his father),&
then Abraham was tested by being asked to sacrifice Isaac to make sure that this
promised heir had not become an idol in
his heart. However, the world today is
paying for that mistake, for the wars
in the Middle East are between the
descendants of Ishmael (the Muslims) &
Isaac (the Jews). Whenever we make an
error & decide to act on our own without
waiting on/trusting in GOD, we are not
the only ones affected by our poor
judgment; others invariably get hurt,
as well.
If any of you are waiting on the
fulfillment of GOD'S Promise to you,
please learn from these Biblical lessons
& just let our LORD accomplish all things
in His own time. It may seem like it has
been delayed, but GOD'S reckoning of time
is not the same as ours & He will fulfill whatever He promised at the perfect time
in your life.
Yours In Our LORD'S Service:
GOD'S Messenger
Make A Difference Ministries
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Yours In Our LORD'S Service:
GOD'S Messenger
Make A Difference Ministries
Posts: 19 | From: California | Registered: Dec 2004
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