Why Does God Allow Delays?

⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷ and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” (John 11)

Let's just be real about this one and admit that none of us expect nor enjoy it when God allows delays within our journey.  We like asking God for help and seeing a response or answer immediately, which can happen, but many times as in the case of John 11, our answer is delayed.  We understand that our best laid plans can often come with unexpected delays and how we respond to these delays is what makes all the difference.

My family believes that if we are delayed while traveling it was God's way of protecting us from a possible accident or even worse.  We now smile and thank him when we are stopped in traffic or a few minutes late arriving to an event for we believe it was His plan and not ours, which in the end is always for our ultimate good.  

I heard the phrase "Because He loves me He delays!" for which I didn't agree with until I was reminded how each time God delays our plan it brings Him greater glory and honor when the answer comes.  

The death of Lazarus was definitely a clear depiction of this when his sisters called for Jesus to come and heal him but instead we know He chose to delay.  When viewing this through human eyes we cannot believe Jesus would do this on purpose for the Bible tells us He loved Lazarus and his sisters. Why on earth would he purposefully wait and not run to their aid?  We see as the story unfolds that Jesus arrived late in the eyes of Mary and Martha in order to perform one of the greatest miracles of His ministry.  He waited so instead of just healing Lazarus, He was able to raise him from the dead!  Talk about giving God glory and honor through a delay.

I keep that in mind within my own life as I pray for open doors and find myself in the midst of a delay.  I must remember that while I wait, Jesus has not forgotten me and that He hears my cry for help but instead of jumping at my request He chooses to delay.  I must be confidently expectant in the Lord and His timing for my life.  Each time this occurs I am thankful after the fact that I was made to wait in order to see miraculous things which always give Him the most glory and honor imaginable. 

60,000+ Strong

I had to connect and share what was on my heart when I saw our online ministry had surpassed 60,000 Caregivers connected to our webpage.  Pure joy was my initial feeling followed by a deeper urgency to reach even more Caregivers in the name of Jesus!  My mind cannot comprehend the number of children, young adults, and seniors who day in and day out dedicate their lives to the care of others.  The task of Caregiver is not one for which to take lightly or with haste.  It is a dedicated position for which God has only called very special ones to respond.

If you are among that chosen group of Caregivers today and you feel overwhelmed and weary, take refuge in knowing you are not alone.  You belong to a army, one I like to call a special forces unit, for which God has hand picked to be His hands and feet for His children who cannot care for themselves.  You are special and what you do is extraordinary.  Please never forget that.

Jesus left us a powerful yet gentle comforter and supporter when He left the earth so long ago and we know this is the Holy Spirit.  Allow the Holy Spirit to be your Caregiver and your spiritual help when no one else is there or can begin to understand what you feel or manage on a daily basis.  Let the Comforter support you physically and mentally for He can do things through you that are humanly impossible.  Open your heart and mind to what could happen if you allow the Holy Spirit to become your Caregiver and supernatural strength in this journey you are walking or maybe even some days, crawling.

My message for you today is there is strength in numbers.  There is power when 2 or more come together before the throne of God so just imagine the power we have as 60,000+ when our prayers go up together.  What an amazingly beautiful sound that is to the Father's ears and how much more will He bless and keep us.

Where Is Our Hope?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.  By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.  Hebrews 11:1-3

I never really gave much thought to hope until today.  I heard a pastor explain how it can only exist in our future.  He went on to explain how God gave each of us this amazing gift so that we always have wonderful things to look forward to.  Our creator made us in His image which means we are creative and have imaginations.  God wants us to trust in Him so much that we don't have to physically see something in order to know it is already happening and a part of God intricate plan for our lives.

It is easy to be confident in the things we see and are experiencing today, but beyond that takes great hope.  What I love about the 11th chapter of Hebrews is that we are given example after example after the scriptures above of those who were faithful and who's confidence and hope in God paid off.

Not being visible doesn't mean something isn't real or not there.  That's what the world and the enemy will tell us but not what God's Word tells us.  What are we choosing to put our hope in today?  Will it be the world we can visibly see and touch or in the invisible but promised hope of the Lord?

Ideas, dreams, and visions were all placed within us by the Lord when we were created.  How we decide to use them makes all the difference in our futures.  Are we conforming to the expectations of those around us or to the expectations of our Creator God?  Society will always tell us we are not creative nor imaginative but that is a lie and the complete opposite of how God actually created us.

Today, I challenge you to join me in hoping for mind-blowing things we cannot see in the present but will see in the futures God has called us to walk within.  We must be assured and certain of the hope God has given each one of us.  He loves to strengthen and empower us as we have faith and confidence in what we hope for knowing that we will one day see it.

According to All That Is Written

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Joshua 1:8

I had somewhat of an epiphany yesterday when I picked up my Bible to find a scripture God had sent me during the day in a devotion.  It hit me that each day as Christians we enter the battlefield as soon as we awake yet we forget or even hesitate to read and remain in the ONLY weapon that will ever see us victorious.  I love that Joshua tells it like it is because it's exactly what this girl needs!

He tells us that God's Word should not depart from our mouth.  I interpret this as meaning that you can only intelligently speak about a subject for which you are well read.  The Bible is no different.  Joshua says we should "meditate" on the Word of God both day and night.  What?  You mean we should be thinking about what the Bible tells us all the time?  Well, that would mean that the Word would have an effect on all our actions, which is what living like Jesus seems to be all about!

What I absolutely love about my God is He never asks of me without blessing me in abundance and beyond anything I could ever imagine.  It says if we know the Word, speak the Word, meditate on the Word, and actually do what the Word says, God will make our way PROSPEROUS and we will have good SUCCESS!  What more could we want?  God is so amazing and loves us so much that He actually loves to do special personal things for us.  He gains pleasure by giving us the desires of our hearts when we are living for HIM and living in His Word!

If the Word of God is our weapon, our protection, our road map, our comfort, and our promise, why don't we want to automatically do the things this scripture mentions?  Why don't we read it every chance we have during the day?  I'll tell you why.  Because we are human and focused on the world we live within and not focused on the Jesus that lives within us.  Let's pick up our Bibles and be victorious!

His Joy

Deuteronomy 31:6(NIV)

  Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The holiday season can be very difficult and painful for many caregivers.  There isn't time for parties or attending even family festivities for the caregiver must remain by the bedside of the one he/she cares for.  The work they accomplish doesn't stop for even Christmas.  I have recently spoken with several caregivers who were very sad over missing special church services, not being able to get any shopping done for family or friends, and from overwhelming feelings of not being able to do all they feel is expected by those around them.  It breaks my heart for I have often felt those same things during this time of the year.  

I must admit that several years ago I got to a breaking point where I realized I was not physically or mentally able to continue all I did during the holidays before my husband Brian became ill.  You may have to do the very same thing.  It is perfectly fine to change traditions and the way you have done things forever so that you can actually enjoy yourself.  I suggest trying to talk with family and friends and if this doesn't work still do what works for you and your immediate family.  This may sound harsh but you must take care of yourself.  If your family and friends don't understand or care how life has changed for you as a caregiver, your holiday may be more peaceful without them.  Also, remember if people ask to help you and its something another can actually do for you, let them!  God may have sent them to be His help to you!  You would never tell God no.  So don't tell them no.  

I also send my thoughts and prayers of comfort out to all caregivers who have lost the ones they cared for this past year and face their first Christmas without them.  This is a very real pain you are feeling.  Don't allow others to belittle it or underestimate the loss you have experienced.  But DO ALLOW God to be your comforter and healer.  His joy can overcome anything including the pain your heart is feeling at this very moment.  Remember, Jesus felt and took it all when He hung on the cross for you. Cling to His love and call His name anytime you need Him.  He will be there and He will never leave nor forsake you.  

He is the true joy of this season.  Let's not allow the enemy to ever take that away from us. Remember, you were CALLED to be a Caregiver and your work is unto the Lord.

 

God Himself Will Provide

Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

Genesis 22:7, 8

The closer I walk with God and study the teachings of Jesus the more the Holy Spirit reveals to me through the Word about my own personal struggles and victories.  Take this story for example when God asks Abraham what we all believe to be the unthinkable which was sacrificing his own son.  How ironic that later God would actually be the one who gave up His Son for all of us.

I have read this chapter and these particular verses over and over but just last week they became fresh and exciting to me in an entirely new way.  God has asked something big of me which seems impossible.  I know it won’t be easy and I also don’t have the means for which to do it.  So, I am completely relying upon my trust in Him and His plan and provision.  Don’t get me wrong.  This is NOT an easy time but during it, I have drawn even closer to God and can hear His voice even clearer through daily messages of encouragement and reassurance.  

I love it that Isaac called to his Father.  That is our first step, too.  God tells us repeatedly to call or cry out to Him yet most of the time we barely whisper.  Next, Isaac asked his Father a question.  God never minds our questions and since He is the one who created us I don’t believe the way in which our brains operate is a surprise to Him.  He made us to communicate with Him.  Our Lord is conversational!  It all goes back to being made in His image.  

But now comes the answer which to Isaac didn’t make a lot of sense in the moment but did a little later in his day.  The two were going up a mountain to give a sacrifice to the Lord but to Isaac it seemed they didn’t have one.  Abraham knew that God had asked him to sacrifice Isaac, the son he had waited for so long and loved so much.  God was testing to see if Abraham loved Him more than his own son.  So we read Abraham’s response which explains how “God himself will provide…” even though in that moment it seemed impossible.  In my own moments of waiting I often forget that God is GOD!  I often compare God to a human which is wrong and actually insulting to my Lord.  He is all knowing and the Creator of all.  Because of this, NOTHING is too hard for Him due to the fact He made it all and rules it all.

Just as Abraham readies to sacrifice his own son, God provides a ram in the brush for the offering.  See the wording there.  God provides.  He always does. Even when it’s not done the way we believe it should be and in our timing.  Try and wrap your mind around the idea that God actually knew you before you were created in your mother’s womb, gave you life, loves you, and wants to bless you by providing for you.  After you accept all this for truth life becomes full of joy you can’t explain but want to share.

My Opposition

 

 

Job 23:6(NIV)

  Would he vigorously oppose me?
    No, he would not press charges against me.

Let's be completely real with one another.  Okay?  There are days we all face where it seems as if everything in the world is working against us.  There are days when I actually cry out to the Lord asking if He is still there and if He is why He isn't doing something to help me.  (Remember, I said I was going to be honest and that's not always pretty.)

But that's really never the case when it comes to the Lord.  I always go back to Job because his story is one we all should read repeatedly.  Job actually DID have it all.  God loved him and blessed him but then along came the devil.  Doesn't this sound very familiar even in our own lives?  Well, if not for you, it definitely does for me.  

I think back to the days before my husband was diagnosed with a life threatening heart disease and given 6 months to live.  I was a 32 year old wife to the love of my life, living in my dream neighborhood, being a mommy to my beautiful 3 year old daughter. And on top of all that, I was an elementary school teacher, which had been my dream since childhood.  Life was good.  New cars filled the garage, new furniture stood throughout my home, and I wore the latest fashions. Hence, my pre-Job days.

In less than a year the lifestyle I had known changed for without my husband's generous salary and benefits we could not longer afford to live this life style on a teacher's salary.  I must admit I get down sometimes, even now, wondering when all that was lost will be regained as it was for Job but I also know God has never left us or forgotten us.  He continues to provide for our family on a daily basis and I also believe has much we cannot imagine. In fact He reminds me daily through Jeremiah 33:3.

You see, when we are faced with the question Job had of whether God is opposing us, we must stop and remember He would NEVER "press charges against" us but instead paid our ransom by sacrificing His only precious Son, Jesus.