“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.” Isaiah 30:18

As we close this week of Victory Call’s, I just want to reinforce the call of the Scripture to wait on the Lord. Why does God make us wait? Our Scripture today tells us that God desires to be gracious to us. There is a purpose, perhaps beyond our knowing that God has us wait.
God will be exalted. He will not share His glory with another. When we rush in to solve the problem or control the situation we step square in God’s way. We need to pray for discernment to know when to wait and when to act.
If I had sat in the airport refusing to get on the plane until I felt at peace about it-they would have left without me. I needed to combine waiting on the Lord and walking by faith. I still need to get up out of the waiting areas seat and walk onto the plane, in spite of my anxiety. I was waiting while I was walking. “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” Psalm 94:19
God promises in His word that He will show up. It just may not be when you expect Him to or when you want Him to; but God’s way and timing are perfect. He is never too early, nor a moment too late.
Will you choose to believe that He will show up so that He may be gracious to you and have mercy on you and He will be exalted and glorified in the process?
The next time you are tempted to flee your negative emotions press through them waiting upon the Lord, trusting that He will show up in His perfect timing to bless you with His graciousness. “Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.” Psalm 126:3

Diane

John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

As I shared my flying experience with others, I was very excited about what God clearly showed me that day. I was even willing to share my flesh response of disappointment that God didn’t show up on my flight west. Various people responded by saying, “But God was always there.” I knew, my flesh response was not theologically correct. I know that because in Hebrews 13:5 Jesus says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So was God there when I anxiously believed that I just simply could not get on that plane? Yes. Was God there when I was sitting in the airport anxiously awaiting my return flight? Yes. Was God more there when peace washed over me? NO.
However, there are definitely times in our lives when we are more aware of God’s presence than others. Our verse today speaks of Jesus manifesting Himself to us. That implies there are times He does not manifest Himself. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.” According the Merriam-Webster On-Line Dictionary, “wait” means “to remain stationary in readiness or expectation, to look forward expectantly, to hold back expectantly, to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized.” I am not suggesting that God temporarily neglects us but, to wait on the Lord implies that although God is already and always present He has not yet manifested Himself to us. When I say God showed up, I mean there was a time I did not sense His presence, and then there was a time I did.
If you note from John 14:21, there are some conditions to Jesus manifesting Himself to us. We must have and keep His commandments; and we must love Him. God’s promise to us is if we do these things, Jesus will manifest Himself to us. He will show up.

Diane

John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps the, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Yesterday, I shared about my anxiety sitting in the airport waiting to take the red-eye back to NJ. It was time to get on the plane. With a rapid heart-beat, sweaty palms and a quaking knees I walked onto the plane and sat down in my seat. I have no other explanation for what happened next other than that God showed up. Peace that surpasses all understanding completely overtook my heart, my mind and my body almost instantly. I was filled with thankfulness. At one point in the flight, I wept with gratitude, “You showed up. You rescued me.”
I learned several valuable, potentially life-changing lessons that night about God, about addiction, about temptation, about the flesh, and about victory. This series of Victory Calls is all about sharing those lessons with you and my prayer is that I can adequately communicate to you what God communicated to me.
I learned my emotions cannot be what I base my decisions on. Did I already know that? Sure I did. Did I learn it in a deeper more practical way that night? Yes! See, it is the negative emotions that we experience that tend to tempt us to flee. To me, this is how what I experienced was like addiction. When faced with that anxiety, I wanted to flee. I wanted to make the anxiety go away. I didn’t like feeling like that. So often, that is why a person drinks, drugs, uses pornography, gambles, eats, etc. They want to stop feeling the way they feel. Perhaps they are anxious, or lonely, or depressed. Perhaps they got laid-off, or given other bad news. For others it is feelings of rejection. Whatever it is, it is the accompanying emotions we try to flee from. We short-circuit the God-process by jumping in ahead of Him and taking a pill, a drink or relying on a friend.
Imagine breaking your leg. The doctor tells you that in order for the leg to heal properly it needs to be set but it will be painful. Pain is not your favorite thing, so you opt to just take painkillers instead. By so choosing you just (1) prolonged the process and (2) prevented proper healing from taking place. When we jump in with our solutions to get away from the negative emotions ASAP, we choose to (1) prolong the process and (2) prevent proper healing from taking place.
To choose the God-process means we choose not to flee but press through the negative emotions, trust God to show up, and wait upon Him for proper healing.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I am NOT, NOT, NOT suggesting there are not times for proper use of prescribed medications, for a season, under the care of a physician.

Diane

I left you yesterday while I was waiting at the airport security checkpoint with anxiety beginning to grip my heart. Honestly, I have to admit that in my flesh, I was disappointed that God didn’t show up since I was still anxious. (I acknowledge that my thinking was not theologically correct but I did say ‘in my flesh’). It occurred to me that although I was disappointed that “God didn’t show up” on my flight out that I didn’t wait upon Him. Isn’t that just like me? Is that like you, jumping in ahead of God trying to resolve the situation apart from God?
We arrived in Portland, Oregon late that evening. We had just a few brief days to visit with children, and grandchildren before I had to report to the rescue mission for the site visit.
Our flight back was a red-eye flight that left late in the evening. I sat in the airport that evening with a number of things going through my mind. I was struck by how similar my situation was to that of many people that struggle with addiction or really any other gripping temptation. My insides were quivering while I conversed with God. “Lord, how is my situation different than any other person faced with a decision to trust You or trust something else?” That ‘something else’ might be a drink, a pill, a friend, a sexual encounter, pornography, food, drugs or a good old shopping spree.
I sat there in the airport doing battle in my mind. It was my desire that God be glorified through my experience. I wanted a God-story for the women of Higher Ground and for Victory Call. I could take any number of ways out, all of which would strengthen my anxiety and stronghold. The only way to overcome the fear in this area of my life was to face it, smother it with faith and wait upon God.
I knew that every time I face life’s difficulties, trust God and walk in obedience, I remove a brick from that wall that surrounds my heart and mind keeping me in bondage. Yes, it may only be one brick but it is one less brick and not one more. Every choice, every step, every decision, is either a step towards victory or a step away from victory. There are no neutral steps. I was ready to take a step towards victory.

Did God show up? Find out tomorrow.

Victory is one decision at a time.

Diane

A few months ago, I was required to do some traveling for America’s KESWICK. This traveling required that I fly to the west coast.
Since I was 19, when I had a panic attack on a flight to Atlanta with my sister, every flight I have taken has stirred up anxiety. I’m not talking about a little nervousness, I’m talking anxiety and sometimes anxiety attacks. From the moment we made the flight reservations out west, the anxiety started to creep in around the periphery of my mind.
During my daily Bible reading, God began to speak to my heart. I found it very interesting the number of “peace” verses I came upon during the ten days that led up to my flight. I wrote them down in a journal and purposed to take them to heart. I would review them at various times during my day. I tried to faithfully practice what they taught. Every time my mind would start to wander into dangerous territory, I would purpose to bring it back to truth, to scripture and to God’s faithfulness. However, this story has much less to do with me than it does with God.
Philippians 4:6-8, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God’ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” This was among my favorites because it reminded me that the cure for anxiety included prayer and thanksgiving. I spent the better part of those ten day praying and thanking God. Practicing the truth of the Scripture, consistently brought peace to my heart. Scripture calls for action. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only…” James 1:22
The day finally came for our flight out west. There was much confusion and stress at the airport simply because of the masses of people. I could feel the anxiety rising in the pit of my stomach. A part of me FELT like I was ready to do battle with this stronghold once and for all; but there was also a part of me that FELT like I was not up to the task. As we approached the security check point the feeling that “I just could not do it” was battling for control of my mind. I turned to my husband and said through my tears, “I just want to be free!”
Well, it looks like I’m out of time for today. Tune in tomorrow for the next segment of my faith in flying saga.

Until then, remember God’s word speaks to specific issues of our heart and life.

Diane

I heard a great story from a friend recently, she was telling me about some missionaries who were going to China and were advised to get some shots to prevent dysentery and some other awful illnesses they could get while there. These shots are not widely available, but someone had referred them to a local doctor who dealt with this regularly and could give the shots. The missionaries refused to get them because they felt God would protect them from any illnesses if He was sending them there in the first place to minister. Unfortunately, they missed the fact that God was protecting them right here by sending them to this doctor so they could get the shots needed and not be ill while over there.
`Now I know that the Lord could certainly protect someone from being ill, shot or no shot. But I think we can sometimes be extreme either way. It made me think of the story in John 9 where Jesus heals the man born blind. The verses read in John 9: 6-7: “When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.” God could have spoken a word or even without a word, healed this man, but He chose to use the clay and saliva and then had this man go and do something himself, wash his eyes. Why? It sure seems a whole lot easier to me if God would just have said; “You’re well”. But He didn’t.
Many times I have seen the Lord take care of something in a moment while at other times it has been a process. There have been times when I haven’t felt well and have prayed and the Lord has made me well on that alone. There have also been times when I haven’t been well and prayed and the Lord gave rest and the blessing of good friends, medical attention, godly counseling or medication. Either way He gets the much due credit for the healing process.
I think in a fallen world of sickness and quick fixes, we need to pray for the discernment to make wise choices. I don’t pretend to know His reasons. Truthfully, I really don’t need to know. But I do need to trust Him.

Dina

We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

While I was preparing a series of messages for a weekend women’s retreat on “Our Heavenly Husband,” I was becoming more and more aware of ways that God is intimately involved in our lives. On a daily basis God gives us little gifts to express His love for us. So often we are so caught up in the details of life, car pooling, deadlines, homework, preparing dinner, packing lunches, running to the post office, babysitting our grandchildren, etc. that we don’t see the gifts our Heavenly Husband leaves throughout our day.
Imagine leaving gifts throughout your home for your husband or child in places they will be during the course of their day. A note in their backpack or briefcase, a chocolate on their pillow, a nice pen on their desk, etc. but they never seem to notice. I think you would be, as I would be, disappointed. Isn’t that exactly what we do to God?
I want to stretch our thinking just a bit this morning. What is our normal response to someone who says “I love you”? Typically, we would respond, “I love you too.” I think there are multiple times throughout our day that God is saying, “I love you” which we do not seem to notice. For instance, how do we acknowledge the precious gifts from God, our Heavenly Husband when we are struck by the beauty of the morning sky, the softness of a cuddly baby, colorful fall leaves, the mist of the ocean waves or beautiful music that moves our spirit? We could say, “Thank You, Lord” or we could say, “I love You, too Lord”. By responding with the latter, we remind ourselves that those gifts from God are one of His ways of saying, “I love you.”

Open your eyes to God’s precious love-gifts to you each day and remember to respond, “I love You too Lord.”

Diane

At first glance this may seem like a no-brainer. Of Course God is good, and if He is good, then what He does is good. But doesn’t God do everything? Doesn’t everything that happens happen by God’s sovereign will? Well, if it does, than according to this verse, it is good.
What is sovereignty? John Piper’s definition is: “God is in ultimate control of the world, from the largest international intrigue, to the smallest bird-fall in the forest.” The Bible says, “I am God and there is no other…my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” (Isaiah 46:9-10)
George Mueller was a godly man who is well remembered for his work with orphans in London over 150 years ago. George’s wife became very ill and.George prayed “if it may be, raise up yet again my precious wife, and Thou are able to do it, though she is so ill, but howsoever Thou dealest with me, only help me to continue to be perfectly satisfied with Thy Holy will.” Soon after, George’s wife died, and George spoke at her funeral saying ” ….I kiss continually the hand that has afflicted me…without an effort my inmost soul habitually joys in the joy of that loved departed one. Her happiness gives joy to me. My dear daughter and I would not have her back, were it possibly to produce it by the turn of a hand. God himself has done it, we are satisfied with him.” What a faith this man had!
Oh that we may with him say in all circumstances, with a faith and a love for God, and His sovereignty, “The Lord is good, and does Good.” And not only that we would believe God’s goodness in all He does, in life and death, in pain, and suffering, in joy and in sorrow, but that we would have the joy God desires for us no matter what our lives have in store, and that we might live out the truth that “God is good, and does good”

Kate

Have you had a “bam” (trial) occur in your life recently…..i.e. a devesting illness of a spouse, a child, a loved one or even yourself; a financial loss; a loss of employment and relocation of residence? When any of these happen it is like “bam”.

God allows these “bams” to show us His faithfulness: “Faithful is He that
calleth you Who also will do it” I Thess. 5:24; His strength: Phil. 4:13 “I
can do all things through Christ that strengthens me;” His power and grace:
2 Cor. 12:9 “…He has said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my
power is perfected in weakness”; His help and comfort,: Ps. 86:15
…Because Thou O Lord has helped me and comforted me.

God desires that we draw very close to Him through the reading of His Word
and obedience to it during these difficult “bams”.

Whatever the “bam” you are going through today….as I Peter 5:7 “Casting
all your cares (anxieties) on Him for He cares for you.” And He reassures us
in Heb. 13:5
“…..I will never leave (desert) you nor will I ever forsake you.

All Things Work Together

“We know that all things work together,”
For them that love Him–trust Him–pray

“All things, –the smallest and the greatest–
The plainest threads–
The dullest patches–
Complete the pattern He has planned–
We know, not now–but
then–hereafter–
We shall perceive and
understand.

Author unknown

Betsy

Romans 8:37, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

Is there an area of your life that you have struggled with far too long? Perhaps even since childhood? Do you find yourself falling in the same area over and over? Maybe you are even too embarrassed to approach the Throne AGAIN to ask forgiveness. I’ve heard it many times; in fact, I’ve even felt the same myself. Yet when I sought the face of God anyway, God met me there and didn’t frown, or chastise me. He forgave me.
I want to talk about those stubborn areas of your life where perhaps you even feel hopeless that things will ever change. You have been this way sooooo long but see not change, as hard as you try. Well, let me share a word of encouragement from Beth Moore’s book, Praying God’s Prayer:
“The enemy taunts us with whispers like, ‘You’ll never be free. You’ve tried a hundred times. You go back every time. You’re hopeless. You’re weak. You’re a failure. You don’t have what it takes.’ Every one of these statements about you is a lie if you are a believer in Christ. You do have what it takes. You have Jesus – the Way, the truth, and the Life. But you can’t just believe in Him to be free from your stronghold. You must believe Him. Believe He can do what He says He can do. Believe you can do what He says you can do. Believe He is who He says He is. And believe you are who He says you are” (pg. 35).

Have you heard those whispers lately? It’s time to see those lies for what they are and to choose to BELIEVE GOD. You can overcome and have glorious visible victory!

Diane