"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." ~Isa. 40:31
This will be a longer post than I usually make. So bear with me! :)
My heart is full as I write. Full with some sorrow, some confusion, but also with praise. The events of the last month have certainly made us 'wait on the Lord'! Hurricane Irene came through our valley on Aug 28 and nothing is the same. All three buildings on our church property were destroyed. In our town (our home is out in the country outside of it), over 280 of the 400 homes were severely damaged. It is easy to ask, "Why, Lord? How can this be good?" But we do trust Him!
Cleaning, tearing out, pulling down, and throwing away has been the focus. It's heart rending to drive through in the light of day and see homes so damaged or to see the empty hole where a home once stood, but it is almost as difficult to drive through at night and see no lights in the windows. We have no idea what the area will be in a few months... how many will recover and rebuild or how many will just move on. Right away, our church was offered the use of several other churches nearby, and we have been meeting in one of them faithfully.
The
Stampin' Sisters in Christ's challenge (wings and a Bible verse) and devotional this week talk about Isa. 40:31. They also had a poem that I copied and pasted here because it touched my heart in a special way given the situation here...
YOU MUST WAIT
Desperately, helplessly, longingly I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, “Child you must wait.”
Wait, you say wait,” my indignant reply.
“Lord I need answers. I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked and am claiming your Word.
My future and all of which I can relate
Hangs in the balance and YOU tell me WAIT?
I’m needing a ‘Yes”, a go-ahead sign,
Or even a ‘No’ to which I can resign.
And Lord, you promised that if we believe
We need but to ask and we shall receive.
And Lord, I’ve been asking and this is my cry”
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.”
Then quietly, softly I learned of my fate
As my Master relied once again, “You must wait.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut and
Grumble to God, “So I am waiting for what?”
He seemed the to kneel and His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun,
I could raise the dead, cause the mountains to run.
All you seek I could give, and please you would be.
You would have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You’d not know the power that I give the faint;
You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there;
You knot know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see;
You would never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of my Spirit descends like a dove;
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart,
The glow of My comfort, late in the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.
What it means that ‘My grace is sufficient for thee!’
But oh the loss, if I lost what I’m doing in you!
Author unknown
When we think of waiting on the Lord, we may think we need to sit and wait for Him to tell us to do or go. Think of this... what do you call that person in the restaurant that brings your dinner? A waiter!! When we wait on the Lord, we are waiting for His leading, but that leading comes when we commune with Him and continue to serve Him. The old saying, "You can't steer a parked car" is true!
As we continued to serve during this trying time, the Lord did provide for us. The church building we have been using has a very small congregation, and last week, they offered to sell us their property very reasonably. The Lord brought the people and the building together in His perfect way and time.
I did not have a digi stamp with Isa. 40:31 verse, but the promise that "God cares for the sparrow so He will surely care for me" came to mind, so I put birds on my card. And another special verse that gives great comfort!! These are both digis from Doodle Pantry so I'll submit it to their challenge.
I promise all my posts will not be talking of our trouble here, but wanted to share this because it fit so well with this challenge.
If you are interested in seeing our church, here is a youtube link... we have no pics of the high water because everyone evacuated thankfully!! We got at least 6' in the auditorium. (My husband is the pastor) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8MgNq6J3vw
Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I pray that you will know the Lord's comfort and strength if He calls you to go through some 'deep waters' in your life!!
