No fancy pictures for you today…but I do want to share a sweet Word from the Lord. Nothing is fancier, sweeter or more powerful than that. May you be blessed this Sabbath day…
Key verses in today’s reading…
Exodus 39:32 “And so at last the Tabernacle was finished. The Israelites had done everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” The Lord had provided clear direction—and the Israelties had obeyed. They had done EVERYTHING just as the Lord had commanded. Oh–if this could be true of our lives! I pray that we would keep our hearts softened—free of sin and confessed–so that we may hear from the Lord and be faithful to follow in His way. Sounds easy enough, right?! Not so much. Just today-on His holy Sabbath even I felt my heart getting frustrated by something so small. I let my mind run away and frustration to build. The Lord instructs us in His word to take all our thoughts captive. Help me to serve You Lord—help me to die to myself—to hear Your voice…to live in TODAY–not yesterday or tommorrow…and to follow You.
Exodus 40:36-37&38b “Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted…this continued throughout all their journeys.” Where the Lord led–they followed. Wherever He was—they went. When the cloud stopped–they stopped. Sounds simple enough. But not always.
Currently, we are at a stopping point in our adoption and my heart wants to keep right on moving. I felt the Lord leading us to adopt. We followed. The paperwork and homestudy process kept us busy…things felt like they were moving…there was much to do. We turned in our dossier, and finally we were logged in. Our journey began in August and we were officially logged in for our “real wait” on November 13, 2009—exactly 3 months yesterday. The last three months I feel like the cloud has been parked. Waiting. With 147,000,000 orphans in the world–my heart wants us to make it minus 1 RIGHT NOW! But–the cloud has stopped, we’re waiting on the plan He has for us…and while the following can often seem exciting–the waiting can bring anxiety. “Calm my anxious heart Lord” is my current daily prayer.
I am reminded today through a cup of tea…to wait on the Lord. Often–the tabernacle, my heart, is built up most during those times. The longer a tea bag steeps in hot water it gets stronger—the more time I spend with the Lord I become more at rest and content exactly where He has me.
Each of us have different flavors of tea…different journeys. Our mugs look different—but so do our portions. In Luke 22, Jesus asked the Lord, “If you are willing, take this portion from me, yet not my will but yours be done.” In the end (PRAISE JESUS!), Christ grasped his handle–and drank from the cup…the portion the Lord had for Him. We, too, have that choice…to take our cup and drink from it—to wait on Him and in our waiting let it steep as we cling to His Word and become more like Him. OR we can push our tea cup back and say, “I want another cup. I want the cup he/she has. I don’t want to be different. This is just too hard for me Lord.”
Today, I pray for strength…strength for those of you the Lord has carefully led to my blog today and as you sit reading this unsure of your cup of tea and your portion. Give her strength Lord to drink from Your cup. While she sits there staring at her cup—scared to death to drink from it…speak to her heart. Let her know You will carry her…guide her…you will be her cloud of direction in the dessert. Remind her now, that you love her—you will never leave her—and that Your portion for her will not be too much to bear with You beside her. Help her raise her cup and say, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” And let her drink…with joy. And bless her in her obedience.
Numbers 9:22 “Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it was lifted, they broke camp and moved on.”
by admin
I love your posts and thoughts. Being at that standstill can be different for all of us. I have felt SO STRONGLY that our family is called to adopt. I’ve been advocating for orphans with friends and we started an organization for orphan advocacy. My closest friends have adopted so we are surrounded by the faces of victory. My husband still has not come to the same realization I have. I even started an ‘extra’ savings account to put funds away for the expense of adoption. Hubby answered all questions asked of him by me as I completed the adoption application. Yet, it still sits in it’s place…. unmailed. It’s been sitting there for over two months. Everyday I feel pulled farther and farther away from that goal and some days are just unbearable with disappointment. At times I even (almost) give up and grieve so. Wondering how I can grieve the loss of a child I’ve never known. And yet Sunday rolls around, and my faith is encouraged. My daily readings and studies, blog friends with their uplifting stories are great, but not quite the same as being in the Lord’s house and listening to His word ‘outloud’. 😉 I continue to wait and pray for God’s will in our lives and for our family. Know that you aren’t waiting alone. I’m MANY steps behind you, but may we lift one another up as we move forward. No matter how slow or fast we may go, we shall go where and WHEN he leads us.
Just what I needed to hear today…thank you! I am missing our littlest valentine in India so much today! The wait feels really long (staring at her picture since Aug.) but I know there is a little girl in India, who needs us to wait. I need God’s strength during this wait…so thank you for the prayer! The 7 mo. of waiting for our referral was hard too…so I understand your desires to get things moving Andrea! Reading Renea’s comments, my hearts goes out,…I understand…waited 3 years for dh and I to be aligned in this decision. All of it now, makes sense, as our Abby wasn’t ready yet!!! Hard to be in the wait, but I am continuing to claim God’s timing and goodness!
Blessings,
Jenny
Andrea, I so appreciate your heart. This was a much needed post for me. It is so easy to doubt the Lord’s plan…or His cup for me….to feel overwhelmed by the paperwork as we begin this new adoption….to question things that I know He has already revealed to me. Thank you for reminding me to claim HIS promises. And I also can relate to Renea’s comment…..it took us so long to decide this time around if God was leading us to adopt again. Strange roadblocks kept coming up that prolonged us from starting the process (for almost 2 years), but I know God’s timing is ALWAYS perfect and there was a reason He was prolonging things. Praying for you as you continue to wait for a referral! (did you get my e-mail the other day?)
“Not my will, but Yours be done.” Just what I needed to read. The sermon yesterday at our church was about Worry and I get the gold medal in the sport of Worry. =) Your post (read today) is an extension of yesterday … God is so awesome to keep the focus alive in our hearts. Giving us tidbits in all the right places to remind us of Him. Love Him and so appreciate your writing! Again, thank you.
Waiting. Oh boy. I was most likely the worst “wait-er” in the adoption world. I was not patient in waiting for our referral most times. But…as we were in Ethiopia, experiencing so many joyful and painful things, I realized that the wait was necessary. I never would have been ready for the experiences we’ve had, and it’s only been a week since we’ve been home. May God show you His perfect will as you wait upon Him and He prepares your heart and the hearts of those around you. Thank you for sharing the verses and thoughts through this blog. I will definitely be checking back.
God Bless,
Angie