Unveiling Hope

Listening Intently

When the out-of-town relatives would visit my family, anyone under the age of 25 was assigned special seating arrangements at dinner time at the famous “kiddie” table. I always thought there was some kind of covert family operation going at the “grown-up” table. The raised eyebrows, pursed lips, the head-cock, and the occasional glance at the kiddie table, were all evidence that something interesting was being said, something far too interesting for the kids to hear. Listening intently brought some success to my endeavours, but on occasion, I had to resort to more drastic measures.

Everybody knows that the dinner time conversation only gets better somewhere between the kid’s bedtime and the first cognac. As luck would have it, there was an air vent on the floor beside my bed. I spent many crawling beneath my blankets with the side of my face looking as if my face had been pressed in a waffle iron. Listening intently doesn’t begin to describe the efforts I made to hear every single word that was uttered. It was only a matter of time. . . and I had faith that my persistence would be rewarded.

The years have passed and it seems that my hearing has dulled, not so much in the natural sense as in the spiritual sense. I look back at those days gone by and think of the effort and patience I put in to listening and I ask myself, what’s happened? Why is it, when I wait for God to speak, I give up so easily; I fill those silent moments with the sound of my own voice – babbling on. Why don’t I wait until I have waffle iron face? Where’s my faith? Where’s my persistence? You’ll excuse me won’t you? I have some listening to do and it might take a while.

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know,” Jer. 33:3 NIV.

All Day Long

How do we become impatient? Is it something we learn, or does it come naturally? Why are some people so easy going and others not? Can we change?

When I was a young newlywed, before ATM’s were invented, people received paycheques made of paper. They had to stand in line at the bank to take care of business. Living in a city of primarily government workers meant that every second Friday those line-ups were … well … imagine a day of free coffee at St. Arbucks … yup … those were the good ole days.

On one of these fine Friday evenings my husband was waiting in the comfort of the car listening to the radio while I stood in a line that serpentined from the foyer to the counter. About 20 minutes into my wait the sound of a blaring horn caught the attention of all the customers. The driver kept honking and honking until, his impatience got to the better of him, and he simply left his hand on the horn. I was married to that driver. He was yelling and gesturing at me from inside the car. What could I do but turn red and hope no one would see me get in the car with him some 45 minutes later.

Some friends and I were talking about waiting on God – waiting to hear from Him concerning various issues. None of us doubted, for a moment, that He would answer, the question was: when? That Friday evening of decades gone by popped into my head and I started to laugh.

I wonder if, in all my impatience, I ever look like that driver to God. I wonder if He ever questions why I can wait in line at Starbucks for a latte I can never finish, and don’t really need, but I can’t seem to wait on Him. I can be like a screaming child who’s missed a feeding – answer me, answer me now! All the while – I know – I KNOW – that He answers. He answers and provides in His perfect timing and sometimes that means I need to wait. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? Honk, honk.

“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” A Psalm of David 25:4-5 ESV.

I Know

I know you’ve been weeping, and calling out, wondering if I hear you, wondering if I’ve ever heard you. I know.

I know you’re hurting. I know you’re feeling battle fatigued – weary – alone. I know you have many questions that haven’t been answered to your satisfaction. 

I count the times you’ve cried out to me, “I can’t handle this anymore.” I know you can – with me. I know what your made of – I created you. 

There is something you should know – something you should know and believe – six little words filled with truth, hope and promise:'

I am. I hear. I answer. 

“You will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you,” Jer. 29:12 NIV.

What Will You Plant?

If there exists a person who has never lived through turmoil or disappointment, fear or illness, rainy seasons or drought, I would like to meet that person.

I’ve noticed that during those types of seasons, I draw close to God. I draw close to God and my faith in His protection increases BUT in one way, my faith dissipates like the top layer of sand in a desert storm.

Drawing closer to God in fear is the best place to be – tucked away under His wing. The kind of faith I want however is the kind of faith that draws close to God and expects a manifestation of His power and glory to settle me, calm my fears, heal me, dry the rain or soak the land.

I watched a wonderful movie the other night: Faith Like Potatoes. Against all odds, science, common sense, Angus Buchan decided to plant potatoes during a drought because he believed God was calling him to sow his faith. After having been discouraged by his wife, pastor, brother, friends and his banker – his response was, “the condition for a miracle is difficulty; the condition for a great miracle is impossibility.” When things seem impossible, when life’s mountains seem insurmountable, do we move in faith or snuggle up under God’s wing and give Him glory for His protection? I’d rather give Him glory for His protection, His faithfulness, and His healing power and might.

Buchan made one more statement at the end of the movie, “Feel this potato, smell it. Your faith in God must be like that – must be real – you can feel it, you can smell it. Your faith in God has got to be …like potatoes.

What will you plant in this season?

“Nothing is impossible with God,” Luke 1:37.

Wants and Needs

I have a tendency to be selfish; I hate admitting that. This morning I was spending time on the patio – a time normally reserved for giving my thanks and praise to God and lifting up prayers for others. My mind began to wander and before I knew it, I was making a mental list of all the things I “need”. I kept physically shaking my head but my mind kept going back to it’s favourite subject ME. (Still shaking my head).

When the head shaking failed to accomplish what it was purposed for I decided to really analyze my list of needs. What I found, what I usually find, was a long list of wants. Every time I think about things I need they almost always turn out to simply be things I want but don’t really need.

In truth, I can honestly say that there is nothing I need. God always has a handle on those things. He’s always a step ahead of me and He always provides – often before the need becomes desperate, especially when I focus on the needs of others before my own desires.

Today, I just want to give thanks. Today I don’t want to feel that I need what I want. Today I want what I have and pray for what others need and don’t have.

“if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,  then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:10-11.

Battery Low?

There are times I’ll be plugging away on my laptop and I’ll get a little balloon at the bottom of the page that says battery low – 7 minutes remaining. That’s annoying, especially if I’m on a roll. A simple solution would be for me to make an effort to bring my power cord to whatever room I’m working in and then I wouldn’t have to panic to beat the clock. My battery would recharge while I’m working.

Too bad life isn’t like that. Many of us live plugging into our pseudo-power cords for energy, but all that really seems to give us is a power surge and we all know what usually happens after a power surge – lights out. Grab an energy drink or an espresso and that’ll keep us in 5th gear – for a time. Reach for that Hershey bar and you get energy and taste all at once; that gives us a bit of a charge and a couple of hundred unwanted calories to store. Run a couple of miles on the treadmill perhaps mentally tackle some of those problems while working out the kinks in the old body. While all these things work, they only work for a time. It’s like plugging one end of the cord into your laptop and not plugging the other end into the outlet.

I have to admit, I’m not perfectly trained yet, but I find that the more I have to do the more necessary it becomes for me to stop plugging into the things of this world and start plugging into my greatest power source – The Power Source. Five, ten, or twenty minutes, being still and peaceful with God is more energizing than 2 espressos and it doesn’t give me the shakes or a caffeine headache. The busier I am, the more I come to realize that my Source will be my strength and power when I let Him charge me.

Battery low? Get plugged into God.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul,” Psalm 23: 1-3 NIV.

Stoking the Fire

Years ago, a group of us spent a weekend at a friend’s cottage one late October. The sun set early; in order to stay warm we had to build a fire in the hearth. It was pleasant chatting with each other into the late hours of the night – sitting in front of a crackling, warm fire. The fireplace however was the only source of heat. There were six of us. We had decided that we would pair up and each take a watch during the night to make sure the fire didn’t go out.

Having spent much of the day outdoors in the fresh air, we were physically wiped out. We knew it wouldn’t be easy staying up – especially in front of a nice cozy fire - and that is why we decided to do the watches in pairs. Exposure is dangerous and can catch a person by surprise even after a couple of hours. Having someone else to chat with was helpful in keeping us awake but the first pair of ladies found it the most difficult because – like the rest of the group – they were tired and needed sleep as well.

As one of the women in the first watch, I can tell you that it was more tempting than one would think to just close my eyes for 5 minutes. But I knew myself and I knew my friend. The fire would have ended up going out and we would have frozen. We weren’t able to put more logs on the fire before it was time because we would have created a blaze and wasted wood.

The Bible recounts Jesus’ rebuke of three disciples who couldn’t stay awake and pray for Him at the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus told them to remain awake and alert lest they fall into temptation.

It occurs to me, when thinking back on that weekend, that my relationship with Christ can be compared to it far too easily. When I first gave my heart to Him, my passion for Him was on fire. As I became comfy and cozy in our relationship, it was much like that first night at the cottage – I wanted to sleep – like Peter and his friends did. There are times when I realize that I have dozed off a bit in my relationship with Jesus. There are times when I awaken, shivering, to find that there remains only embers left in the hearth of our relationship and it’s all my doing. All I have to do is move a little bit closer – make an effort – stay alert and awake.

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you,” James 4:8.

What's Cooking?

Every now and then I’ll cook a roast beef. As it is cooking, my son is lead by the aroma and appears out of nowhere with this question: “What’s cooking?” As the roast cooks, the smell permeates our home. The next questions to follow about every hour are, “What time is supper?” “When are we eating?” and “Is it almost ready?” We find ourselves anticipating the moment when we’ll sit down together and enjoy the fruit of my labour.

I could get annoyed at the repetitive questions and pressure to provide, but instead I relish in the fact that what I am doing, the preparation that I’ve put into the meal, is expected and being looked forward to.

Imagine though, if I removed the roast and served it before it was fully cooked. It wouldn’t taste as it was meant to taste. It will not have been worth the wait nor meet his expectations or need.I find that when it comes to waiting for something I need, my son and I are very much alike. I can almost taste it and I don’t want to wait. Rather than savouring the aroma, I want it now.

Things are no different when I ask God to provide for a need. I don’t want to wait. When I really think about it, He wants to serve me the best – not substandard or the next best thing. He’s knows my likes and dislikes. He knows my needs. He knows what’s best for me and His timing is perfect. It’s not easy to control my desire to take over and trust that what He is preparing for me will be what I really want and need.

I can be persistent and annoying with my nagging question, “Is it almost ready?”  But I’m sure that God is smiling over the fact that I’m waiting and giving thanks that He will provide exactly what I need when I need it – even when I’m trying to rush Him.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God,” Philippians 4:3.

My Beloved

Every year, a week or so before Valentine’s Day, I am filled with mixed emotions of sadness, contentedness, loneliness and hope.

Since I was a little girl, my dream has always been to love and be loved in a way that fills me – that fills the place inside that often seems unfillable. A little more than five years ago, I had given up on all hope that I would ever love or be loved this way. It wasn’t until one October afternoon that I laid my heart bare before the Lord that I would taste the nectar of this desire.

When a person seeks and searches out what they believe they need, the things or people that will fulfill their desires, they often come up empty and frustrated. That frustration leads to more of the same.

We were made to love and be loved. We were made to love and be loved by the One who made us. It was for these very reasons that He created us. When we try to fill that hole, that emptiness in our hearts, we will always fail unless we are trying to fill it with what fits – what belongs there. That hole is a God-shaped hole – made for Him – to hold Him.

His word tells us that when we seek Him with all of our hearts, first and foremost, it is then that we will find Him.

Valentine’s Day is approaching. I love the Lord with all my heart, but I will admit this: while there is a small, a very small, part of me that longs for a Valentine, there is a bigger part of me that is more content than I’ve ever been in my life. More than I desire a Valentine, He desires to fully be my Valentine and I long to desire Him as He desires me.

If you’re single, alone, without a Valentine – perhaps feeling unloved or undesired, know this: God loves you and will never rest in His pursuit for your complete heart. I promise He is your Hope.

“I am my beloved’s and his desire is for me,” Song of Solomon 7:10.

A Father's Love Letter

My Child,
You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented
by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…
Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

Father's Love Letter
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