God's timeline may not be in line with your expectations

I happened to find myself back in the book of Genesis the other day and I read chapter 16.  In this chapter, Sarai, wife of Abram, went to Abram and told him that, since the Lord has prevented her from having children yet, go to her maid Hagar and have a child with her.

Abram was not pleased with this at first, but soon relented, listened to her advice, and had a did as she told him to do.  In other words, instead of trusting and listening to God, he took his advice from others as it more served his flesh, his earthly pleasures, than those outside of the flesh.

When Hagar became pregnant, Sarai was jealous and treated her poorly.  After Hagar gave birth to Ishmael--a name given by an Angel of the Lord--it would be another fourteen years before Sarai actually had a child, a son named Isaac.

We may go through life, wondering when something will happen.  When will you find the love of your life, the job of your dreams, for your side project to overshadow your day job as far as earnings?  Or it could be when a disease to be cured or an illness to be healed or, in the case of Abram and Sarai, to bring a child into the world.

Early on in my relationship with my late wife, she knew I wanted to be a writer.  Not once did she ever put me down for not getting published with a big publisher or making millions of dollars doing it as an indie author.  In fact, when she wrote to-do lists for me, at the bottom she would write: P.S. And Write!  I hate to admit this, but even after a twenty-two and a half year marriage, she never saw the fruits of my writing labor to the degree at which I wanted.

But we both had faith that it would happen in God's timeline.  Our timeline may not be His.

Keep your faith in the Lord that what will happen was meant to be.  Think of it this way.  Jesus's Apostles were told that He would return to earth one day and for us to prepare the Way for Him.  That was over 2,000 years ago.

We're still waiting.

God knows best.  God's timing is perfect.

Even little prayers can get answered

Last week, my youngest daughter was having battery troubles with her cell phone.  She has tons of pictures of her late mother, my late wife, as well as a bunch of notes for things.

I get it, for a young teenager, these things are like the life blood of their entire livelihood.  But the troubles were so bad that she had to do a complete factory reset on it.

Then, as she was having more troubles getting the phone back on, she couldn't find any of those pictures or her notes.  These were cherished memories she had of our sweet beloved, and her tears just tore at my heart.

I then went into my room and prayed.  I had tears running down my own cheeks as I asked God to please let them be restored, the pictures.  We know that one day, when we pass on, that we'll walk hand-in-hand with her again.  But for now, with our time on earth, we cherished those physical memories.

The next morning, she looked at her phone.  Her battery was still causing troubles, but guess what?  Most of the pictures and notes were restored.

Praise Jesus!  Praise The Lord!

These prayers may seem trivial and small.  But including the Lord in all aspects of your life reminds us that He is in charge of it all.  We are just stewards of this life.  And we need to do our best to honor what we have been given to the Almighty!

Imperfection Written In Stone

Last Saturday, March 20, 2021, I visited my beloved wife's grave.  I have visited it many, many times since her passing last year, and as I came up on it again, I brush whatever dirt is along the front, side, and top.

Since the snow has melted, I've been out at least three or four other times, and this trip would be no different.

And Lord knows how many times I've read the words etched into the stone marker.  But this time, I noticed something different.

A typo.

As I looked at it, pondering its significance, I could feel my wife's arm looping through mine, as she had done hundreds of times when she was with me.  There, written on the back were the words: "Love is paitient . . ."  Notice it?  It should be patient.  Later on, I went back to the correspondence from the funeral home and, sure enough, it was right there and I approved it.

In the book of Job, chapter 19, it is written in verses 23-24: "Oh, that my words could be recorded.  Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument, carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead, engraved forever in the rock."

I chuckled at the imperfection, and I'm certain my beloved Melissa did the same.  You see, even in our strong need for perfection, none of us can ever achieve it.  This imperfection is a reminder that there are bigger issues in the world, and one little typo doesn't define us.

Christ Our Lord defines us.  He guides us.

Praise Him Always!

Words inscribed in stone

Continuing on in the book of Job, chapter 19, Job again speaks, asking his friends why they hurt him with their words.  How long will they keep this up, insulting him.  He knows he has sinned, but does not want to hear it from his friends.  He wants the Lord to tell him what he had done to deserve such punishment.

He laments on that his friends have abandoned him, when he cries out, no one listens.  All of his family are gone and he is considered a foreigner to all others.

He pleads for mercy from his friends.  He wishes for his words to be recorded, inscribed in a monument for all to see.  He is detested by all.

But the Lord, the Redeemer, lives on and his enemies should be fearful.

The nature of the wicked

In the 18th chapter from the book of Job, Bildad, one of the friends seated with him, responded to Job's latest tirade.

First, he scorned Job for speaking to his friends like they were animals, that they were stupid.  But he sid, despite his anger, will that do any good?  Will the earth tremble from his mere words?

Then, Bildad goes on to describe the nature of those who are wicked.  Those who are wicked, those who reject God, will live in darkness, they are living in a constant trap in their lives.  They will have no descendants to honor their lives.  He goes on and on, describing the vile ways in which those who reject the Lord, the wicked, will live an appalling life.  They will have no survivors, and the only remembrance will be those who cherish and honor the Lord. for they will say, "This is the home of a wicked person."  Their reputation will follow them to the grave.

The Lord's Face Shines Down On You

The author of Psalm 80 makes a plea to the Lord, asking to show His mighty power to rescue us.  There are numerous passages where he asks God to shine His face down on us.

Only then, will we be saved, by His Holiness.

The author reminds God that He brought His people out of Egypt, drove away the pagan nations, cleared the choice land for us, gave us everything we ever needed.  He begs the Lord not to turn His back on us, not to abandon us.

The Lord shines down upon us.

With God, we are saved.

One Crushed Spirit

The first verse of chapter 17, from the book of Job, starts with, "My spirit is crushed . . ."

I'm positive all of us have felt a crushed spirit at one time or another.  Whether it's at the seat of a dying loved one, a huge financial or job loss, devastating news about a close relative, harsh medical news, or even car troubles while in the middle of nowhere--and countless other scenarios--we have all felt that feeling of hopelessness, helplessness, and a downright crushed spirit.

In the next few verses, Job expresses how his life is nearly snuffed out and that he is surrounded by those who continuously mock him.

No one will stand up for him.

He pleads with God for his innocence.  His hopes have vanished.  His heart's desires are torn away from him.

Hope, he prays for.  He searches to find any hope, saying that his only hope may go down in the grave with him.

The Chosen - a dramatic portrayal of Jesus unlike anything else (and that's a good thing)

Some days I feel like I'm late to the party on many things, and the 2019 drama titled The Chosen is no exception.

The Chosen is a dramatic portrayal of Jesus through the eyes of those who were with him.  I have been watching season 1 on DVD, and as of this posting I have one episode left.

If I have to describe The Chosen down to one word, it's this: AMAZING!  Throughout each episode, I've laughed, cried, cheered, and have been amazed.

As far back as I can remember, I've loved watching movies about Jesus.  Most of them seem to tell roughly the same story.

The Chosen tells this dramatic story of Jesus quite unlike other movies or TV shows--and that's a good thing.  The story isn't told in a linear fashion, from His birth to death, but rather in a unique telling, mixing Old Testament with New Testament historical events.

According to the website for The Chosen, it will be seven seasons long, and it is one of the best crowd-sourced film projects of all time.  Currently, season 2 is in production.  This is definitely one you will not want to miss.