Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

In a word, slowly. Nothing in nature grows instantly or overnight.  No flower blooms in a day.  There is no kind of fruit that reaches ripeness in one second.  And an acorn takes many years before it becomes the mighty oak. So when we don't see miraculous, overnight results in our spiritual growth, we should not be surprised one bit.  Growth of any kind takes time. Now these may seem obvious statements that I make, but how many of us want to grow up and mature in our faith more quickly?  How impatient are we with ourselves in this area? The pace of our modern age has ruined us in some ways.  We've come to expect instant this and instant that. Instant success.  Instant income.  Instant fame.  The younger generations know how to "grow a brand" in a matter of weeks, or even days.  They can release a new app and see overnight results in its sales or downloads.  And we call this progress.  We call these "advances" good.  But why? How is anything that causes more

Waiting for something to happen that only God can do for you? Believing that God is working behind the scenes on our behalf, when nothing is happening in the natural, is a test of faith. We think we know when a provision or deliverance should happen.  We don't. That is up to the Lord. If you have known Jesus for any length of time, you have experienced what are known as "divine delays."  They are not meant to be understood (or even enjoyed!).   But know this.  If what you are expecting God to do is part of His plan and will for your life, it is coming! Do not see a delay as a "no" or as it not happening ever.  But see it as on the way.  This perspective will give you new hope and life as you wait on God. I experienced this recently in a very mundane way.  I placed my usual weekly grocery order for home delivery.  Normally, I am able to edit my order, remove items, add items, up until a few hours before it is delivered. But this week, there was a glitch on the we

When you belong to Christ, there is much waiting involved. We are officially part of a culture who doesn't have to wait for anything if they don't want to.  Everything is literally at our fingertips through an app. But has all this convenience done more harm than good? The very thing it is trying to do - "help" us - in the long run destroys us.  Oh sure.  Who doesn't like conveniences?   But without our knowing it, it is "training" us in impatience! But when you follow Jesus, it is a lifestyle of waiting, really. We wait on Him to enter His Presence.  We wait for Him to answer prayers that only He can answer, because if we take matters into our own hands, we eventually fail and reap flesh instead of spirit. We wait for His all-wise direction.  We wait for Him to reveal the next step.  We wait for His word in a situation.  And instead of acting on impulse willy nilly, we come to lean on His understanding instead of our own limited understanding. Does this

Waiting.  No one likes it.  I don't care how patient you are, waiting is a pain.   As Christians, we are to wait on God.  We also wait for God.  We wait for Him to answer prayer and not take matters into our own hands (hopefully!).  We wait for Him to reveal truth to us about a situation, to give us His wisdom because we simply don't know the truth as He does. I have been waiting on God for about ten years now to answer a very vital prayer in my life.  He has yet to budge.  Oh maybe a tad, but not completely in the way I expect Him to. "You get what you expect."  No, you don't.  You can "claim" Scripture, believe in "manifesting" answers for yourself, but the truth is, when God is not doing something that only He can do, it ain't happening. Now most would say I have a very strong faith.  And I do.  But when my unanswered prayers cause me pain, disappointment, and heartache, it's like a hammer and chisel taking a chink out of my faith. T

Why is this such a popular saying?  And how do we get good timing?  Is it an inborn quality?  Can it be learned? When we follow the Lord, we are in a prime position for great timing.  Why?  Because His timing is absolute perfection, down to the millisecond. Though His timing can seem "late" in our way of thinking, it never is.  Not even once. What are you waiting on the Lord for?  A desired outcome?  A promotion?  Release from a difficult situation where He has told you to stay put a while longer? Whatever it is you are waiting for - even after you have done everything you possibly could to "make it happen" but it still eludes you - trust that the Lord knows exactly what He is doing. He alone knows how to "make things happen" for you: - in the best way - at the best possible time - when it blesses you the most - when the time is right! Waiting is a fine art these days.  In past generations, waiting was a natural part of life much more so than nowadays.   A