{Prayer to Share - Waiting families please feel free to share this prayer with your family and friends so they know how to specifically intercede on your behalf today.}
Dear God,
Thank you for every piece of this adoption. Thank you for every part that has gone smoothly- while on the surface it seems like that's very little, it is actually a lot. And thank you for the parts that haven't gone smoothly, for the parts that have been down right horrible, because we know you are growing us through those pains. Thank you for this story you are writing- for our families, for our children, and in our hearts- all to glorify You.
Please remind us that we do nothing completely on our own- that You are
in everything. And please remind us that no thing or person or
circumstance of this world can totally give us what we need- that is
only You.
Please bring our children home so soon. We beg and plead for you to send them to our arms through a miracle. And through that miracle, give each of us a platform to tell of Your wonderful works, especially the good work You're doing in this ugly wait. Help us to trust only in You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
Please bring our children home so soon. We beg and plead for you to send them to our arms through a miracle. And through that miracle, give each of us a platform to tell of Your wonderful works, especially the good work You're doing in this ugly wait. Help us to trust only in You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
John 6:17
ReplyDeleteIt was dark now and Jesus had not yet come to them.
Why doesn’t peace always follow obedience? Perhaps the disciples had the same expectation. They obeyed Jesus at His word to go into the boat. And as they were making their way across the lake, a bad storm caused them hard work and fear. Where is Jesus now?
It is one thing to suffer for doing wrong, but an entirely different thing to suffer for doing right.
Ask the couple who can have no children after years of prayer.
Ask the honest business man whose work is rewarded with runaway inflation.
Ask the student who gets mocked for standing up for the truth according to his convictions.
And so the disciples wonder. Why the storm? Where is Jesus? It is bad enough to be in a storm, but in a storm without Jesus?
We think of the parents who insist their child practice piano one hour a day without exception. Would it not be easier just to let the child pingle away at their own pace? But the parent knows it will take many hours and years of tedious practice to master the keyboard and produce beautiful music. And so they struggle onward.
Jesus saw the struggle of His disciples through the night, but why did He let them struggle so long? We don’t know, but we do know His timing is always right and He always does what is best.
The route from Egypt to Canaan would have taken 11 days by foot, but God led them 40 years of long road. Why?
Deut. 8:2-4 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
God took away Israel’s pride and tested their hearts. God was more concerned about the state of their hearts toward Him than about the length of the journey.
So what does God do when we are in pain and in the storm? He prays for us. Mark 6:46. Jesus believes in prayer and he Himself has given the example. Heb. 7 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
So where does that leave us? Simple. We keep on rowing and we keep on praying. Much of life is spent rowing. Getting out of bed, making lunches, doing chores, etc. Rowing and praying. More wrestling than resting.
So don’t bail out. Don’t give up! Don’t lay down the oars. Jesus is too wise to forget you and too loving to hurt you. When you can’t see Him, trust Him. He is praying a prayer He Himself will answer!
Love
Mom & Dad