WILL WE WAIT?

I just finished reading through the book of Isaiah. For those of you that have also read it, you know that some of it is tough reading. The first half of the book generally deals with God's judgment against Israel, Judah, and the surrounding pagan nations because of their sin.

One of the sins God condemned was His chosen peoples' decision not to trust in Him, but rather to seek their help elsewhere.

"Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you?" Isaiah 50:2

"Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you will receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment." Isaiah 50:10-11

"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, 'No we will flee on horses.' Therefore you will flee! You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore your pursuers will be swift!" Isaiah 30:15-16

How many times I have prayed about something and committed it to Him, then when He is not answering in the way I think He should or as quickly as I think He should, I begin to panic and search for my answer elsewhere. Or better yet, I try to "fix" the problem myself. Oh, the messes I have made and the heartache I have caused because I was too impatient to wait on the Lord!

Oh, but there is blessing waiting for us as we wait for and hope in Him! After admonishing the people in chapter 30, verses 15 & 16, it goes on to say:
"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!" (emphasis mine)

God knows us perfectly - so He understands that it can be difficult to wait on Him, it can be exhausting.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

He understands! And He promises us blessing and renewed strength as we trust in and wait upon Him.

"Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him." Isaiah 64:4

When we patiently wait for Him, laying aside our endless striving and our worry, He acts on our behalf! Sisters, let us take Him at His Word, and ask Him to give us the patience and the faith to wait upon Him, for He has promised, "those who hope in me will not be disappointed." (Is. 49:23)

Stacey Poplawski
Women of Character Graduate
(All Scripture taken from the NIV)

DIGGING DEEPER
James 2:8-9 (ESV)
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

UPCOMING EVENT
May is fast approaching and we will be hosting our 3rd annual Family Freedom Walk on Saturday, May 7th. You can help in two ways. 1. walk - call guest services to obtain a walk package, solicit sponsors and come to the walk. 2. (this is a fun one) Sponsor Victory Call for the walk. We are having a friendly competition between the 2 groups of devotional readers (Freedom Fighters and Victory Call). Our goal is to raise more funds by the Victory Call team than the men raise for the Freedom Fighter's team. Last year Victory Call subscribers raised $760.00 and Freedom Fighter’s subscribers raised $725.00. Victory Call WON! In reality, the Addiction Recovery ministries won because together we raised $48,968.65.

If you would like to join the fun, simply go to this link on our website https://01.secure.elexio.com/donations.aspx?id=366346&websiteurl=http://www.americaskeswick.org&siteid=2184 fill out the information and indicate in the "DESIGNATION" area : Family Freedom Walk: Victory Call or if you prefer make your check out to America's KESWICK and put in the memo line: FFW/Victory Call and mail to : America's KESWICK 601 Route 530 Whiting, NJ 08759. ALL DONATIONS MUST ARRIVE NO LATER THAN SATURDAY, MAY 7th at 2 PM in order to be counted for our TEAM. We’re in the lead, ladies! Let’s keep up the good work!!