Get ready for some encouragement friend. The Lord has been speaking to me about many things and I am filled with hope about our today and our future.

We are the Bride of Christ. We are chosen and dearly loved by God. He has set us apart for His Son. Speaking this truth about my place in Christ and in God’s heart is making a difference in my perception of God and the amount of peace I am experiencing. (Colossians 3:12; Jude 1)

Our circumstances may look more chaotic than we ever imagined, but God remains the same. He is still the One who gives us a feast in the presence of our enemies. He is still the God of justice. The government of our lives rests on Jesus’ shoulders. (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:18; Psalm 23:5; Isaiah 30:18; Isaiah 9:6)

Jesus and Justice

For many years I asked the Lord how the government of my life rests on Jesus’ shoulders? The last few years of my life have included many legal battles as a result of the divorce. This involvement with the legal system has given me the opportunity to seek God for justice. I’ve needed the local government to see the truth and move on my behalf. I lost most of those battles. I couldn’t understand how my prayers for swift justice weren’t being answered. So many godly people were praying for me, too. I couldn’t understand why my honorable life before God wasn’t impacting the outcome of my situation.

These losses and unmet expectations on earth have given me the opportunity to appeal to a higher court – to the God of justice. In the process, the gospel is coming to life for me. I now have spiritual eyes to see Holy Jesus choosing to plead guilty for every single mistake and awful choice that I have made. In the courts of heaven, I am a free woman and Jesus suffered terribly for it. In the courts of heaven, Jesus’ blood sacrifice is still speaking for me as Satan accuses me. In the courts of heaven, I am the recipient of God’s unbreakable promise of restoration to give me beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, and double portions of honor and prosperity for the shame and humiliation. I have learned to look at the ministry of Jesus in Isaiah 61 and ask God for everything Jesus died to give me. I don’t want to miss any of those blessings.

Love Lifted Me and You

I have peace with God because the government of my life is resting on Jesus’ shoulders. His love lifted me up from a guilty, inferior, desperate, hopeless position before God. Jesus has shared with me and with you His right standing with God and all of His rights in the Kingdom of God. As His Bride, I have access to the unlimited wealth and help of the Kingdom. And you do too!

I no longer feel dependent on the local courts to give me justice. In fact, I eventually chose to drop the case. Jesus tells us what to do with our enemies in Luke 6 and Matthew 5. Once I lined myself up with Jesus’ way, I began to experience peace instead of anger and frustration. Now I am looking to God for restoration instead of manmade laws and the opinions of those who rule by them. Now, I am filled with hope about my future because I trust God. If He is for me, who can be against me. (Romans 8:31)

Look at this promise He makes to those who choose to follow Jesus:

Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.

Mark 10:29-30

I’m sharing this with with you to give you hope. You may be experiencing great injustice today. You may be in the midst of devastating loss. You may be so grieved by what you see in the world today. I’m here to remind you that God has made SO many promises to you. They are all Yes and Amen. He is your Vindicator. He is your supply. He is the unchanging One who has not failed and will not fail to love and cherish you as His very own. He is your Boaz. You belong to Him. He is rich. He is generous. He is inclined to give you blessings.

Flourishing Faith

It takes childlike faith to rely on Him and wait for Him to provide for your needs. If you are lacking faith right now, simply ask for it. The Lord helped me know to pray that He would quicken my faith. Yeah, I wondered what that meant too. With a little research, I found it means that our faith can be revived to a flourishing finish. Since I started praying for this, I have experienced new levels of hope and confidence in Him. I’m not 100% every day. I cry, even weep. I get tired. I lose my joy sometimes. But every time I choose to worship Him, speak His Word aloud, rehearse the Truth, and remember what He has done, I am strengthened. And you will be too.

He gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak. Even the youths shall be exhausted, and the young men will all give up. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:29-31 TLB

What is the difference between someone who is tired, weak and worn out and someone who is strong, soaring, and moving forward at a runner’s pace? Waiting. Strong’s Concordance defines this waiting as to look for, hope, and expect. The Holy Spirit gave me an image to help me grasp this concept. I saw myself as a teen (youthful and unjaded) sitting in a rocker on my front porch of the house we lived in when I was that age. I was not rocking though. I was sitting up, leaning forward on the edge of my seat with a big smile on my face. My feet were on the concrete floor. There was hope in my smile as if I was expecting someone so dear to show up. The look on my face was one of readiness and excitement because my expectation included adventure.

Here are a few more things I am noticing about that vision. I’m outside which feels like freedom. I am under a covering (the porch) and I am seated. I believe these point to a) being sheltered under his wings and b) being seated with Christ in heavenly places. The look on my face is free of fear and sadness. We see this very thing described for us in this verse:

The watchmen shout and sing with joy, for before their very eyes they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 52:8

To drive this encouragement to be watchfully waiting for the glory of God and the returning of Christ, the Lord showed me a vision of author and preacher, Francis Chan. He was wearing a safari hat, leaning forward with his hand just above his eyes as if he was straining to see something. So, again we see this act of purposeful waiting on God’s promises to be fulfilled. In the vision, it’s like Chan was demonstrating the following verse for me (for us).

Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

Proverbs 4:25-27

Jesus: Our Triumphant Model

The time of waiting on God for all that He has promised me has given me time to heal. Healing has come with seeing His heart for me and the one who has hurt me. As I’ve read the Word, I’ve wrestled with the difference between how the psalmist prays against his enemies and Jesus dies for them. Here’s the conclusion I’ve come to: Jesus has to be our model. He is the Way, the Truth, the Life. King David gives us permission to be real before God about our anger and the injustice we face. He was very wise to seek God as Defender and Conqueror of evil. We are wise to leave vengeance to God and allow Him to be our Vindicator. (John 14:6; Romans 12:9; Isaiah 54:17)

Jesus faced a very personal enemy. He loved Judas in the form of discipling him, serving him a meal and washing his feet. Judas’ choice was a part of Jesus’ story, but it did not deter His mission. He endured. He stayed focused on the outcome of His suffering. He succeeded. Mission accomplished. The Servant King pushed through the betrayal and suffering as He paid for my sins and your sins and those who have sinned against us. He overcame evil with His goodness. How did He manage it? He kept the joyful outcome of it all before Him. (Hebrews 12:2)

Sounds familiar, right?! He was joyfully, expectantly walking through it. He knew the outcome – the promises of God. He knew the Father’s heart for us. He knew God would not fail. He knew the outcome was good for Him and for us. He knew that evil would not win. The created will never triumph over God. The Creator, however, does make a way for the created to triumph with Him. Hallelujah!

Big, Bold Promises

God makes bold promises to us. One of those promises I am watching expectantly for is found in Isaiah 54:

“Sing, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem, you who have never been in labor. For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 54:1

This is God’s promise to me. I’ve always wanted children and truthfully, I’ve always wanted to be a foster care mother and even an adoptive mother. So, I’ve begun the process of becoming certified as a foster care mom. By the Spring, I should be certified and ready to receive a child into my home. Rejoice with me, friend! This is the desire of my heart that God is offering to fulfill. And it is a way for me to live out the Gospel of Jesus to make a home for the orphan. Yahoo!! Hosanna in the Highest!

Would you pray with me, for me, and for the children I will have the opportunity to mother? Would you also consider supporting this ministry. I created a greeting card subscription service so we could partner together in offering the hope of God’s Word to those in need of prayer and the joy of getting happy mail. The proceeds of the greeting card subscription will help me fulfill my dream of motherhood and writing more often. A portion of your subscription will also benefit my friend Alice’s church in Kenya.

I would love to hear from you. Which promises from God are you waiting expectantly for? Are you on the front porch looking with hope? If you need a friend to wait watchfully with you, I will be happy to hope with you.