Knowing That God Will

(Read Isaiah 40 and Psalm 46)

When we moved to a new neighborhood, we expected the same behaviors we experienced for 25 years from our old neighbors. We were shocked. No cookies. No welcome parties. One guy from across the street introduced himself, made some funny remarks about the community, and moved the next day. We’ve been here for more than three years and we love it!

Part of our tradition is hosting a Christmas party for friends and neighbors. We invited some friends from church and a bunch of our new neighbors. One invite was to a wonderful family from across the street. They couldn’t come because the wife was in graduate school and she had class that night. They didn’t know us at all, they couldn’t come to the party, but they walked over a Christmas gift.

Our gift-giving friend was in grad school studying for her MBA. (S) grew up in the deep south, but you wouldn’t know it unless you listened real hard. No “all y’alls” out of her mouth, but every now and then you hear a slight southern accent. Of course, the college banner waving in front of their house is a dead giveaway.

I knew that she and her husband are followers of Christ. In our limited conversations over the past few years, we learned they were big time church goers. During the first lull between Covid waves, they were telling me how excited they were to go back to church — in person. In the past twelve months, we have become much closer and are good friends. I recently discovered that (S) wanted to share her story with me about Jesus Christ in her life.

“My first marriage wasn’t going well,” (S) told me. “I admit, I was probably straying a little.” She was a young woman with little support and a son. (S) explained, “I tended to immerse myself deeper into diversions like work and books. I was good at giving advice to friends, good at being a Mom, great at being an employee because those were things I could control.” Busyness and distractions are always a perfect way for not looking at our problems.

“I was putting everything in front of Jesus. I looked for rescue (in the wrong places),” she continued. “Finally, I prayed to God. I heard Him tell me, ‘All you have to do is ask.'”

Clearly, I could hear the discomfort in her voice, but she wasn’t hiding from this past. (S) is such an honest and faithful person, it’s not in her chemistry to pretend, deny, or be someone she’s not.

“I asked God for forgiveness. I asked for guidance. I asked for God’s help to surrender my control over this situation. Finally, I gave it to God.” (S) knew she had to leave the relationship and God gave her the ability to stand up and walk away. “He empowered me to know that my son and I would be okay.” She then said something I was just about to ask about, “Many times, we struggle to get out of bad situations because we are attached to what’s familiar. Even when it’s harmful.”

“Where did it all begin?” I asked.

“The first time I remember anything about church is when I was about 3 years old.” (S) is a tall, strikingly beautiful woman, so I would have loved to have seen this tiny little girl in a pink dress with a long red coat. “I was with my Mom in the choir loft as she was singing ‘Yes Jesus Loves Me.'” I laughed because for some reason, everyone knows the lyrics to that song. “Mama never had a singing voice, but she was decent at humming, though. She has such a beautiful spirit!”

(S) then shared the first instances of her relationship with Jesus Christ. “At the age of 7, I knew I wanted to be Baptized,” (S) exclaimed. She said that she was the youngest person at her church at that time to be Baptized. “I knew what it meant. I remember telling everyone, ‘I want to be a part of the body of Christ.'”

“What was special about it that time for you?” I questioned.

“I went into the water as one person and came out new in Christ.”

Eventually, (S) got married to a gentle, generous, and selfless man she had known since childhood. I can say he’s a good man because I know him. Her husband was in a special branch of the military service. Because of the confidentiality of his job, his commitment and sacrifice was huge. (S) told me of the stress and angst she lived with during that time. “Many times, he would leave when I would have no idea where and for how long. We would often go weeks without talking. I had prayed to God before we got married for this marriage to be nothing like my first marriage. It took a lot of faith and prayers to get me through these times,” (S) said. But she had to wait on God to make it through. More than anything she did personally, she relied on God to break through this challenge. There was never a time in my friend’s life when she missed out on waiting for God out of unbelief.

But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
Isaiah 40:31

(S) and her second husband were going through challenges with their son from her first marriage. “It went on for 14-18 months,” she said. “Testing, evals, and looking for the right medications. Eventually, her son was diagnosed with a personality disorder. “It was only fairly recently when society stopped viewing this as a stigma. We knew he had special needs and would require special care.” (S) and her husband’s character is the perfect composition to be nurturing and loving parents, but that doesn’t mean they were prepared for this.

“We prayed to God to find the appropriate path for this change in his life, for the right treatment, and to put the right people in our lives. His school was not supporting him and was basically accusing him of being a trouble-maker. There was talk of him having to leave the school. We kept running into a wall.”

Armed with her faith, (S) acted upon it, rather than sinking into pity and despair. When we’re at our lowest, is when it’s a critical time to lean on the only one who can deliver us. The only one who delivers on His promise. The only one who can lift us up. “We prayed to God asking Him to render some assistance.”

(S) was speaking faster now, more excitedly. “Things started to open up for us. Out of the blue, I ran into the husband of a former college professor of mine who was a high up assistant to our governor. We didn’t run in the same circles, we had no common friends, we didn’t attend the same church.” Apparently, her friend had been appointed to this executive position for his longstanding work with the governor. “When I encountered him, he asked how I was doing. I’m pretty shy, I normally don’t share my personal story but it was one of those moments. I shared my son’s story.”

“Sit tight,” he said. “Within a week, things changed at our son’s school. We now had a path for him.”

(S) told me that after this, her faith, while always strong, was stronger. Renewed. As pointed out in Isaiah 40, God’s promises are written in the future not past tense.

They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31

The prophet Isaiah was writing about Israel’s new hope after suffering greatly from their behaviors against God. His answer to all His people who suffer is to meet us with comfort. This verse is a foretelling of the promise to come, eventually in the form of a newborn baby. God can always be trusted to deliver on His promises.

“When I began my quest to get my MBA, I knew it wouldn’t be easy.” She never mentioned that her journey was for money, to further her career, or to leave a bad job situation. She just felt driven. A few years into her MBA degree studies, she hit a big snag. Thanks to the benefits of a 9/11 VA bill, a large portion of her tuition was covered. Unfortunately, each course at her university was nearly $5,000 and she still had a long way to go.

“We thought, how can we pay for this? Should we surrender our retirement savings, do I quit?” For people who don’t believe in God, the next step is probably random. For people of faith, the next step is obvious. “Then I prayed about it and asked God for guidance. Not long after, I got a letter from an investment company saying that I had money in an old 401K from a former job asking what I should do with the funds.” God didn’t create the abundance, He just showed it to her. I could see her smiling through the phone, “God will always come in the nick of time.”

“Just a coincidence,” I joked.

Normally, during my interviews at some point in the conversation I ask people what parts of scripture they like most and why. With (S), it came out through her answers. It was beautiful, revealed like a museum tapestry.

The front of a tapestry is a beautiful, planned, and detailed work of art, created by the hands of a skilled weaver. The back of a tapestry is a tangled web of mess and confusion. In our earthly lives, we see the back of the tapestry full of knots, tangles, and frayed connections. God sees the front of the tapestry — the finished work. He knows what it’s going to look like. He’s the artist. “My Grandmother, Big Mama was a quilter.” The tapestry illustration reminded (S) of this. “She loved showing me her finished work.”

“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 46:10

Be still and knowing God means to communicate with Him. To not only talk with him, but to be STILL and LISTEN. Look for what He wants to share with us. My friend continued to explain why Psalm 46 works inside her, “Things don’t always happen the way I want or even what I pray for, so my prayers just change. When God gives me something other than what I pray for, something better happens instead.”

Is God Finished with You

“As long as I’m here, before my feet hit the floor, I thank God for letting me see another day. God hasn’t called me,” she said. “Some things aren’t done yet.” Later in our conversation, I discovered that the push behind her MBA degree is meant to be fuel for her to develop a non-profit. “There is so much need right here in our local community. My focus is on helping people.”

(S)’s faith is so well-grounded. She is strong, still (most of the time) for God, and exalts Him. She embraces His comfort and recognizes His grace at work in her life.

“During a deployment, my husband seriously considered leaving his current position for a more predictable and stable position in the military.” I got the impression that it was a profound, heart-felt conversation they had. She added, “It went against what he wanted for his career, but he put me and our marriage first.” I instantly thought about how our job is to put God first.

“My hope is grounded in knowing that God will. My Mom once said, ‘You know that God can, but as a promise keeper, He will.'” I thought more about this. A bank can loan you $500,000 with 0% interest, but they won’t. “There’s nothing God can’t resolve, never leave you or forsake you.”

How do you prepare for the coming of Jesus?

“We love that during Advent, our church lights another candle each Sunday until they are lit full circle. In our home,” she continued, “we like to listen to Christmas Gospel hymns. It’s not Christmas until we hear the Temptations’ version of Silent Night.”

The following is taken from a Sermon from Pastor Bryan Loritts:
“These words written by a young man who was hiding out from the Nazi Gestapo for a long period of time. ‘I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when feeling it not. I believe in God even when God is silent.’ I can see him now. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Holding tight to a rope of faith, waiting for God to show up.

We don’t like to wait. Waiting is hard. But when we wait on God, we are learning, growing, and showing faith. As Steven Furtick wrote, “The only thing harder than waiting on God, is wishing that you had!” Waiting for God is necessary because it will bring His promise. The promise of His newborn son. The promise of a perfect and eternal future.

Key Applications:

1. Read Psalm 46. What does waiting do to you? How do you react? Does it raise your blood pressure? Next time you’re waiting, consider this:
   God’s timetable is not ours.
   God sees the front of the tapestry.
   God’s love is ours for the taking.
   There is a message for you in your waiting.
2. “Hope in the Lord.” This is a simple request. Pray this three times each night before bed and when you first wake up. See if this makes a noticeable change in your life and in your heart.
3. Knowing that “God will” can make all the difference in your life. Of course God can do anything and all things in this world, He created it. Most importantly, God will. He will answer our prayers, He will make all things new. He will bring us the promise of a Savior in the form of a lowly baby. God will.

Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.