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“The Lord has established and fully intends to use every moment of the wait to refine us into His likeness, to bring glory to His name, and to magnify the persevering power of His promises” (Waiting for God, Xochitl Dixon, p. 42).

As I read this statement again, I’m praising the Lord! He has “established” every moment before He even created us. Hallelujah! God “fully intends to use every moment of the wait,” every moment. Not one second will be wasted as He works to bring glory to His name. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

I can experience the fullness of His overflowing love for me as I soak up His infallible words. And when my feelings fail me, when my understanding or patience or wisdom wanes, I can follow Him faithfully and trust He will remain reliable. I can’t trust the ever-changing circumstances or feelings I face each day. But I can place my life in the hands of the One who created life itself, the one who determined all of my days before one of them came to be. Hallelujah!

As you read F.R.O.G. Faith in Waiting for God, I pray the Lord will encourage you through Bob and Betty’s story.

I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts as we prayerfully consider today’s reflection questions.

Reflection Questions

1. How can considering God as creator and sustainer of all help us trust He won’t forget us, even when we forget Him in the wait?

When I think of how God manages the Universe day-to-day, it’s easier for me to remember that He can manage my life. I feel comforted when I focus on His sovereignty and limitless power. It sure beats gazing upon my never-ending weaknesses or my past, present, and inevitably future failings.

2. What situation are you dealing with that seems to have no end in sight?

My healing journey. It’s often frustrating when I consider a lifetime of pain management and fatigue, a lifetime of not being able to help my husband, a lifetime of struggling. But it helps to know I can be fully reliant on God. I can count on His trustworthiness. God is using my experiences to help me grow closer to Him, to refine my character so I can be more like Him, and to serve others as I point to Him.

3. What makes it most difficult to be fully reliant on God when your circumstances don’t seem to be improving on this side of eternity?

It’s difficult to confess my weaknesses. Fear and worry can make me focus on my limitations instead of God’s unchanging character and dependable faithfulness. To rely on God is to depend on Him with confidence, to bank on His trustworthiness, to hope in Him . . . completely. In order to accomplish this measure of faith, I need to surrender to the Holy Spirit, to allow Him to empower me to believe what God says is true, to invite Him to be all I need . . . my strength, my peace, my hope . . . even when my circumstances feel unbearable and the wait feels endless.

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below the original post on my website.

If you’re just joining the conversation and would like to share your thoughts on the previous chapters, I’ve posted the links below.

End-of-Chapter Questions

Chapter 1 – The Weight of Waiting

Chapter 2 – It’s Not All About Me

Chapter 3 – Holy Vision

Chapter 4 – Just Say the Word

Chapter 5 – Resting in God’s Refuge

Chapter 6 – Enough for the Wait

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*** Thanks for joining me to discuss the Waiting for God end-of-chapter questions. Please remain focused on what God is doing in and through your life and refrain from sharing full names or personal information (yours or anyone else’s) so we can keep this blog family a safe place to share. All comments will be monitored and modified to maintain a loving and encouraging atmosphere that is glorifying to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I look forward to growing with you.

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Over the years, I’ve met several people on the brink of death. Though it’s natural to fear the unknown or struggle with grief and worry about leaving loved ones behind, those who had deep and personal relationships with Jesus and were well-seeped in Scripture seemed to handle facing death with a supernatural peace, like Ms. Patricia, Mr. Charles, Kim, and my mom.

My friend Louise, a new believer who wasn’t that familiar with God’s Word, became fearful during her cancer treatment and on her death bed. By God’s incredible grace, I was able to assure her that her feelings were proof of her humanity, not a lack in faith.

I pointed her to Scripture and affirmed God’s faithfulness as we prayed together in the hospital. Though I wasn’t with her the moment Jesus welcomed her into His loving arms, I’m sure He made His presence known.

Still, it’s hard to deal with loss, to face trials in life on this side of eternity, to come to terms with our frailty as humans, to admit our desperate need for total dependence on God, our Maker and Sustainer.

When life feels unbearable, when the pain feels impossible to endure, we can rest in the certainty of God’s sufficiency. But we can’t do this in our own strength, so it would be wise for us to learn to live and breathe this simple prayer: Oh, how we need You, Jesus!

I’m looking forward to reading your responses to today’s reflection questions.

Reflection Questions

1. When is it hardest to remember that being in Jesus’s presence is enough?

When my loved ones are hurting. When I feel helpless to lift their burden or stop their pain. I’ve been asking the Lord to help me remember He is more enough for me, so He is definitely more than enough for anyone else.

2. Why is it often hard to admit we need God?

When we admit we need God, we’re admitting our weaknesses and our total lack of control. It’s scary to feel vulnerable, to confess our desperate needs, to risk rejection or disappointment. When I’m afraid or hurt, I tend to puff up and pretend I’m stronger than I truly feel. Instead, I can ask the Lord to be my strength, to be my peace, to guide me and empower me to walk by faith and face my real emotions . . . and to help my loved ones do the same.

3. Whose testimony has God used to help you place one more rock-solid stone of truth in the foundation of your faith?

Every single testimony I’ve read in the Bible, every snippet of a story I shared in Waiting for God, and every testimony a person shares with me becomes a rock-solid stone of truth in the foundation of my faith.

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Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

If you’re just joining the conversation and would like to share your thoughts on the previous chapters, I’ve posted the links below.

 End-of-Chapter Questions

Chapter 1 – The Weight of Waiting

Chapter 2 – It’s Not All About Me

Chapter 3 – Holy Vision

Chapter 4 – Just Say the Word

Chapter 5 – Resting in God’s Refuge

***

Thanks for joining me to discuss the Waiting for God end-of-chapter questions. Please remain focused on what God is doing in and through your life and refrain from sharing full names or personal information (yours or anyone else’s) so we can keep this blog family a safe place to share. All comments will be monitored and modified to maintain a loving and encouraging atmosphere that is glorifying to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I look forward to growing with you.

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On September 25, 2019, I’ll return to sending you weekly encouragement and prayers. But to fulfill a commitment to readers of Waiting for God, from August 19, 2019 to September 20, 2019 I’ll be sharing daily posts with my answers to the Waiting for God end-of-chapter questions. I hope you’ll join the conversation at your own reading pace. I’m praying for you and looking forward to growing with you as we trust daily in God’s plan and pace.

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Trusting God seems so much easier when we’re sitting on top of a heap of abundance. Losing our sense of security and our false sense of being in control breeds fear, doubt, and impatience.

I walked by faith with trembling and dropped to my knees when Alan lost his job, when my health took a nosedive, when our oldest son wandered away from the Lord. At the time, my shaky trust frustrated me. But as I look back, I see how the Lord used His Word and His people to deepen my faith as I leaned into Him.

I am so excited to hear your testimonies!

Please share your comments or your answers to the reflection questions in the comment section below.

Reflection Questions

1. How has God helped you or a friend through a time of financial, physical, or emotional need?

The Lord has provided in so many ways over the years. But recently, I praised Him with grateful tears after He helped me with my financial, physical, and emotional needs.

After my doctor informed me that pain management “could be my life,” I grieved and considered the possibility of living with limited mobility. I called Jake and Amanda Guell at Tails for Life.

Though the cost for Callie’s service dog training would be an investment, my husband committed to making it happen . . . somehow. When my insurance denied my request for a procedure that would help me with pain management, I called Jake to cancel the training. He suggested I do a fundraiser. After prayer and discussion with my husband, I shared the story on my blog and on social media.

God’s people sponsored Callie’s training in four days!

Some people messaged me with stories about how the Lord moved in their hearts during prayer time. And when we were only $530.00 away from our goal, one woman messaged me and informed me that the Lord had nudged her to give $500.00 toward Callie’s training.

These amazing sponsors partnered in ministry with me, making it possible to Callie to serve with me at the Our Daily Bread chapel on August 7, 2019. We’re looking forward to sharing God’s truth and love to the ends of the earth . . . together . . . thanks to God’s faithfulness and the generous love of His beloved children. (You can watch the video of Callie and me sharing with the Our Daily Bread Ministry family during chapel on their Facebook page.)

And now, I have the privilege of helping Tails for Life raise funds to train a service dog for a child with autism!

Hallelujah!

If you want to make a difference in the life of a child in need of a service dog, you can join me in raising $5,000.00 for Tails for Life with a tax-deductible donation.

Please let Jake and Amanda you heard about the fundraiser on my blog . . . and be ready to praise the Lord as He provides above and beyond all we can even begin to imagine!

2. How can sharing your testimony or hearing the testimonies of others increase the faith of those who are struggling with a lack of worldly security as they wait on God to provide?

As I interviewed people while writing Waiting for God, the Lord used their stories to strengthen my faith and refresh my spirit. As readers begin sharing how God is using Waiting for God to encourage them, the Lord is igniting a fire in me to share His truth and love with even more boldness and overflowing love for Him and His people.

3. In what situation can you trust the Lord’s promised provision and protection this week?

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve struggled with pain management and fatigue. Though dealing with chronic pain daily often exhausts me physically and emotionally, I am leaning into God and asking Him to help me trust Him. I know it sounds funny, but He’s even using this blog series to encourage me. As I read each chapter He helped me write and answer the end-of-chapter questions, God’s helping me walk through each day with Holy Vision. Hallelujah!

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If you’re just joining the conversation and would like to share your thoughts on the previous chapters, I’ve posted the links below.

 End-of-Chapter Questions

Chapter 1 – The Weight of Waiting

Chapter 2 – It’s Not All About Me

Chapter 3 – Holy Vision

Chapter 4 – Just Say the Word

*** Thanks for joining me to discuss the Waiting for God end-of-chapter questions. Please remain focused on what God is doing in and through your life and refrain from sharing full names or personal information (yours or anyone else’s) so we can keep this blog family a safe place to share. All comments will be monitored and modified to maintain a loving and encouraging atmosphere that is glorifying to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I look forward to growing with you.

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