Sunday, November 29, 2015

Encouragement for the Waiting: A Time for Practicing


  • Practicing involves many, many things and is relative to the ways God has gifted you to serve him. So we’ll look quickly in general at Serving

"Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing." Psa 100:2

"Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD." Psa 113:1


"And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey." Joshua 24:24


This one's a little different than preparing. While you're waiting on God to show you the next step, don't overlook the ministry opportunities He has for you right here, right now. You already have a mission field and an encouragement ministry you may not even recognize.
  • Think of the last person who asked you for advice. 
  • Think of the last person who shared something with you in confidence.
  • Think of the last 5 people who text messaged you.
See? You have a field of service that only you can impact in your own God-given way. What talent has God given you to bless others? It may be as simple as a compassionate personality. Or maybe you're good at giving helpful instruction. Maybe you're the fun-loving friend who brings the party wherever you go!

While God is refining you, preparing you for the next thing, don't miss out on this moment right now.

By the way, life never happens in a series of major events. It's a conglomeration of tiny, humdrum, day-by-day happenings that slowly build into the puzzle that is our life. At the end of your days, what will you have built with yours? Me? I want to leave a testimony of someone who loved others and loved Jesus and served Him with all her heart. I admit, it's hard some days, mortifying the self-life and asking God to revive the Christ-likeness. Keep serving, and don't overlook what God is doing in this moment. There are rewards and happy memories we can miss out on if we become idle and discontent, looking only on what we hope lies ahead. 



A waiter serves others. Have you ever heard about servants in medieval times called “ladies in waiting?” They would attend, serve, or “wait on” a princess or queen or noble lady and do her bidding. 

While we’re waiting on God for the things we want, we should be “waiting on” God, busy like a servant or waiter, doing God’s bidding. Often, as we are serving others and obeying the light God gives, that’s when He’ll give direction and more light for the next step.

“God never created anything to serve itself.” – Evangelist Dana Williams. 



Summary:  So lets review a little here. Over this series we’ve discussed several practical things we can do while we wait. These things take practice, too! Repeatedly, regularly, while we’re waiting we should be:



Praying,

Patiently surrendered,

Proving God’s true to His word and ourselves true to Him,

Praising Him during our time of testing,

Preparing for the future, and

Practicing our service to Him.

 




 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. -- Romans 8:28






If you’d like to find a stash of the quotes I used in this series and maybe see some more like them, follow me on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/nataliedmonk. I have a board special-made for single ladies, called Solitary Refinement, where you can get encouragement while you wait.






"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11


Wow, I can't believe we're already at the end of this series. This year has flown by. I hope these posts have been an encouragement to you. If you have any ideas you'd like to see on the blog, a topic you'd like me to tackle in a post, or any opinion whatsoever, let me know! If you haven't already, you can holler at me in this Improvement Questionnaire and let me know how to make the blog an even funner place to hang out!

If you love reading Christian fiction, especially Christian romance, keep an eye out for the Christmas surprise book package I'm giving away soon. I'll be drawing from my e-newsletter subscriber contacts, so if you want to enter, subscribe here.

A few changes coming up next year! I'll stop in with more details about the Christmas giveaway and give a general update on the status of my novels next month. Other than that, I'll be enjoying my family over the Christmas holidays. And reading profusely. ;)

And oh my stars I totally forgot--I have some book reviews for you guys. We'll mix and match some posts in December maybe and see how that turns out. :) 'Til then, toodloo!