Expectations...

I got up this morning with the expectation of taking my granddaughter, Allison, to the summer movie events at our local Regal Theater. The website had informed me that today’s movie was The Lorax; however, when we arrived, that was not the case. There were two PG movies showing, both of which I considered inappropriate for my eighteen year old daughter, let alone my three year old granddaughter. So we found ourselves returning home.

We began the day with certain expectations, but soon found that they were not to be. As I drove home, I began to ponder expectations and how I view them in relation to God.

Have you found that you have certain expectations of God? Perhaps you have expected Him to take your situation and change it, only to find He wants you to walk through it. Or maybe you have expected Him to provide this way and instead He has done it another way.

Scripture tells us to expect God to move; expect God to speak; expect God to provide whatever it is we need. But we are not to place our expectations on a God who is much bigger than we can fathom.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

What are your expectations today? We are instructed by the psalmist to "Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him" (Psalm 37:7 HCS). But I have realized in the past few weeks that I am expecting Him to do it my way. I was reminded this weekend that God doesn't give  us road maps. He expects us to trust Him day by day, moment by moment.

Let this be our prayer today:

"In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly" (Psalm 5:3 NIV).

Oh yeah...instead of sitting in a cold, dark movie theater, we are at home with the windows open letting in the beautiful sunshine and listening to the birds chirp, watching Scooby Doo and making sugar cookies...Expectations! Who knew?

'Lena Ehlert

©Whispers in Worship

Be Still and Know....

Sunday morning...I find my place in the sanctuary. There is a lot on my mind; a lot of situations that are out of my control. The music begins and we begin to sing:

A mighty fortress is our God; 

a sacred refuge is Your Name. 

Your kingdom is unshakable  

with You forever we will reign.

We will keep my eyes on You!

Oh that sacred refuge! That place to run and hide when life overwhelms. And the reminder to keep my eyes on Him and not on the crises in life.

My hope is built on nothing less 

than Jesus blood and righteousness. 

I dare not trust the sweetest frame 

but wholly lean on Jesus’ Name. 

Christ alone; cornerstone. 

Weak made strong 

through the Saviors love. 

Through the storm 

He is Lord...Lord of all!

I felt the Holy Spirit was speaking to me, reminding me of God's faithfulness, His promises, His identity. 

I wept before Him as He reassured me that I don’t have to carry this or fix that on my own. He is my place of refuge, my place of safety when I'm overwhelmed; He is my strength when I have depleted all that I have. . No matter what circumstances arise I can rest in the knowledge that He can handle it and He has a place of safety and rest in which I can dwell. 

As we finished singing, I sat down and opened my Bible, drawn to Psalm 46.  

God is our refuge and strength,

    an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

  though its waters roar and foam

    and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

    the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;

    God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see what the Lord has done,

    the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease

    to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

    he burns the shields with fire.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God…"

Take a moment and read this chapter again, out loud and very slowly. Meditate on the promises of His safety and refuge, His help and presence. And then surrender all those worries and cares to Him. 

Be still and know that He alone is God. 

'Lena Ehlert

©Whispers in Worship

Do I Trust You, Lord??

Do I trust You, Lord? Does the robin sing?

Do I trust You, Lord? Does it rain in spring?

You can see my heart, You can read my mind,

And You got to know That I would rather die

Than to lose my faith In the One I love.

Do I trust You, Lord?

Do I trust You?1

Does anyone remember this old Twila Paris song? This past week, actually over the past several months, the Lord has been working on me in one particular area of my life; an area that I have not fully trusted Him with. But this past week, it came to a point where I had to confront it head on. And it all came down to that question: 

Do I trust you, Lord?

Trust doesn’t come easy for me; too many times I’ve trusted and been betrayed. Too many times I’ve trusted and been disappointed. Too many times I’ve trusted the wrong person. And while I know that God is not man, I find that I often transfer that mistrust onto Him. To obey Him would mean to sacrifice myself. But as I was reminded by a dear friend this week, “To obey is greater than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).

Do I trust You, Lord?

I found myself backed into a corner; I really had no choice. I either trusted Him, or I fell flat on my face. So I did it…I took that step of faith and obeyed Him even when it didn't make any sense to me to do so. Not out of manipulation or testing Him to see if He would come through, but out of simple obedience. And you know what? He met me in miraculous ways!

What is He asking you to trust Him with? A health issue, a financial issue, an employment situation? Has He asked you to step out in faith and do the impossible? It doesn't always make sense to us. We can’t always see what He is doing at the time. But…

“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord

with all your heart and mind

and do not rely on your own insight 

or understanding”

(Proverbs 3:5 Amplified)

Last night I awoke with the rest of this song on my heart:

I will trust You, Lord, when I don't know why.

I will trust You, Lord, till the day I die.

I will trust You, Lord, when I'm blind with pain!

You were God before, and You'll never change.

I will trust You...I will trust You.

I will trust You, Lord.1

1©Twila Paris

‘Lena Ehlert

©Whispers in Worship

Conditioned Reflex = Grace!

I was reading an article the other day about the Russian physician and psychologist, Ivan Pavlov. It seems he won a Nobel Prize for his experiments regarding “conditioned reflex” with some dogs. He apparently rang a bell at feeding time for the dogs to see if they would salivate whenever they heard a bell ring just as they salivate when you show them food. I don’t know… Google it. I don’t like Science and I don’t like dogs, so it kinda went over my head.

However, he then related it to Peter and I began to get the idea. You see, Peter swore to defend Jesus at all costs, even his own death. But Jesus told him that, in fact, Peter would deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed.

Apparently, in the trauma of the moment, Peter forgot all about it; until he had indeed denied Jesus for the third time and he heard that rooster crow. Luke tells us that their eyes met at that moment. And Peter went out and wept….bitterly. (Luke 22:62)

“conditioned reflex - an acquired response that is conditional on the occurrence of a stimulus” (I Googled it…)

Can you imagine what Peter felt, the guilt he must have experienced every morning when he heard a rooster crow? The rooster was the stimulus… just like that ringing bell for the dogs.

Satan loves to remind us of our failures. But Jesus reconditions us… by His grace.

Remember after Jesus’ resurrection when Peter decides to go fishing? (John 21:1-19) The others go along with him and who should show up but Jesus. As they are sitting around the fire eating fish Jesus had prepared for them, He takes Peter aside and asks him, “Do you love me?” Of course, Peter emphatically claims that he does. I can just imagine his brokenness as he remembers his earlier denials. Somehow he must reassure Jesus that He does truly love Him. Jesus asks him this question three times… the same number of times Peter denied Him. Then He simply says, “Follow me.” He extended grace to Peter and gave him a new “stimulus”.

John 21:4 says this was early in the morning…I wonder if they heard a rooster crow?

Grace…

When you hear the rooster crow, do you remember your failures?

Or do you remember His grace?

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

Romans 16:24 (KJV)

‘Lena Ehlert

©Whispers in Worship