Psalm 138:7-8 “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” Today's episode reassures us that our prayers will be answered, in God's time, not ours. God knows the perfect time to save us from our circumstances. It reminds us that God's steadfast love endures forever. God is with us, even when we can't feel Him. Music: "Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
I Know Waiting Is Hard!
Psalm 138:7-8 “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”
I read this verse at a prayer group yesterday, and it reminded me of all those I know who are struggling right now. The devil is having a heyday with so many people right now. There are so many I know that are struggling with health issues, money issues, addiction, or a place to live. Those that I know who are struggling with health issues are so tired of struggling. All they want to do is work for the Lord. They want to be able to attend Mass and participate in adoration. They want to be able to evangelize to everyone they meet. Yet, because of their illnesses, they are stuck in bed or in their house. Due to their illnesses, they are unable to attend Mass or participate in adoration. Or, maybe it is not the illness, but they don’t have a working car to get to mass.
Everyone I talk to these days is struggling with something or another. I believe the Lord is bringing these people into my life so I can pray with them and for them. I think there may also be a lesson in here, as I am really struggling to understand why He is not healing them already. I mean, we said the things you are supposed to say and do, and yet they are still sick. I struggle with the parts in the Bible that say, “Whatever you ask in my name will be given to you,” and then I ask in the name of Jesus, and it is not given to me.
The thing the Lord is trying to show me, or at least I think He is, is that just because it is not given to me immediately, it does not mean it will not be given to me. I am discovering that I tend to be a bit impatient when it comes to the Lord answering my prayers, especially if they are prayers for others who are suffering. I want answers now, and I don’t want to wait. I realize I probably sound like a child right now, and yet, I doubt I am the only one who thinks this way. You know you want answers to your prayers immediately, too.
What the Lord is showing me is that His timing is perfect, and just because I don’t understand it does not make it wrong. He is the Lord of the universe. I think He probably knows better than I do. The how and the why are not always for us to know. This morning, the thought that he gave me was that of taking silver or gold out of the fire too early, before it has been fully purified. Well, I have no idea what happens when you do this, so I had to look it up. Here is what I found. “If silver or gold is removed from the fire before it is fully purified, impurities will remain in the metal, affecting its quality and appearance. This can result in a less valuable product that does not shine as brightly or reflect the desired image of the goldsmith.”
God does not want us to keep our impurities. He wants us to learn the full lesson so that we can shine as brightly as He made us to shine. We can’t have all these impurities messing up our shine. God knows what He is doing. He knows the exact right point to pull us out of the fire. I love the last thing the explanation said. “Or reflect the desired image of the goldsmith.” Guess who is our Goldsmith? Jesus. So, when we accurately reflect Jesus, then God will pull us out of the fire. Trust in His timing. Yes, I am definitely saying that to myself too because I know it is hard, and yet He will give you all you need to wait and trust if you ask Him to.
So, while we are all waiting, as I am sure everyone listening is waiting for some prayer to be answered, then we have today’s verse to give us comfort and encourage us. “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” God is preserving us against our enemy. God knows we are walking in the midst of trouble, and He is not worried because He is walking right next to you. He knows you are feeling lost, abandoned, ill, tired, frustrated, angry, and so many other things. He knows because He is right there in the middle of this whole mess with you.
His right hand will deliver you. It is delivering you. I know you want deliverance now, so do I. I know you want healing now, and I want that for you, too. I don’t know why God is not saving you now, why He is not lifting you out of this now, but I do know He has a plan, and it is much better than my plan or your plan. Trust that He is there preserving you from the wrath of your enemies. He has got this. While you wait for Him to save you, ask for all that you need to persevere. Ask Him what you can do to serve Him in the circumstances you are in. He will tell you if you ask.
I also don’t want you to forget the last part of this verse. “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” God will fulfill his purpose for you. If you wonder why you are so sick and yet feel a calling to help others, just know that God will fulfill His purpose for you. Just because you can’t do it today doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do it ever. When I first moved to MA, I asked the Lord why I was the only one in my family who couldn’t write. Now I write almost every day. Trust that if the Lord put it in your heart, He has every intention of fulfilling it when you are ready in His timing, not yours.
God’s steadfast love will endure forever. We talked about this on Monday’s episode. God couldn’t love you any more than He does right now. He loves you completely and perfectly in every moment of your life. Actually, probably before you were even born and long after you are gone from this world. The verse says His love endures forever. Not just for a little bit, not just when you are doing and saying the right thing, not when you are a good boy or girl, forever. Like forever forever. Like never-ending. It is always there. So, when you feel like He has abandoned you or left you in this mess alone, remind yourself that His love endures forever. He is still loving you through all of this! Keep leaning into Him because He has not abandoned you and He knows the exact right second to pull you up out of this fire.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening. Lord, help us to be patient and wait for you to heal us. Please help us to continue to trust that a healing is coming. Please help us to believe you will fulfill the purpose you have for our lives. Please help us to feel your love, as sometimes it feels so far away. Please help us to believe that your love endures forever. Please help us, Lord!! We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Remember to CLICK HERE for all the retreat information. I promise it will be an amazing time, and you will love it. People are always nervous to go on a retreat; however, I have yet to meet a single person who regrets going. The enemy will try to tell you all the reasons why you shouldn’t go because he knows how powerful it will be for you. I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday. Remember how much Jesus loves you and so do I! You are loved!! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in January 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “During my greatest trials, the word was all I needed. It defeated the devil. Despite how hungry and thirsty I was, the word rescued me. When you speak it out loud, my angels gear up to come to your aid. Use it in your daily lives. Always speak it. There is power in the word.”