Monday’s Marinade is provided to you as a means of “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God at the beginning of your week. Start your week by meditating on this Word about having confidence in God’s faithfulness—His willingness to say, “YES” to His promises. Repeatedly think about it and quietly say it to yourself. Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening!
Tag: God’s promises
Focus Friday – God’s Word, Your Hammer
Focus on this scripture throughout the day. It’s about the pulverizing power of God’s Word. It’s like a hammer; so use it by speaking it! It’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day.
Delayed but not Denied
The manifestation of a promise of God may be delayed but His Word tells us it is not denied (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Have you prayed for a child for a LOONNGG time? Do you feel like God is ignoring your request or is somehow holding back the one thing that you desire with all of your being? Today, I want to encourage you to not give up while you wait.
Take a look at the Bible’s account about the prophet Daniel and the delay he experienced in the manifestation of his requests to God (Daniel 10:1-12). Daniel was a man of boldness; he was not afraid to pray and trust in God, even when it was illegal for him to do so. Daniel prayed earnestly—he had “set his heart,” that is, devoted himself, to this thing he was praying about.
The Scriptures give the account of how the prophet lamented for 21 days, not understanding why he had not yet heard from God. He mourned during that time, not eating, not anointing himself. Is it possible that the waiting had become a distraction to Daniel? Could it be that in the waiting his focus had changed from the faithfulness of God to the troublesome circumstances surrounding him? Not necessarily. There could be something else working behind the scenes to cause the delay in manifestation.
When God, When?
Do you sometimes wonder WHEN God’s promises will manifest in your life? Delays are a strategic tactic of the devil. It’s during the delays that he seeks to fill your mind with doubt. He wants you to ever so slowly lose your trust in God’s willingness to answer your prayer. He wants you to become hopeless, thinking that having a baby will never happen for you. 
The devil wants you to believe that God’s promises of fertility are not true for you. He wants you distracted, stressed out, and anxious about your future rather than resting in knowing that God’s promises are true for you.
But, when you look up and see Jesus in the midst of your situation, you see more clearly that He is right there with you. He’s loving you and wanting to give you the desires of your heart. In Daniel’s case, when he looked up and saw God’s messenger, the messenger acknowledged, “I have come in response to your words” (Daniel 10:12 NASB). He said he had been dispatched to bring the answer as soon as God heard Daniel’s request.
What had caused the delay? It wasn’t anything that Daniel had done. It wasn’t anything God had done. Evil spiritual forces had interrupted the dispatch and caused the delay. Have you considered that spiritual forces are causing the delay in the manifestation of God’s promises in your life? The delay is meant to make you give up, to become hopeless, and to no longer expect that God’s promises will come to pass in your life.
The manifestation of a promise of God may be delayed but His Word tells us it is not denied (2 Corinthians 1:20). Click To TweetHow can you deal with this delay?
The best way is to continue to hold on to His promises by speaking them daily. Speak them with gratitude, as if they have already been granted to you. As you speak them, you build your faith (Romans 10:17). When you speak them, your mind stays focused on Jesus and His loving power instead of the turmoil of your circumstances. As you speak them, you’ll find it easier to let go of the problem and let God solve it.
It’s important to realize that God loves you. Then it’s easier to believe He has heard your prayer. And you’ll know that He wants His promises to manifest in your life. While you wait, it’s critical to trust in God’s faithfulness and to never give up on His promises.
The spiritual aspect of infertility always needs to be addressed. So remember, delayed does not mean denied when it comes to God’s promises.
Helpful Scriptures for the Enduring the Delay
While you wait, here are some additional scriptures to consider, speak, and believe.
You are loved: John 17:23b ESV – that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.
God doesn’t withhold His goodness: Psalm 84:11 HNV– For the LORD God is a sun and a shield. The LORD will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
You’ve been made blameless; infertility is not a punishment: 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV– “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
Trust Him: Jeremiah 17:7 NLT– “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” Mark 11:22-23 NIV – “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
God’s word is true and final: Psalm 119:89 NLT – Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven. Matthew 24:35 NIV – Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
It’s a spiritual battle: Ephesians 6:12 NASB– “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places”.
Where’s your focus while you wait—on your problem or on Jesus?
Focus Friday-Delayed
Delayed does not mean denied!
Focus on this scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word about His promises being firm and true for you in Jesus’ finished work on the cross. It’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth.
Use it as an affirmation. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!
A Story of Fertility Hope – Part 1
Having fertility hope is important!
If you feel like giving up on God in your hope for improved fertility and having a child, read on…
Recently, I shared with you that a woman who has been reading my book, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility, had become pregnant.
Camille and I first communicated about 2 years ago because she’d found my blog and posted a comment. In addition to responding to her comment on the blog, I sent her a personal email reply a few weeks later. I got a response from her (back in July 2012) that she has given me permission to share:
Hello Evangeline,
I hope you are well.
It was meant for you to send me an email just when you did. God knows what we need and when we need it. I have been reading A Seed of Hope and it is very encouraging. However, I have not been in the Word (the Bible or A Seed of Hope) the last few weeks. Things have been rough for me emotionally. I’ve been having feelings of questioning God and my faith, then feeling guilty for that.
I have received the news of so many people announcing their pregnancy within recent weeks. I am happy for them, but it makes me sad that it hasn’t been my time. Then I feel guilty because although we have been dealing with infertility, I have so many reasons to be grateful: life with all my faculties, a wonderful, loving and supportive husband, family, and much more. So much more it is impossible for me to name them all.
I also feel guilty because I don’t want my relationship with the Lord being only based on Him making this happen for me or for it to be perceived that way. I also feel guilty at times because I have let this infertility issue consume so much of my mind and energy instead of focusing on the Word and goodness of God. I then get mad at myself because I know it’s the trick of the enemy but I still fall for it.
Thank you so much for checking in because just reading your email has given me encouragement. The fact that you emailed me this day, during this time, at one of my lowest emotionally, confirms to me that the Lord hears my cry and he knows what I need and when I need it. Thank you for listening to God’s Spirit leading you to email me. BTW, I have recommended the book to other friends who are going through similar situations.
Thank you,
–Camille
Two years later, in July 2014, I “happened” to come across her email while cleaning out a file (I LOVE IT WHEN GOD SETS THINGS UP!). I decided to check in with her to see how she was doing. When I received her reply, my chin dropped to the floor—she was almost 38 weeks pregnant! More important than anything else in her journey, Camille’s heart had become fertile ground for the seed of God’s Word she planted (Mark 4:14-20). It grew and flourished in her life as she made the spiritual aspect of the infertility a priority. It enabled her to increase her trust in God and expect a miracle from Him.
Next week, I’ll share a part of her most recent email to me. I know that it will give you hope and inspire you to trust the promises of God.
Will you choose to hope continually even when things look hopeless?
If you need some in-person inspiration and relief from the daily stress of infertility, please come to my next Fertility Retreat, November 7-9, 2014 in Phoenix, AZ.
Thanks to F-words, I’ll Be Rockin’ It For the Rest of 2014
Earlier this year, I attended a retreat that I hoped would help me gain more focus in business-building activities and in personal matters. As an activity, we wrote on a smooth stone the one thing that would be our target for the remainder of the year. I wrote, “FINISH” on mine because I was finding that there were a number of things in my life I would start but didn’t finish.
A couple of months passed and as I thought more about how to finish the things that I start, I realized I also needed to target some other issues as well. Going through this thought process brought other “F-words” to mind. No, not the bad “F-words.” 🙂
I wrote the new F-words on stones and placed them on my desk as a tangible reminder of what I’m doing—FINISHING STRONG!
Here are my “F-words to Live By” for the remainder of the year:
In June, I decided I’d put some energy behind one of these words each month for the remainder of 2014. Hopefully, as I do so, I’ll be building some good habits along the way. This month, I’ve been concentrating on Fellowship.
Fellowship= sharing; participating with another; constant companionship; communion
My desire is to fellowship more with friends and family, as well as, and most importantly, with Holy Spirit.
I became more intentional about spending time with my daughter while she’s home from college for the summer. I’ve been intentional about getting together with each of my sons, individually. Making sure that I schedule date nights with my hubby became a priority again. Phone calls to extended family members who live back East have become more frequent, just so I can say, “I’ve been thinking about you.”
But how would I target fellowshipping with Holy Spirit?
How would I increase that time and experience more enjoyment out of it?
I made a decision to just do it. I started using my afternoon PIT Stop everyday to spend “extra” time with Him. I made a list of things I wanted to be sure to do with Him.
Just like I scheduled time with each of my children, with my husband, and, for the phone calls, I put God on my schedule. I made an appointment with myself so that I could not only talk to God and read the Bible, but to also hear from Him.
“My fellowship with God enables me to gain a victory over the evil one.” 1 John 2:14b (MSG)
Guess what happened! I began to feel less anxious about things in my life. I’m experiencing greater peace about the challenges I face because I know He’ll get me through them. I’ve begun to glean more wisdom from Him through His Word. Maybe the best thing is that I‘ve grown to really look forward to that time with Him because I’m excited about what He’s going to show me about His love for me! I protect this time from the distractions life throws at me.
Want to join me on this quest of filling each month with an “F-word?” You can. Just make a decision to do so (which means cutting off all other options and excuses). Then let me know you’ve joined the movement.
What are some of the things you do to fellowship with others and with God? Please share!
Next month’s keyword is FOCUS. I’ll be sharing my thoughts about that in August.
Yes, I’m joining the F-word movement!
Trust or Doubt?
TRUST. It’s something with which we all have issues.
Here are my notes from my time with God this morning. I hope you find them encouraging!
Doubt is the consequence of distance.
Doubt arises and increases when we have distanced ourselves from the Word. [Remember, Jesus IS the Word.]
Doubt infiltrates our mind and circumstances. It reduces our trust in God because we’ve been distracted from His promises.
Doubt is our automatic response when we don’t look to Jesus’ love for us.
Trust is the consequence of closeness.
Trust is the result of increasingly drawing nearer to God through His Word.
Trust infiltrates our mind and our circumstances. It erases doubt when we focus on Jesus, and are consistent in verbally affirming God’s promises.
Trust is our automatic response when we continue looking to Jesus in the Word and acknowledging His love for us.
What do you do to be more aware of God’s love for you? Please share your ideas/strategies below.
Monday’s Marinade
Monday’s Marinade is provided to you as a means of “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God at the beginning of your week. Start your week by meditating (thinking and muttering to yourself) on this Word. Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening!
Here’s your spiritual Marinade for this week:
Image of marinade from Caviartaste.wordpress.com.
Yeah…What HE Said
Do you know the power of your words?
Do you know the power of God’s words?
They can be one in the same, IF you’re saying what God said about your circumstances in His Word, the Bible.
Our words have the creative power of death and life (Proverbs 18:21). We get to choose whether they will be words of blessing or of cursing (Deuteronomy 30:19; James 3:10).
May I suggest that everyday, you choose to speak words of life and blessing? You may be thinking, “OK, but HOW do I do that?”
Find scriptures that promise what you need and then continually speak them, meditate on them, visualize yourself enjoying those promises of what you need or desire. Then you’ll be automatically speaking life and blessing because that’s all that God’s Word contains (John 6:63).
So no matter what your challenge is, whether it’s infertility, marital issues, finances, health, etc., remember to believe and say what God has said about it.
Yeah…what He said.
Why Should I Be…Thankful?
You may have asked yourself, “What do I have to be thankful for when all I want is to get pregnant and it isn’t happening?”
Some people believe that we’re to thank God for putting us in tough situations because that’s how He teaches us something. I believe God is a better teacher than that. He can get his point across to us without putting us in tough situations. I believe that tough situations are brought to our lives by the devil and that God can and will bring us out of them.
But when you’re in the throes of difficult circumstances, life can become overwhelmingly sad and anxiety-laden. So what is there to be thankful for? Start by remembering that God is with you. If you’ve asked Jesus into your heart, He has promised to never leave you. Just think about that. The One who has the power to change your circumstances is always right there with you in the midst of them, desiring to lovingly see you through them. He wants to bring you out of the grip of tough times into His gentle caress of peace and rest. That’s what He planned for your destiny.
Rest in knowing that God is for you and not against you (Romans 8:31). Trust that He hears you as you pray His promises. Believe that He loves you unconditionally, just as much as He loves Jesus (John 17:23). To have someone who always loves you no matter how much you doubt His ability, willingness, and timing…that’s something to be thankful for!
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” ~~ Isaiah 41:10 [NLT]