April 9, 2017

The Shepherd's Corner

[:en]THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

In his book, The Life God Blesses, Pastor Jim Cymbala writes, “The challenge before us is to have faith in God, and the hardest part of faith is the waiting. And the hardest part of waiting is the last half hour . . . . we need to go further by waiting until that promised moment when God will visit us with grace and power.”

Perhaps we have been waiting for God. We have kept our faith and have continued praying for a number of years. Perhaps we are getting tired because we have not seen the result yet. And, perhaps we begin to doubt whether God has heard our prayers and will grant our wishes. Perhaps, we are thinking about quitting.

If we are in that situation, the words of Pastor Jim Cymbala are for us. You see, he has a personal experience about keeping the faith and not giving up praying. For a number of years his daughter lived astray from the faith. He, his wife, and the church they pastor, prayed for her but nothing happened until that night. His daughter came home not only physically but also spiritually.

Whatever it is we are praying for, it is already before the throne of God. He has heard our prayer and has begun His work. We must continue praying not because God needs reminding but rather because God wants to see faith and faith grows through waiting.

As Pastor Cymbala says, the hardest part of waiting is the last half an hour. So, if we have been praying for years, don’t stop now. We might be in that “last half an hour.” Pastor Cymbala encourages us, that “to receive the blessing we need, we must believe and keep on believing, to wait and keep on waiting” because God “will never forget our case.” Amen.

Pastor Paul[:id]THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

In his book, The Life God Blesses, Pastor Jim Cymbala writes, “The challenge before us is to have faith in God, and the hardest part of faith is the waiting. And the hardest part of waiting is the last half hour . . . . we need to go further by waiting until that promised moment when God will visit us with grace and power.”

Perhaps we have been waiting for God. We have kept our faith and have continued praying for a number of years. Perhaps we are getting tired because we have not seen the result yet. And, perhaps we begin to doubt whether God has heard our prayers and will grant our wishes. Perhaps, we are thinking about quitting.

If we are in that situation, the words of Pastor Jim Cymbala are for us. You see, he has a personal experience about keeping the faith and not giving up praying. For a number of years his daughter lived astray from the faith. He, his wife, and the church they pastor, prayed for her but nothing happened until that night. His daughter came home not only physically but also spiritually.

Whatever it is we are praying for, it is already before the throne of God. He has heard our prayer and has begun His work. We must continue praying not because God needs reminding but rather because God wants to see faith and faith grows through waiting.

As Pastor Cymbala says, the hardest part of waiting is the last half an hour. So, if we have been praying for years, don’t stop now. We might be in that “last half an hour.” Pastor Cymbala encourages us, that “to receive the blessing we need, we must believe and keep on believing, to wait and keep on waiting” because God “will never forget our case.” Amen.

Pastor Paul[:]

More Shepherd's Corner Articles

The Shepherd's Corner - May 10, 2020
THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER When our youngest child was around four, she learned a new word, “love.” Because we had never heard her utter that word before, Santy, then, asked her what that word meant. Instead of explaining it with more words, she just approached Santy and put her arms around Santy...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - April 11, 2021
If God is willing, we will commence in-person worship in the first Sunday of June.  It is of course a tentative plan contingent upon the upcoming progress of slowing down the spread of COVID-19.  As you might have already known, starting last Monday we have entered the orange tier that all...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - October 7, 2018
THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER The Real Prize...
Read More