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Abide_Sleep_Meditation_Bible_Stories_for_Sleep__Art_of_Waiting(M4A_128K) · Abide Meditation App

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to this bedtime story from Abide. I'm
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Jennifer and it's my privilege to lead you tonight in
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  Speaker 1: the art of waiting. Join me as we explore the
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  Speaker 1: nature of waiting, both an art and a skill and
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  Speaker 1: a practice as well as a pleasure. Tonight we will
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  Speaker 1: be learning how we, as followers of Jesus, can truly
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  Speaker 1: learn the kind of waiting that brings refreshment, that is
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  Speaker 1: waiting on the Lord and waiting well. This is truly
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  Speaker 1: only understood in union with His spirit, because He will
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  Speaker 1: teach us and guide us in the art of waiting
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  Speaker 1: through his guide dance. Tonight, we will come to understand
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  Speaker 1: more deeply how waiting on God can nourish our lives
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  Speaker 1: and deepen our relationship with Him. There is purpose in
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  Speaker 1: all of God's designs, so we'll be exploring some of
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  Speaker 1: His purposes for waiting and how we can practice and
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  Speaker 1: enjoy this hope filled art. The words of Psalm sixty two,
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  Speaker 1: verse five will be our guiding compass tonight, leading us
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  Speaker 1: to more deeply understand waiting for God alone, Oh my soul,
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  Speaker 1: wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. We'll
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  Speaker 1: be learning the art of waiting. As we listen to
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  Speaker 1: scriptures and poetry, and during the times of silence, we
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  Speaker 1: will wait on the Lord and make room for the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit to move on our hearts and draw us
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  Speaker 1: into an experience of his hope filled peace. His love
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  Speaker 1: will lead us tonight and we will find deeper confidence
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  Speaker 1: in Him. Before we delve deeper into the art of waiting,
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  Speaker 1: let's truly put it into practice and get our bodies
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  Speaker 1: into a state of total relaxation and ease. Do whatever
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  Speaker 1: you need to do to make your surroundings most RESTful
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  Speaker 1: and quiet and comfortable. That may include turning off the lights,
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  Speaker 1: drawing the curtains, or adjusting your pillows or blankets to
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  Speaker 1: the best position. When you have made yourself fully comfort
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  Speaker 1: come to stillness and breathe inhale and exhale several times
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  Speaker 1: to cleanse your lungs and bring freshness and newness to
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  Speaker 1: your body. Let the weariness and exhaustion that your body
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  Speaker 1: might be carrying sink into the mattress as you breathe.
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  Speaker 1: Imagine that weariness dissolving from every cell in your body.
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  Speaker 1: Imagine deep, hope filled rest, filling and nourishing your cells.
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  Speaker 1: Imagine that hope, dispelling all disappointment that your body is
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  Speaker 1: holding onto. Allow the Holy Spirit to come into those
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  Speaker 1: places and restore your hope. As you lie here in stillness,
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  Speaker 1: he knows you intimately, and he knows all those places
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  Speaker 1: of heartache and crushed dreams. He is so close to
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  Speaker 1: you now. He is close to the broken hearted and
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  Speaker 1: restores those crushed in spirit. Notice any other feelings that
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  Speaker 1: come up as you breathe deeply into your lungs and
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  Speaker 1: surrender them to God. Any memories that might resurface, give
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  Speaker 1: them to him. He has peace and hope to give you. Instead,
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  Speaker 1: Feel any tight or sore places in your body and
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  Speaker 1: invite Him to bring his peace to those spots. Relax
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  Speaker 1: your face and jaw, Relax your neck and shoulders, release
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  Speaker 1: your stomach and torso, let go of tension all down
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  Speaker 1: your back and legs, all the way to your feet.
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  Speaker 1: Let His gentle peace come upon you and fill you.
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  Speaker 1: There is nothing to worry about. Nothing in your life
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  Speaker 1: is outside of his healing touch. There is nothing so
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  Speaker 1: bad that you need to trouble your heart about it.
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  Speaker 1: He has got you. Let's come to God together in prayer.
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  Speaker 1: Wonderful Creator and Father, we are coming to you tonight
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  Speaker 1: to learn the art of waiting. Thank you that we
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  Speaker 1: are not waiting on a fickle dream or a fragile hope.
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  Speaker 1: We are waiting on the sovereign Lord, God Almighty. You
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  Speaker 1: are powerful and able, You are mighty to save, and
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  Speaker 1: we can rely on you in total confidence. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for guiding us tonight toward hope filled waiting, RESTful and
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  Speaker 1: expectant waiting. Lead us in the art of waiting, not
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  Speaker 1: just waiting on promises to be fulfilled, but waiting on
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  Speaker 1: you are sure and certain hope. Unlike even our most
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  Speaker 1: wild dreams coming to fruition, which can still disappoint us,
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  Speaker 1: we are waiting on you, and you cannot disappoint us.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for closing the wrong doors in our lives,
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  Speaker 1: and thank you in advance for the doors you will
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  Speaker 1: fleeing wide for us to enter. We know that true
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  Speaker 1: fulfillment and joy can only be found in you. Nothing
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  Speaker 1: else will bring us lasting peace and contentment like you.
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  Speaker 1: We love you, wonderful Lord, and we declare that you
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  Speaker 1: are worthy of our waiting. In Jesus' name. Amen, Now
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  Speaker 1: let's begin to explore the art of waiting in greater depth.
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  Speaker 1: The word itself may bring up certain emotions, some negative,
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  Speaker 1: some positive. It might remind you of the days in
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  Speaker 1: your childhood before Christmas, you'd been longing for this day
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  Speaker 1: to come. The colorful wrapped presence under the tree had
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  Speaker 1: been tempting you for weeks. When Christmas morning finally greeted you,
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  Speaker 1: joy also filled your heart. Maybe it became a day
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  Speaker 1: every year for which you waited with hopeful expectancy and delight.
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  Speaker 1: Or perhaps the term waiting reminds you of that time
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  Speaker 1: when you sat in the car for what felt like
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  Speaker 1: hours while your father talked to a neighbor at the fence,
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  Speaker 1: when you were supposed to be going for a father
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  Speaker 1: child adventure with him. That kind of waiting can feel
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  Speaker 1: like a great disappointment, indeed, and it can hurt our hearts.
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  Speaker 1: But precious child, let me encourage you that your heavenly
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  Speaker 1: dad is nothing like that. He will never let you down.
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  Speaker 1: You may feel disappointment if God does not act as
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  Speaker 1: you want him to, but He is always good. He
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  Speaker 1: always acts for your good and his glory. He does
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  Speaker 1: not hold back good gifts from his children. Psalm eighty
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  Speaker 1: four eleven tells us for the Lord God is a
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  Speaker 1: son and a safe covering. The Lord gives favor and honor.
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  Speaker 1: He holds back nothing good from those who walk in
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  Speaker 1: the way that is right, or, as the Good News
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  Speaker 1: Translation says, the Lord God is our protector and glorious king.
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  Speaker 1: He blesses us with kindness and honor. The Lord freely
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  Speaker 1: gives every good thing to those who do what is right.
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  Speaker 1: And when those times come where we often feel like
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  Speaker 1: he does seem to withhold good and stand at a distance,
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  Speaker 1: we can be sure that we see through the glass
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  Speaker 1: dimly and don't perceive his plans. His ways are so
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  Speaker 1: far above our ways as the sky is above the earth,
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  Speaker 1: we cannot fathom his plans. He knew we would question
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  Speaker 1: his ways, so he plainly tells us through his prophet
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  Speaker 1: Isaiah in chapter fifty five, verse eight. My intentions are
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  Speaker 1: not always yours, and I do not go about things
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  Speaker 1: as you do. My thoughts and my ways are above
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  Speaker 1: and beyond you, just as Heaven is far from your reach.
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  Speaker 1: Here on earth. We simply have to practice childlike trust
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  Speaker 1: that Papa knows best. He is moving behind the scenes,
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  Speaker 1: and he is not in a hurry, even when we
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  Speaker 1: often are. Even in this, he is teaching us the
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  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him and waiting well, how would
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  Speaker 1: we ever learn to wait on him and yield to
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  Speaker 1: him without these seasons of disappointment and discouragement. These times,
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  Speaker 1: if we respond rightly, can refine our faith like gold
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  Speaker 1: heated seven times, and we can come forth more perfected.
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  Speaker 1: If we instead allow our hearts to grow stony toward him.
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  Speaker 1: It may be that we have been waiting on the
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  Speaker 1: dream to be fulfilled, rather than waiting on the presence
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  Speaker 1: of God and a deeper connection with him. Do we
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  Speaker 1: seek him for him alone? Or do we seek him
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  Speaker 1: for what he can do for us.
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  Speaker 2: He is so.
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  Speaker 1: Gentle and kind with us, so there is no condemnation.
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  Speaker 1: Yet he wants to make us more like his perfect
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  Speaker 1: and loving son, Jesus. So he will teach us the
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  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him, and he will give us
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  Speaker 1: many occasions to learn patience and devotion in the face
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  Speaker 1: of disappointment and broken dreams.
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  Speaker 2: He will show.
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  Speaker 1: Us every single time that He is better than those dreams.
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  Speaker 1: No matter how wonderful the opportunities might be, his presence
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  Speaker 1: and his unadulterated love are far better, far more satisfying,
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  Speaker 1: far more enduring, far more fulfilling you see, precious listener, we.
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  Speaker 2: Are made for him.
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  Speaker 1: Our bodies are his very temple, and we are now
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  Speaker 1: his eternal dwelling place.
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  Speaker 2: Therefore, if our.
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  Speaker 1: Can house God Almighty himself, creator of the universe and
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  Speaker 1: the vast cosmos, then how could we ever be satisfied
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  Speaker 1: with anything else. Through God alone is the path of
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  Speaker 1: life and the fullness of joy. Psalm sixteen eleven says,
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  Speaker 1: you make known to me the path of life. In
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  Speaker 1: your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your right
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  Speaker 1: hand are pleasures forevermore. It can also be translated instead,
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  Speaker 1: you direct me on the path that leads to a
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  Speaker 1: beautiful life. As I walk with you, the pleasures are
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  Speaker 1: never ending, and I know true joy and contentment. Precious one,
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  Speaker 1: let us walk in the balance of bringing to our
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  Speaker 1: heavenly Dad our hurts and disappointments, but also acknowledging to
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  Speaker 1: ourselves that true contentment is found in him, true joy
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  Speaker 1: is found in him. Let us wait for him and
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  Speaker 1: see his goodness. Let us seek him and find that
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  Speaker 1: he is our greatest delight. The Psalmist also writes in
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  Speaker 1: Psalm twenty seven, verse thirteen, I believe that I shall
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  Speaker 1: look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land
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  Speaker 1: of the Living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and
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  Speaker 1: let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord. The
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  Speaker 1: voice translation gives us another perspective.
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  Speaker 2: I will move.
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  Speaker 1: Past my enemies with this one sure hope that with
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  Speaker 1: my own eyes I will see the goodness of the
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  Speaker 1: eternal in the land of the Living. Please answer me,
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  Speaker 1: don't give up. Wait for the eternal in expectation, and
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  Speaker 1: be strong again. Wait for the eternal, as we will
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  Speaker 1: keep learning. The art of waiting and waiting well can
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  Speaker 1: be found in the truth that it's about waiting on
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. We can become like innocently trusting children. There
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  Speaker 1: is no fear when we know He is good. Even
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  Speaker 1: when the waiting seems to last beyond anything we think
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  Speaker 1: we can handle. We do not need to lose faith
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  Speaker 1: because we know He is good.
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  Speaker 2: God is love, utter love.
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  Speaker 1: John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who intimately knew the
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  Speaker 1: Son of God, wrote the following words in fir John
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  Speaker 1: four seven to twelve. My loved ones, let us devote
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  Speaker 1: ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God,
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  Speaker 1: and everyone who loves is born of God and truly
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  Speaker 1: knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God.
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  Speaker 1: Because God is love. The love of God is a
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  Speaker 1: reality among us. God sent his only son into the
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  Speaker 1: world so that we could find true life through him.
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  Speaker 1: This is the embodiment of true love. Not that we
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  Speaker 1: have loved God first, but that He loved us and
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  Speaker 1: sent his unique son on a special mission to become
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  Speaker 1: an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
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  Speaker 2: So, my loved ones.
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  Speaker 1: If God loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love
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  Speaker 1: one another. No one has ever seen God with human eyes,
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  Speaker 1: but if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently,
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  Speaker 1: God's love has accomplished its mission among us.
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  Speaker 2: God is love.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus is the personification of love, Love incarnate, perfect love.
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  Speaker 1: He cannot fail us. So, precious child, when you feel
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  Speaker 1: like the waiting game is eating away at you, reach
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  Speaker 1: down deep and trust that God is perfect love, and
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  Speaker 1: all his ways are pure and right. Listen to these
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  Speaker 1: two translations of the wonderful words in Deuteronomy thirty two four.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord is your mighty defender, perfect and just in
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  Speaker 1: all his ways. Your God is faithful and true. He
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  Speaker 1: does what is right and fair.
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  Speaker 2: And also.
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  Speaker 1: He's the rock and his work is perfect. Everything he
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  Speaker 1: does is right. He's the God who can be trusted,
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  Speaker 1: who never does wrong because he's righteous and upright. He
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  Speaker 1: is perfect in all his ways, flawless. Yes, we don't
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  Speaker 1: see all he is doing, but let us wait patiently
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  Speaker 1: for him in the confidence that he is doing a
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  Speaker 1: work far more beautiful than we can presently see. That's
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  Speaker 1: why we are called to have faith. We wait hopefully
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  Speaker 1: in him when we don't understand. Jesus also reflected this
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  Speaker 1: nature of God, and his own best friends and followers
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  Speaker 1: were baffled by him at times, he says in John thirteen.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus replied, you do not realize now what I am doing,
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  Speaker 1: But later you will understand. There will certainly come a
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  Speaker 1: day when our questions will be resolved, But in the meantime,
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  Speaker 1: it's more important that we simply cling to him and
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  Speaker 1: depend on him and walk with him. He is better
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  Speaker 1: than all the answers we could wish for.
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  Speaker 2: Even if he told.
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  Speaker 1: Us everything we wanted to know, it wouldn't be enough,
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  Speaker 1: because what we are truly seeking is peace and love
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  Speaker 1: and joy, and they can only be found in him. Often,
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  Speaker 1: our soul is simply craving love, so precious one. Right now,
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  Speaker 1: in this time of waiting, let his love fill you.
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  Speaker 1: That is something you will never ever need to wait for.
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  Speaker 1: His love is flowing to you in a never ending
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  Speaker 1: eternal stream of devotion and goodness. The writer of Lamentation
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  Speaker 1: says in Chapter three, verse twenty five, the Lord is
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  Speaker 1: good to those whose hope is in him, to the
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  Speaker 1: one who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly
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  Speaker 1: for the salvation of the Lord. Or put another way,
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  Speaker 1: it is good. The eternal One is good to those
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  Speaker 1: who expect him, to those who seek him wholeheartedly. It
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  Speaker 1: is good to wait quietly for the Eternal to make
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  Speaker 1: things right again, though we can't always see it right.
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  Speaker 1: At this very moment, he is in the process of
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  Speaker 1: making things right and beautiful. Jesus is the master craftsman,
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  Speaker 1: and nothing is broken beyond his repair. But he doesn't
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  Speaker 1: work according to our timetable. Two Peter three point nine
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  Speaker 1: addresses this. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
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  Speaker 1: as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you,
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  Speaker 1: not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
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  Speaker 1: He is not slow. Perhaps it is we who are
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  Speaker 1: in a hurry he will incline his ear to us.
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  Speaker 1: Though his answer may not come instantly, he does hear
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  Speaker 1: us instantly. In fact, the psalmist wrote, before a word
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  Speaker 1: is on my tongue, you Lord know it completely. He
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  Speaker 1: is quick to listen and slow to speak, and he
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  Speaker 1: urges us to be just like him in these virtues.
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  Speaker 1: But he always inclines his ear tenderly to your prayers.
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  Speaker 1: David's lyrics of Psalm forty verse one read, I waited
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  Speaker 1: patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard
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  Speaker 1: my cry. The voice translation puts it in these words.
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  Speaker 1: I waited a long time for the eternal. He finally
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  Speaker 1: knelt down to hear me. He listened to my weak
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  Speaker 1: and whispered cry. Perhaps you have been calling out to
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  Speaker 1: him recently, and maybe it feels like your prayers to
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  Speaker 1: him are landing on deaf ears. I assure you he
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  Speaker 1: is listening, even the groanings of your heart that you
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  Speaker 1: haven't had the strength to utter. Even those prayers he hears.
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  Speaker 1: He is compassionate and attentive to even your most feeble whispers.
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  Speaker 1: Let your soul wait quietly for him, just as David did.
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  Speaker 1: Allow me to read our foundation Psalm Psalm sixty two, again,
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  Speaker 1: from verse five down to verse eight. I invite you
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  Speaker 1: to listen to David's heart, his heart which pleased God
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  Speaker 1: so much. We want to please our heavenly Father. Also,
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  Speaker 1: my soul quietly waits for the True God alone, because
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  Speaker 1: I hope only in Him. He alone is my rock
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  Speaker 1: and deliverance, my citadel high on a hill, I will
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  Speaker 1: not be shaken. My salvation and my significance depend ultimately
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  Speaker 1: on God. The core of my strengths, my shelter is
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  Speaker 1: in the True God. Have faith in Him in all circumstances.
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  Speaker 1: Dear people, open up your heart to him. The True
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  Speaker 1: God shelters us in his arms. Lord God, we are
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  Speaker 1: waiting on you. We are quietly and contentedly waiting for
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  Speaker 1: you alone. And you are not absent from us. You
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  Speaker 1: are here with us through your wonderful Holy Spirit, Emmanuel,
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  Speaker 1: God with us. We are not waiting alone and abandoned.
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  Speaker 1: We are filled and enveloped by your presence. Lord, Help
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  Speaker 1: us to quiet our souls so we can hear your
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  Speaker 1: gentle whispers.
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  Speaker 2: When we call on you.
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  Speaker 1: We know you hear us, so open our ears to
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  Speaker 1: your answer. Let us always hear your words of love.
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  Speaker 1: And grace and kindness. Your presence is here, and as
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  Speaker 1: we rest and sleep in safety, is so sweet, How
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  Speaker 1: blissful it is to wait upon you and wait with
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  Speaker 1: you and Loving Lord, Where our hearts have grown stony
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  Speaker 1: towards you in our seasons of waiting, would your love
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  Speaker 1: come and soften those places?
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  Speaker 2: We trust you.
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  Speaker 1: We know that you are always working, even when we
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  Speaker 1: can't see you working. We trust that you are behind
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  Speaker 1: the scenes, making eternal beauty out of our lives. So
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  Speaker 1: we yield to your perfect work in the name of
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  Speaker 1: your son Jesus. Amen, keep breathing gently, Let deep sleep
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  Speaker 1: come as you wait in his presence.
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  Speaker 2: Enjoy his peace.
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  Speaker 1: As you wait in his presence, listen for his gentle
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  Speaker 1: whispers of love in your heart. This can be your
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  Speaker 1: continual experience of waiting on him. He will never leave
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  Speaker 1: you empty. He will always give the answer that you
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  Speaker 1: need the most. And maybe that is simply the assurance
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  Speaker 1: that he loves you with an everlasting love. Hear him
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  Speaker 1: saying it to you again and again and again. Let's
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  Speaker 1: praise him as we close, Loving Father God, we love you,
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  Speaker 1: We trust you, and we are quieting our souls to
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  Speaker 1: wait only on you, only from you comes our salvation.
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  Speaker 1: You alone are our rock and our defense. We are
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  Speaker 1: settling ourselves to wait on you. Let us not be
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  Speaker 1: shaken or moved from this place. In Jesus' name, we
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  Speaker 1: pray amen, continue to enjoy His presence as you wait,
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  Speaker 1: beloved child, for God alone. May your soul wait in silence,
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  Speaker 1: for your hope is from him. Let's listen again to
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  Speaker 1: this sleep story about the art of waiting. The word
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  Speaker 1: itself may bring up certain emotions, some negative, some positive.
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  Speaker 1: It might remind you of the days in your childhood
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  Speaker 1: before Christmas. You'd been longing for this day to come.
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  Speaker 1: The colorful, wrapped presence under the tree had been tempting
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  Speaker 1: you for weeks. When Christmas morning finally greeted you, joy
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  Speaker 1: also filled your heart. Maybe it became a day every
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  Speaker 1: year for which you waited with hopeful expectancy and delight.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: Or perhaps the term waiting reminds you of that time
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: when you sat in the car for what felt like
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: hours while your father talked to a neighbor at the
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: fence when you were supposed to be going for a
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: father child adventure with him. That kind of waiting can
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: feel like a great disappointment. Indeed, and it can hurt
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: our hearts. But precious child, let me encourage you that
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: your heavenly Dad is nothing like that. He will never
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: let you down. You may feel disappointment if God does
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: not act as you want him to, but He is
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: always good. He always acts for your good and his glory.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: He does not hold back good gifts from his children.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: Psalm eighty four eleven tells us, for the Lord God
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: is a son and a safe covering. The Lord gives
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: favor and honor.
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: He holds back.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: Nothing good from those who walk in the way that
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: is right, or, as the Good News Translation says, the
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: Lord God is our protector and glorious king. He blesses
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: us with kindness and honor. The Lord freely gives every
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: good thing to those who do what is right. And
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: when those times come where we often feel like he
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: does seem to withhold good and stand at a distance,
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: we can be sure that we see through the glass
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: dimly and don't perceive his plans. His ways are so
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: far above our ways as the sky is above the earth,
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: we cannot fathom his plans. He knew we would question
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: his ways, so he plainly tells us through his Prophet
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: Isaiah in chapter fifty five, verse eight. My intentions are
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: not always yours, and I do not go about things
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: as you do. My thoughts and my ways are above
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: and beyond you, just as Heaven is far from your
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: reach here on earth. We simply have to practice childlike
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: trust that Papa knows best. He is moving behind the scenes,
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: and he is not in a hurry, even when we
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: often are. Even in this, he is teaching us the
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him and waiting. Well, how would
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: we ever learn to wait on him and yield to
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: him without these seasons of disappointment and discouragement. These times,
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: if we respond rightly, can refine our faith like gold
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: heated seven times, and we can come forth more perfected.
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: If we instead allow our hearts to grow stony toward him.
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: It may be that we have been waiting on the
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: dream to be fulfilled, rather than waiting on the presence
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: of God and a deeper connection with him. Do we
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: seek him for him alone? Or do we seek him
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: for what he can do for us? He is so
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: gentle and kind with us, so there is no condemnation.
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: Yet he wants to make us more like his perfect
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: and loving son, Jesus. So he will teach us the
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him, and he will give us
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: many occasions to learn patience and devotion. In the face
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: of disappointment and broken dreams. He will show us every
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: single time that He is better than those dreams. No
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: matter how wonderful the opportunities might be, his presence and
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: his unadulterated love are far better, far more satisfying, far
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: more enduring, far more fulfilling. You see, precious listener, we
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: are made for him. Our bodies are his very temple,
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: and we are now his eternal dwelling place. Therefore, if
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: our bodies can house God Almighty himself, creator of the
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: universe and the vast cosmos, then how could we ever
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: be satisfied with anything else. Through God alone is the
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: path of life and the fullness of joy. Psalm sixteen
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: eleven says, You make known to me the path of life.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: right hand are pleasures forevermore. It can also be translated instead,
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: You direct me on the path that leads to a
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: beautiful life. As I walk with you, the pleasures are
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: never ending, and I know true joy and contentment.
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: Precious One.
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: Let us walk in the balance of bringing to our
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: heavenly Dad our hurts and disappointments, but also acknowledging to
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: ourselves that true contentment is found in him, true joy
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: is found in him. Let us wait for him and
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: see his goodness. Let us seek him and find that
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: he is our greatest delight. The Psalmist also writes in
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: Psalm twenty seven, verse thirteen, I believe that I shall
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: of the Living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord. The
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: voice translation gives us another perspective. I will move past
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: my enemies with this one sure hope that with my
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: own eyes I will see the goodness of the eternal
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: in the land of the Living. Please answer me, don't
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: give up. Wait for the eternal in expectation, and be
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: strong again. Wait for the eternal, as we will keep
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: learning the art of waiting and waiting well can be
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: found in the truth that it's about waiting on the Lord.
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: We can become like innocently trusting children. There is no
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: fear when we know he is good, even when the
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: waiting seems to last beyond anything we think we can handle.
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: We do not need to lose faith because we know
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: He is good.
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: God is love, utter love.
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who intimately knew the
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: son of God, wrote the following words in fir John
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: four seven to twelve, My loved ones, let us devote
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God.
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: And everyone who loves is born of God and truly
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God,
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: because God is love. Because of this, the love of
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: God is a.
• 41:06
  Speaker 2: Reality among us.
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: God sent his only son into the world so that
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: we could find true life through him. This is the embodiment.
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: Of true love.
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: Not that we have loved God first, but that He
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: loved us and sent his unique son on a special
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
• 41:39
  Speaker 2: So, my loved ones, if God.
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: Loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love one another.
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: No one has ever seen God with human eyes, but
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently,
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: God's love has accomplished its mission among us.
• 42:09
  Speaker 2: God is love.
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: Jesus is the personification of love, Love incarnate perfect love,
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: He cannot fail us. So, precious child, when you feel
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: like the waiting game is eating away at you, reach
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: down deep and trust that God is perfect love, and
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: all his ways are pure and right. Listen to these
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: two translations of the wonderful words in Deuteronomy thirty two four.
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: The Lord is your mighty defender, perfect and just in
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: all his ways. Your God is faithful and true. He
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: does what is right and fair.
• 43:04
  Speaker 2: And also.
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: He's the rock, and his work is perfect. Everything he
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: does is right. He's the God who can be trusted,
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: who never does wrong because he's righteous and upright. He
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: is perfect in all his ways, flawless. Yes, we don't
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: see all he is doing, but let us wait patiently
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: for him in the confidence that he is doing a
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: work far more beautiful than we can presently see. That's
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: why we are called to have faith. We wait hopefully
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: in him when we don't understand. Jesus also reflected this
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: nature of God, and his own best friends and followers
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: were baffled by him at times. He says in John thirteen.
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: Jesus replied, you do not realize now what I am doing,
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: But later you will understand. There will certainly come a
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: day when our questions will be resolved. But in the meantime,
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: it's more important that we simply cling to him and
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: depend on him and walk with him. He is better
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: than all the answers we could wish for.
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: Even if he told.
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: Us everything we wanted to know, it wouldn't be enough,
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: because what we are truly seeking is peace and love
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: and joy, and they can only be found in him. Often,
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: our soul is simply craving love, so precious one. Right now,
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: in this time of waiting, let his love fill you.
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: That is something you will never ever need to wait for.
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: His love is flowing to you in a never ending
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: eternal stream of devotion and goodness. The writer of Lamentation
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: says in chapter three, verse twenty five, the Lord is
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: good to those whose hope is in him, to the
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: one who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: for the salvation of the Lord. Or put another way,
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: it is good. The eternal One is good to those
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: who expect him, to those who seek him wholeheartedly. It
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: is good to wait quietly for the Eternal to make
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: things right again, though we can't always see it right.
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: At this very moment, he is in the process of
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: making things right and beautiful. Jesus is the master craftsman,
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: and nothing is broken beyond his repair, but he doesn't
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: work according to our timetable. Two Peter three point nine
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: addresses this. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you,
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: He is not slow. Perhaps it is we who are
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: in a hurry. He will incline his ear to us.
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: Though his answer may not come instantly, he does hear
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: us instantly. In fact, the psalmist wrote, before a word
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: is on my tongue, you Lord know it completely. He
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: is quick to listen and slow to speak, and he
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: urges us to be just like him in these virtues.
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: But he always inclines his ear tenderly to your prayers.
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: David's lyrics of Psalm forty verse one read I waited
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: my cry. The voice translation puts it in these words,
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: I waited a long time for the eternal. He finally
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: knelt down to hear me. He listened to my weak
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: and whispered cry. Perhaps you have been calling out to
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: him recently, and maybe it feels like your prayers to
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: him are landing on deaf ears. I assure you he
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: is listening, even the groanings of your heart that you
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: haven't had the strength to utter. Even those prayers he hears.
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: He is compassionate and attentive to even your most feeble whispers.
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: Let your soul wait quietly for him, just as David did.
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: Allow you to read our foundation Psalm Psalm sixty two again,
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: from verse five down to verse eight. I invite you
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: to listen to David's heart, his heart which pleased God
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: so much. We want to please our heavenly Father. Also,
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: my soul quietly waits for the True God alone, because
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: I hope only in Him. He alone is my rock
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: and deliverance, my citadel high on a hill, I will
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: not be shaken. My salvation and my significance depend ultimately
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: on God. The core of my strengths, my shelter is
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: in the True God. Have faith in Him in all circumstances,
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: Dear people, open up your heart to him. The True
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: God shelters us in his arms. Lord God, we are
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: waiting on you. We are quietly and contentedly waiting for
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: you alone, and you are not absent from us. You
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: are here with us through your wonderful Holy Spirit, Emmanuel God.
• 50:26
  Speaker 2: With us.
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: We are not waiting alone and abandoned. We are filled
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: and enveloped by your presence. Lord, Help us to quiet
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: our souls so we can hear your gentle whispers. When
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: we call on you. We know you hear us, so
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: open our ears to your answer. Let us always hear
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: your words of love and grace and kindness. Your presence
• 51:01
  Speaker 1: is here, and as we rest and sleep in safety,
• 51:06
  Speaker 1: is so sweet, How blissful it is to wait upon
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: you and wait with you and loving Lord. Where our
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: hearts have grown stony towards you in our seasons of waiting,
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: Would your love come and soften those places?
• 51:28
  Speaker 2: We trust you.
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: We know that you are always working, even when we
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: can't see you working. We trust that you are behind
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: the scenes, making eternal beauty out of our lives. So
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: we yield to your perfect work in the name of
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: your Son, Jesus. Amen, keep breathing gently, Let deep sleep
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: come as you wait in his presence. Enjoy his peace
• 52:08
  Speaker 1: as you wait in his presence, Listen for his gentle
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: whispers of love in your heart. This can be your
• 52:23
  Speaker 1: continual experience of waiting on him. He will never leave
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: you empty. He will always give the answer that you
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: need the most. And maybe that is simply the assurance
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: that He loves you with an everlasting love. Hear him
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: saying it to you again and again and again. Let's
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: praise him as we close. Loving Father God, we love
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: you you, we trust you, and we are quieting our
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: souls to wait only on you. Only from you comes
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: our salvation. You alone are our rock and our defense.
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: We are settling ourselves to wait on you. Let us
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: not be shaken or moved from this place. In Jesus's name,
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: we pray amen. Continue to enjoy His presence as you wait,
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: beloved child, for God alone. May your soul wait in silence,
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: for your hope is from him. Let's listen again to
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: this sleep story about the art of waiting. The word
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: itself may bring up certain emotions, some negative, some positive.
• 54:05
  Speaker 1: It might remind you of the days in your childhood
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: before Christmas. You'd been longing for this day to come.
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: The colorful wrapped presence under the tree had been tempting
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: you for weeks. When Christmas morning finally greeted you. Joy
• 54:27
  Speaker 1: also filled your heart. Maybe it became a day every
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: year for which you waited with hopeful expectancy and delight.
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: Or perhaps the term waiting reminds you of that time
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: when you sat in the car for what felt like
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: hours while your father talked to a neighbor at the fence,
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: when you were supposed to be going for a father
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: child adventure with him. That kind of waiting can feel
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: like a great disappointment, indeed, and it can hurt our hearts.
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: But precious child, let me encourage you that your heavenly
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: Dad is nothing like that. He will never let you down.
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: You may feel disappointment if God does not act as
• 55:27
  Speaker 1: you want him to, but He is always good. He
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: always acts for your good and his glory. He does
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: not hold back good gifts from his children. Psalm eighty
• 55:45
  Speaker 1: four eleven tells us, for the Lord God is a
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: son and a safe covering. The Lord gives favor and honor.
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: He holds back nothing good from those those who walk
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: in the way that is right. Or, as the Good
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: News Translation says, the Lord God is our protector and
• 56:12
  Speaker 1: glorious king. He blesses us with kindness, and honor.
• 56:18
  Speaker 2: The Lord freely gives every good.
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: Thing to those who do what is right. And when
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: those times come where we often feel like he does
• 56:32
  Speaker 1: seem to withhold good and stand at a distance, we
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: can be sure that we see through the glass dimly
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: and don't perceive his plans. His ways are so far
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: above our ways as the sky is above the earth,
• 56:54
  Speaker 1: we cannot fathom his plans. He knew we would question
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: his way, so he plainly tells us through his prophet
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: Isaiah in chapter fifty five, verse eight. My intentions are
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: not always yours, and I do not go about things
• 57:14
  Speaker 1: as you do. My thoughts and my ways are above
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: and beyond you, just as Heaven is far from your reach.
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: Here on earth. We simply have to practice childlike trust
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: that Papa knows best. He is moving behind the scenes,
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: and he is not in a hurry, even when we
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: often are. Even in this, he is teaching us the
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him and waiting well, how would
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: we ever learn to wait on him and yield to
• 57:59
  Speaker 1: him with ut these seasons of disappointment and discouragement. These times,
• 58:06
  Speaker 1: if we respond rightly, can refine our faith like gold.
• 58:11
  Speaker 1: Heated seven times and we can come forth more perfected
• 58:20
  Speaker 1: if we instead allow our hearts to grow stony toward him.
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: It may be that we have been waiting on the
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: dream to be fulfilled, rather than waiting on the presence
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: of God and a deeper connection with him. Do we
• 58:39
  Speaker 1: seek him for him alone? Or do we seek him
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: for what he can do for us. He is so
• 58:49
  Speaker 1: gentle and kind with us, so there is no condemnation.
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: Yet He wants to make us more like his perfect
• 58:59
  Speaker 1: and loving son Jesus. So he will teach us the
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him, and he will give us
• 59:10
  Speaker 1: many occasions to learn patience and devotion. In the face
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: of disappointment and broken dreams.
• 59:19
  Speaker 2: He will show us.
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: Every single time that He is better than those dreams.
• 59:29
  Speaker 1: No matter how wonderful the opportunities might be, his presence
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: and his unadulterated love are far better, far more satisfying,
• 59:42
  Speaker 1: far more enduring, far more fulfilling. You see, precious listener,
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: we are made for him. Our bodies are his very temple,
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: and we are now his eternal dwelling place. Therefore, if
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: our bodies can house God Almighty himself, creator of the
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: universe and the vast cosmos, then, how could we ever
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 1: be satisfied with anything else. Through God alone is the
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 1: path of life and the fullness of joy. Psalm sixteen
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: eleven says, you make known to me the path of life.
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 1: In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 1: right hand are pleasures forevermore. It can also be translated instead,
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 1: you direct me on the path that leads to a
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 1: beautiful life. As I want talk with you. The pleasures
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: are never ending, and I know true joy and contentment.
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 1: Precious One, let us walk in the balance of bringing
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: to our heavenly Dad our hurts and disappointments, but also
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 1: acknowledging to ourselves that true contentment is found in him,
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: true joy is found in him. Let us wait for
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: him and see his goodness. Let us seek him and
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: find that he is our greatest delight. The Psalmist also
• 1:01:45
  Speaker 1: writes in Psalm twenty seven, verse thirteen, I believe that
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 1: I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: the land of the Living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong,
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 1: and let your heart take courage.
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 2: Wait for the Lord.
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: The voice translation gives us another perspective.
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 2: I will move.
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 1: Past my enemies with this one sure hope that with
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: my own eyes, I will see the goodness of the
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 1: eternal in the land of the living. Please answer me,
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: don't give up. Wait for the eternal in expectation, and
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 1: be strong again. Wait for the eternal as we will
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 1: keep learning. The art of waiting and waiting well can
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 1: be found in the truth that it's about waiting on
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 1: the Lord. We can become like innocently trusting children. There
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 1: is no fear when we know He is good, even
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 1: when the waiting seems to last beyond anything we think
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 1: we can handle. We do not need to lose faith
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 1: because we know He is good. God is love, utter love. John,
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 1: the disciple whom Jesus loved, who intimately knew the son
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 1: of God, wrote the following words in Firs. John four
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 1: seven to twelve. My loved ones, let us devote ourselves
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: to loving one another. Love comes straight from God, and
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 1: everyone who loves is born of God and truly knows God.
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: Anyone who does not love does not know God, because
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 1: God is love.
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 2: Because of this, the love of.
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: God is a reality among us. God sent his only
• 1:04:14
  Speaker 1: son into the world so that we could find true
• 1:04:18
  Speaker 1: life through him. This is the embodiment of true love,
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 1: not that we have loved God first, but that he
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 1: loved us and sent his unique son on a special
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 1: mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 2: So, my loved ones, if.
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 1: God loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love one another.
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 1: No one has ever seen God with human eyes, but
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 1: if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently,
• 1:05:05
  Speaker 1: God's love has accomplished its mission among us.
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 2: God is love.
• 1:05:15
  Speaker 1: Jesus is the personification of love, Love incarnate, perfect love.
• 1:05:24
  Speaker 1: He cannot fail us, So, precious child, when you feel
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: like the waiting game is eating away at you, reach
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 1: down deep and trust that God is perfect love, and
• 1:05:38
  Speaker 1: all his ways are pure and right, listen to these
• 1:05:46
  Speaker 1: two translations of the wonderful words in Deuteronomy thirty two four.
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 1: The Lord is your mighty defender, perfect and just in
• 1:05:58
  Speaker 1: all his ways. Your God is faithful and true.
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 2: He does what is right and fair. And also.
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 1: He's the rock, and his work is perfect. Everything he
• 1:06:16
  Speaker 1: does is right. He's the God who can be trusted,
• 1:06:20
  Speaker 1: who never does wrong because he's righteous and upright. He
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 1: is perfect in all his ways, flawless. Yes, we don't
• 1:06:35
  Speaker 1: see all he is doing, but let us wait patiently
• 1:06:40
  Speaker 1: for him in the confidence that he is doing a
• 1:06:43
  Speaker 1: work far more beautiful than we can presently see. That's
• 1:06:49
  Speaker 1: why we are called to have faith.
• 1:06:53
  Speaker 2: We wait hopefully.
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 1: In him when we don't understand. Jesus also reflected this
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: nature of God, and his own best friends and followers
• 1:07:07
  Speaker 1: were baffled by him at times. He says in John thirteen.
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 1: Jesus replied, you do not realize now what I am doing,
• 1:07:19
  Speaker 1: but later you will understand. There will certainly come a
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 1: day when our questions will be resolved, But in the meantime,
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 1: it's more important that we simply cling to him and
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 1: depend on him and walk with him. He is better
• 1:07:44
  Speaker 1: than all the answers we could wish for. Even if
• 1:07:48
  Speaker 1: he told us everything we wanted to know, it wouldn't
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 1: be enough, because what we are truly seeking is peace
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: and love and joy, and they can only be found
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: in him. Often, our soul is simply craving love, so
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 1: precious one. Right now, in this time of waiting, let
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 1: his love fill you. That is something you will never
• 1:08:24
  Speaker 1: ever need to wait for. His love is flowing to
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 1: you in a never ending, eternal stream of devotion and goodness.
• 1:08:38
  Speaker 1: The writer of Lamentation says in chapter three, verse twenty five,
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 1: the Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
• 1:08:49
  Speaker 1: to the one who seeks him, it is good to
• 1:08:52
  Speaker 1: wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord, or put
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 1: another one. It is good. The eternal One is good
• 1:09:05
  Speaker 1: to those who expect him, to those who seek him wholeheartedly.
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: It is good to wait quietly for the Eternal to
• 1:09:14
  Speaker 1: make things right again. Though we can't always see it right.
• 1:09:22
  Speaker 1: At this very moment, he is in the process of
• 1:09:26
  Speaker 1: making things right and beautiful. Jesus is the master craftsman,
• 1:09:32
  Speaker 1: and nothing is broken beyond his repair. But he doesn't
• 1:09:38
  Speaker 1: work according to our timetable. Two Peter three point nine
• 1:09:45
  Speaker 1: addresses this. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
• 1:09:51
  Speaker 1: as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you,
• 1:09:58
  Speaker 1: not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: He is not slow. Perhaps it is we who are
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 1: in a hurry. He will incline his ear to us.
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 1: Though his answer may not come instantly, he does hear
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 1: us instantly. In fact, the Psalmist wrote, before a word
• 1:10:29
  Speaker 1: is on my tongue, you Lord know it completely. He
• 1:10:37
  Speaker 1: is quick to listen and slow to speak, and he
• 1:10:42
  Speaker 1: urges us to be just like him in these virtues.
• 1:10:46
  Speaker 2: But he always.
• 1:10:48
  Speaker 1: Inclines his ear tenderly to your prayers. David's lyrics of
• 1:10:53
  Speaker 1: Psalm forty, verse one read, I waited patiently for the Lord.
• 1:11:00
  Speaker 1: He inclined to me and heard my cry. The voice
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 1: translation puts it in these words. I waited a long
• 1:11:11
  Speaker 1: time for the eternal. He finally knelt down to hear me.
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: He listened to my weak and whispered cry. Perhaps you
• 1:11:23
  Speaker 1: have been calling out to him recently, and maybe it
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 1: feels like your prayers to him are landing on deaf ears.
• 1:11:33
  Speaker 1: I assure you he is listening, even the groanings of
• 1:11:40
  Speaker 1: your heart that you haven't had the strength to utter.
• 1:11:45
  Speaker 1: Even those prayers he hears. He is compassionate and attentive
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 1: to even your most feeble whispers. Let your soul wait
• 1:11:58
  Speaker 1: quietly for him, just as David did. Allow me to
• 1:12:04
  Speaker 1: read our foundation Psalm Psalm sixty two again from verse
• 1:12:09
  Speaker 1: five down to verse eight. I invite you to listen
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 1: to David's heart, his heart which pleased God so much.
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: We want to please our heavenly Father. Also, my soul
• 1:12:27
  Speaker 1: quietly waits for the True God alone, because I hope
• 1:12:32
  Speaker 1: only in Him. He alone is my rock and deliverance.
• 1:12:37
  Speaker 1: My citadel high on a hill, I will not be shaken.
• 1:12:44
  Speaker 1: My salvation and my significance depend ultimately on God. The
• 1:12:50
  Speaker 1: core of my strengths, my shelter is in the True God.
• 1:12:56
  Speaker 1: Have faith in Him in all circumstances, Dear people, open
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 1: up your heart to him. The True God shelters us
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: in his arms. Lord God, we are waiting on you.
• 1:13:14
  Speaker 1: We are quietly and contentedly waiting for you alone. And
• 1:13:20
  Speaker 1: you are not absent from us. You are here with us,
• 1:13:25
  Speaker 1: through your wonderful Holy Spirit, Emmanuel God.
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 2: With us.
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: We are not waiting alone and abandoned. We are filled
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: and enveloped by your presence. Lord, Help us to quiet
• 1:13:43
  Speaker 1: our souls so we can hear your gentle whispers When
• 1:13:49
  Speaker 1: we call on you. We know you hear us, so
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 1: open our ears to your answer. Let us always hear
• 1:13:58
  Speaker 1: your words of love and grace and kindness. Your presence
• 1:14:05
  Speaker 1: is here, and as we rest and sleep in safety,
• 1:14:10
  Speaker 1: is so sweet? How blissful it is to wait upon
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 1: you and wait with you and loving Lord, where our
• 1:14:22
  Speaker 1: hearts have grown stony towards you, in our seasons of waiting.
• 1:14:27
  Speaker 1: Would your love come and soften those places. We trust you.
• 1:14:34
  Speaker 1: We know that you are always working, even when we
• 1:14:38
  Speaker 1: can't see you working. We trust that you are behind
• 1:14:43
  Speaker 1: the scenes making eternal beauty out of our lives. So
• 1:14:49
  Speaker 1: we yield to your perfect work in the name of
• 1:14:53
  Speaker 1: your son Jesus. Amen, keep breathing gently. Let deep sleep
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: come as you wait in his presence. Enjoy his peace.
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 1: As you wait in his presence, Listen for his gentle
• 1:15:20
  Speaker 1: whispers of love in your heart. This can be your
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 1: continual experience of waiting on him. He will never leave
• 1:15:32
  Speaker 1: you empty. He will always give the answer that you
• 1:15:38
  Speaker 1: need the most. And maybe that is simply the assurance
• 1:15:44
  Speaker 1: that he loves you with an everlasting love. Hear him
• 1:15:49
  Speaker 1: saying it to you again and again and again. Let's
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 1: praise him as we close. Loving Father God, we love you,
• 1:16:05
  Speaker 1: We trust you, and we are quieting our souls to
• 1:16:09
  Speaker 1: wait only on you. Only from you comes our salvation.
• 1:16:17
  Speaker 1: You alone are our rock and our defense. We are
• 1:16:22
  Speaker 1: settling ourselves to wait on you. Let us not be
• 1:16:27
  Speaker 1: shaken or moved from this place. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen,
• 1:16:37
  Speaker 1: continue to enjoy his presence as you wait, beloved child,
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 1: for God alone. May your soul wait in silence, for
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 1: your hope is from Him. Let's listen again to this
• 1:16:53
  Speaker 1: sleep story about the art of waiting. The word it's
• 1:17:00
  Speaker 1: self may bring up certain emotions, some negative, some positive.
• 1:17:09
  Speaker 1: It might remind you of the days in your childhood
• 1:17:12
  Speaker 1: before Christmas. You'd been longing for this day to come.
• 1:17:18
  Speaker 1: The colorful wrapped presence under the tree had been tempting.
• 1:17:22
  Speaker 3: You for weeks.
• 1:17:27
  Speaker 1: When Christmas morning finally greeted you, joy also filled your heart.
• 1:17:35
  Speaker 1: Maybe it became a day every year for which you
• 1:17:38
  Speaker 1: waited with hopeful expectancy and delight. Or perhaps the term
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 1: waiting reminds you of that time when you sat in
• 1:17:51
  Speaker 1: the car for what felt like hours while your father
• 1:17:55
  Speaker 1: talked to a neighbor at the fence, when you were
• 1:17:58
  Speaker 1: supposed to be going for a father child adventure with him.
• 1:18:06
  Speaker 1: That kind of waiting can feel like a great disappointment, indeed,
• 1:18:11
  Speaker 1: and it can hurt our hearts. But precious child, let
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 1: me encourage you that your heavenly Dad is nothing like that.
• 1:18:24
  Speaker 1: He will never let you down. You may feel disappointment
• 1:18:30
  Speaker 1: if God does not act as you want him to
• 1:18:33
  Speaker 1: but he is always good. He always acts for your
• 1:18:38
  Speaker 1: good and his glory. He does not hold back good
• 1:18:46
  Speaker 1: gifts from his children. Psalm eighty four eleven tells us,
• 1:18:52
  Speaker 1: for the Lord God is a son and a safe covering.
• 1:18:57
  Speaker 1: The Lord gives favor and on he holds back nothing
• 1:19:02
  Speaker 1: good from those who walk in the way that is right, or,
• 1:19:10
  Speaker 1: as the Good News Translation says, the Lord God is
• 1:19:14
  Speaker 1: our protector and glorious king. He blesses us with kindness
• 1:19:20
  Speaker 1: and honor. The Lord freely gives every good thing to
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 1: those who do what is right. And when those times
• 1:19:33
  Speaker 1: come where we often feel like he does seem to
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 1: withhold good and stand at a distance, we can be
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 1: sure that we see through the glass dimly and don't
• 1:19:45
  Speaker 1: perceive his plans. His ways are so far above our
• 1:19:54
  Speaker 1: ways as the sky is above the earth, we cannot
• 1:19:59
  Speaker 1: fathom his place. He knew we would question his ways,
• 1:20:04
  Speaker 1: so he plainly tells us through his prophet Isaiah in
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 1: Chapter fifty five, verse eight, My intentions are not always yours,
• 1:20:16
  Speaker 1: and I do not go about things as you do.
• 1:20:20
  Speaker 1: My thoughts and my ways are above and beyond you,
• 1:20:25
  Speaker 1: just as Heaven is far from your reach. Here on earth.
• 1:20:32
  Speaker 1: We simply have to practice childlike trust that Papa knows best.
• 1:20:39
  Speaker 1: He is moving behind the scenes, and he is not
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 1: in a hurry, even when we often are. Even in this,
• 1:20:49
  Speaker 1: he is teaching us the art of waiting on him
• 1:20:54
  Speaker 1: and waiting. Well, how would we ever learn to wait
• 1:21:01
  Speaker 1: on him and yield to him without these seasons of
• 1:21:05
  Speaker 1: disappointment and discouragement. These times, if we respond rightly, can
• 1:21:13
  Speaker 1: refine our faith like gold heated seven times, and we
• 1:21:17
  Speaker 1: can come forth more perfected. If we instead allow our
• 1:21:26
  Speaker 1: hearts to grow stony toward him. It may be that
• 1:21:30
  Speaker 1: we have been waiting on the dream to be fulfilled,
• 1:21:34
  Speaker 1: rather than waiting on the presence of God and a
• 1:21:37
  Speaker 1: deeper connection with him. Do we seek him for him alone?
• 1:21:46
  Speaker 1: Or do we seek him for what he can do
• 1:21:49
  Speaker 1: for us. He is so gentle and kind with us,
• 1:21:55
  Speaker 1: so there is no condemnation. Yet He wants to make
• 1:22:00
  Speaker 1: us more like his perfect and loving son Jesus. So
• 1:22:06
  Speaker 1: he will teach us the art of waiting on him,
• 1:22:13
  Speaker 1: and he will give us many occasions to learn patience
• 1:22:17
  Speaker 1: and devotion in the face of disappointment and broken dreams.
• 1:22:23
  Speaker 1: He will show us every single time that he is
• 1:22:28
  Speaker 1: better than those dreams. No matter how wonderful the opportunities
• 1:22:36
  Speaker 1: might be, his presence and his unadulterated love are far better,
• 1:22:44
  Speaker 1: far more satisfying, far more enduring, far more fulfilling. You see,
• 1:22:54
  Speaker 1: precious listener, we are made for him. Our bodies are
• 1:23:01
  Speaker 1: his very temple, and we are now his eternal dwelling place. Therefore,
• 1:23:11
  Speaker 1: if our bodies can house God Almighty himself, creator of
• 1:23:16
  Speaker 1: the universe and the vast cosmos, then how could we
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 1: ever be satisfied with anything else. Through God alone is
• 1:23:28
  Speaker 1: the path of life and the fullness of joy. Psalm
• 1:23:36
  Speaker 1: sixteen eleven says, you make known to me the path
• 1:23:41
  Speaker 1: of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy.
• 1:23:46
  Speaker 1: At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. It can also
• 1:23:54
  Speaker 1: be translated instead, you direct me on the path that
• 1:23:59
  Speaker 1: leads leads to a beautiful life. As I walk with you,
• 1:24:05
  Speaker 1: the pleasures are never ending, and I know true joy
• 1:24:09
  Speaker 1: and contentment. Precious one, let us walk in the balance
• 1:24:18
  Speaker 1: of bringing to our heavenly Dad our hurts and disappointments,
• 1:24:23
  Speaker 1: but also acknowledging to ourselves that true contentment is found
• 1:24:29
  Speaker 1: in Him, true joy is found in Him. Let us
• 1:24:35
  Speaker 1: wait for him and see his goodness. Let us seek
• 1:24:40
  Speaker 1: him and find that he is our greatest delight. The
• 1:24:48
  Speaker 1: Psalmist also writes in Psalm twenty seven, verse thirteen, I
• 1:24:54
  Speaker 1: believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the
• 1:24:57
  Speaker 1: Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord.
• 1:25:03
  Speaker 1: Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for
• 1:25:08
  Speaker 1: the Lord. The Voice translation gives us another perspective. I
• 1:25:18
  Speaker 1: will move past my enemies with this one sure hope
• 1:25:24
  Speaker 1: that with my own eyes I will see the goodness
• 1:25:28
  Speaker 1: of the eternal in the land of the living. Please
• 1:25:32
  Speaker 1: answer me, don't give up. Wait for the eternal in expectation,
• 1:25:39
  Speaker 1: and be strong again. Wait for the eternal, as we
• 1:25:48
  Speaker 1: will keep learning. The art of waiting and waiting well
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 1: can be found in the truth that it's about waiting
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 1: on the Lord. We can become like innocently trusting children.
• 1:26:06
  Speaker 1: There is no fear when we know He is good,
• 1:26:11
  Speaker 1: even when the waiting seems to last beyond anything we think.
• 1:26:16
  Speaker 2: We can handle.
• 1:26:17
  Speaker 1: We do not need to lose faith because we know
• 1:26:22
  Speaker 1: he is good.
• 1:26:24
  Speaker 2: God is love, utter love.
• 1:26:33
  Speaker 1: John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who intimately knew the
• 1:26:39
  Speaker 1: son of God, wrote the following words in fir John
• 1:26:43
  Speaker 1: four seven to twelve, My loved ones, let us devote
• 1:26:50
  Speaker 1: ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God,
• 1:26:56
  Speaker 1: and everyone who loves is born of God and truly
• 1:27:01
  Speaker 1: knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God,
• 1:27:08
  Speaker 1: because God is love. Because of this, the love of
• 1:27:13
  Speaker 1: God is a reality among us. God sent his only
• 1:27:18
  Speaker 1: son into the world so that we could find true
• 1:27:22
  Speaker 1: life through him. This is the embodiment.
• 1:27:28
  Speaker 2: Of true love.
• 1:27:31
  Speaker 1: Not that we have loved God first, but that He
• 1:27:35
  Speaker 1: loved us and sent his unique son on a special
• 1:27:40
  Speaker 1: mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins. So,
• 1:27:47
  Speaker 1: my loved ones, if God loved us so sacrificially, surely
• 1:27:55
  Speaker 1: we should love one another. No one has ever seen
• 1:27:59
  Speaker 1: God with human eyes, but if we love one another,
• 1:28:04
  Speaker 1: God truly lives in us. Consequently, God's love has accomplished
• 1:28:11
  Speaker 1: its mission among us.
• 1:28:17
  Speaker 2: God is love.
• 1:28:19
  Speaker 1: Jesus is the personification of love, Love incarnate, perfect love.
• 1:28:28
  Speaker 1: He cannot fail us. So, precious child, when you feel
• 1:28:33
  Speaker 1: like the waiting game is eating away at you, reach
• 1:28:37
  Speaker 1: down deep and trust that God is perfect love and
• 1:28:42
  Speaker 1: all his ways are pure and right. Listen to these
• 1:28:50
  Speaker 1: two translations of the wonderful words in Deuteronomy thirty two four.
• 1:28:57
  Speaker 1: The Lord is your mighty defender, perfect and just in
• 1:29:02
  Speaker 1: all his ways. Your God is faithful and true. He
• 1:29:08
  Speaker 1: does what is right and fair.
• 1:29:12
  Speaker 2: And also.
• 1:29:14
  Speaker 1: He's the rock, and his work is perfect. Everything he
• 1:29:19
  Speaker 1: does is right. He's the God who can be trusted,
• 1:29:24
  Speaker 1: who never does wrong because he's righteous and upright.
• 1:29:33
  Speaker 2: He is perfect in.
• 1:29:34
  Speaker 1: All his ways, flawless. Yes, we don't see all he
• 1:29:40
  Speaker 1: is doing, but let us wait patiently for him, in
• 1:29:44
  Speaker 1: the confidence that he is doing a work far more
• 1:29:49
  Speaker 1: beautiful than we can presently see. That's why we are
• 1:29:54
  Speaker 1: called to have faith. We wait hopefully in him when
• 1:29:59
  Speaker 1: we don't understand. Jesus also reflected this nature of God,
• 1:30:08
  Speaker 1: and his own best friends and followers were baffled by
• 1:30:12
  Speaker 1: him at times, he says in John thirteen. Jesus replied,
• 1:30:20
  Speaker 1: you do not realize now what I am doing, but
• 1:30:23
  Speaker 1: later you will understand. There will certainly come a day
• 1:30:31
  Speaker 1: when our questions will be resolved, But in the meantime,
• 1:30:36
  Speaker 1: it's more important that we simply cling to him and
• 1:30:40
  Speaker 1: depend on him and walk with him. He is better
• 1:30:48
  Speaker 1: than all the answers we could wish for.
• 1:30:51
  Speaker 2: Even if he.
• 1:30:52
  Speaker 1: Told us everything we wanted to know, it wouldn't be enough,
• 1:30:58
  Speaker 1: because what we are truly seeking is peace and love
• 1:31:03
  Speaker 1: and joy, and they can only be found in Him. Often,
• 1:31:09
  Speaker 1: our soul is simply craving love, So precious one. Right now,
• 1:31:19
  Speaker 1: in this time of waiting, let his love fill you.
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 1: That is something you will never ever need to wait for.
• 1:31:31
  Speaker 1: His love is flowing to you in a never ending
• 1:31:35
  Speaker 1: eternal stream of devotion and goodness. The writer of Lamentation
• 1:31:44
  Speaker 1: says in Chapter three, verse twenty five, the Lord is
• 1:31:49
  Speaker 1: good to those whose hope is in him, to the
• 1:31:53
  Speaker 1: one who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly
• 1:31:57
  Speaker 1: for the salvation of the Lord. Or put another way,
• 1:32:05
  Speaker 1: it is good. The eternal One is good to those
• 1:32:09
  Speaker 1: who expect him, to those who seek him wholeheartedly. It
• 1:32:15
  Speaker 1: is good to wait quietly for the Eternal to make
• 1:32:18
  Speaker 1: things right again, though we can't always see it right.
• 1:32:26
  Speaker 1: At this very moment, he is in the process of
• 1:32:30
  Speaker 1: making things right and beautiful. Jesus is the master craftsman,
• 1:32:36
  Speaker 1: and nothing is broken beyond his repair. But he doesn't
• 1:32:42
  Speaker 1: work according to our Timetable Two Peter three point nine
• 1:32:49
  Speaker 1: addresses this. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
• 1:32:55
  Speaker 1: as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you,
• 1:33:02
  Speaker 1: not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
• 1:33:11
  Speaker 1: He is not slow. Perhaps it is we who are
• 1:33:17
  Speaker 1: in a hurry. He will incline his ear to us.
• 1:33:22
  Speaker 1: Though his answer may not come instantly, he does hear
• 1:33:27
  Speaker 1: us instantly. In fact, the psalmist wrote, before a word
• 1:33:33
  Speaker 1: is on my tongue, you Lord know it completely. He
• 1:33:41
  Speaker 1: is quick to listen and slow to speak, and he
• 1:33:45
  Speaker 1: urges us to be just like him in these virtues.
• 1:33:50
  Speaker 1: But he always inclines his ear tenderly to your prayers.
• 1:33:56
  Speaker 1: David's lyrics of Psalm forty verse one. I waited patiently.
• 1:34:02
  Speaker 2: For the Lord.
• 1:34:03
  Speaker 1: He inclined to me and heard my cry. The voice
• 1:34:10
  Speaker 1: translation puts it in these words. I waited a long
• 1:34:15
  Speaker 1: time for the Eternal. He finally knelt down to hear me.
• 1:34:20
  Speaker 1: He listened to my weak and whispered cry. Perhaps you
• 1:34:27
  Speaker 1: have been calling out to him recently, and maybe it
• 1:34:31
  Speaker 1: feels like your prayers to him are landing on deaf ears.
• 1:34:36
  Speaker 1: I assure you he is listening, even the groanings of
• 1:34:44
  Speaker 1: your heart that you haven't had the strength to utter
• 1:34:49
  Speaker 1: even those prayers he hears. He is compassionate and attentive
• 1:34:55
  Speaker 1: to even your most feeble whispers. Let your soul wait
• 1:35:02
  Speaker 1: quietly for him, just as David did. Allow me to
• 1:35:08
  Speaker 1: read our Foundation Psalm Psalm sixty two again, from verse
• 1:35:13
  Speaker 1: five down to verse eight. I invite you to listen
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 1: to David's heart, his heart which pleased God so much.
• 1:35:24
  Speaker 1: We want to please our heavenly Father. Also, my soul
• 1:35:31
  Speaker 1: quietly waits for the True God alone, because I hope
• 1:35:36
  Speaker 1: only in Him. He alone is my rock and deliverance,
• 1:35:41
  Speaker 1: my citadel high on a hill, I will not be shaken.
• 1:35:48
  Speaker 1: My salvation and my significance depend ultimately on God. The
• 1:35:54
  Speaker 1: core of my strengths, my shelter is in the True God.
• 1:36:00
  Speaker 1: Have faith in Him in all circumstances. Dear people, open
• 1:36:05
  Speaker 1: up your heart to him. The True God shelters us
• 1:36:09
  Speaker 1: in his arms. Lord God, we are waiting on you.
• 1:36:18
  Speaker 1: We are quietly and contentedly waiting for you alone. And
• 1:36:23
  Speaker 1: you are not absent from us. You are here with
• 1:36:28
  Speaker 1: us through your wonderful Holy Spirit, Emmanuel God with us.
• 1:36:37
  Speaker 1: We are not waiting alone and abandoned. We are filled
• 1:36:41
  Speaker 1: and enveloped by your presence, Lord, help us to quiet
• 1:36:47
  Speaker 1: our souls so we can hear your gentle whispers.
• 1:36:52
  Speaker 2: When we call on you.
• 1:36:54
  Speaker 1: We know you hear us, so open our ears to
• 1:36:58
  Speaker 1: your answer. Let us always hear your words of love
• 1:37:04
  Speaker 1: and grace and kindness. Your presence is here, and as
• 1:37:11
  Speaker 1: we rest and sleep in safety. Is so sweet, How
• 1:37:17
  Speaker 1: blissful it is to wait upon you and wait with
• 1:37:21
  Speaker 1: you and loving Lord. Where our hearts have grown stony
• 1:37:28
  Speaker 1: towards you in our seasons of waiting, would your love
• 1:37:31
  Speaker 1: come and soften those places? We trust you. We know
• 1:37:39
  Speaker 1: that you are always working, even when we can't see
• 1:37:43
  Speaker 1: you working. We trust that you are behind the scenes,
• 1:37:48
  Speaker 1: making eternal beauty out of our lives. So we yield
• 1:37:54
  Speaker 1: to your perfect work in the name of your son, Jesus. Men,
• 1:38:04
  Speaker 1: keep breathing gently. Let deep sleep come as you wait
• 1:38:10
  Speaker 1: in his presence.
• 1:38:14
  Speaker 2: Enjoy his peace.
• 1:38:16
  Speaker 1: As you wait in his presence, listen for his gentle
• 1:38:23
  Speaker 1: whispers of love in your heart. This can be your
• 1:38:31
  Speaker 1: continual experience of waiting on him. He will never leave
• 1:38:36
  Speaker 1: you empty. He will always give the answer that you
• 1:38:42
  Speaker 1: need the most. And maybe that is simply the assurance
• 1:38:48
  Speaker 1: that he loves you with an everlasting love. Hear him
• 1:38:53
  Speaker 1: saying it to you again and again and again. Let's
• 1:39:01
  Speaker 1: praise him as we close. Loving Father God, we love you,
• 1:39:09
  Speaker 1: we trust you, and we are quieting our souls to
• 1:39:13
  Speaker 1: wait only on you. Only from you comes our salvation.
• 1:39:20
  Speaker 1: You alone are our rock and our defense. We are
• 1:39:26
  Speaker 1: settling ourselves to wait on you. Let us not be
• 1:39:31
  Speaker 1: shaken or moved from this place. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen,
• 1:39:40
  Speaker 1: continue to enjoy His presence as you wait, beloved child,
• 1:39:46
  Speaker 1: for God alone. May your soul wait in silence, for
• 1:39:51
  Speaker 1: your hope is from Him. Join me as we explore
• 1:40:17
  Speaker 1: the nature of waiting, both an art and a skill
• 1:40:23
  Speaker 1: and a practice as well as a pleasure. Tonight we
• 1:40:29
  Speaker 1: will be learning how we, as followers of Jesus, can
• 1:40:33
  Speaker 1: truly learn the kind of waiting that brings refreshment, that
• 1:40:38
  Speaker 1: is waiting on the Lord and waiting well. This is
• 1:40:46
  Speaker 1: truly only understood in union with His spirit, because He
• 1:40:51
  Speaker 1: will teach us and guide us in the art of waiting.
• 1:40:56
  Speaker 1: Through his guidance. Tonight we will come to understand more
• 1:41:00
  Speaker 1: deeply how waiting on God can nourish our lives and
• 1:41:04
  Speaker 1: deepen our relationship with him. There is purpose in all
• 1:41:11
  Speaker 1: of God's designs, so we'll be exploring some of His
• 1:41:16
  Speaker 1: purposes for waiting and how we can practice and enjoy
• 1:41:21
  Speaker 1: this hope filled art. The words of Psalm sixty two,
• 1:41:28
  Speaker 1: verse five will be our guiding compass tonight, leading us
• 1:41:32
  Speaker 1: to more deeply understand waiting for God alone, Oh my soul,
• 1:41:40
  Speaker 1: wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. We'll
• 1:41:49
  Speaker 1: be learning the art of waiting as we listen to
• 1:41:53
  Speaker 1: scriptures and poetry, and during the times of silence, we
• 1:41:58
  Speaker 1: will wait on the Lord and make room for the
• 1:42:01
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit to move on our hearts and draw us
• 1:42:05
  Speaker 1: into an experience of His hope filled peace. His love
• 1:42:11
  Speaker 1: will lead us tonight and we will find deeper confidence
• 1:42:15
  Speaker 1: in Him. Before we delve deeper into the art of waiting,
• 1:42:23
  Speaker 1: let's truly put it into practice and get our bodies
• 1:42:27
  Speaker 1: into a state of total relaxation and ease. Do whatever
• 1:42:34
  Speaker 1: you need to do to make your surroundings most RESTful
• 1:42:38
  Speaker 1: and quiet and comfortable. That may include turning off the lights,
• 1:42:45
  Speaker 1: drawing the curtains, or adjusting your pillows or blankets to
• 1:42:50
  Speaker 1: the best position. When you have made yourself fully comfortable,
• 1:42:57
  Speaker 1: come to stillness and breathe inhale and exhale several times
• 1:43:07
  Speaker 1: to cleanse your lungs and bring freshness and newness to
• 1:43:11
  Speaker 1: your body. Let the weariness and exhaustion that your body
• 1:43:17
  Speaker 1: might be carrying sink into the mattress as you breathe.
• 1:43:25
  Speaker 1: Imagine that weariness dissolving from every cell in your body.
• 1:43:32
  Speaker 1: Imagine deep hope filled rest filling and nourishing your cells.
• 1:43:40
  Speaker 1: Imagine that hope dispelling all disappointment that your body is
• 1:43:45
  Speaker 1: holding onto. Allow the Holy Spirit to come into those
• 1:43:52
  Speaker 1: places and restore your hope. As you lie here in stillness.
• 1:43:59
  Speaker 1: He knows you you intimately, and he knows all those
• 1:44:03
  Speaker 1: places of heartache and crushed dreams. He is so close
• 1:44:09
  Speaker 1: to you now. He is close to the broken hearted
• 1:44:14
  Speaker 1: and restores those crushed in spirit. Notice any other feelings
• 1:44:22
  Speaker 1: that come up as you breathe deeply into your lungs
• 1:44:26
  Speaker 1: and surrender them to God. Any memories that might resurface,
• 1:44:33
  Speaker 1: give them to him. He has peace and hope to
• 1:44:38
  Speaker 1: give you. Instead, Feel any tight or sore places in
• 1:44:44
  Speaker 1: your body and invite Him to bring his peace to
• 1:44:48
  Speaker 1: those spots. Relax your face and jaw, Relax your neck
• 1:44:57
  Speaker 1: and shoulders. Release your stomach and torso, Let go of
• 1:45:09
  Speaker 1: tension all down your back and legs, all the way
• 1:45:14
  Speaker 1: to your feet. Let His gentle peace come upon you
• 1:45:20
  Speaker 1: and fill you. There is nothing to worry about. Nothing
• 1:45:29
  Speaker 1: in your life is outside of his healing touch. There
• 1:45:33
  Speaker 1: is nothing so bad that you need to trouble your
• 1:45:37
  Speaker 1: heart about it. He has got you. Let's come to
• 1:45:45
  Speaker 1: God together in prayer. Wonderful Creator and Father, we are
• 1:45:52
  Speaker 1: coming to you tonight to learn the art of waiting.
• 1:45:57
  Speaker 1: Thank you that we are not waiting on a fickle
• 1:46:00
  Speaker 1: dream or a fragile hope. We are waiting on the
• 1:46:06
  Speaker 1: sovereign Lord, God Almighty. You are powerful and able. You
• 1:46:15
  Speaker 1: are mighty to save, and we can rely on you
• 1:46:19
  Speaker 1: in total confidence. Thank you for guiding us tonight toward
• 1:46:25
  Speaker 1: hope filled waiting, RESTful and expectant waiting. Lead us in
• 1:46:33
  Speaker 1: the art of waiting. Not just waiting on promises to
• 1:46:37
  Speaker 1: be fulfilled, but waiting on You are sure and certain hope.
• 1:46:45
  Speaker 1: Unlike even our most wild dreams coming to fruition, which
• 1:46:50
  Speaker 1: can still disappoint us, we are waiting on you, and
• 1:46:55
  Speaker 1: you cannot disappoint us. Thank you for closing the wrong
• 1:47:02
  Speaker 1: doors in our lives, and thank you in advance for
• 1:47:05
  Speaker 1: the doors you will fleeing wide for us to enter.
• 1:47:10
  Speaker 1: We know that true fulfillment and joy can only be
• 1:47:14
  Speaker 1: found in you. Nothing else will bring us lasting peace
• 1:47:20
  Speaker 1: and contentment like you. We love you, wonderful Lord, and
• 1:47:26
  Speaker 1: we declare that you are worthy of our waiting in
• 1:47:32
  Speaker 1: Jesus name.
• 1:47:34
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 1:47:38
  Speaker 1: Now let's begin to explore the art of waiting in
• 1:47:42
  Speaker 1: greater depth. The word itself may bring up certain emotions,
• 1:47:48
  Speaker 1: some negative, some positive. It might remind you of the
• 1:47:55
  Speaker 1: days in your childhood before Christmas. You'd been longing for
• 1:48:00
  Speaker 1: this day to come. The colorful wrapped presence under the
• 1:48:06
  Speaker 1: tree had been tempting.
• 1:48:07
  Speaker 3: You for weeks.
• 1:48:12
  Speaker 1: When Christmas morning finally greeted you, joy also filled your heart.
• 1:48:20
  Speaker 1: Maybe it became a day every year for which you
• 1:48:23
  Speaker 1: waited with hopeful expectancy and delight. Or perhaps the term
• 1:48:32
  Speaker 1: waiting reminds you of that time when you sat in
• 1:48:36
  Speaker 1: the car for what felt like hours while your father
• 1:48:40
  Speaker 1: talked to a neighbor at the fence when you were
• 1:48:43
  Speaker 1: supposed to be going for a father child adventure with him.
• 1:48:51
  Speaker 1: That kind of waiting can feel like a great disappointment. Indeed,
• 1:48:56
  Speaker 1: and it can hurt our hearts. But precious child, let
• 1:49:02
  Speaker 1: me encourage you that your heavenly Dad is nothing like that.
• 1:49:08
  Speaker 2: He will never.
• 1:49:10
  Speaker 1: Let you down. You may feel disappointment if God does
• 1:49:15
  Speaker 1: not act as you want him to, but He is
• 1:49:19
  Speaker 1: always good. He always acts for your good and his glory.
• 1:49:28
  Speaker 1: He does not hold back good gifts from his children.
• 1:49:33
  Speaker 1: Psalm eighty four eleven tells us, for the Lord God
• 1:49:38
  Speaker 1: is a son and a safe covering. The Lord gives
• 1:49:43
  Speaker 1: favor and honor. He holds back nothing good from those
• 1:49:49
  Speaker 1: who walk in the way that is right. Or, as
• 1:49:55
  Speaker 1: the Good News Translation says, the Lord God is our
• 1:49:59
  Speaker 1: p detector and glorious king. He blesses us with kindness
• 1:50:05
  Speaker 1: and honor. The Lord freely gives every good thing to
• 1:50:11
  Speaker 1: those who do what is right. And when those times
• 1:50:17
  Speaker 1: come where we often feel like he does seem to
• 1:50:21
  Speaker 1: withhold good and stand at a distance, we can be
• 1:50:26
  Speaker 1: sure that we see through the glass dimly and don't
• 1:50:30
  Speaker 1: perceive his plans. His ways are so far above our
• 1:50:38
  Speaker 1: ways as the sky is above the earth, we cannot
• 1:50:43
  Speaker 1: fathom his plans. He knew we would question his ways,
• 1:50:49
  Speaker 1: so he plainly tells us through his Prophet Isaiah in
• 1:50:53
  Speaker 1: chapter fifty five, verse eight. My intentions are not all yours,
• 1:51:01
  Speaker 1: and I do not go about things as you do.
• 1:51:05
  Speaker 1: My thoughts and my ways are above and beyond you,
• 1:51:10
  Speaker 1: just as Heaven is far from your reach here on earth.
• 1:51:17
  Speaker 1: We simply have to practice childlike trust that Papa knows best.
• 1:51:24
  Speaker 1: He is moving behind the scenes, and he is not
• 1:51:29
  Speaker 1: in a hurry, even when we often are. Even in this,
• 1:51:34
  Speaker 1: he is teaching us the art of waiting on him
• 1:51:38
  Speaker 1: and waiting. Well, how would we ever learn to wait
• 1:51:46
  Speaker 1: on him and yield to him without these seasons of
• 1:51:50
  Speaker 1: disappointment and discouragement. These times, if we respond rightly, can
• 1:51:57
  Speaker 1: refine our faith like gold old heated seven times, and
• 1:52:02
  Speaker 1: we can come forth more perfected. If we instead allow
• 1:52:10
  Speaker 1: our hearts to grow stony toward him. It may be
• 1:52:14
  Speaker 1: that we have been waiting on the dream to be fulfilled,
• 1:52:19
  Speaker 1: rather than waiting on the presence of God and a
• 1:52:22
  Speaker 1: deeper connection with him. Do we seek him for him alone?
• 1:52:31
  Speaker 1: Or do we seek him for what he can do
• 1:52:34
  Speaker 1: for us? He is so gentle and kind with us,
• 1:52:40
  Speaker 1: so there is no condemnation. Yet he wants to make
• 1:52:45
  Speaker 1: us more like his perfect and loving son Jesus. So
• 1:52:51
  Speaker 1: he will teach us the art of waiting on him,
• 1:52:58
  Speaker 1: and he will give us many occasions to learn patience
• 1:53:02
  Speaker 1: and devotion. In the face of disappointment and broken dreams.
• 1:53:08
  Speaker 1: He will show us every single time that He is
• 1:53:12
  Speaker 1: better than those dreams. No matter how wonderful the opportunities
• 1:53:21
  Speaker 1: might be, his presence and his unadulterated love are far better,
• 1:53:28
  Speaker 1: far more satisfying, far more enduring, far more fulfilling. You see,
• 1:53:39
  Speaker 1: precious listener, we are made for him. Our bodies are
• 1:53:46
  Speaker 1: his very temple, and we are now his eternal dwelling place. Therefore,
• 1:53:55
  Speaker 1: if our bodies can house God Almighty himself, creator of
• 1:54:01
  Speaker 1: the universe and the vast cosmos, then how could we
• 1:54:06
  Speaker 1: ever be satisfied with anything else. Through God alone is
• 1:54:13
  Speaker 1: the path of life and the fullness of joy. Psalm
• 1:54:21
  Speaker 1: sixteen eleven says, You make known to me the path
• 1:54:26
  Speaker 1: of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy.
• 1:54:31
  Speaker 1: At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. It can also
• 1:54:39
  Speaker 1: be translated instead, You direct me on the path that
• 1:54:44
  Speaker 1: leads to a beautiful life. As I walk with you,
• 1:54:49
  Speaker 1: the pleasures are never ending, and I know true joy
• 1:54:54
  Speaker 1: and contentment. Precious Wales, let us walk in the balance
• 1:55:03
  Speaker 1: of bringing to our heavenly Dad our hurts and disappointments,
• 1:55:08
  Speaker 1: but also acknowledging to ourselves that true contentment is found
• 1:55:14
  Speaker 1: in him, true joy is found in him. Let us
• 1:55:20
  Speaker 1: wait for him and see his goodness. Let us seek
• 1:55:25
  Speaker 1: him and find that he is our greatest delight. The
• 1:55:33
  Speaker 1: Psalmist also writes in Psalm twenty seven, verse thirteen, I
• 1:55:39
  Speaker 1: believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the
• 1:55:42
  Speaker 1: Lord in the land of the Living. Wait for the Lord.
• 1:55:47
  Speaker 1: Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for
• 1:55:53
  Speaker 1: the Lord. The voice translation gives us another perspective. I
• 1:56:03
  Speaker 1: will move past my enemies with this one sure hope
• 1:56:08
  Speaker 1: that with my own eyes I will see the goodness
• 1:56:13
  Speaker 1: of the eternal in the land of the living. Please
• 1:56:17
  Speaker 1: answer me, don't give up. Wait for the eternal in expectation,
• 1:56:24
  Speaker 1: and be strong again. Wait for the eternal, as we
• 1:56:33
  Speaker 1: will keep learning the art of waiting and waiting well
• 1:56:39
  Speaker 1: can be found in the truth that it's about waiting
• 1:56:43
  Speaker 1: on the Lord. We can become like innocently trusting children.
• 1:56:51
  Speaker 1: There is no fear when we know he is good,
• 1:56:56
  Speaker 1: even when the waiting seems to last beyond any thing
• 1:57:00
  Speaker 1: we think we can handle. We do not need to
• 1:57:04
  Speaker 1: lose faith because we know He is good.
• 1:57:09
  Speaker 2: God is love, utter love.
• 1:57:18
  Speaker 1: John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who intimately knew the
• 1:57:24
  Speaker 1: son of God, wrote the following words in One John
• 1:57:28
  Speaker 1: four seven to twelve, My loved ones, let us devote
• 1:57:35
  Speaker 1: ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God,
• 1:57:41
  Speaker 1: and everyone who loves is born of God and truly
• 1:57:46
  Speaker 1: knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God,
• 1:57:53
  Speaker 1: because God is love. Because of this, the love of
• 1:57:58
  Speaker 1: God is a reality among us. God sent his only
• 1:58:03
  Speaker 1: son into the world so that we could find true.
• 1:58:07
  Speaker 2: Life through him.
• 1:58:11
  Speaker 1: This is the embodiment of true love. Not that we
• 1:58:17
  Speaker 1: have loved God first, but that He loved us and
• 1:58:22
  Speaker 1: sent his unique son on a special mission to become
• 1:58:27
  Speaker 1: an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
• 1:58:32
  Speaker 2: So, my loved ones.
• 1:58:34
  Speaker 1: If God loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love
• 1:58:40
  Speaker 1: one another. No one has ever seen God with human eyes,
• 1:58:47
  Speaker 1: but if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently,
• 1:58:54
  Speaker 1: God's love has accomplished its mission among us.
• 1:59:01
  Speaker 2: God is love.
• 1:59:04
  Speaker 1: Jesus is the personification of love, love incarnate, perfect love.
• 1:59:13
  Speaker 1: He cannot fail us. So, precious child, when you feel
• 1:59:18
  Speaker 1: like the waiting game is eating away at you, reach
• 1:59:22
  Speaker 1: down deep and trust that God is perfect love, and
• 1:59:27
  Speaker 1: all his ways are pure and right. Listen to these
• 1:59:34
  Speaker 1: two translations of the wonderful words in Deuteronomy thirty two four.
• 1:59:41
  Speaker 2: The Lord is your mighty.
• 1:59:43
  Speaker 1: Defender, perfect and just in all his ways. Your God
• 1:59:50
  Speaker 1: is faithful and true. He does what is right and fair.
• 1:59:56
  Speaker 2: And also.
• 1:59:59
  Speaker 1: He's the raw and his work is perfect. Everything he
• 2:00:04
  Speaker 1: does is right. He's the God who can be trusted,
• 2:00:09
  Speaker 1: who never does wrong because he's righteous and upright.
• 2:00:18
  Speaker 2: He is perfect in all his ways, flawless.
• 2:00:23
  Speaker 1: Yes, we don't see all he is doing, but let
• 2:00:27
  Speaker 1: us wait patiently for him, in the confidence that he
• 2:00:31
  Speaker 1: is doing a work far more beautiful than we can
• 2:00:35
  Speaker 1: presently see. That's why we are called to have faith.
• 2:00:42
  Speaker 1: We wait hopefully in him when we don't understand. Jesus
• 2:00:50
  Speaker 1: also reflected this nature of God, and his own best
• 2:00:54
  Speaker 1: friends and followers were baffled by him at times, he
• 2:01:00
  Speaker 1: says in John thirteen. Jesus replied, you do not realize
• 2:01:06
  Speaker 1: now what I am doing, but later you will understand.
• 2:01:14
  Speaker 1: There will certainly come a day when our questions will
• 2:01:18
  Speaker 1: be resolved, But in the meantime, it's more important that
• 2:01:22
  Speaker 1: we simply cling to him and depend on him and
• 2:01:27
  Speaker 1: walk with him. He is better than all the answers
• 2:01:34
  Speaker 1: we could wish for. Even if he told us everything
• 2:01:38
  Speaker 1: we wanted to know, it wouldn't be enough, because what
• 2:01:43
  Speaker 1: we are truly seeking is peace and love and joy,
• 2:01:49
  Speaker 1: and they can only be found in Him. Often, our
• 2:01:55
  Speaker 1: soul is simply craving love, so precious one. Right now,
• 2:02:04
  Speaker 1: in this time of waiting, let his love fill you.
• 2:02:11
  Speaker 1: That is something you will never ever need to wait for.
• 2:02:16
  Speaker 1: His love is flowing to you in a never ending
• 2:02:20
  Speaker 1: eternal stream of devotion and goodness. The writer of Lamentation
• 2:02:29
  Speaker 1: says in chapter three, verse twenty five, the Lord is
• 2:02:34
  Speaker 1: good to those whose hope is in him, to the
• 2:02:38
  Speaker 1: one who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly
• 2:02:42
  Speaker 1: for the salvation of the Lord. Or put another way,
• 2:02:50
  Speaker 1: it is good. The eternal One is good to those
• 2:02:54
  Speaker 1: who expect him, to those who seek him wholeheartedly. It
• 2:02:59
  Speaker 1: is good to wait quietly for the Eternal to make
• 2:03:03
  Speaker 1: things right again, though we can't always see it right
• 2:03:11
  Speaker 1: At this very moment, he is in the process.
• 2:03:15
  Speaker 2: Of making things right and beautiful.
• 2:03:18
  Speaker 1: Jesus is the master craftsman, and nothing is broken beyond
• 2:03:24
  Speaker 1: his repair. But he doesn't work according to our timetable.
• 2:03:32
  Speaker 1: Two Peter three point nine addresses this. The Lord is
• 2:03:37
  Speaker 1: not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead,
• 2:03:44
  Speaker 1: he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
• 2:03:49
  Speaker 1: but everyone to come to repentance. He is not slow,
• 2:03:59
  Speaker 1: perhaps as it is we who are in a hurry.
• 2:04:04
  Speaker 1: He will incline his ear to us. Though his answer
• 2:04:08
  Speaker 1: may not come instantly, he does hear us instantly. In fact,
• 2:04:14
  Speaker 1: the Psalmist wrote, before a word is on my tongue,
• 2:04:19
  Speaker 1: you Lord know it completely. He is quick to listen
• 2:04:28
  Speaker 1: and slow to speak, and he urges us to be
• 2:04:32
  Speaker 1: just like him in these virtues.
• 2:04:35
  Speaker 2: But he always inclines.
• 2:04:37
  Speaker 1: His ear tenderly to your prayers. David's lyrics of Psalm
• 2:04:43
  Speaker 1: forty verse one read I waited patiently for the Lord.
• 2:04:48
  Speaker 1: He inclined to me and heard my cry. The voice
• 2:04:55
  Speaker 1: translation puts it in these words, I waited a long
• 2:05:00
  Speaker 1: time for the eternal. He finally knelt down to hear me.
• 2:05:05
  Speaker 1: He listened to my weak and whispered cry. Perhaps you
• 2:05:12
  Speaker 1: have been calling out to him recently, and maybe it
• 2:05:16
  Speaker 1: feels like your prayers to him are landing on deaf ears.
• 2:05:21
  Speaker 1: I assure you he is listening, even the groanings of
• 2:05:29
  Speaker 1: your heart that you haven't had the strength to utter.
• 2:05:33
  Speaker 1: Even those prayers he hears. He is compassionate and attentive
• 2:05:39
  Speaker 1: to even your most feeble whispers.
• 2:05:46
  Speaker 2: Let your soul.
• 2:05:47
  Speaker 1: Wait quietly for him, just as David did. Allow me
• 2:05:52
  Speaker 1: to read our foundation Psalm Psalm sixty two again, from
• 2:05:57
  Speaker 1: verse five down to verse eight. I invite you to
• 2:06:02
  Speaker 1: listen to David's heart, his heart which pleased God so much.
• 2:06:09
  Speaker 1: We want to please our heavenly Father. Also, my soul
• 2:06:16
  Speaker 1: quietly waits for the True God alone, because I hope
• 2:06:21
  Speaker 1: only in Him. He alone is my rock and deliverance,
• 2:06:26
  Speaker 1: my citadel high on a hill, I will not be shaken.
• 2:06:33
  Speaker 1: My salvation and my significance depend ultimately on God. The
• 2:06:39
  Speaker 1: core of my strengths, my shelter is in the True God.
• 2:06:44
  Speaker 1: Have faith in Him in all circumstances. Dear people, open
• 2:06:50
  Speaker 1: up your heart to him. The True God shelters us
• 2:06:54
  Speaker 1: in his arms. Lord God, we are waiting on you.
• 2:07:03
  Speaker 1: We are quietly and contentedly waiting for you alone, and
• 2:07:08
  Speaker 1: you are not absent from us. You are here with
• 2:07:13
  Speaker 1: us through your wonderful Holy Spirit, Emmanuel God.
• 2:07:19
  Speaker 2: With us.
• 2:07:22
  Speaker 1: We are not waiting alone and abandoned. We are filled
• 2:07:26
  Speaker 1: and enveloped by your presence. Lord, Help us to quiet
• 2:07:32
  Speaker 1: our souls so we can hear your gentle whispers when
• 2:07:38
  Speaker 1: we call on you. We know you hear us, so
• 2:07:42
  Speaker 1: open our ears to your answer. Let us always hear
• 2:07:47
  Speaker 1: your words of love and grace and kindness. Your presence
• 2:07:54
  Speaker 1: is here, and as we rest and sleep in safety,
• 2:07:58
  Speaker 1: is so sweet, How blissful it is to wait upon
• 2:08:04
  Speaker 1: you and wait with you and loving Lord, Where our
• 2:08:11
  Speaker 1: hearts have grown stony towards you in our seasons of waiting,
• 2:08:15
  Speaker 1: Would your love come and soften those places? We trust you.
• 2:08:23
  Speaker 1: We know that you are always working, even when we
• 2:08:27
  Speaker 1: can't see you working. We trust that you are behind
• 2:08:32
  Speaker 1: the scenes, making eternal beauty out of our lives. So
• 2:08:38
  Speaker 1: we yield to your perfect work in the name of
• 2:08:42
  Speaker 1: your son, Jesus. Amen, keep breathing gently, Let deep sleep
• 2:08:53
  Speaker 1: come as you wait in his presence, His peace. As
• 2:09:01
  Speaker 1: you wait in his presence, listen for his gentle whispers
• 2:09:09
  Speaker 1: of love in your heart. This can be your continual
• 2:09:16
  Speaker 1: experience of waiting on him. He will never leave you empty.
• 2:09:25
  Speaker 1: He will always give the answer that you need the most.
• 2:09:29
  Speaker 1: And maybe that is simply the assurance that He loves
• 2:09:33
  Speaker 1: you with an everlasting love. Hear him saying it to
• 2:09:39
  Speaker 1: you again and again and again. Let's praise him as
• 2:09:47
  Speaker 1: we close. Loving Father God, we love you, we trust you,
• 2:09:56
  Speaker 1: and we are quieting our souls to wait only on you.
• 2:10:00
  Speaker 2: You.
• 2:10:01
  Speaker 1: Only from you comes our salvation. You alone are our
• 2:10:07
  Speaker 1: rock and our defense. We are settling ourselves to wait
• 2:10:13
  Speaker 1: on you. Let us not be shaken or moved from
• 2:10:18
  Speaker 1: this place. In Jesus' name, we pray amen, continue to
• 2:10:26
  Speaker 1: enjoy His presence as you wait, beloved child, for God alone.
• 2:10:33
  Speaker 1: May your soul wait in silence, for your hope is
• 2:10:37
  Speaker 1: from him. Let's listen again to this sleep story about
• 2:10:44
  Speaker 1: the art of waiting. The word itself may bring up
• 2:10:50
  Speaker 1: certain emotions, some negative, some positive. It might remind you
• 2:10:59
  Speaker 1: of the days in your te childhood before Christmas. You'd
• 2:11:03
  Speaker 1: been longing for this day to come. The colorful wrapped
• 2:11:08
  Speaker 1: presence under the tree had been tempting.
• 2:11:11
  Speaker 3: You for weeks.
• 2:11:15
  Speaker 1: When Christmas Morning finally greeted you, joy also filled your heart.
• 2:11:24
  Speaker 1: Maybe it became a day every year for which you
• 2:11:27
  Speaker 1: waited with hopeful expectancy and delight. Or perhaps the term
• 2:11:36
  Speaker 1: waiting reminds you of that time when you sat in
• 2:11:40
  Speaker 1: the car for what felt like hours while your father
• 2:11:44
  Speaker 1: talked to a neighbor at the fence, when you were
• 2:11:47
  Speaker 1: supposed to be going for a father child adventure with him.
• 2:11:55
  Speaker 1: That kind of waiting can feel like a great disappointment, indeed,
• 2:12:00
  Speaker 1: and it can hurt our hearts. But precious child, let
• 2:12:06
  Speaker 1: me encourage you that your heavenly Dad is nothing like that.
• 2:12:12
  Speaker 1: He will never let you down. You may feel disappointment
• 2:12:19
  Speaker 1: if God does not act as you want him to,
• 2:12:22
  Speaker 1: but He is always good. He always acts for your
• 2:12:27
  Speaker 1: good and his glory. He does not hold back good
• 2:12:34
  Speaker 1: gifts from his children. Psalm eighty four eleven tells us
• 2:12:41
  Speaker 1: for the Lord God is a son and a safe covering.
• 2:12:46
  Speaker 1: The Lord gives favor and honor.
• 2:12:49
  Speaker 2: He holds back.
• 2:12:51
  Speaker 1: Nothing good from those who walk in the way that
• 2:12:54
  Speaker 1: is right, or, as the Good News Translation says, the
• 2:13:02
  Speaker 1: Lord God is our protector and glorious king. He blesses
• 2:13:08
  Speaker 1: us with kindness, and honor. The Lord freely gives every
• 2:13:13
  Speaker 1: good thing to those who do what is right. And
• 2:13:20
  Speaker 1: when those times come where we often feel like he
• 2:13:24
  Speaker 1: does seem to withhold good and stand at a distance,
• 2:13:29
  Speaker 1: we can be sure that we see through the glass
• 2:13:32
  Speaker 1: dimly and don't perceive his plans. His ways are so
• 2:13:41
  Speaker 1: far above our ways as the sky is above the earth,
• 2:13:47
  Speaker 1: we cannot fathom his plans. He knew we would question
• 2:13:52
  Speaker 1: his ways, so he plainly tells us through his prophet
• 2:13:56
  Speaker 1: Isaiah in chapter fifty five, verse eight. My intentions are
• 2:14:03
  Speaker 1: not always yours, and I do not go about things
• 2:14:07
  Speaker 1: as you do. My thoughts and my ways are above
• 2:14:12
  Speaker 1: and beyond you, just as Heaven is far from your reach.
• 2:14:17
  Speaker 1: Here on earth. We simply have to practice childlike trust
• 2:14:25
  Speaker 1: that Papa knows best. He is moving behind the scenes,
• 2:14:31
  Speaker 1: and he is not in a hurry, even when we
• 2:14:35
  Speaker 1: often are. Even in this, he is teaching us the
• 2:14:40
  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him and waiting well, how would
• 2:14:48
  Speaker 1: we ever learn to wait on him and yield to
• 2:14:51
  Speaker 1: him without these seasons of disappointment and discouragement. These times,
• 2:14:59
  Speaker 1: if we respond rightly, can refine our faith like gold.
• 2:15:04
  Speaker 1: Heated seven times and we can come forth more perfected.
• 2:15:12
  Speaker 1: If we instead allow our hearts to grow stony toward him,
• 2:15:17
  Speaker 1: it may be that we have been waiting on the
• 2:15:20
  Speaker 1: dream to be fulfilled, rather than waiting on the presence
• 2:15:25
  Speaker 1: of God and a deeper connection with him. Do we
• 2:15:32
  Speaker 1: seek him for him alone? Or do we seek him
• 2:15:37
  Speaker 1: for what he can do for us. He is so
• 2:15:41
  Speaker 1: gentle and kind with us, so there is no condemnation.
• 2:15:47
  Speaker 1: Yet he wants to make us more like his perfect
• 2:15:51
  Speaker 1: and loving son Jesus. So he will teach us the
• 2:15:57
  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him, and he will give us
• 2:16:03
  Speaker 1: many occasions to learn patience and devotion. In the face
• 2:16:08
  Speaker 1: of disappointment and broken dreams. He will show us every
• 2:16:14
  Speaker 1: single time that He is better than those dreams. No
• 2:16:22
  Speaker 1: matter how wonderful the opportunities might be, his presence and
• 2:16:27
  Speaker 1: his unadulterated love are far better, far more satisfying, far
• 2:16:35
  Speaker 1: more enduring, far more fulfilling. You see, precious listener.
• 2:16:45
  Speaker 2: We are made for him.
• 2:16:49
  Speaker 1: Our bodies are his very temple, and we are now
• 2:16:53
  Speaker 1: his eternal dwelling place. Therefore, if if our bodies can
• 2:17:01
  Speaker 1: house God Almighty himself, creator of the universe and the
• 2:17:06
  Speaker 1: vast cosmos. Then, how could we ever be satisfied with
• 2:17:12
  Speaker 1: anything else. Through God alone is the path of life
• 2:17:19
  Speaker 1: and the fullness of joy. Psalm sixteen eleven says, you
• 2:17:28
  Speaker 1: make known to me the path of life. In your presence,
• 2:17:33
  Speaker 1: there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are
• 2:17:37
  Speaker 1: pleasures forevermore. It can also be translated instead, you direct
• 2:17:47
  Speaker 1: me on the path that leads to a beautiful life.
• 2:17:52
  Speaker 1: As I walk with you, the pleasures are never ending,
• 2:17:56
  Speaker 1: and I know true joy and contentment. Precious One, let
• 2:18:05
  Speaker 1: us walk in the balance of bringing to our heavenly
• 2:18:08
  Speaker 1: Dad our hurts and disappointments, but also acknowledging to ourselves
• 2:18:15
  Speaker 1: that true contentment is found in him, true joy is
• 2:18:21
  Speaker 1: found in him. Let us wait for him and see
• 2:18:26
  Speaker 1: his goodness. Let us seek him and find that he
• 2:18:31
  Speaker 1: is our greatest delight. The Psalmist also writes in Psalm
• 2:18:39
  Speaker 1: twenty seven, verse thirteen, I believe that I shall look
• 2:18:45
  Speaker 1: upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of
• 2:18:48
  Speaker 1: the Living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and let
• 2:18:53
  Speaker 1: your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord. The voice
• 2:19:02
  Speaker 1: translation gives us another perspective.
• 2:19:07
  Speaker 2: I will move.
• 2:19:08
  Speaker 1: Past my enemies with this one sure hope that with
• 2:19:13
  Speaker 1: my own eyes, I will see the goodness of the
• 2:19:17
  Speaker 1: eternal in the land of the living. Please answer me,
• 2:19:23
  Speaker 1: don't give up. Wait for the eternal in expectation, and
• 2:19:28
  Speaker 1: be strong again. Wait for the eternal as we will
• 2:19:37
  Speaker 1: keep learning. The art of waiting and waiting well can
• 2:19:43
  Speaker 1: be found in the truth that it's about waiting on
• 2:19:47
  Speaker 1: the Lord. We can become like innocently trusting children. There
• 2:19:55
  Speaker 1: is no fear when we know He is good, even
• 2:20:00
  Speaker 1: when the waiting seems to last beyond anything we think
• 2:20:05
  Speaker 1: we can handle. We do not need to lose faith
• 2:20:09
  Speaker 1: because we know He is good.
• 2:20:13
  Speaker 2: God is love, utter love.
• 2:20:22
  Speaker 1: John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who intimately knew the
• 2:20:28
  Speaker 1: son of God, wrote the following words in One John
• 2:20:32
  Speaker 1: four seven to twelve. My loved ones, let us devote
• 2:20:38
  Speaker 1: ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God,
• 2:20:45
  Speaker 1: and everyone who loves is born of God and truly
• 2:20:50
  Speaker 1: knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God,
• 2:20:57
  Speaker 1: because God is love. Because of this, the love of
• 2:21:02
  Speaker 1: God is a reality among us. God sent his only
• 2:21:07
  Speaker 1: son into the world so that we could find true
• 2:21:11
  Speaker 1: life through him. This is the embodiment of true love,
• 2:21:19
  Speaker 1: not that we have loved God first, but that he
• 2:21:24
  Speaker 1: loved us and sent his unique son on a special
• 2:21:29
  Speaker 1: mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
• 2:21:35
  Speaker 2: So, my loved ones, if God.
• 2:21:39
  Speaker 1: Loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love one another.
• 2:21:46
  Speaker 1: No one has ever seen God with human eyes, but
• 2:21:51
  Speaker 1: if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently,
• 2:21:58
  Speaker 1: God's love has accompl its mission among us.
• 2:22:05
  Speaker 2: God is love.
• 2:22:08
  Speaker 1: Jesus is the personification of love, Love incarnate, perfect love.
• 2:22:17
  Speaker 1: He cannot fail us, So, precious child, when you feel
• 2:22:22
  Speaker 1: like the waiting game is eating away at you, reach
• 2:22:26
  Speaker 1: down deep and trust that God is perfect love, and
• 2:22:31
  Speaker 1: all his ways are pure and right, listen to these
• 2:22:38
  Speaker 1: two translations of the wonderful words in Deuteronomy thirty two four.
• 2:22:45
  Speaker 1: The Lord is your mighty defender, perfect and just in
• 2:22:51
  Speaker 1: all his ways. Your God is faithful and true. He
• 2:22:57
  Speaker 1: does what is right and fair. And also he's the rock,
• 2:23:04
  Speaker 1: and his work is perfect. Everything he does is right.
• 2:23:11
  Speaker 1: He's the God who can be trusted, who never does
• 2:23:14
  Speaker 1: wrong because he's righteous and upright. He is perfect in
• 2:23:23
  Speaker 1: all his ways, flawless. Yes, we don't see all he
• 2:23:29
  Speaker 1: is doing, but let us wait patiently for him, in
• 2:23:33
  Speaker 1: the confidence that he is doing a work far more
• 2:23:37
  Speaker 1: beautiful than we can presently see. That's why we are
• 2:23:43
  Speaker 1: called to have faith. We wait hopefully in him when
• 2:23:48
  Speaker 1: we don't understand. Jesus also reflected this nature of God,
• 2:23:57
  Speaker 1: and his own best friends and followers were baffled by
• 2:24:01
  Speaker 1: him at times, he says in John thirteen. Jesus replied,
• 2:24:09
  Speaker 1: you do not realize now what I am doing, but
• 2:24:12
  Speaker 1: later you will understand. There will certainly come a day
• 2:24:20
  Speaker 1: when our questions will be resolved, But in the meantime,
• 2:24:25
  Speaker 1: it's more important that we simply cling to him and
• 2:24:29
  Speaker 1: depend on him and walk with him. He is better
• 2:24:36
  Speaker 1: than all the answers we could wish for. Even if
• 2:24:41
  Speaker 1: he told us everything we wanted to know, it wouldn't
• 2:24:44
  Speaker 1: be enough, because what we are truly seeking is peace
• 2:24:51
  Speaker 1: and love and joy, and they can only be found
• 2:24:55
  Speaker 1: in him. Often our soul is simply craving love, so
• 2:25:05
  Speaker 1: precious one right now, in this time of waiting, let
• 2:25:11
  Speaker 1: his love fill you. That is something you will never
• 2:25:17
  Speaker 1: ever need to wait for. His love is flowing to
• 2:25:22
  Speaker 1: you in a never ending, eternal stream of devotion and goodness.
• 2:25:31
  Speaker 1: The writer of Lamentation says in chapter three, verse twenty five,
• 2:25:37
  Speaker 1: the Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
• 2:25:42
  Speaker 1: to the one who seeks him, it is good to
• 2:25:45
  Speaker 1: wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Or put
• 2:25:52
  Speaker 1: another way, it is good. The eternal One is good
• 2:25:57
  Speaker 1: to those who expect him, to those who seek him wholeheartedly.
• 2:26:03
  Speaker 1: It is good to wait quietly for the Eternal to
• 2:26:07
  Speaker 1: make things right again. Though we can't always see it right.
• 2:26:15
  Speaker 1: At this very moment, he is in the process of
• 2:26:19
  Speaker 1: making things right and beautiful. Jesus is the master craftsman,
• 2:26:25
  Speaker 1: and nothing is broken beyond his repair. But he doesn't
• 2:26:30
  Speaker 1: work according to our timetable. Two Peter three point nine
• 2:26:38
  Speaker 1: addresses this. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
• 2:26:44
  Speaker 1: as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you,
• 2:26:51
  Speaker 1: not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
• 2:27:00
  Speaker 1: He is not slow. Perhaps it is we who are
• 2:27:06
  Speaker 1: in a hurry. He will incline his ear to us.
• 2:27:11
  Speaker 1: Though his answer may not come instantly, he does hear
• 2:27:15
  Speaker 1: us instantly. In fact, the Psalmist wrote, before a word
• 2:27:22
  Speaker 1: is on my tongue, you Lord know it completely. He
• 2:27:30
  Speaker 1: is quick to listen and slow to speak, and he
• 2:27:34
  Speaker 1: urges us to be just like him in these virtues.
• 2:27:39
  Speaker 1: But he always inclines his ear tenderly to your prayers.
• 2:27:45
  Speaker 1: David's lyrics of Psalm forty, verse one read, I waited
• 2:27:51
  Speaker 1: patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard
• 2:27:54
  Speaker 1: my cry. The voice translation and puts it in these words.
• 2:28:03
  Speaker 1: I waited a long time for the eternal. He finally
• 2:28:07
  Speaker 1: knelt down to hear me. He listened to my weak
• 2:28:11
  Speaker 1: and whispered cry. Perhaps you have been calling out to
• 2:28:17
  Speaker 1: him recently, and maybe it feels like your prayers to
• 2:28:21
  Speaker 1: him are landing on deaf ears.
• 2:28:25
  Speaker 2: I assure you he.
• 2:28:27
  Speaker 1: Is listening, even the groanings of your heart that you
• 2:28:34
  Speaker 1: haven't had the strength to utter. Even those prayers he hears.
• 2:28:41
  Speaker 1: He is compassionate and attentive to even your most feeble whispers.
• 2:28:50
  Speaker 1: Let your soul wait quietly for him, just as David did.
• 2:28:56
  Speaker 1: Allow me to read our foundation Psalm Psalm sixty two
• 2:29:00
  Speaker 1: again from verse five down to verse eight. I invite
• 2:29:05
  Speaker 1: you to listen to David's heart, his heart which pleased
• 2:29:10
  Speaker 1: God so much. We want to please our heavenly Father. Also,
• 2:29:19
  Speaker 1: my soul quietly waits for the True God alone, because
• 2:29:24
  Speaker 1: I hope only in Him. He alone is my rock
• 2:29:29
  Speaker 1: and deliverance. My citadel high on a hill, I will
• 2:29:34
  Speaker 1: not be shaken. My salvation and my significance depend ultimately
• 2:29:41
  Speaker 1: on God. The core of my strengths, my shelter is
• 2:29:46
  Speaker 1: in the True God. Have faith in Him in all circumstances,
• 2:29:51
  Speaker 1: dear people, open up your heart to him. The True
• 2:29:56
  Speaker 1: God shelters us in his arms. Lord God, we are
• 2:30:04
  Speaker 1: waiting on you. We are quietly and contentedly waiting for
• 2:30:10
  Speaker 1: you alone. And you are not absent from us. You
• 2:30:15
  Speaker 1: are here with us, through your wonderful Holy Spirit, Emmanuel God.
• 2:30:23
  Speaker 2: With us.
• 2:30:26
  Speaker 1: We are not waiting alone and abandoned. We are filled
• 2:30:30
  Speaker 1: and enveloped by your presence. Lord, Help us to quiet
• 2:30:36
  Speaker 1: our souls so we can hear your gentle whispers. When
• 2:30:41
  Speaker 1: we call on you. We know you hear us, So
• 2:30:45
  Speaker 1: open our ears to your answer. Let us always hear
• 2:30:51
  Speaker 1: your words of love and grace and kindness. Your presence
• 2:30:57
  Speaker 1: is here, and as we rest and sleep in safety,
• 2:31:02
  Speaker 1: is so sweet, how blissful it is to wait upon
• 2:31:08
  Speaker 1: you and wait with you and loving Lord. Where our
• 2:31:15
  Speaker 1: hearts have grown stony towards you in our seasons of waiting.
• 2:31:19
  Speaker 1: Would your love come and soften those places. We trust you.
• 2:31:27
  Speaker 1: We know that you are always working, even when we
• 2:31:31
  Speaker 1: can't see you working. We trust that you are behind
• 2:31:36
  Speaker 1: the scenes making eternal beauty out of our lives. So
• 2:31:42
  Speaker 1: we yield to your perfect work in the name of
• 2:31:46
  Speaker 1: your son Jesus. Amen, keep breathing gently. Let deep sleep
• 2:31:57
  Speaker 1: come as you wait in his presence. Enjoy his peace
• 2:32:05
  Speaker 1: as you wait in his presence, Listen for his gentle
• 2:32:12
  Speaker 1: whispers of love in your heart. This can be your
• 2:32:20
  Speaker 1: continual experience of waiting on him. He will never leave
• 2:32:25
  Speaker 1: you empty. He will always give the answer that you
• 2:32:31
  Speaker 1: need the most.
• 2:32:33
  Speaker 2: And maybe that.
• 2:32:35
  Speaker 1: Is simply the assurance that he loves you with an
• 2:32:38
  Speaker 1: everlasting love. Hear him saying it to you again and
• 2:32:44
  Speaker 1: again and again. Let's praise him as we close. Loving
• 2:32:54
  Speaker 1: Father God, we love you, We trust you, and we
• 2:33:00
  Speaker 1: are quieting our souls to.
• 2:33:02
  Speaker 2: Wait only on you.
• 2:33:05
  Speaker 1: Only from you comes our salvation. You alone are our
• 2:33:11
  Speaker 1: rock and our defense. We are settling ourselves to wait
• 2:33:17
  Speaker 1: on you. Let us not be shaken or moved from
• 2:33:22
  Speaker 1: this place. In Jesus's name, we pray, Amen, continue to
• 2:33:30
  Speaker 1: enjoy his presence as you wait, beloved child, for God alone.
• 2:33:37
  Speaker 1: May your soul wait in silence, for your hope is
• 2:33:41
  Speaker 1: from Him. Let's listen again to this sleep story about
• 2:33:48
  Speaker 1: the art of waiting. The word itself may bring up
• 2:33:54
  Speaker 1: certain emotions, some negative, some positive. It might remind you
• 2:34:03
  Speaker 1: of the days in your childhood before Christmas. You'd been
• 2:34:08
  Speaker 1: longing for this day to come. The colorful wrapped presence
• 2:34:13
  Speaker 1: under the tree had been tempting you for weeks. When
• 2:34:20
  Speaker 1: Christmas morning finally greeted you, joy also filled your heart.
• 2:34:28
  Speaker 1: Maybe it became a day every year for which you
• 2:34:31
  Speaker 1: waited with hopeful expectancy and delight. Or perhaps the term
• 2:34:40
  Speaker 1: waiting reminds you of that time when you sat in
• 2:34:44
  Speaker 1: the car for what felt like hours while your father
• 2:34:48
  Speaker 1: talked to a neighbor at the fence when you were
• 2:34:51
  Speaker 1: supposed to be going for a father child adventure with him.
• 2:34:59
  Speaker 1: That kind of way can feel like a great disappointment, indeed,
• 2:35:04
  Speaker 1: and it can hurt our hearts. But precious child, let
• 2:35:10
  Speaker 1: me encourage you that your heavenly Dad is nothing like that.
• 2:35:16
  Speaker 2: He will never let you down.
• 2:35:20
  Speaker 1: You may feel disappointment if God does not act as
• 2:35:24
  Speaker 1: you want him to, but he is always good. He
• 2:35:29
  Speaker 1: always acts for your good and his glory. He does
• 2:35:37
  Speaker 1: not hold back good gifts from his children. Psalm eighty
• 2:35:42
  Speaker 1: four eleven tells us, for the Lord God is a
• 2:35:47
  Speaker 1: son and a safe covering. The Lord gives favor and honor.
• 2:35:53
  Speaker 1: He holds back nothing good from those who walk in
• 2:35:57
  Speaker 1: the way that is right, or, as the Good News
• 2:36:03
  Speaker 1: Translation says, the Lord God is our protector and glorious king.
• 2:36:11
  Speaker 1: He blesses us with kindness and honor. The Lord freely
• 2:36:16
  Speaker 1: gives every good thing to those who do what is right.
• 2:36:24
  Speaker 1: And when those times come where we often feel like
• 2:36:28
  Speaker 1: he does seem to withhold good and stand at a distance,
• 2:36:33
  Speaker 1: we can be sure that we see through the glass
• 2:36:36
  Speaker 1: dimly and don't perceive his plans. His ways are so
• 2:36:45
  Speaker 1: far above our ways as the sky is above the earth,
• 2:36:51
  Speaker 1: we cannot fathom his plans. He knew we would question
• 2:36:56
  Speaker 1: his ways, so he plainly tells us through his prophet
• 2:37:00
  Speaker 1: Isaiah in Chapter fifty five, verse eight, my intentions are
• 2:37:07
  Speaker 1: not always yours, and I do not go about things
• 2:37:11
  Speaker 1: as you do. My thoughts and my ways are above
• 2:37:16
  Speaker 1: and beyond you, just as Heaven is far from your reach.
• 2:37:21
  Speaker 1: Here on earth. We simply have to practice childlike trust
• 2:37:29
  Speaker 1: that Papa knows best. He is moving behind the scenes,
• 2:37:35
  Speaker 1: and he is not in a hurry, even when we
• 2:37:39
  Speaker 1: often are. Even in this, he is teaching us the
• 2:37:44
  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him and waiting. Well, how would
• 2:37:52
  Speaker 1: we ever learn to wait on him and yield to
• 2:37:55
  Speaker 1: him without these seasons of disappointment and discourage. Bridge these times,
• 2:38:03
  Speaker 1: if we respond rightly, can refine our faith like gold
• 2:38:08
  Speaker 1: heated seven times, and we can come forth more perfected.
• 2:38:16
  Speaker 1: If we instead allow our hearts to grow stony toward him,
• 2:38:21
  Speaker 1: it may be that we have been waiting on the
• 2:38:24
  Speaker 1: dream to be fulfilled, rather than waiting on the presence
• 2:38:29
  Speaker 1: of God and a deeper connection with him. Do we
• 2:38:36
  Speaker 1: seek him for him alone? Or do we seek him
• 2:38:41
  Speaker 1: for what he can do for us. He is so
• 2:38:46
  Speaker 1: gentle and kind with us, so there is no condemnation.
• 2:38:51
  Speaker 1: Yet he wants to make us more like his perfect
• 2:38:55
  Speaker 1: and loving son Jesus. So he will teach us the
• 2:39:01
  Speaker 1: art of waiting on him, and he will give us
• 2:39:07
  Speaker 1: many occasions to learn patience and devotion in the face
• 2:39:12
  Speaker 1: of disappointment and broken dreams. He will show us every
• 2:39:18
  Speaker 1: single time that he is better than those dreams. No
• 2:39:26
  Speaker 1: matter how wonderful the opportunities might be, his presence and
• 2:39:31
  Speaker 1: his unadulterated love are far better, far more satisfying, far
• 2:39:39
  Speaker 1: more enduring, far more fulfilling. You see, precious listener.
• 2:39:49
  Speaker 2: We are made for him.
• 2:39:53
  Speaker 1: Our bodies are his very temple, and we are now
• 2:39:57
  Speaker 1: his eternal dwelling place. Therefore, if our bodies can house
• 2:40:06
  Speaker 1: God Almighty himself, creator of the universe and the vast cosmos,
• 2:40:12
  Speaker 1: then how could we ever be satisfied with anything else.
• 2:40:19
  Speaker 1: Through God alone is the path of life and the.
• 2:40:23
  Speaker 2: Fullness of joy.
• 2:40:28
  Speaker 1: Psalm sixteen eleven says, you make known to me the
• 2:40:34
  Speaker 1: path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy.
• 2:40:39
  Speaker 1: At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. It can also
• 2:40:47
  Speaker 1: be translated instead, you direct me on the path that
• 2:40:52
  Speaker 1: leads to a beautiful life. As I walk with you,
• 2:40:57
  Speaker 1: the pleasures are never dying, and I know true joy
• 2:41:02
  Speaker 1: and contentment. Precious one, let us walk in the balance
• 2:41:11
  Speaker 1: of bringing to our heavenly Dad our hurts and disappointments,
• 2:41:16
  Speaker 1: but also acknowledging to ourselves that true contentment is found
• 2:41:22
  Speaker 1: in Him, true joy is found in Him. Let us
• 2:41:28
  Speaker 1: wait for him and see his goodness. Let us seek
• 2:41:33
  Speaker 1: him and find that he is our greatest delight. The
• 2:41:41
  Speaker 1: Psalmist also writes in Psalm twenty seven, verse thirteen, I
• 2:41:47
  Speaker 1: believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the
• 2:41:50
  Speaker 1: Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord.
• 2:41:55
  Speaker 1: Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for
• 2:42:01
  Speaker 1: the Lord. The Voice translation gives us another perspective.
• 2:42:11
  Speaker 2: I will move.
• 2:42:12
  Speaker 1: Past my enemies with this one sure hope that with
• 2:42:17
  Speaker 1: my own eyes I will see the goodness of the
• 2:42:21
  Speaker 1: eternal in the land of the living. Please answer me,
• 2:42:27
  Speaker 1: don't give up. Wait for the eternal in expectation, and
• 2:42:32
  Speaker 1: be strong again. Wait for the eternal, as we will
• 2:42:41
  Speaker 1: keep learning. The art of waiting and waiting well can
• 2:42:47
  Speaker 1: be found in the truth that it's about waiting on
• 2:42:51
  Speaker 1: the Lord. We can become like innocently trusting children. There
• 2:42:59
  Speaker 1: is no fear when we know He is good, even
• 2:43:04
  Speaker 1: when the waiting seems to last beyond anything we think
• 2:43:09
  Speaker 1: we can handle. We do not need to lose faith
• 2:43:13
  Speaker 1: because we know he is good. God is love, utter love. John,
• 2:43:27
  Speaker 1: the disciple whom Jesus loved, who intimately knew the son
• 2:43:32
  Speaker 1: of God, wrote the following words in Firs. John four
• 2:43:37
  Speaker 1: seven to twelve, My loved ones, let us devote ourselves
• 2:43:43
  Speaker 1: to loving one another. Love comes straight from God, and
• 2:43:49
  Speaker 1: everyone who loves is born of God and truly knows God.
• 2:43:56
  Speaker 1: Anyone who does not love does not know God God
• 2:44:01
  Speaker 1: because God is love. Because of this, the love of
• 2:44:06
  Speaker 1: God is a reality among us. God sent his only
• 2:44:11
  Speaker 1: son into the world so that we could find true
• 2:44:15
  Speaker 1: life through him. This is the embodiment of true love.
• 2:44:23
  Speaker 1: Not that we have loved God first, but that He
• 2:44:28
  Speaker 1: loved us and sent his unique son on a special
• 2:44:33
  Speaker 1: mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
• 2:44:39
  Speaker 2: So, my loved ones, if God.
• 2:44:43
  Speaker 1: Loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love one another.
• 2:44:50
  Speaker 1: No one has ever seen God with human eyes, but
• 2:44:55
  Speaker 1: if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently,
• 2:45:02
  Speaker 1: God's love has accomplished its mission among us.
• 2:45:09
  Speaker 2: God is love.
• 2:45:12
  Speaker 1: Jesus is the personification of love, Love incarnate, perfect love.
• 2:45:21
  Speaker 1: He cannot fail us. So, precious child, when you feel
• 2:45:26
  Speaker 1: like the waiting game is eating away at you, reach
• 2:45:30
  Speaker 1: down deep and trust that God is perfect love and
• 2:45:35
  Speaker 1: all his ways are pure and right. Listen to these
• 2:45:42
  Speaker 1: two translations of the wonderful words in Deuteronomy thirty two four.
• 2:45:49
  Speaker 2: The Lord is your mighty.
• 2:45:51
  Speaker 1: Defender, perfect and just in all his ways. Your God
• 2:45:58
  Speaker 1: is faithful and true.
• 2:46:01
  Speaker 2: He does what is right and fair. And also.
• 2:46:07
  Speaker 1: He's the rock, and his work is perfect. Everything he
• 2:46:12
  Speaker 1: does is right. He's the God who can be trusted,
• 2:46:17
  Speaker 1: who never does wrong because he's righteous and upright. He
• 2:46:26
  Speaker 1: is perfect in all his ways, flawless. Yes, we don't
• 2:46:32
  Speaker 1: see all he is doing, but let us wait patiently
• 2:46:36
  Speaker 1: for him, in the confidence that he is doing a
• 2:46:40
  Speaker 1: work far more beautiful than we can presently see. That's
• 2:46:46
  Speaker 1: why we are called to have faith. We wait hopefully
• 2:46:51
  Speaker 1: in him when we don't understand. Jesus also reflected this
• 2:46:59
  Speaker 1: nature of God, and his own best friends and followers
• 2:47:04
  Speaker 1: were baffled by him at times, he says in John thirteen.
• 2:47:11
  Speaker 1: Jesus replied, you do not realize now what I am doing,
• 2:47:16
  Speaker 1: but later you will understand. There will certainly come a
• 2:47:24
  Speaker 1: day when our questions will be resolved. But in the meantime,
• 2:47:29
  Speaker 1: it's more important that we simply cling to him and
• 2:47:33
  Speaker 1: depend on him and walk with him. He is better
• 2:47:40
  Speaker 1: than all the answers we could wish for. Even if
• 2:47:45
  Speaker 1: he told us everything we wanted to know, it wouldn't
• 2:47:48
  Speaker 1: be enough, because what we are truly seeking is peace
• 2:47:55
  Speaker 1: and love and joy, and they can only be found
• 2:47:59
  Speaker 1: in Him Him. Often our soul is simply craving love,
• 2:48:09
  Speaker 1: So precious one. Right now, in this time of waiting,
• 2:48:15
  Speaker 1: let his love fill you. That is something you will
• 2:48:20
  Speaker 1: never ever need to wait for. His love is flowing
• 2:48:26
  Speaker 1: to you in a never ending eternal stream of devotion
• 2:48:30
  Speaker 1: and goodness. The writer of Lamentation says in Chapter three,
• 2:48:39
  Speaker 1: verse twenty five, the Lord is good to those whose
• 2:48:44
  Speaker 1: hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.
• 2:48:48
  Speaker 1: It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of
• 2:48:52
  Speaker 1: the Lord. Or put another way, it is good. The
• 2:49:00
  Speaker 1: eternal One is good to those who expect him, to
• 2:49:04
  Speaker 1: those who seek him wholeheartedly. It is good to wait
• 2:49:09
  Speaker 1: quietly for the Eternal to make things right again, though
• 2:49:16
  Speaker 1: we can't always see it right. At this very moment,
• 2:49:21
  Speaker 1: he is in the process of making things right and beautiful.
• 2:49:26
  Speaker 1: Jesus is the master craftsman, and nothing is broken beyond
• 2:49:32
  Speaker 1: his repair. But he doesn't work according to our timetable.
• 2:49:40
  Speaker 1: Two Peter three point nine addresses this The Lord is
• 2:49:45
  Speaker 1: not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead,
• 2:49:52
  Speaker 1: he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
• 2:49:57
  Speaker 1: but everyone to come to repair sentence. He is not slow.
• 2:50:07
  Speaker 1: Perhaps it is we who are in a hurry. He
• 2:50:12
  Speaker 1: will incline his ear to us. Though his answer may
• 2:50:16
  Speaker 1: not come instantly, he does hear us instantly. In fact,
• 2:50:22
  Speaker 1: the psalmist wrote, before a word is on my tongue,
• 2:50:27
  Speaker 1: you Lord know it completely. He is quick to listen
• 2:50:36
  Speaker 1: and slow to speak, and he urges us to be
• 2:50:40
  Speaker 1: just like him in these virtues. But he always inclines
• 2:50:45
  Speaker 1: his ear tenderly to your prayers. David's lyrics of Psalm
• 2:50:51
  Speaker 1: forty verse one read, I waited patiently for the Lord.
• 2:50:56
  Speaker 1: He inclined to me and heard my cry. The voice
• 2:51:03
  Speaker 1: translation puts it in these words. I waited a long
• 2:51:08
  Speaker 1: time for the Eternal. He finally knelt down to hear me.
• 2:51:13
  Speaker 1: He listened to my weak and whispered cry. Perhaps you
• 2:51:20
  Speaker 1: have been calling out to him recently, and maybe it
• 2:51:24
  Speaker 1: feels like your prayers to him are landing on deaf ears.
• 2:51:29
  Speaker 2: I assure you he.
• 2:51:31
  Speaker 1: Is listening, even the groanings of your heart that you
• 2:51:38
  Speaker 1: haven't had the strength to utter even those prayers.
• 2:51:43
  Speaker 2: He hears.
• 2:51:45
  Speaker 1: He is compassionate and attentive to even your most feeble whispers.
• 2:51:54
  Speaker 1: Let your soul wait quietly for him, just as David did.
• 2:52:00
  Speaker 1: Allow me to read our Foundation Psalm Psalm sixty two again,
• 2:52:05
  Speaker 1: from verse five down to verse eight. I invite you
• 2:52:09
  Speaker 1: to listen to David's heart, his heart which pleased God
• 2:52:14
  Speaker 1: so much. We want to please our heavenly Father. Also,
• 2:52:23
  Speaker 1: my soul quietly waits for the True God alone, because
• 2:52:28
  Speaker 1: I hope only in him. He alone is my rock
• 2:52:33
  Speaker 1: and deliverance, my citadel high on a hill, I will
• 2:52:38
  Speaker 1: not be shaken. My salvation and my significance depend ultimately
• 2:52:45
  Speaker 1: on God. The core of my strengths, my shelter is
• 2:52:50
  Speaker 1: in the True God. Have faith in Him in all circumstances,
• 2:52:56
  Speaker 1: Dear people, open up your heart to him. The True
• 2:53:00
  Speaker 1: God shelters us in his arms. Lord God, we are
• 2:53:08
  Speaker 1: waiting on you. We are quietly and contentedly waiting for
• 2:53:14
  Speaker 1: you alone. And you are not absent from us. You
• 2:53:19
  Speaker 1: are here with us through your wonderful Holy Spirit, Emmanuel God.
• 2:53:27
  Speaker 2: With us.
• 2:53:30
  Speaker 1: We are not waiting alone and abandoned. We are filled
• 2:53:34
  Speaker 1: and enveloped by your presence. Lord, help us to quiet
• 2:53:40
  Speaker 1: our souls so we can hear your gentle whispers when
• 2:53:46
  Speaker 1: we call on you. We know you hear us, so
• 2:53:49
  Speaker 1: open our ears to your answer. Let us always hear
• 2:53:55
  Speaker 1: your words of love and grace and kindness. Your presence
• 2:54:02
  Speaker 1: is here, and as we rest and sleep in safety.
• 2:54:06
  Speaker 1: Is so sweet, How blissful it is to wait upon
• 2:54:12
  Speaker 1: you and wait with you and loving Lord, Where our
• 2:54:19
  Speaker 1: hearts have grown stony towards you in our seasons of waiting,
• 2:54:23
  Speaker 1: would your love come and soften those places?
• 2:54:29
  Speaker 2: We trust you.
• 2:54:31
  Speaker 1: We know that you are always working, even when we
• 2:54:35
  Speaker 1: can't see you working. We trust that you are behind
• 2:54:40
  Speaker 1: the scenes, making eternal beauty out of our lives. So
• 2:54:46
  Speaker 1: we yield to your perfect work in the name of
• 2:54:50
  Speaker 1: your son, Jesus. Amen, keep breathing gently. Let deep sleep
• 2:55:01
  Speaker 1: come as you wait in his presence. Enjoy his peace
• 2:55:09
  Speaker 1: as you wait in his presence, Listen for his gentle
• 2:55:16
  Speaker 1: whispers of love in your heart. This can be your
• 2:55:24
  Speaker 1: continual experience of waiting on him. He will never leave
• 2:55:29
  Speaker 1: you empty. He will always give the answer that you
• 2:55:35
  Speaker 1: need the most. And maybe that is simply the assurance
• 2:55:40
  Speaker 1: that He loves you with an everlasting love. Hear him
• 2:55:46
  Speaker 1: saying it to you again and again and again. Let's
• 2:55:54
  Speaker 1: praise him as we close. Loving Father God, we love you,
• 2:56:02
  Speaker 1: we trust you, and we are quieting our souls to
• 2:56:06
  Speaker 1: wait only on you. Only from you comes our salvation.
• 2:56:13
  Speaker 1: You alone are our rock and our defense. We are
• 2:56:19
  Speaker 1: settling ourselves to wait on you. Let us not be
• 2:56:24
  Speaker 1: shaken or moved from this place. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen,
• 2:56:33
  Speaker 1: continue to enjoy His presence as you wait, beloved child,
• 2:56:39
  Speaker 1: for God alone. May your soul wait in silence, for
• 2:56:44
  Speaker 1: your hope is from him. Let's listen again to this
• 2:56:50
  Speaker 1: sleep story about the art of waiting. The word itself
• 2:56:57
  Speaker 1: may bring up certain emotions, some negative, some positive. It
• 2:57:05
  Speaker 1: might remind you of the days in your childhood before Christmas.
• 2:57:11
  Speaker 1: You'd been longing for this day to come. The colorful
• 2:57:16
  Speaker 1: wrapped presence under the tree had been tempting you for weeks.
• 2:57:23
  Speaker 1: When Christmas morning finally greeted you, joy also filled your heart.
• 2:57:32
  Speaker 1: Maybe it became a day every year for which you
• 2:57:35
  Speaker 1: waited with hopeful expectancy and delight. Or perhaps the term
• 2:57:44
  Speaker 1: waiting reminds you of that time when you sat in
• 2:57:48
  Speaker 1: the car for what felt like hours while your father
• 2:57:52
  Speaker 1: talked to a neighbor at the fence, when you were
• 2:57:55
  Speaker 1: supposed to be going for a father child adventure with him.
• 2:58:02
  Speaker 1: That kind of waiting can feel like a great disappointment indeed,
• 2:58:08
  Speaker 1: and it can hurt our hearts. But precious child, let
• 2:58:14
  Speaker 1: me encourage you that your heavenly Dad is nothing like that.
• 2:58:20
  Speaker 1: He will never let you down.
• 2:58:24
  Speaker 2: You may feel.
• 2:58:25
  Speaker 1: Disappointment if God does not act as you want him to,
• 2:58:30
  Speaker 1: but He is always good. He always acts for your
• 2:58:35
  Speaker 1: good and his glory. He does not hold back good
• 2:58:42
  Speaker 1: gifts from his children. Psalm eighty four eleven tells us
• 2:58:49
  Speaker 1: for the Lord God is a son and a safe covering.
• 2:58:54
  Speaker 1: The Lord gives favor and honor. He holds back nothing
• 2:58:59
  Speaker 1: good from those who walk in the way that is right. Or,
• 2:59:06
  Speaker 1: as the Good News Translation says, the Lord God is
• 2:59:11
  Speaker 1: our protector and glorious king. He blesses us with kindness
• 2:59:17
  Speaker 1: and honor. The Lord freely gives every good thing to
• 2:59:23
  Speaker 1: those who do what is right. And when those times
• 2:59:29
  Speaker 1: come where we often feel like He does seem to
• 2:59:33
  Speaker 1: withhold good and stand at a distance, we can be
• 2:59:37
  Speaker 1: sure that we see through the glass dimly, and don't
• 2:59:42
  Speaker 1: perceive his plans. His ways are so far above our
• 2:59:50
  Speaker 1: ways as the sky is above the earth, we cannot
• 2:59:55
  Speaker 1: fathom his plans. He knew we would question his ways,
• 3:00:01
  Speaker 1: so he plainly tells us through his prophet Isaiah in
• 3:00:05
  Speaker 1: Chapter fifty five, verse eight. My intentions are not always yours,
• 3:00:13
  Speaker 1: and I do not go about things as you do.
• 3:00:17
  Speaker 1: My thoughts and my ways are above and beyond you,
• 3:00:22
  Speaker 1: just as Heaven is far from your reach. Here on earth.
• 3:00:29
  Speaker 1: We simply have to practice childlike trust that Papa knows best.
• 3:00:36
  Speaker 1: He is moving behind the scenes, and he is not
• 3:00:40
  Speaker 1: in a hurry, even when we often are. Even in this,
• 3:00:46
  Speaker 1: he is teaching us the art of waiting on him
• 3:00:50
  Speaker 1: and waiting well, how would we ever learn to wait
• 3:00:57
  Speaker 1: on him and yield to him without these seasons of
• 3:01:02
  Speaker 1: disappointment and discouragement. These times, if we respond rightly, can
• 3:01:09
  Speaker 1: refine our faith like gold heated seven times, and we
• 3:01:14
  Speaker 1: can come forth more perfected if we instead allow our
• 3:01:23
  Speaker 1: hearts to grow stony toward him. It may be that
• 3:01:27
  Speaker 1: we have been waiting on the dream to be fulfilled,
• 3:01:31
  Speaker 1: rather than waiting on the presence of God and a
• 3:01:34
  Speaker 1: deeper connection with him. Do we seek him for him alone?
• 3:01:43
  Speaker 1: Or do we seek him for what he can do
• 3:01:46
  Speaker 1: for us. He is so gentle and kind with us,
• 3:01:52
  Speaker 1: so there is no condemnation. Yet he wants to make
• 3:01:57
  Speaker 1: us more like his perfect and life loving son Jesus.
• 3:02:03
  Speaker 1: So he will teach us the art of waiting on him,
• 3:02:09
  Speaker 1: and he will give us many occasions to learn patience
• 3:02:14
  Speaker 1: and devotion. In the face of disappointment and broken dreams.
• 3:02:20
  Speaker 1: He will show us every single time that He is
• 3:02:24
  Speaker 1: better than those dreams. No matter how wonderful the opportunities
• 3:02:33
  Speaker 1: might be, his presence and his unadulterated love are far better,
• 3:02:40
  Speaker 1: far more satisfying, far more enduring, far more fulfilling. You see,
• 3:02:51
  Speaker 1: precious listener, we are made for him. Our bodies are
• 3:02:58
  Speaker 1: his very temple, and we are now his eternal dwelling place. Therefore,
• 3:03:07
  Speaker 1: if our bodies can house God Almighty himself, creator of
• 3:03:13
  Speaker 1: the universe and the vast cosmos, then how could we
• 3:03:18
  Speaker 1: ever be satisfied with anything else. Through God alone is
• 3:03:25
  Speaker 1: the path of life and the fullness of joy. Psalm
• 3:03:33
  Speaker 1: sixteen eleven says, you make known to me the path
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  Speaker 1: of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy.
• 3:03:43
  Speaker 1: At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. It can also
• 3:03:51
  Speaker 1: be translated instead, you direct me on the path that
• 3:03:56
  Speaker 1: leads to a beautiful life. As I walk with you,
• 3:04:01
  Speaker 1: the pleasures are never ending, and I know true joy
• 3:04:06
  Speaker 1: and contentment. Precious One, let us walk in the balance
• 3:04:14
  Speaker 1: of bringing to our heavenly Dad our hurts and disappointments,
• 3:04:20
  Speaker 1: but also acknowledging to ourselves that true contentment is found
• 3:04:26
  Speaker 1: in him, true joy is found in him. Let us
• 3:04:32
  Speaker 1: wait for him and see his goodness. Let us seek
• 3:04:37
  Speaker 1: him and find that he is our greatest delight. The
• 3:04:45
  Speaker 1: Psalmist also writes in Psalm twenty seven, verse thirteen, I
• 3:04:51
  Speaker 1: believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the
• 3:04:54
  Speaker 1: Lord in the land of the Living. Wait for the Lord.
• 3:04:59
  Speaker 1: Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for
• 3:05:05
  Speaker 1: the Lord. The voice translation gives us another perspective. I
• 3:05:15
  Speaker 1: will move past my enemies with this one sure hope
• 3:05:20
  Speaker 1: that with my own eyes I will see the goodness
• 3:05:24
  Speaker 1: of the eternal in the land of the living. Please
• 3:05:29
  Speaker 1: answer me, don't give up. Wait for the eternal in expectation,
• 3:05:36
  Speaker 1: and be strong again. Wait for the eternal. As we
• 3:05:45
  Speaker 1: will keep learning the art of waiting and waiting well
• 3:05:51
  Speaker 1: can be found in the truth that it's about waiting
• 3:05:54
  Speaker 1: on the Lord. We can become like innocent, trusting children.
• 3:06:03
  Speaker 1: There is no fear when we know He is good,
• 3:06:08
  Speaker 1: even when the waiting seems to last beyond anything we
• 3:06:12
  Speaker 1: think we can handle. We do not need to lose
• 3:06:16
  Speaker 1: faith because we know He is good.
• 3:06:21
  Speaker 2: God is love, utter love.
• 3:06:30
  Speaker 1: John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who intimately knew the
• 3:06:36
  Speaker 1: son of God, wrote the following words in Firs. John
• 3:06:40
  Speaker 1: four seven to twelve. My loved ones, let us devote
• 3:06:46
  Speaker 1: ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God,
• 3:06:53
  Speaker 1: and everyone who loves is born of God and truly
• 3:06:58
  Speaker 1: knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God,
• 3:07:04
  Speaker 1: because God is love. Because of this, the love of
• 3:07:10
  Speaker 1: God is a reality among us. God sent his only
• 3:07:15
  Speaker 1: son into the world so that we could find true
• 3:07:19
  Speaker 1: life through him. This is the embodiment.
• 3:07:24
  Speaker 2: Of true love.
• 3:07:27
  Speaker 1: Not that we have loved God first, but that He
• 3:07:32
  Speaker 1: loved us and sent his unique son on a special
• 3:07:37
  Speaker 1: mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins. So,
• 3:07:44
  Speaker 1: my loved ones, if God loved us so sacrificially, surely
• 3:07:51
  Speaker 1: we should love one another. No one has ever seen
• 3:07:56
  Speaker 1: God with human eyes. But if we love one another,
• 3:08:01
  Speaker 1: God truly lives in us. Consequently, God's love has accomplished
• 3:08:08
  Speaker 1: its mission among us.
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  Speaker 2: God is love.
• 3:08:16
  Speaker 1: Jesus is the personification of love, Love incarnate, perfect love.
• 3:08:25
  Speaker 1: He cannot fail us. So, precious child, when you feel
• 3:08:29
  Speaker 1: like the waiting game is eating away at you, reach
• 3:08:34
  Speaker 1: down deep and trust that God is perfect love, and
• 3:08:39
  Speaker 1: all his ways are pure and right. Listen to these
• 3:08:46
  Speaker 1: two translations of the wonderful words in Deuteronomy thirty two four.
• 3:08:53
  Speaker 1: The Lord is your mighty defender, perfect and just in
• 3:08:59
  Speaker 1: all his ways. Your God is faithful and true. He
• 3:09:05
  Speaker 1: does what is right and fair.
• 3:09:08
  Speaker 2: And also.
• 3:09:11
  Speaker 1: He's the rock, and his work is perfect. Everything he
• 3:09:16
  Speaker 1: does is right. He's the God who can be trusted,
• 3:09:21
  Speaker 1: who never does wrong because he's righteous and upright. He
• 3:09:30
  Speaker 1: is perfect in all his ways, flawless. Yes, we don't
• 3:09:36
  Speaker 1: see all he is doing, but let us wait patiently
• 3:09:40
  Speaker 1: for him in the confidence that he is doing a
• 3:09:44
  Speaker 1: work far more beautiful than we can presently see. That's
• 3:09:50
  Speaker 1: why we are called to have faith. We wait hopefully
• 3:09:55
  Speaker 1: in him when we don't understand. Jesus also reflected this
• 3:10:03
  Speaker 1: nature of God, and his own best friends and followers
• 3:10:08
  Speaker 1: were baffled by him at times. He says in John thirteen.
• 3:10:15
  Speaker 1: Jesus replied, you do not realize now what I am doing,
• 3:10:20
  Speaker 1: But later you will understand. There will certainly come a
• 3:10:27
  Speaker 1: day when our questions will be resolved. But in the meantime,
• 3:10:33
  Speaker 1: it's more important that we simply cling to him and
• 3:10:37
  Speaker 1: depend on him and walk with him. He is better
• 3:10:44
  Speaker 1: than all the answers we could wish for. Even if
• 3:10:49
  Speaker 1: he told us everything we wanted to know, it wouldn't
• 3:10:52
  Speaker 1: be enough, because what we are truly seeking is peace
• 3:10:59
  Speaker 1: and love and joy, and they can only be found
• 3:11:03
  Speaker 1: in Him. Often, our soul is simply craving love, so
• 3:11:13
  Speaker 1: precious one. Right now, in this time of waiting, let
• 3:11:19
  Speaker 1: his love fill you. That is something you will never
• 3:11:25
  Speaker 1: ever need to wait for. His love is flowing to
• 3:11:30
  Speaker 1: you in a never ending, eternal stream of devotion and goodness.
• 3:11:39
  Speaker 1: The writer of Lamentation says in Chapter three, verse twenty five,
• 3:11:45
  Speaker 1: the Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
• 3:11:49
  Speaker 1: to the one who seeks him. It is good to
• 3:11:53
  Speaker 1: wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord or put
• 3:12:00
  Speaker 1: But another way it is good. The eternal One is
• 3:12:05
  Speaker 1: good to those who expect him, to those who seek
• 3:12:09
  Speaker 1: him wholeheartedly. It is good to wait quietly for the
• 3:12:14
  Speaker 1: Eternal to make things right again, though we can't always
• 3:12:21
  Speaker 1: see it right. At this very moment, he is in
• 3:12:25
  Speaker 1: the process of making things right and beautiful. Jesus is
• 3:12:31
  Speaker 1: the master craftsman, and nothing is broken beyond his repair.
• 3:12:38
  Speaker 1: But he doesn't work according to our timetable. Two Peter
• 3:12:45
  Speaker 1: three point nine addresses this. The Lord is not slow
• 3:12:50
  Speaker 1: in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he
• 3:12:57
  Speaker 1: is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but
• 3:13:02
  Speaker 1: everyone to come to repentance. He is not slow. Perhaps
• 3:13:12
  Speaker 1: it is we who are in a hurry. He will
• 3:13:16
  Speaker 1: incline his ear to us. Though his answer may not
• 3:13:20
  Speaker 1: come instantly, he does hear us instantly. In fact, the
• 3:13:26
  Speaker 1: Psalmist wrote, before a word is on my tongue, you
• 3:13:32
  Speaker 1: Lord know it completely. He is quick to listen and
• 3:13:40
  Speaker 1: slow to speak, and he urges us to be just
• 3:13:44
  Speaker 1: like him in these virtues. But he always inclines his
• 3:13:49
  Speaker 1: ear tenderly to your prayers. David's lyrics of Psalm forty
• 3:13:55
  Speaker 1: verse one read I waited patiently for the Lord. He
• 3:14:00
  Speaker 1: inclined to me and heard my cry. The voice translation
• 3:14:08
  Speaker 1: puts it in these words. I waited a long time
• 3:14:12
  Speaker 1: for the eternal He finally knelt down to hear me.
• 3:14:17
  Speaker 1: He listened to my weak and whispered cry. Perhaps you
• 3:14:24
  Speaker 1: have been calling out to him recently, and maybe it
• 3:14:28
  Speaker 1: feels like your prayers to him are landing on deaf ears.
• 3:14:33
  Speaker 1: I assure you he is listening, even the groanings of
• 3:14:41
  Speaker 1: your heart that you haven't had the strength to utter.
• 3:14:45
  Speaker 1: Even those prayers he hears. He is compassionate and attentive
• 3:14:51
  Speaker 1: to even your most feeble whispers. Let your soul wait
• 3:14:59
  Speaker 1: quietly for him, just as David did. Allow me to
• 3:15:04
  Speaker 1: read our foundation Psalm Psalm sixty two again, from verse
• 3:15:09
  Speaker 1: five down to verse eight. I invite you to listen
• 3:15:14
  Speaker 1: to David's heart, his heart which pleased God so much.
• 3:15:20
  Speaker 1: We want to please our heavenly Father. Also, my soul
• 3:15:28
  Speaker 1: quietly waits for the True God alone, because I hope
• 3:15:32
  Speaker 1: only in Him. He alone is my rock and deliverance,
• 3:15:38
  Speaker 1: my citadel high on a hill, I will not be shaken.
• 3:15:45
  Speaker 1: My salvation and my significance depend ultimately on God. The
• 3:15:50
  Speaker 1: core of my strengths. My shelter is in the True God.
• 3:15:56
  Speaker 1: Have faith in Him in all circumstances. Do you people
• 3:16:01
  Speaker 1: open up your heart to him. The True God shelters
• 3:16:05
  Speaker 1: us in his arms. Lord God, we are waiting on you.
• 3:16:14
  Speaker 1: We are quietly and contentedly waiting for you alone. And
• 3:16:20
  Speaker 1: you are not absent from us. You are here with
• 3:16:25
  Speaker 1: us through your wonderful Holy Spirit, Emmanuel God, with us.
• 3:16:33
  Speaker 1: We are not waiting alone and abandoned. We are filled
• 3:16:38
  Speaker 1: and enveloped by your presence. Lord, Help us to quiet
• 3:16:44
  Speaker 1: our souls so we can hear your gentle whispers when
• 3:16:49
  Speaker 1: we call on you. We know you hear us, so
• 3:16:53
  Speaker 1: open our ears to your answer. Let us always hear
• 3:16:59
  Speaker 1: your words of life, love and grace and kindness. Your
• 3:17:05
  Speaker 1: presence is here, and as we rest and sleep in safety,
• 3:17:10
  Speaker 1: is so sweet, How blissful it is to wait upon
• 3:17:15
  Speaker 1: you and wait with you and loving Lord, Where our
• 3:17:22
  Speaker 1: hearts have grown stony towards you in our seasons of waiting.
• 3:17:27
  Speaker 1: Would your love come and soften those places? We trust you.
• 3:17:35
  Speaker 1: We know that you are always working, even when we
• 3:17:39
  Speaker 1: can't see you working. We trust that you are behind
• 3:17:44
  Speaker 1: the scenes making eternal beauty out of our lives. So
• 3:17:50
  Speaker 1: we yield to your perfect work in the name of
• 3:17:54
  Speaker 1: your son, Jesus. Amen, keep breathing gently, Let deep sleep
• 3:18:05
  Speaker 1: come as you wait.
• 3:18:06
  Speaker 2: In his presence. Enjoy his peace.
• 3:18:13
  Speaker 1: As you wait in his presence, Listen for his gentle
• 3:18:20
  Speaker 1: whispers of love in your heart. This can be your
• 3:18:27
  Speaker 1: continual experience of waiting on him. He will never leave
• 3:18:32
  Speaker 1: you empty. He will always give the answer that you
• 3:18:39
  Speaker 1: need the most. And maybe that is simply the assurance
• 3:18:44
  Speaker 1: that He loves you with an everlasting love. Hear him
• 3:18:50
  Speaker 1: saying it to you again and again and again. Let's
• 3:18:58
  Speaker 1: praise him as we close. Loving Father, God, we love you,
• 3:19:05
  Speaker 1: we trust you, and we are quieting our souls to
• 3:19:10
  Speaker 1: wait only on you. Only from you comes our salvation.
• 3:19:17
  Speaker 1: You alone are our rock and our defense. We are
• 3:19:23
  Speaker 1: settling ourselves to wait on you. Let us not be
• 3:19:28
  Speaker 1: shaken or moved from this place. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen,
• 3:19:37
  Speaker 1: continue to enjoy his presence as you wait, beloved child,
• 3:19:43
  Speaker 1: for God alone. May your soul wait in silence, for
• 3:19:48
  Speaker 1: your hope is from him.
• 3:20:21
  Speaker 3: I feel like when I listen to the sleep meditations,
• 3:20:24
  Speaker 3: that I have a friend next to me.