Good Friday Revelations

Two posts in one week - its an Easter miracle!

Yesterday while I was running in the pre-dawn darkness (the time & place God speaks to me most), I was reflecting on how two years ago Good Friday was the date we were DTE (dossier to Ethiopia) and officially on the wait list. Though our official date is April 22, still a month out, it seems God uses this occasion to speak truth to my heart. So, I started asking Him what it was that He wanted me to hear this year.

In 2011 it was all about His goodness on Good Friday, Jesus's sacrifice that makes me a child of God, His adopted daughter. It was a great reminder that adoption is my story too, and that God is giving me a chance to live that out with my adopted daughter. How cool is that! And in 2012, a year in the waiting, He gently led me to the cross and reminded me that redemption is not without sacrifice. In a small way, I saw how we are sharing in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (Romans 8:17).

This year, the word he gave me was "sufficiency". He is enough! I reflected on how God has been speaking that to my heart for a while now, that my peace, joy, and trust in Him are not dependent on my circumstances going my way, but on Him. He will supply my every need.

And this is how good God is: I am doing a Bible study with some ladies at church and we are working through Max Lucado's latest book entitled Grace. For some strange reason none of us could quite figure out, we skipped chapter 8 last week that should have come next in our study and moved on to 9 and 10. So this morning I sat down to ready chapter 8 and was blown away by what I read. First, Max tells the story of a family I actually know and a situation I had specifically prayed for when it happened. I had heard of God's faithfulness to their family when it happened, but it was a sweet blessing to read about it again & hear that testimony. And then I read this:

Paul's life underscored this truth. He wrote, "There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

A thorn in the flesh. Such vivid imagery..."Take it away," you've pleaded. Not once, twice, or even three times. You've outprayed Paul. He prayed a sprint; you've prayed the Boston Marathon. And you're about to hit the wall at mile nineteen. The wound radiates pain, and you see no sign of tweezers coming from heaven. But what you hear is this: "My grace is sufficient for you."

 Grace takes on an added dimension here. Paul is referring to sustaining grace. Saving grace saves us from our sins. Sustaining grace meets us at our point of need and equips us with courage, wisdom and strength. It surprises us in the middle of our personal transatlantic flights with ample resources of faith. Sustaining grace promises not the absence of struggle but the presence of God. (Max Lucado, Grace, p. 98)


Isn't God amazing? We just "happened" to skip that chapter. It is surely no coincidence that he had given me that very word yesterday, then reminded me today, of all days, of that very same principle. He is sufficient! I see that as confirmation from the Lord that this is what He wants me to rest in today and in the days that follow as we continue to wait with expectation for our baby girl. I am overwhelmed by His goodness and how He wants to speak to my heart and show me how He has given me everything I need and I can trust Him with the unknowns.

Oh - and this morning, we moved another spot on both lists: we are now16 for an infant, 5 for a toddler...His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!