Author: Jayne Lawson

Psalm 57:1 “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”

Years ago, I remember reading an article about a disastrous fire. I cannot remember any of the details, but I do recall that during the cleanup afterwards, a dead hen was found with her wings spread out. When she was lifted up, beneath her wings were all of her chicks… alive! She had sacrificed her life to keep her babies from dying in the fire. She knew exactly what she was doing when she chose to shield her chicks under her wings. She felt the fire’s heat; she smelled the smoke, but she knew if she fled, her babies would die. She chose to forfeit her life, but through that sacrifice, her babies would live. Read more

Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

When I was in high school, and later on in my young adult life, I remember attending various sporting events with my friends. I never was considered an athlete, but I loved going to the games. Being in the stands, we would all enthusiastically scream and clap for our favorite players, and when our team scored a touchdown or hit a homerun, we’d join the entire stadium as it exploded in thunderous cheering and applause. Sometimes our team would have a rough season where the victories were few and far between, but that didn’t change our support of them. We still showed our support by attending the games faithfully and shouting words of encouragement throughout the course of play. We continued to wave our banners high! We screamed for each victory, no matter how small! And we believed in our hearts that they would soon be on another winning streak.

Even though I am not an athlete, I have a cheering squad also. My supporters are in the heavenlies. I can them all in my mind’s eye… I see my mother rallying me on from the sidelines. I can hear her shouting my name, encouraging me to stay focused, do my best, and keep going! I see her hands waving at me, making sure I know she is there! But I see that my mom is not the only one cheering me on. There is a “cloud of witnesses” along side her. I look around and see Lazarus standing beside his sisters, Mary and Martha smiling and waving at me. I hear Esther and Ruth calling out to me, telling me to remain faithful. I see Paul and Barnabas clapping their hands for me. I see Timothy with his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice giving me a “thumbs up” as I run past them. And there are others… so many others! Chapter 11 of Hebrews gives a whole list of those who are cheering me on! I can even see the angels of heaven hovering above the crowd as well, pointing toward the finish line. When I round the last turn, the line is in view, and I see Jesus! He is just on the other side of the ribbon stretching across the track. I see His warm smile, His approving nod, and His outstretched arms. He is watching and waiting for me!

One day, I will cross that finish line and collapse into His strong arms which will envelope me in His love, and as this happens, I will know I have won my race when He whispers to me, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Until then, I’m going to keep on running.

Esther 4:14 “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another pace; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Esther was the queen of King Ahasuerus at a time when the Jews were in captivity in a foreign land. Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, had learned of an evil plan to destroy all the Jews in the kingdom, and he asked Esther to petition the king to spare the Jews. Esther initially refused because the king had not summoned her, and if anyone approached the king without being asked, they could be killed for their boldness. Mordecai tells Esther that the Jews will be saved with or without her, but it could be that God had placed her in this place for this very reason… to ask the king for mercy on behalf of the Jews. Esther finally agrees to go to King Ahasuerus; the king consents to hear her, and the Jews are eventually saved.

Taking a stand is never easy, and taking a stand for God can be very challenging these days. We are living in perilous times as described in 2 Timothy 3, and standing up for what the Bible states is right can be very difficult. It’s easy to do so in a church where everyone is like-minded, but what about in the world where Christians are constantly ridiculed and hated? My life is not on the line like Esther’s was when she approached Ahauserus. It is not in peril like the lives of modern-day Christians who live in countries where sharing the gospel can result in torture, imprisonment, or even death. Sometimes I wonder if my stand for God is really that important? Absolutely!

When I hand out a gospel tract to the grocery clerk, I am making a stand for Christ! When I invite a neighbor’s child to Sunday school or VBS, I am making a stand for Jesus! When I bow my head in a restaurant to pray over my meal, I am making a stand for my Lord and Saviour! There are lots of ways to stand up for Jesus, and each one is important to the cause of Christ no matter how minor they may seem.

So, after a lot of prayer, meditation upon God’s Word, and advice from my family, I have decided to start writing a blog about what the Lord is teaching me as I grow in my Christian faith. It is time for me to stop asking, “Why me?” and instead ask, “Why not me?” It’s a small stand for God, but I am reminded that God can do plenty with just a little. Just ask the young boy who only had a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish in his lunch.

And who knows? Maybe I am here for such a time as this.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 “And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.”

Before I share what God revealed to me today, I must confess that I made two assumptions about this verse. (I think it makes God chuckle when I go into a Bible study with assumptions!) I assumed the verse was about salvation and the return of Christ. Hmm… I am saved, so I sort of skipped over the first part (mistake number one), and then I thought… ‘Yes, I am waiting patiently for the return of Christ. I have no great anxieties about when it will happen, so yes, I am waiting patiently for Jesus’ return. I guess that’s all for me today’ (mistake number two).

That’s when the Holy Spirit took over. He opened my eyes to what this verse in God’s living Word means for me. What a difference it makes when He illuminates a verse, and how foolish of me to make such trivial assumptions about God’s Word! Originally when I read this verse, the word “patient” really jumped out at me. I could easily say I was waiting for Jesus, but was I waiting patiently? And did this verse mean more than waiting for Jesus’s return? Maybe the deeper query for me should be “Was I waiting patiently for Jesus in all things?” Was I waiting patiently for Him to answer my prayers? Was I waiting patiently for Him to act? Was I waiting patiently for Him to lead? Nope! I am not a patient person; I want today’s prayers answered yesterday! So how does God teach an impatient person to be patient? The answer is in the first part of this verse. He directs their heart into His love.

The more I study His Word, the more I learn of God’s love. The more I understand of His incredible love, the more I realize that His love is the reason why He waits to answer prayers. His waiting is a manifestation of the love He has for me and for everyone else in this world! He only answers when it is in my best interest OR the best interest of the one for whom I am praying, and He always aligns His responses with His perfect will! That’s love! Once I understand this, I am empowered by His Holy Spirit to wait patiently for His answers to my prayers!

What about the return of Christ? Does this verse also refer to that? I think it does, but why do I need to wait patiently for Jesus’ return? Shouldn’t I be eager for that? Of course I can’t wait to be with Jesus, but that’s a very self-centered point of view. I wait patiently for Christ’s return because God the Father waits patiently to send his Son. God loves each person on this earth so much that He wants to give everyone every possible opportunity to trust Christ as Saviour before Jesus returns. That’s truly a good reason for me to wait patiently for the return of the Lord!

In the meantime, I still have a lot of work to do for Him before He comes back again!