A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Click here to support our ministry.The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. Wednesday, November 20, 2013  "Lessons On Waiting" Note: We are thankful to share that Ester's heart surgery went well yesterday and she is recovering at Hershey Medical Center. We will share a longer note below.  Listen to this message on your audio player"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!" (Psalm 27:14). “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” Romans 8:25).  Yesterday I arrived at Hershey Medical Center early in the morning to be with Ester before her heart surgery. (Brooksyne had taken her over about an hour earlier for the admission.) I parked the van in a large parking garage and walked over to the main hospital. On the way there is a very busy intersection with traffic coming from multiple directions. A safety feature they have is not only a walk light but an audible voice that directs you as well (I suppose for the visually-impaired.)When the walk light was red a voice repeated "Wait, Wait, Wait" until it was safe to cross the intersection. Having sight I was also able to anticipate when the light would turn green but I considered any who wouldn't have that advantage. The persistent "Wait" recording would be indefinite, although the person would still know the certainty of an eventual green crossing signal. That's the way a lot of our waits are. In so many experiences of life we are waiting for God's promise to be fulfilled but we're uncertain of the timing in the process. Although the reality of the promise is assured the timing and often the means by which God will bring about the promise is unspecific. And frankly this is true of the specific outcome as well. We may have an assurance in the promise that the outcome will ultimately be for our good and God's glory but sometimes the short-term outcome on this side sure doesn't seem that way. Ester came through her most recent surgery fine but I read a touching story last night of a very dissimilar outcome that touched my heart deeply titled, "On Losing A Daughter". * The daily Scriptures text brings great assurance when appropriated. It represents one of many Scripture verses that deal with the subject of waiting. We want to especially encourage our readers today who are in the midst of a wait period. Notice the Psalmist calls on us to "wait for the Lord" at the beginning of the verse and then repeats it at the end of the verse. His repetitive message reveals that waiting has always been hard. But in the midst of the wait we are called to be strong and take heart or be courageous. When we fail to trust God we then begin to live in the vacillating realm of "What if?" The "What if" mental game can take our minds on hopeless explorations God never intended. That's when we grow anxious, even fearful because we've shifted our focus to uncertainty instead of the certainty of trusting in God. Consider these seven observations for those in a wait period:
Be encouraged today! Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Jesus, You made us to be time-sensitive creatures. Our schedules are guided by hours, days, weeks, years, seasons and on and on it goes. While most of our activity is decided by our prearranged schedules we don't usually allot waiting time, but You do. You arranged it for the patriarchs of old and expect it of Your followers throughout the ages as we often find ourselves waiting and waiting and waiting. But it's not a waste of our precious time, for You tell us that we are strengthened in the wait, as we depend upon You to work out the details for our lives. You've promised that if we wait upon You our strength will be renewed and we will mount up with wings as eagles. As we do so we're refreshed in our spirit and find ourselves more patient, confident, and courageous as we wait upon You to accomplish Your intended plan for our lives. We look to You and are sustained by Your Almighty Hand during the wait! Amen.Personal note: The surgeon was unable to use an existing lead from a previous pacemaker that was removed in 2006 and thus replaced both the atrial and ventral leads. The surgery lasted about six hours. This morning she is still not feeling really well but I suppose that is to be expected. Again we are so thankful for the prayerful support, many emails, Facebook comments and calls. Yesterday it was such a blessing to have the support of our pastor during the long wait. Today Ester already has church friends in visiting her and Brooksyne told me she was very encouraged. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources * "On Losing A Daughter" blog post by Frank Zaspel A family who had a long wait and outcome not expected but keeping the faith. "Wait On The Lord" Video The Martins "In His Time" Video Maranatha Music "While I'm Waiting" Video John Waller "We Will Wait" Video Ron Kenoly "Waiting Here For You" Video Christy Nockels |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber (Click on photo to enlarge) "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 12/31/12)  Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. We ask you to consider an offering to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible. Click here to donate online.2013 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 11/19/13: $17,579.00 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here.These messages are never sent by us unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive it OR it was forwarded to you. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or as an email subscription through Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.) Cancel: These messages are only sent from us to people who request it; please accept our apologies if it reached you in error. You can unsubscribe from this list at any time. If you no longer desire to receive these messages you can remove your address from the list by merely using the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each email message. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Weekly Version: The weekly version is intended for those who may not check their email regularly or who may desire less frequent mailings. It is Friday's message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. Daily Encouragement on Facebook and Twitter:  The daily message and prayer on Facebook. The daily message and prayer on Twitter.Reader Survey: Please take a few minutes to assist us in improving our ministry effectiveness by filling out this online reader survey. To take the survey click here. Please feel free to pass these messages on! Our other blogs: "A Daily Prayer" - A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message! "A Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) (Note: This material is satire!) "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. (Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!) "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. Personal Mission Statement "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."  How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Other versions are also occasionally used. © Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552   Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
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