Last week I encouraged you to nuzzle into your HH, talking to Him about your plans, but then listening with an open heart to His plans. Even more important, I encouraged you to Ask Him about things He’s done in the past—in order to strengthen your faith in His future for you. This week I’d like to share a principle that I do every single night without fail. Each night when I close my eyes to fall asleep, I ask my HH where we’re going—what mountaintop or expansive sea I’ll envision from the days when I traveled with Him—what I’ll dream about as I sleep.
Sometimes it’s actual mountain tops I dream about, like a night ago when I was transported back to the Alps, where I was looking straight at the Matterhorn. (here’s a picture of what I see as I close my eyes). It wasn’t just being there, as outstanding and unreal as you can see it was, but all that transpired that led to me being there. The testing of my heart I happily passed that led to sooooo many outrageous things that happened, before and after I stood face to face with one of the most breathtaking views I’ve re-lived thousands of times!
Not only does this nightly ritual result in me falling into a deep sleep (along with a goofy smile I’m sure is spread across my face). But it also boosts my faith and keeps me immune to the dangers of the slippery slope of fear, which we all know snowballs quickly if it’s not stopped.
Currently I’m in a holding pattern and maybe, so are you.
So, what happens when your desire is not fulfilled, over and over and over again? Even Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
First, we apply the principle of Romans 4:18, “In hope against all hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” Remember how impossible it was for Abraham to father a child, and also for Sara to conceive a child—especially because it appeared as if she’d missed the age to conceive, along with the “promise” that had apparently been fulfilled by the birth of Ishmael?
Let me encourage you to simply ask your HH to take you to your own happy places He’s taken you. Your own mountaintop and vast sea experiences that you may have forgotten, but He hasn’t.
Dear bride, whenever you find yourself in a holding pattern, be sure to enjoy this time, right now! Get away with your Beloved HH and reminisce with Him as any two lovers would do.
Indulge in recalling the past with Him. The first time you met, how you fell in love, when you discovered your favorite love song, and talk to Him about the gifts, places, experiences you’ve enjoyed as a couple. If you do, then waiting, holding still, won’t be uncomfortable, tempting you to get ahead of Him. No, it will become your happy place. You’ll “smile at the future” like the Proverbs 31 woman. You’ll be so content to the point that you no longer care how long you wait.
Unleashing the TRUTH
From ~ Yvonne in South Africa
I have found that in the beginning of my Restoration Journey and still at times now that when I go to bed in the evening it is the time that I most vulnerable to my thoughts and fears and reading this lesson I was reminded how this can be a peaceful happy time with my Heavenly Husband instead of being caught up in fear for what the future brings.
When my children are not here it is easy because I listen to the bible in audio until I fall asleep, but when the children are here, I cannot do that.
This truth helped to renew my mind from how I used to think, and how it has affected my walk with my Lord is in the beginning, I really had to concentrate to keep my mind on the Lord. Because you start talking to the Lord and then when you find yourself, your mind is wandering again.
But now that I have read this lesson, instead of me talking to the Lord about my day and everything that happened that day, I will be talking to Him about everything He has done for me. And He has already prepared me for that because even before I read this lesson, He had me go to one of my blogs that was posted and I could just click on my # and look through my Praise Reports to be reminded how amazing my Heavenly Husband is. Reading them has boosted my faith so much. Can you imagine if I ask Him every night to remind me of something awesome He did for me, what will happen!!!
Oh, my dear Heavenly Husband. Thank You for being such an amazing Husband! I thank You for each and every blessing that You have bestowed on me. Lord, I do not deserve any of it and that only means that all the glory and honour is yours and not mine. I pray that You help me live this lesson. Thank You for reminding me every night of just one great thing You have done for me. I love You with all my heart! Amen.
I am reminded of 2 verses:
Psalm 19:14 (TPT) So may the words of my mouth, my meditation-thoughts, and every movement of my heart be always pure and pleasing, acceptable before your eyes, my only Redeemer, my Protector-God.
Proverbs 4:23 (TPT) So above all, guard the affections of your heart,[a] for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life.
Dear fellow bride, if you may have lost hope that the Lord will come through for you on what you are trusting Him for. If you have become impatient for His promises to be fulfilled, Live this Lesson and make enjoy the wait with Him.
I can talk about all of the big, huge amazing blessings that the Lord has been doing in my life lately and I will but I want to talk about something small. There is a famous coffee place here in America called Dunkin’ Donuts and I would go there every day to get my iced coffee And the workers have these really cool Dunkin’ Donuts T-shirts and I would always ask them for one and they told me when they get one they would give it to me but a lot of time went by so one day I was walking in to get my coffee and I said please, Lord please God Can you make it so that they will give me a T-shirt today and that is exactly what happened and I was so thankful I believe I still have it where I’m going with this is God doesn’t just care about the big stuff he cares about the little stuff. This beautiful lesson reminded me of that . When I think about the story, it makes me smile because I know my heavenly husband loves me and cares about every little detail in my life along with the big ones so from now on before I go to bed, I pray I can remember to ask God to remind me about all of the blessings that he has given me and that we can talk about it and also he can bless me with dreams about it. God bless all of you ladies glory to God
Thank you so much Tiffany for sharing this praise and I cannot wait to read all about the other blessings in your life. It is so amazing to look back on our journeys and recall all the things He done for us, or situations where He came through for us. To count our blessings one by one and keep focusing on that instead of all the other things that goes on around us. And just to be still and bask in His love for us.
Hello my dearest Tiffany, please share your praises on https://encouragingwomen.org/pr/ where not only me, but more women can rejoice with you and rally around you, can’t wait to hear what He’s been doing in your life! You can use your BNN to remain anonymous. https://hopeatlast.com/bnn/#DISCOVER%20Your
I’m hoping that someone can help me. I’m trying to get to the advanced living lesson. #40
And it’s asking me to enter my password, and I am, but it’s still not allowing me access🙏🏻🙏🏻
Hello my dear Tiffany, you can read the answer to your question here: https://encouragingwomen.org/help-with-wll40/
Holding Pattern/What I took from this lesson.
It can be really discouraging when we feel our desires aren’t being accomplished. It can make us feel like giving up. But it’s important to remember that He is in control and He has a plan for our lives. Even when things don’t make sense, we can trust that God is working all things together for our good. (R8:28)
If we are waiting on Him to fulfill a promise in our lives, we can continue to hope and trust in Him, knowing that He is good and He will do what is best for us in HIS timing.
I know that waiting can be difficult, but I need to enjoy this time in life. I am about to enter a new journey with my Beloved, and it is a time to cherish. I need to remember that waiting does not have to be a negative experience. It can be a time to appreciate all that I have. So, instead of focusing on the wait or hold ,focus on the journey.
Going to bed was the worst time when my journey started, that was when everything I tried to supress during the day, stormed into my head, causing me to be anxious and to fret. Needless to say, it caused a lot of sleepless nights.
But when I really got to know my Husband, I started to meditate on His promises for me, or looking back at everything He did in my life, or I listened to the Psalms, that started to pull me out of that bad nighttime routine, and I started to sleep easier because I knew He is in control and that He will turn around everything for good.
Now I sleep like a baby, when I go to bed I just talk to Him about everything and can be at peace because He’s got everything under control.
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12
As I meditate on this lesson and especially this verse, I realize that just as Erin says, it is better to think about the desires fulfilled (in the past tense) by my Beloved than about the hope that I feel is “delayed” (“…they will surely come to pass. Even if you think they are slow in coming, do not despair. Everything will happen on the day I have appointed!” Habakkuk 2:3 I sincerely believe that is so, I just hope the day my Beloved marked on His calendar arrives to receive my promise).
At this moment in my life my faith is very strengthened, it may be because I have seen His powerful hand acting and moving in my favor about the promise I hope for, my faith has been strengthened, even when I have also seen opposition I continue to trust, I remain positive and with hope against hope, certainly my faith is stronger now because I have known firsthand His faithfulness. When He fulfilled His promises throughout my journey of personal and marriage restoration, then with my health of which I testify now —because it is recent— He has healed me, I feel very encouraged and confident.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” Psalm 37:4. When I imagined if He asked me what I want now, like when they asked me as a child “If you found Aladdin’s lamp and could make 3 wishes, what would you ask for?” I used to think and answer what I wanted: a successful professional career, a family, housing, mobility comforts (everything was taken away from me in my desert!!) I meditated on the desires of my heart currently and realized that nothing I used to ask for is something that I consciously believe could make me happy now, simply because I am already happy with Him, I already have everything I need and want, I have nothing else to ask Him for. I think that in part because of that I was stuck for a long time without praying for anything specific and now I resumed praying for His call to agree with Him in His plans for me, thinking about His desire and purpose with me. He does not want me to get sick, so He does not want me to cling to hope by making it an idol, which I used to do by keeping myself thinking and praying about it in an almost obsessive way, but to cling to Him and keep delighting in Him, that is where I will be able to enjoy the fruits of the tree of life that will keep me away from death (in every sense).
In conclusion, the wait ends when I realize I already have what I want because I have HIM.