Marydean Draws: waiting

Showing posts with label waiting. Show all posts

I don't know the season you're facing today. When it's not one thing, it's another, right? Waiting.
Despairing. Doubting. All the various kinds of suffering possible, and there are many.

The gospel writers don't skip around this reality: "For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too" (2 Cor. 1:5 ESV).

We may not be able to sort out all the intricacies of God's plans in our suffering, but we do know one clear goal: to be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (Jamess 1:2-4 ESV)

Honestly, I'm not really comfortable with this verse. If you're like me, I want to say: "That's really nice, God, that you want me to be perfect and complete, but I'm pretty happy with who I am and I just want to do cool stuff for you and be really useful in the Kingdom. Isn't that enough?"

Dallas Willard, in The Divine Conspiracy**, wrote something that has been rolling around in my head for a few weeks now. He lays out what it looks like to be an everyday apprentice of Jesus and then he says, "What they [apprentices of Jesus], and God, get out of their lifetime is chiefly the person they become."

The lesson for me in the last few years has been that who I am becoming is way more important to God than what I do. And that's not because His Kingdom and His work are less important than the kingdom of me. It's because my ministry in the church and in the world flows out of the person that I am in Him. That's just how effective ministry works.

The hard, internal work of conforming us to the image of Jesus--not just at the level of our actions, but down deep to the level of our thoughts, our emotions, our will, our reactions--is what God is committed to. It's what yields the spiritual fruit that changes the world and brings Him glory.

Now let's be honest here. Knowing this goal of God's doesn't make trials easier. In some seasons, every second of every day can feel pained. But, when we trust that even in this, that God is good and that He is for us and our good, then we can persevere in hope.

I hope this encourages you today. The screensavers below are to remind you of the good God is doing in you and then through you as you go out and be the person God has and is forming you to be.

You can download them be clicking on the images (one on Spanish and one in English) below and saving to your phone.

James 1:4 Bible verse screensaver from Marydean Draws

Santiago 1:4 Bible verse screensaver in Spanish

**affiliate link. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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February 6, 2019

God's goal for you + James 1:4 screensaver in English and Spanish

Proverbs 20:24 Bible verse coloring page from Marydean Draws

"A man's steps are from the Lord;how then can man understand his way?" Proverbs 20:24

I used to use this verse sometimes in college to reply when people asked me, “What are you going to do when you graduate?”

I wonder why we assume we should should know what we're doing after college and beyond? We assume we should know the ministry God has for us. We should know how we should school our children.

I'm not against planning or goal-setting; both can be the Lord's leading. But I wonder if God isn't asking us to sit with a lot more "I don't knows" than we're comfortable with?

I think we're big on making plans and having goals, but not on waiting on the LORD. At church we have been talking about how the first instruction to the disciples in the book of Acts was to wait on the coming power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

"And while staying with them he [Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4-5 (ESV)

I wonder if not always knowing where we're going might by a natural by-product of following Jesus and walking in the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16)?

People often ask me, "How long do you think you'll homeschool?" I always say that I really don't know, and that I will pray about it each year. I often feel awkward answering this way, the inner critic in my head telling me that I should really be a better planner, more decisive, more on top of my life. And maybe I should, or . . .

Maybe I need to care most about what Jesus would say, and continue to do what He has led me to do until He leads differently. Maybe I need to lean in most on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in my life and not my own abilities or plans.

Today's printable Bible verse coloring page is from Proverbs 20:24. You can download your page by clicking on the images below (one in English, one in Spanish, and one blank for other languages)!*

PRAYING the Word

Jesus, forgive my self-reliance and need to control. Help me know myself well enough to know that I am an unreliable guide. Help me humbly and patiently allow you to lead me today wherever you would. Teach me to wait on you.

QUESTIONS to consider:

1. What are you asking God’s leading for today?
2. Are you content to wait as He leads in His timing?
3. What encouragement do you find in this Scripture today?

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September 21, 2017

Willing to wait + Proverbs 20:24 Bible Verse Coloring Page

"cloud of witnesses" printable Bible verse coloring page

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

My dad bought our family several missionary biographies for Christmas, and the girls chose to start with Amy Carmichael's story (we are reading this one--a great series for kids). Amy is an Irish women with a heart for bringing the hope of the Gospel to poor and neglected women. We just found out that Amy's poor health has send her back home instead of on her way to work with Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission, to which she had clearly heard God's call. Little does she know that she will end up in India, working among the very people God has equipped her to reach with His love.

One benefit of reading Christian biographies is the opportunity to see a person's life from start to finish, to realize as you read about the struggles and confusion in Chapter 4, that God is preparing for something in Chapter 15.

Reading the life stories of saints who have gone before is one way to surround ourselves with that "great cloud of witnesses" available to us. Hudson Taylor. George Mueller. Adoniram Judson. C.S. Lewis. Elizabeth Elliot. Hannah Hurnard. Who would you add to this list?

They are in addition to the "great cloud of witnesses" from the Bible summarized for us in Hebrews 11:

whose faith and hope were more real than their circumstances

whose God was bigger than their enemies

whose reward was worth the cost

whose desires were bigger than this broken world

who trusted in God, not themselves, for their righteousness

who believed, even when God's timelines of promise was much farther out than was desirable

who despite many, and sometimes monumental, failures, were commended by God for their faith

We're not the first Jesus-follower to live this life of death and resurrection, of suffering and struggle.

You'll hear your voice in the Psalmist's cries and complaints. You'll see your broken way in the life stories of the faithful saints now in eternity.

I just started reading a collection of Puritan prayers called "TheValley of Vision" compiled by Arthur Bennet (this article gives a good explanation of how the book came about) to help me pray "meatier" prayers. What surprises me is that these prayers aren't antiquated or stuffy; they're passionate and spirit-filled; they're densely theological, but poetic. The publisher's website posts a daily prayer if you'd like to try them.

What do the cloud of witnesses have to say to you, their sister or brother? The writers of Hebrews says that Adam’s son Abel, "through his faith, though he died, still speaks" (11:4).

What is it that you need to hear from the multitude who have tried God and found Him faithful and good?

Today's printable Bible verse coloring page is from Hebrews 12:1. You can download your page HERE or by clicking on the image below!*

Bible verse coloring page "great cloud of witnesses" Hebrews 12:1

PRAYING the Word
Thank you Father that I am not alone! I have the constant warmth of your Spirit, I have my church family, and I have a cloud of witnesses surrounding me, encouraging me to throw of my sin, fix my eyes on Jesus, and run with endurance this race you've laid out for me. Help me avail myself of these great resources You have provided.

*I'm so happy for you to enjoy my coloring pages and printables for your personal (not commercial) use! Use for Bible studies, church groups or events, and Sunday school classes are all fine! If you're in doubt, I'm happy to answer any questions. All artwork and photos are copyright Marydean Draws. If you share this, you're awesome (!), and as a courtesy, please link back to this post and not the PDF file. Thank you!!

Scripture is from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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January 25, 2017

Surrounded by witnesses + a Hebrews 12:1 Bible verse coloring page

"Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'" 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. "These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth." [Zechariah 4:6-10 ESV]

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. day here in the States. We're remembering the great task Dr. King felt called and equipped by God to do, the task that demanded his all. The right man in the right place at the right time.

I learned this week (from this account) that Dr. King was in Memphis when he was murdered only because there had just been a violent protest there. City sanitation workers were fed up of working conditions that were both sub-human and dangerous. Dr. King's policy was to always go back and stage a peaceful protest once there had been a violent one.

The night before his murder, he gave a speech at the Mason Temple in Memphis. Behind him, emblazened on a sign, was today's coloring page verse: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, Saith the LORD of HOSTS" (see image below).

Image: thecivilrightsmuseum.org

This verse is from Zechariah 4, an account of a vision of Zechariah, the prophet, containing a message for another man--Zerubbael--who was given the God-sized task of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem after the exile.

There was opposition to the project and much of the work probably seemed like "the day of small things," far removed from the glorious day the "top stone" would be set in place (4:10).

No wonder those in the middle of the Civil Rights movement found hope here.

Don't you think we can find hope here too, no matter the bigness or smallness of our calling?

Hope that accomplishment rests on the work of the Spirit, not our own strength.

Hope that mountains turn into plains before the LORD.

Hope that God, the Lord of hosts, with an army at His command, has His eyes on us (and the whole earth).

Hope that even small things can be built into SOMEthing bigger.

Between the days of small things and the day of the top stone, faithful work in the Spirit and unrelenting hope in the Lord of hosts will be required of us.

I need the reminder today that my task depends on my Jesus, not on me. He is up to it, though I am not. He is committed when I am ready to give up.

Today's printable Bible verse coloring page is from Zechariah 4:6(b). You can download your page HERE or by clicking on the image below!*

PRAYING the Word
We put all our hope in the power of your Spirit to do what you have called us to. We put no confidence in our flesh and our own abilities (Philippians 3:3; Psalm 71:5). Thank you that you are always faithful, always strong, always with us.

QUESTIONS to consider:

1. Do you feel like everything depends on you and what you can do? How does that feel?
2. Do you act as if everything depends on you? How has that worked out for you?
2. What do you need to hope in God for today?

Scripture is from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

If you like this, you can get these posts in your inbox by signing up HERE!

January 16, 2017

Not by might + Zechariah 4:6 Bible Verse Coloring Page

As I wade through various circumstances in my life, this verse comes to mind, so I'm sharing this artwork with you today!

It takes courage to wait on the LORD to move in us, to move in others, and to move in our world.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:3-6 ESV)

I recently started reading "How People Change" by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp (which has been great for my heart and which I got for free for my Kindle, along with a lot of other great Kindle books from David C. Cook ebooks, which you can sign up for HERE--which is a whole lot of "whiches," I now see).

Lane and Tripp write about the above verses in Philippians:

"No matter what you face today, you can be encouraged that God's good work continues in your life, even when you don't see . . . As you have that tough conversation with a friend, you can say to yourself, 'Christ is working right now to complete what he started in me. As you struggle with your finances, you can say to your spouse, 'We can get through this because Christ is working right now to complete what he has begun in us.' . . . do you see the problems through the eyes of Christ, with hope in his presence, his work, and his power to change you?"

(Scripture card from the "Graced Life" set in the Etsy shop)

That Jesus is at work in my mess gives me such hope, the kind of hope that helps me to "wait on the Lord; be of good courage, be strong; Yes, wait for the LORD" (Psalm 27:14).

PRAYING the Word
Give us the courage and strength to wait on you, Lord. Help us see our circumstances through your eyes, knowing that you are up to your good and glory in all things.

QUESTIONS to ask about the verses:

1. What is particularly hard for you to wait for right now?
2. Why does it take such courage to wait?

3. How can you know when it's time to wait and when it's time to act?

Today's printable Bible verse coloring page is from Psalm 27:14! You can download your page in English here or in Spanish here, or by clicking on the images below!*

*I'm so happy for you to enjoy my coloring pages and printables for your personal (not commercial) use! All artwork and photos are copyright Marydean Draws. If you share this, you're awesome (!), and as a courtesy, please link back to this post and not the PDF file. Thank you!!

If you like this, you can get these posts in your inbox by signing up HERE! You'll also receive occasional news from my Etsy shop.

June 27, 2016

the courage to wait + Psalm 27:14 Bible verse coloring page (Spanish + English)

Matthew 4:4 "man does not live on bread alone" printable coloring pages

I don't know about you, but I'm in a desperate sort of place. Fading are my illusions of progress and maturity. God help me practice patience today, I prayed this morning. God, forgive my lack of patience today, I prayed tonight.

My little people, my current calling, this winter gloom, my heavy heart, all leave me . . . low. Functioning, but low.

Maybe God is stripping away the self-righteousness that keeps me from clinging to His righteousness alone.

I pray . . .
Jesus, help me die to myself today. Myself, my flesh, is a mess.
Jesus, help me live for your approval, not everyone else's that I so desperately care about.
Jesus, make me be a slave to your Spirit. Mine is unruly.
Help me.

I used to think that if I studied the Bible enough and knew enough, then that would be enough. And I'm not arguing that I need some new word, some new revelation. What He has already said in His inspired Word is enough for me.

But friends, I still need HIM. I need Him to make His Word make sense and to break through to my stubborn, discontented, struggling heart. I need Him to apply Scripture to this life I live.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" Psalm 27:14

WAIT.

So I keep reading my Bible ploddingly, even when the words fall on a dull heart. I write here, calling to mind those precious words, some planted long ago in Awanas, or a late-night read as a middle schooler, or a women's Bible study (I remember words but usually not references--I'm terrible with numbers and am a relentless Googler).

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4 (Jesus quoting this passage from Deuteronomy 8:3: "And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.")

Waiting means trusting in the quiet spaces. Waiting means clinging to truth whatever my feelings. Waiting means hoping.

"Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food." Isaiah 55:2

"LISTEN diligently," writes Isaiah.

WAIT. LISTEN. Maybe you need to push aside the image of you alone in a quiet room with your Bible, basking in the morning sunlight. That's wonderful if that's your reality, but let's replace that image with one of you in the middle of your own brand of chaos--with a quieted soul. Waiting. Listening.

If you trust in Jesus, you are in relationship with a Person (a three-in-one), not an ideal, not an historical figure, not a mute idol. He loves you so much that He delights to take up residence in you, never to leave again. How would He not want to speak to you as you listen and wait for Him?

He sets the best table. His Word is precious and piercing, like the richest food that fills you with a single bite.

Can I encourage you and myself to keep seeking God in His Word, whatever that looks like in this season of your life? Can I encourage you to settle for nothing less that bread that fills and water that leaves you thirstless?

Here's a printable coloring page of Matthew 4:4 for you to use! You can download the page HERE (usage below*).

*I'm so happy for you to enjoy my coloring pages and printables for your personal (not commercial) use! All artwork and photos are ã Marydean Draws. Please share freely by posting a link back to this blog post. Please don't repost the actual file. If you share this, you're awesome (!), and as a courtesy, please link back to this post and not the PDF file. Thank you!!

If you like this, you can get these posts in your inbox by signing up HERE! You'll also receive occasional news from my Etsy shop.

January 13, 2016

Waiting on the Word and Eating the Better Bread + Matthew 4:4 Coloring Page

Isaiah 55:9 Printable Scripture Coloring Page Marydean Draws

"After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee." John 7:1-9

I love more and more about Jesus as I get to know Him better while reading through the book of John. He's so at rest in the Father's plan and timing. He doesn't let the rush of the world and other people's expectations sweep Him along. He doesn't entrust himself to people's approval or disapproval. He's not the least bit distracted . . . ever.

Basically, He's nothing like me.

In the passage above, Jesus' unbelieving brothers try to push him into a role He isn't ready to pursue. It's unclear His brothers' motives in the passage. They don't believe He is the Son of God at this point, so maybe they only want to see Him fail. Other followers are more believing, but want a conquerer, a political deliverer, a king. They want freedom from the oppression of the Roman occupiers.

But they have all set their sights too low. Jesus has come to save their eternal souls from themselves. He has come to reunite God and man. He has come to die . . . on a specific day, in a specific year, at a specific time.

He says to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here." Something about that view of time really strikes me. It pokes at the heart of my own struggles.

Aren't we, as humans, always ready NOW for whatever we want at that moment.

We want a great marriage now.

We want our kids to mature and learn everything they need to know now.

We want our business or career to take off now.

We want to be spiritually mature now.

We want the house clean now.

"Your time is always here."

It seems silly to have to remind myself that my ETERNAL God sees time differently than I do. What if I slowed down enough to listen to Him and think of things from His view?

We all need to be trained to walk beside Him in trust, to realize that everything does not have to happen now--the big things of life just as much as the small (including the messy house).

Just as the moment of the cross came for Jesus, there will be a time when God tell us, "NOW" and we go because we recognize His leading. Unlike Jesus, we are not privy to the "master plan," (what a burden that would be!) so until our "now" moment, we're probably not going to understand everything happening in our lives.

"A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?" Proverbs 20:24

That also means that we'll need to walk alongside our friends and family, and not push "our time" on them either.

I created a free printable Scripture coloring page of Isaiah 55:9 to help you meditate on these thoughts. Are you into the adult coloring page craze yet? I'm just hearing about it. I've always loved coloring and coloring helps my kids focus when I'm trying to teach them, so I'm all for it! You can grab some crayons, colored pencils, or even watercolors and have fun with this page!

Don't forget to listen to what God might be saying to you about ways you can focus on His time rather than yours.

You can download the file here! It is free for your personal use. Any other uses, please ask!

Off to print some for my kiddos!

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October 14, 2015

Your time is always here + Isaiah 55:9 Printable Scripture Coloring Page

I've felt needy for a long time now. Not on my spiritual A-game. On my last nerve with my children for months. Tired. And right now--very pregnant and waiting.

I was thinking this morning that feeling needy is actually closer to the truth of who we are than other feeling. Pride, feeling like we have it together, independence--these are the things that led to our fall as humans in the first place.

What is the truth about us?

“‘In him we live and move and have our being" Acts 17:28
There is no being apart from Him. We breathe Him in and out, whether we glorify Him in this breathing or not.

"Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2
Our faith if founded and perfected by our Jesus, not us. He authors the very faith we possess and brings it to completion in our lives. The cross itself blares the truth about us--we are so wicked apart from Him, it took His death to cleanse us and make us acceptable to Him.

"And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:17
The very atoms that make up our bodies are held together by Him.

If I understand these truths, why would I ever feel anything but needy for Him?

Jesus, keep me in the truth. Keep me needing you for every breath.

I like this version of "I need thee every hour."

January 3, 2015

The truth about neediness

I'm waiting, not so patiently. Thirty-seven week pregnant and three weeks (or less) seem so far away.

I realize when I'm forced to wait that my faith is often small, my hope short, and my patience untested.

I am waiting for a baby that will most definitely come at some point. Small potatoes.

Others in my life are waiting too:
One for a foster child to fill a beautifully decorated room in her home.
One on a chaotic government to come through so she can bring home an adopted daughter from abroad.
One for a child to be conceived miraculously in her womb, waiting through miscarriages, another through terrible losses.
One for a spouse and a lonely bed to be warmed.
One for God to work in a marriage and spouse.
One for her body to heal and pain to cease.

So much waiting. And there is no erasing the pain of waiting. There is no promising that the waiting will end soon.

But there is ONE we don't have to wait for.

JESUS.

We started putting this package (and only this one until Christmas day) under our tree last year.

He is here. NOW.
He HAS COME.
He HAS DELIVERED.
He WILL DELIVER.
He is my Comforter, Counselor, the Mighty God, Prince of Peace.

In my waiting, He may be up to a thousand things--or more. I like John Piper's quote: "God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”

On this I can rest my hope and turn my weary head, even in my "small potatoes" waiting.

I'm loving this Charles Wesley hymn this Christmas (and great video here):
Come, Thou long expected Jesus

Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

So I am praying these things:

Release us from our fears and sins
Let us find our rest in YOU
Be the joy of our longing hearts
Rule alone in our hearts
Raise our eyes to Your glorious throne!

Merry Christmas friends!

December 15, 2014