For His Name Sake

As I cry out to the Lord today, I am reminded of the Scripture in Daniel 9:19.  "O Lord, hear!  O Lord, forgive, O Lord, give heed and act!  Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."    As His child, I am invited to come boldly before His throne and make my plea.  God answers because of His Covenant and His Name.    Vs. 23 " At the beginning of your prayers, the Word, giving an answer, went forth..."    While I see delay, and the waiting may seem endless;  there are reasons for the delay.  There is a battle raging in the Heavenly realms, that I am not aware of.  BUT GOD... has sent forth His answer and by His Holy Spirit, He speaks.   (Dan 10:12)  "Then he said to me, FEAR NOT, for from the first day that you set your mind and heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come as a consequence of and in response to your words."

My God is Faithful!  My God hears and responds to my prayers!  He wages war in the Heavenly Realms on my behalf, for His Name's sake!  

Without the Word of God, I could not endure this season of my life.  It alone is life to me. I am reminded every time I pick it up, of the words of the Apostle Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go?   For  You have the words of eternal life." (Jn 6:67)   There are seasons in the life of every Believer in which God brings us to the place where there is nothing and no one for us to rely on, except Him.  He allows us to be stripped and emptied so that He may clothe us and fill us with Himself.  While it may be the most frightening time in our lives, if we can cleave to Him and endure it, His reward (both here and in eternity) will be immense.

I have a Helper.  I have a Comforter.  I have the Holy Spirit of God living in me.  It is Him who rises up, as I decrease, and "it is the Spirit Who Gives Life:  the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it).  The words that I (Jesus)  have spoken to you are spirit and life" (Jn 6:63)   I can not rely on my emotions to tell me the truth, I must rely on the One who is the Word, who is the Truth; to lead me and direct my paths.  

I will never tell anyone that this is easy--it is NOT.  I heard a woman preacher, when I was first saved, speak on this very topic.  I did not understand then as  I do now, but I always remembered this little tune she sang;  it was something the Spirit spoke to her during a period of stripping.  "I am not moved by your tears."  The are times when God must not be moved by our tears, in order that He do a work in us.  There are times when the cup we are asking Him to take away, is the very cup that will bring the fulfillment of His purpose for our lives into being.

And so I sing that tune to myself today, as a reminder to myself that God is on the throne; that He has sent His answer from the very first day I humbled myself and called out to Him; and that this cup, though it be filled with tears, is the very cup with which God will bring blessing to others.  Jesus poured Himself out for me; who am I to think that He would not require the same of me.

Father I thank you for Your Word.  I thank You for the Comforter in the midst of this season, and I surrender myself to You.  Have Your way, for the glory of Your Name.   Amen (so be it)