While “waiting” is nothing new to anyone standing for marriage restoration, we probably need a better understanding of what God EXPECTS us to DO while we wait, because the following verses make it very clear that God strongly disapproves when we are idle:

2 Thessalonians 3:5-7
May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.

Proverbs 31:27
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

1 Thessalonians 5:14
And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

2 Thessalonians 3:11
We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies.

While it may be difficult for us to understand, even the current state of our marriages was predestined to serve God’s good purpose that we might be for the praise of Christ’s glory, as we’re assured in Ephesians 1:11-12, which says In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. so, not only does the Lord not want us to be idle; He has a predestined and planned purpose and work for all of us to do, and He has created or allowed the circumstances we find ourselves in right now to prepare us and accomplish that purpose in our lives and the lives of those around us. And the following verses of scripture help us better understand that:

Numbers 16:9
Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the LORD’s
tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 4:12:11-13
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 3:6-9
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

2 Corinthians 6:1
As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

2 Chronicles 31:21
In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.

Despite sounding like a broken record, when something is REALLY important, it needs to be repeated over and over again, or to be expressed in different terms from time to time to make sure it is not overlooked or forgotten. And one thing the archives of the private FAM websites PROVE is that those who dedicate themselves to DOING the Lord’s work ARE without a doubt the same ones who see the Lord’s hand moving supernaturally in the restoration of their marriages and families. But that should NOT come as a surprise, because for it to be otherwise, would make a mockery of God’s Word.

And FAM is blessed to experience another very exciting and undeniable example of that, and I thank this FAM Fellowship member for permission to share a bit of her testimony here, without using her name for obvious reasons. MNO (member’s name omitted) came to FAM less than one month ago and her situation immediately touched the hearts of our entire family. She is VERY young and has two little ones and a third one on the way. Her husband left her five months ago with no support at all and is involved with another woman who is also expecting. She did not finish high school and never learned to drive; because her husband was her high school sweetheart, that didn’t seem necessary at the time. Unfortunately, she falls through the cracks of many of the public assistance programs available for housing and having exhausted other resources for assistance, she was already two months behind in her rent by the time we became fully aware of her circumstances. But NO ministry anywhere could be blessed with more wonderful men and women than the FAM Fellowship, and within hours of MNO posting her introduction, I started receiving calls from other members asking if we were going to help MNO. To make a long and complicated story short, FAM has been able to help meet her financial needs and her landlords are working with us concerning the payment of her rent; at least until after her baby is born in November. Now most of us thought we had it bad, but seeing MNO’s situation made all of us realize that we indeed have a LOT to be thankful for. And most of us would be in the depths of despair and depression if facing similar circumstances…but not our little MNO!!! No Sir, she kept proclaiming victory and faith in God and offered to do what she could to help me in the ministry, and that was BEFORE we started assisting her financially! But our meeting MNO was in no way a chance encounter, because within a week of teaching her how to do some of my work managing the sites and giving her Editor status, I had a health crisis of my own and was put out of commission for awhile, and MNO stepped right up to the plate and did a marvelous job in my absence, which she has continued to do ever since! And that’s taken an awful lot of work off my plate, which is a good thing since I had to make some lifestyle changes; such as working fewer hours, sleeping more and a few dietary restrictions no more of the good stuff!). While this is a wonderful praise report, the best part came last night! MNO’s husband had not really shown any signs of ever considering leaving the NCP, but he witnessed the death of a little boy yesterday, and it had a very profound impact on him, especially since the little boy who died was about the same age as his own son, and he was at the hospital praying for the boy’s father. Sparing the details, his very lengthy communication with MNO last night indicated that he truly sees the error of his way and he wants things the way they were before he left, but he doesn’t feel worthy to come home! Needless to say, we know the Lord will work through all of that as only He can, but as I told MNO when she shared her praise report on the private site this morning, I have no doubt this is the Lord’s way of blessing and rewarding her service to Him through this ministry, and the faith and confidence she’s had in Him despite everything she’s seen and heard!

And MNO’s testimony is just awesome confirmation of something the Lord has been impressing upon me lately, and that’s the need to reach out to even more people who are hurting as the result of a marital crisis in their lives; and how important it is for us to be BUSY about doing the Lord’s work. And the passage of scripture the Lord keeps bringing to my mind is 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, which says Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. Obviously, God doesn’t expect us to just sit back and lick our wounds; He wants us to grow in our walk and relationship with Him and then take what we have learned to help others do the same thing. In fact, I have just recently shared with the FAM Fellowship members that the Lord has put it on my heart for us to focus more seriously on establishing our FAM Home Groups now, and I’m very excited to see that get under way. When God started calling me to this ministry two years ago this month; he didn’t say I would be just standing for my marriage, but He said He wanted me to take a stand for all marriages, and that’s what He calls all of us to do when He puts it in our hearts to stand for the restoration of our marriages. And just as with The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), when we prove faithful to glorify the Lord with little, He WILL give us more! So I hope this encourages all of us to get more serious about doing the Father’s work and reaching out to minister to others. FAM is not just a place to be ministered to; it’s a place to minister to others as well, and that will be the direction of much greater focus in the future, because it’s what we’re called to do and we’ve certainly seen that it undeniably moves the hand of God to supernaturally work on our behalf to restore our marriages and families. Paraphrasing Rick Warren’s famous saying…It’s NOT all about us! And the sooner we understand that and make it our practice to act accordingly, the sooner we will se the Lord’s hand at work in our lives and in the restoration of our marriages and families! So be blessed and encouraged!

Speaking of one of my favorite topics, CONFIRMATION, here’s today’s AWESOME word of encouragement from Marsha Burns (which you can sign up to receive by email or read at this link):

“August 10, 2007: I will confirm all that you have heard Me speak directly to your heart. I will confirm these words with visions, dreams, and signs, which will bring great hope and comfort to your heart and strengthen your resolve to stand still and see My great work in your life and circumstances. Be alert and watch, for certainly you will find the assurance that what I have spoken I will bring to pass, says the Lord.
Isaiah 46:11b Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.”

Posted Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 7:01 pm in Seeds Of Faith.