laughter and God's provision.

i just listend to pretty much the most incredible and appropriate sermon that there could be for my life right now.

it was based on genesis 18 and 21, the promise that God made to sarah and abraham about giving them a baby.
and how it took 25 YEARS for that promise to be fulfilled.

the pastor spoke about how Gods promises tap into our greatest longings. how He makes promises and fulfills them not just for ourselves, but for His creation and for the work He is doing all over this world.

the pastor spoke about what happens when something goes wrong and we seek to take things into our own hands. like when we try to speed up the promise or something. and how that causes more trouble then waiting.

he talked about how sometimes we make the promise an idol and stop seeking God in the midst of running after the promise.

he talked about how the only thing God wants is our broken heart, and how that could be what He is doing in the process of fulfilling the promise.

and then He talked about when God does eventually provide. about how He redeems us, resurrects the hope inside us, how He makes it about Himself and not about us. how He wants to draw out the truth of who we are.

it was really good.

check it out at: http://jacobswellchurch.org/messages.html

"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"

Hebrews 12:1-3 - the message.