goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

The Waiting

By Linda Tancs

The late singer/songwriter Tom Petty wrote a song called “The Waiting.” The premise is that waiting is the hardest part. He goes on to say that you take it on faith. That’s where God comes in. God reminded the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk that the answer will come at the appointed time. God is never late (Habakkuk 2:3). What are you waiting on? A new home? A different career? Improved family life? A change in finances? Waiting is hard. Can you learn to wait, in faith, like Habakkuk?

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Swallowed Up

By Linda Tancs

Do you sometimes feel like life has swallowed you up? Are you burdened by parenting, work, elder care, family disputes? Imagine how Jonah felt in the belly of the whale (Book of Jonah), all swallowed up with no place to go. The good thing is that he could do nothing but rest during that period. Sometimes, rest is exactly what you need to refresh your perspective. Thankfully, we don’t need a whale’s belly for that; we can enter into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:10).

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

The Soundtrack of Your Life

By Linda Tancs

We’re exhorted to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). That command doesn’t exclude the annoying things in life, like slow traffic or a slow drain! The next time an irritating circumstance challenges your ability to be thankful and encourages complaint, imagine all of those complaints forming the soundtrack of your life for eternity. Would you want to spend forever listening to a recording of every complaint you made over the trifling matters of life? Probably not!

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Let God Fix It

By Linda Tancs

In the children’s animated series Bob the Builder, Bob and his work crew go about completing construction projects. Bob’s famous catchphrase is “Can we fix it?” His colleagues respond, “Yes, we can!”

In the spiritual world, God is the Master Builder (Hebrews 3:4). He begins a work in you and finishes it to completion (Philippians 1:6). Your task is to cooperate in the process but, ultimately, God will fix what needs fixing. That may mean letting go of some things that are unfit for God’s purpose for you—maybe that’s an unsuitable occupation you’ve pursued or the wrong kind of friends. Whatever it may be, let God be the architect of your life. Can He fix it? Yes, He can.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES, Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Learn more at goforwardinfaith.com. Follow us on Twitter @moveonfaith and join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Wait for It

By Linda Tancs

“Wait for it” is an expression used to show that you are about to say something surprising, funny or difficult to believe. God uses it in a different way, exhorting his prophet Habakkuk to wait for the answers that the prophet seeks. God reminds Habakkuk that the answer will come at the appointed time. God is never late (Habakkuk 2:3).

What are you waiting on? A new home? A different career? Improved family life? Can you learn to wait, like Habakkuk? Will you recognize the answer when it comes? We often forget that, sometimes, the answer to prayer is “no.” Ask God to help you not only recognize when the appointed time has come but also to accept the response.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES, Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Learn more at goforwardinfaith.com. Follow us on Twitter @moveonfaith and join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Rudolph’s Bible Lesson

By Linda Tancs

Remember Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer? Yeah, the one with the shiny and glowing nose. The one who was so different from his contemporaries that they shunned him. Nobody wanted Rudy as a playmate. But, oh, how things changed when Santa realized how Rudy’s bright, glowing nose could cut through the fog on Christmas Eve and get him where he needed to go (which was everywhere, of course). Then the other reindeer loved him, as the song goes. The “loser” was now a winner.

There’s a Bible lesson in this cherished song. To be sure, the favorable outcome for Rudy shows how others’ harm can be worked out for good by God (Genesis 50:20). God refreshes and restores, as Psalm 23 reminds us. Rudy’s victory tasted sweet, like a banquet presented to him before his foes (Psalm 23:5).

Recall some of your favorite holiday songs and see how many biblical lessons you can find!

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

In Sync

By Linda Tancs

The belief that all things work together for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28) is a recognition of Divine order. It’s an abdication of the need to know how things will work out (Proverbs 3:5). Instead, it’s an acknowledgment that things will work out. All things. Not some things or even most things. God is the ultimate timekeeper, syncing all the times of your life into a harmonious whole. You can probably look at some circumstances already and see how it worked out for the best. God’s not done yet.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Walk, Don’t Run

By Linda Tancs

In Lewis Carroll’s famous tale Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the White Rabbit utters, “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” Are you in a hurry? Do you hurry to work, hurry to finish lunch, hurry to mow the lawn, hurry to finish the project? Hurrying has been shown to make one  more error prone. It also causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol release. No wonder there’s no mention of Jesus rushing in any of the gospels.

The Bible stresses waiting, patience and walking with the Lord (Psalm 27:14; Psalm 130:5). Admittedly, waiting in a hurried world is a tough task. But the advantages are many, like wisdom, perspective and guidance (Isaiah 40:31). That’s especially useful when circumstances are challenging, in the “fires” of life. Of course, there are times when abusive or dangerous situations dictate that you make haste. But for all those other times, as fire drills remind us,‘walk, don’t run to the nearest exit.’

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

It Came to Pass

By Linda Tancs

The renowned artist Auguste Renoir was an Impressionist painter, best known for his paintings of bustling Parisian modernity and leisure in the last three decades of the 19th century. He suffered terribly from arthritis in the last decade of his life but continued to paint. When asked why he continued working in such agony, he replied, “The beauty remains. The pain passes.”

That quote reminds me of the Bible phrase, “it came to pass.” It occurs with great regularity, especially in the Old Testament. You might be tempted to just brush it off as a transitional phrase, a way to mark the passage of time in a story with a flourish. But this simple phrase has the potential to mean so much more. Imagine applying it to your difficulties—a job loss, financial reversal, broken relationship, health challenge, or whatever it may be. The problem, or event, didn’t come to stay; it came to pass. Solomon’s Book of Ecclesiastes teaches this principle of coming and going (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). In every storm of life, the pain will pass but the beauty (the ultimate good) will remain. In other words, as Paul reminded the Romans, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 KJV).

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Sticks and Stones

By Linda Tancs

An old childhood rhyme begins, “Sticks and stones may break my bones.” In the Bible, stones (and clubs) are often depicted as obstacles, even instruments of death. For instance, we’re reminded of stoning as a punishment for sin in the story about the adulteress brought before Jesus for sentencing (John 8:2-5). Also, Jesus reacts disappointedly to his arrest with the use of swords and clubs, as if He were a robber (Mark 14:48; Matthew 26:55; Luke 22:52). And then there’s the imposing stone placed before the entrance to the tomb following Jesus’ crucifixion (Mark 16:3).

What are your “stones” in life? Age? Infirmity? Anger? Resentment? Fear? Don’t let them break you. There’s no stone so big that He can’t roll it back. Focus on building a better foundation based on the One who is the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22; Acts 4:11).