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Charis Around
the World
Tidbits From Ebony
by Elizabeth Carmichael
A
graveyard in ebony
Dear
Charis Family,
First of all, thank you for so faithfully lifting up Mama Bee and
her adoption process in Africa. One of the adoptions has finally
gone all the way through!!! Now they are just waiting on everything
to come together for the second adoption. As Mama Bee says:
"God has fought for us the entire time. Glory to Him who loves the
orphan and defends the man who seeks to care for them. He has taught
'Daddy J' and I so much about persevering, fighting for integrity,
and remaining steadfast no matter what the cost. I am so thankful
that we have finally gotten to a point where her case is paper-ready
for embassy submission."
Please keep praying for them! Both cases need to pass the U.S.
adoption process and then they can finally go HOME!
You may recall that one of the reasons I highlighted this story is
that infertility is such a common issue among Kingdom workers and
locals overseas. Another dear friend who is not able to have
biological children is turning 40 in a few days. Instead of feeling
free to celebrate the amazing life she has led up to this point,
and the rest of it ahead of her, she is overcome with grief at the
milestone and the fact that she and her husband do not have
children. Her attempts to adopt have not been as successful as Mama
Bee's, and, in fact, she has lost children she was already bonded
to.
When you pray for workers who are on the field, it is a good idea to
pray for them as families and not just individuals. There is always
so much going on in the realm of "family life." Even for the single
individual. Satan likes to attack God's children by targeting their
families, yet the Lord describes children, parents and all manner of
relatives as gifts and rewards to His people.
I want to close this Tidbit with a reflection written by my friend
"Daddy J." I find it so encouraging and hope that you will too! It
certainly applies to pregnancy and birth, as well as many other
aspects of life.
May you be blessed by the Word,
E.C.
"Yesterday, God helped me to see a familiar story in a fresh way as
I read His Word. You may have read John 11, the story of Jesus
raising Lazarus from the dead, a hundred times like I have or you
may have never read it before. I encourage you to read John 11:1-46
to get the context of this post.
Essentially, Jesus gets word that a dear friend of his, Lazarus, is
sick and Lazarus’ sisters are urging Jesus to come. Jesus
intentionally waits two more days before he goes to see Lazarus. He
arrives in the town of Bethany and finds out that Lazarus has
already been in the tomb for four days. Lazarus’ sisters are
grieving and wondering what took Jesus so long to come. Jesus makes
a famous “I am” statement when he says he is the resurrection and
the life. Martha and Mary believe that Jesus can do anything even
though they are overcome by grief and confusion.
Jesus weeps. He calls for the stone to be rolled away. He calls
Lazarus out of the tomb and calls for Lazarus’ cloths to be removed. Lazarus is alive again! Some witnesses believe upon Jesus and some
are hardened in their unbelief.
Now when I read this yesterday I saw a lot of similarities to our
situation:
1. At the beginning of the story Jesus says in verse 5 that he loved
Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, the rest of the story was
based upon Jesus’ love for his friends and he was not punishing
them. Wow. I need to hear that. God is not delaying our salvation
and our children’s salvation from this situation because He’s mad or
uncaring. No, He’s delaying because HE LOVES US.
2. Jesus plainly tells the disciples in verses 14-15 that Lazarus
died and that he was glad he was not there. Why? So that they would
believe. Believe what? Believe that Jesus is the resurrection and
the life (v. 25-26). Jesus in this situation would receive more
glory and the disciples would have an opportunity to believe more
deeply that Jesus was God because he was going to raise Lazarus from
the dead
rather than “just” heal him. In our situation we know that God is
doing something much greater than we had ever fathomed He would. He
will receive more glory in what He is doing through delaying than He
would have by quickly ending our difficult situation. He is doing it
so that we (us and you!) will believe him more deeply and will trust
Him in greater ways.
3. In verses 21, 32-33 both of Lazarus’ sisters tell Jesus that if
he had come Lazarus would not have died and then they weep. Can you
imagine the emotional turmoil these ladies went through waiting for
Jesus to come? And the seeming betrayal they must have felt when
Lazarus died, was wrapped in cloth, and was buried? One… two… days. “Where is Jesus?! Why has he not come?!” Three… four… days and Jesus
is finally here. “Jesus! If you had only come…” Exasperation. Anger. Sadness. Confusion. But Jesus responds with compassion and even he
weeps in the exchange he has with Martha and Mary. My wife and I
have felt all of these feelings and we have cried out to God. “Why
aren’t you listening to us?! Why have you not come?! How long will
you ignore us?!” Thankfully, God is compassionate towards us and He
allows us to bear all of our feelings and thoughts before Him. Jesus
bore our grief all the way to the cross and there is a day coming
when every tear will be wiped away. All of our pain, suffering, and
confusion will be worth it.
4. Verse 41-42 - Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank
you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I
said this on account of the people standing around, that they may
believe that you sent me." And then Jesus calls Lazarus out of the
tomb. Jesus did not only show up on the scene, but he accomplished
the purpose for which he came. It is the same with our situation.
God is in our situation and He will not allow it to linger longer
than what He intends. He will bring it to an end and He will do it
in the way that shows His power and ability to care for His
children.
I am thankful for God’s faithfulness because it is unlimited. We
have only begun to plumb the depths of His greatness, His goodness,
and His grace. Today and forevermore, He is all we need.
Our International Charis
Family
Your stories from around the world touch us and we pray for your
safety.
Thanks, Love and Blessings to every one of you!
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'Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them
from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child and The one who labors with child, together,
A
great throng shall return there...And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.'
Jeremiah 31:8, 14
~~~
©2012 Charis Childbirth
Services, All Rights Reserved
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leaving all attribution intact.
February 2012 |
