Tag Archives: elaineprice

Delay Doesn’t Always Mean Denial – Elaine Price
avatar

Posted on by

Give me answers...Now!

Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. John 11:6

Weeks of tests came down to one phone call – Chron’s disease. The specialist was almost certain our three-year-old had the disease. He was supposed to call in the morning. It was 6 p.m. and I had spent the entire week seeking after God — praying for deliverance from this trial. I also prayed He would be our refuge regardless of the results.

I wanted immediate answers. I’m not alone; others like to have things on their own time-table too.

When Mary and Martha received the message their brother’s sickness would not end in death, Lazarus was already dead. What good was Jesus’ message then? Jesus could have saved their brother, but He took His time. In their grief they may have wondered if God had denied their request to save their brother’s life, but they were mistaken. Jesus’ delay forced them to wait for the miracle. He would do something they never dreamed.

God has taught me life is full of delays but it doesn’t always mean denial. Sometimes God asks me to wait. It frustrates me, hurts my pride, and even sometimes angers me, but I can rest assured He hears me and has my best in mind. Even more than my best, He has His Glory in mind. Lazarus died so Jesus could raise him from the dead and bring glory to God. When I wait, God shows me the eternal things at stake—the things that will ultimately bring Him glory.

At 6:30 p.m. the phone rang. The results were all normal. While my family praised God for the good report, I realized I had spent more time with Him in the past week than I’d spent in a month. I’d been in the arms of my Father from the beginning. No matter the circumstance, His arms are always a safe place to fall.

The next time you are waiting on God, remember you’re not alone. Just because He doesn’t respond on our time-table doesn’t mean He is denying our requests. It means He knows best in the greater scheme of things.

When you grow impatient, seek Him, His will, and ultimately His glory. Wait. God will show you the best.

Elaine Price is a minister’s wife, a freelance writer, and a student of God’s Word. Visit her blog at www.devotionsforthejourney.blogspot.com. She is also very active in the music and preschool activities at her home church. She and her husband and three young sons make their home in Odenville, Alabama.

Read Elaine’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Your Grace is Enough – Elaine Price
avatar

Posted on by

His Grace is enough

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

There was pain and suffering all around me. The woman at the end of the pew brushed away a tear. She grieved a lost relationship. In front of me a mother had lost the ability to speak. Now she signed every word. To the far end of the worship center, a couple held a severely handicapped child; her medical bills alone stressful, not to mention the day-to-day care.

The congregation sang an awesome song called “Your Grace is Enough.” The song proclaims God is bigger than my circumstances and His grace is enough to see me though them. As we sang, my heart was heavy for the people around me. “Your grace is enough,” we proclaimed as we sang. It was an amazing moment in worship when broken hearts cried out to God that their present suffering could not even compare with the greatness of Him or the grace He bestows upon us.

Everyone experiences struggles and suffering. This is as much a part of life as the sun rising each morning. It is in our trials we grow and here we learn to understand that His grace is sufficient. However, this life is but a vapor and eternity is unfathomable. When we reach eternity with Christ, there will not be one moment of suffering ever again. In light of this fact, “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Therefore, I want to suffer with faithfulness. Whatever I am going through, I want to be faithful to God — even when I don’t feel like it. Join me as I express those feelings to God today. He is big enough to handle them. And His grace is enough… for me and for you.

Elaine Price is a minister’s wife, a freelance writer, and a student of God’s Word. Visit her blog at www.devotionsforthejourney.blogspot.com. She is also very active in the music and preschool activities at her home church. She and her husband and three young sons make their home in Odenville, Alabama.

Read Elaine’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Prosperity is Fleeting – Elaine Price
avatar

Posted on by

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 NIV

I have heard it said history tends to repeat itself. Amazingly, our nation and our lives are very similar to the people Isaiah wrote these words to. They are written to the house of Judah in a time when the nation was very wealthy and had a form of godliness, but lacked a true relationship with the Lord. In short, they were self-reliant.

Even in the midst of a recession, our nation is prosperous. But, what does prosperity lead to? Does it lead to thankfulness toward God and sacrificial giving to others? Sometimes it does, but many times it leads to self-reliance and an abandonment of faith in God. The cycle can look like this: Prosperity – self-reliance – moral decay – judgment.

If I have learned anything during this time of economic downfall, it is that prosperity is fleeting, but God is eternal. When I put my trust in anything other than the Lord my God, it will fail. When I trust in my wallet, the 401K, or even the value of my home, it can and many times will fail. But God will never fail.

The person who has a steadfast mind is one that has a single focus on God Himself. Their focus is moved from themselves to God alone. Only then will they be able to focus on what is truly important in this life because they understand it has been taken care of.

Let us have “perfect peace” in the area of finance and every other area of our lives by fixing our minds on God. When we ask God to make His Word true for us, He always says yes. Ask Him to keep your mind fixed on Him today as you trust in Him completely.

Elaine Price is a minister’s wife, a freelance writer, and a student of God’s Word. Visit her blog at www.devotionsforthejourney.blogspot.com. She is also very active in the music and preschool activities at her home church. She and her husband and three young sons make their home in Odenville, Alabama.

Read Elaine’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

No Money for Milk – Elaine Price
avatar

Posted on by

…a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (ESV)

I knew I’d failed. I had failed my husband, my children, and my God. It was one day till pay day. My two young boys had no milk to drink and the van was on empty. Unless I used a credit card, we’d have to wait and I wasn’t even sure if I could make it home. Conviction started to flood my soul over what I’d spent money on for the past two weeks. I hadn’t meant to waste it, but God reminded me of things I’d bought that I certainly didn’t need.

I stopped right there and prayed. God, I am so sorry I have not been a good steward of what You have provided. If you will help us, we will change. I realized in that moment, just like every other area of our lives, finances were too big for us to handle alone. They were also too big for us to handle as a couple. We must have a “threefold cord.”

When we look to God for help in this area of our lives, He doesn’t turn His head away. He swoops in and starts to change this area, beginning with our hearts. I went home that night and told my husband what happened. We began right then making changes by using some Christian budgeting tools. As we sought God’s help and turned this area over to Him, things started to change.

Over the next 18 months we paid off over $26,000 in debt and built our savings. He truly worked miracles in this area when we submitted to Him and sought His wisdom.

In this tough economy, money is on everyone’s mind. Join me in allowing God to guide in this area so the world can see how followers of Christ deal with money. Will you submit your finances to Him? Regardless of whether you make $20,000 a year or $200,000 a year, He stands ready to help. Include Him in your financial planning team today.

Elaine Price is a minister’s wife, a freelance writer, and a student of God’s Word. Visit her blog at www.devotionsforthejourney@blogspot.com. She is also very active in the music and preschool activities at her home church. She and her husband and three young sons make their home in Odenville, Alabama.

Read Elaine’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!