I do love God’s timing. I do love a new friend. And I do love learning something new. This is one such story in which the Lord recently showed me just how good He is and how much He loves me through all of these ways.
In September of last year, I met a woman named Angela. She is a Bible teacher, a writer, and for all intents and purposes, a genius. Honestly, I haven’t ever met many people with the unique kind of intelligence and revelation that she possesses. We met at a conference at a nearby church. It was one of those events where everyone was hungry for God and for His glory to fall. And fall it did, and then some. There was lingering worship and a weighty biblical message. It was also the kind of event that lasted into the morning.
Angela and I met and connected late that night. It was one of the best conversations I’ve ever had. I wanted to chat more, but it was around 1 a.m., so, we did the next best thing and exchanged numbers. Then, you know what I did next? Nothing. I completely forgot to reach out to her to get together and so did she. Eight months went by before we would see each other again.
A few weeks ago, I was at a ladies night event, and Angela spoke. The whole time she was speaking I kept thinking she looked and sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place her. At the end of the night, I approached her to ask about her inner healing ministry. As we talked, eventually we figured out how we had met before as I had looked familiar to her as well.
Then, it happened. I asked her to pray over me before I left.
Proverbs 15:23 came alive in me. “A person takes joy in giving an answer; and a timely word — how good that is!”
At this time, I was still reeling from two experiences of being uninvited, feeling that deep pain, and trying to heal. When Angela prayed over me, the love of God began to pour out. As His love poured out, the tears began to flow. It was as if a floodgate had opened. She shared a prophetic word that spoke into my exact situation and hurt. I felt seen and welcomed by the Father.
It was the sweetest time I had had with the Lord in a while.
The next weekend, Angela was teaching at a church. I knew that I needed to be there. I had this sense of expectancy that the Lord wanted to do something. With each message that she shared, God brought so much revelation and illumination. I told her that she broke my brain in all of the best ways. It was that, but it was so much more. Much of what God showed me was a completely new revelation. The rest was Him breathing fresh breath on old truths. Afterward, I asked her to pray for some physical healing in my body.
Again, the Lord showed up as Angela prayed. More tears. More healing. More of His love poured out. I walked away with such joy and freedom and hope.
It was a timely word indeed. The Lord reminded me that He is good in all ways, at all times. He takes everything meant for evil and turns it around for our good.
When I can’t see His hand at work, I can still trust that He is moving. I can trust that His timing is perfect.
In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul writes to the church to remind them that the Lord is coming again. He lays out how they should be loving and living as that day approaches. In verse 11, he encourages them to continue to build each other up, just as they were in fact doing.
These past few weeks, in His divine timing, God placed Angela back in my life to be a part of encouraging me and building me up. I’m learning to trust God in new and deeper ways. I believe this wasn’t just for me. It’s for you as well, the Church, His daughters.
The love and care of God is real and is for you. He cares about the smallest concerns in our lives, like finding a close parking space, to the biggest concerns of an illness. He cares just as much about that broken heart that falls somewhere in between.
Sometimes, I forget. I forget about God’s goodness and grace for me amid life being life. Perhaps you find yourself in the middle of that season. Well, this is your reminder that the Lord sees you. He hears you. He loves you. He wants to show up in your life with a beautiful and lasting work of His Spirit.
If you have a testimony of God’s faithfulness, I’d love to hear it! But, if you find yourself in a hard season, needing a reminder of God’s divine timing and love for you, I’d love to pray for you!
2 years ago our church went through turmoil as our senior pastor retired. Friendships were strained, gossip was rampant & false accusations against our leadership & disagreeing factions were common. BUT GOD had His way. The tearing apart while painful & stressful was meant for the furthering of His kingdom & our faith roots deepening. We recently had dinner including dear friends that left our congregation over the tension. Because of Jesus there wasn’t an awkward gap between us. I do not understand their leaving but it doesn’t matter. In Christ we are heavenly siblings & which particular congregation we attend doesn’t matter at all! HE is Faithful!
Amen Ruth! He is so faithful! Praise God for His healing and restoration! Praying that continues to sustain you in His grace.
Blessings!
Ruth,
My pastor retired last December. There has been much turmoil at that little church since. People are leaving over small matters. I have left that church only due to long drive out there. Still miss the people there & the comradery. Praising God you had a good time with some old friends.
Blessings 🙂
I am desperate for prayers during a very trying financial time. I need a miracle in my life, but know that God’s timing will pull us through when it is time. Thank you for this very timely message – I needed this today.
Dearest Lord, just as this post was timely in Robyn’s life, we trust Your timing to be perfect for her finances. No matter what the meeting of her needs looks like in tangible terms may it bring her and others to praise Your name. May she be confident in Your provisions not just in confession of her belief but in the very way she walks & shines Jesus to others. Be magnified in and through her not just today & her finances but in every twist and turn of her life. In Your most Holy name Father, Son & Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.
Robyn, your in my prayers for this time in your life. We’ve been through hard financial times too. God’s always will us. We did ask our church for help to get food as we paid bills then not enough to buy food. Keep believing in God and be grateful for 3 things in your daily life. His mercies are new every morning
~Becky Lowmaster
Thank you for sharing Robyn!
Father, Your heart is always to provide for your children. I thank You for the provision that is on its way. May Robyn trust You in every way. You are the God of miracles. They are for our good and for Your glory! Sustain her in this season. Meet every need in only the ways that You can!
In Jesus’ Name
Amen
Robyn,
Father you are Jehovah Jireh my provider. You alone know the situation Robyn is in. Please provide the necessary funds in your perfect timing. May she have peace & contentment knowing you will come through. May she praise you now & always for the ways you tend to our needs. In all this may you be glorified. AMEN
Blessings 🙂
I appreciate your guiding words depicting God’s faithfulness, Karina.
My prayer request is God would heal my sons’ burdened hearts and set them on a path of love, peace, and joy.
Thanks so much,
Kathleen
Dearest Father, call Kathleen’s sons to Yourself that they may walk unburdened and in Your steps for their lives. Praise You that they have a believing mama that intercedes for them and knows You are what they need. Enable her to be faithful in showing them Your grace, mercy and love and leave the results of changed lives to Your Spirit. May the prayers for her sons ripple throughout their friend groups and Your kingdom expand beyond her immediate heart cry for her sons. Thank You for Who You are and that You have given us the gift of prayer. In the name of the most precious Savior, Jesus, Amen.
Thank you for sharing Kathleen! He is beyond faithful!
Father, You leave the 99 and go after the 1. Go after Kathleen’s sons. Soften their hearts, convict them and turn their hearts toward You. You have love, peace and joy for them in abundance. You are good and true to Your Word!
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Karina, thank you for this beautiful reminder that God sees us and is with us when we feel alone. Being uninvited is such a theme through my life. I know the pain and rejection you feel and am praying for you.
D, I love Karina’s words of encouragement too. As I read the word ‘uninvited’ I had that Spirit nudge “You’re invited by the Creator of the Universe” how can that be beat?! May you see God’s invitation over you as a life theme. Be strong my heavenly sibling!
Ruth, thank you so much!
Thank you so much for sharing and for your encouragement!
Blessings to you!
I would love for you to pray for me. I am struggling with chronic sinus infection and resistance to antibiotic. It is a situation that only God can heal. Thank you!
Dear Great Physician, tend to Susan as only You can. Touch her body, her sinuses to restore her to perfect health. Touch her mind and emotions that she not be discouraged by this long fight. Deepen her faith roots through this forced slow down and use her endurance to shout of Your unwavering faithfulness to the non-believers she encounters in her journey. Be tangible in the details and enable her to sing of Your praises even as she wants to moan in the discomfort and pain. In the name of the One Who gives strength to the weary, Jesus, Amen.
Susan, thank you for sharing!
Father, healing and wholeness is Susan’s inheritance. I speak to her sinuses and I say be healed in Jesus’ name. I command her sinuses to work as You designed them, in divine function and order.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
AMEN! OH THANK YOU! I needed that SO MUCH! I have been struggling with forgetting and with Faith amnesia, so this message was just what I needed in this season!
Hugs, AmaTHa
Amen and Amen! Thank you for sharing AmaTHa!
Holy Spirit, You bring all things to remembrance. It is Your delight to do so. I speak to AmaTHa’s brain and mind. I speak healing and wholeness to her brain. You have clothed her in her right mind according to Your Word. We thank you for Your power at work in her life.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Seeing how God weaves things together in his own time is so cool and humbling. It’s mindblowing.
Absolutely!
So true Jill!!!
Thank you for sharing Karina. God is so good always ❤️ I want to also thank the incouage community for praying for me and my sister to find the house that was right for us. We are blessed to have put in an offer that was accepted and made settlement on our home the other day. Praise God! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. May He bless our home to be filled with His love. May all who enter feel the love of Jesus and grow closer to Him through our hospitality. In Jesus’ Name, amen. Thank you for your prayers ❤️
Praising God with you! Whoo Hoo! Happy packing & moving!
Amen Stephanie! Praising God with you! May His love and peace and grace fill your house to overflow! It’s our joy to stand along side of you sister!
Thank you for reading!
Thank you for your beautiful reminder that God sees us in ALL that we are traveling through.
It was a blessing to share Sammy!
Thank you for sharing!
Plz pray for my daughter-healing of bad choices. Draw to The Lord
Dear Savior call Cathy’s daughter to Yourself. Enable her to endure the consequences of bad decisions and seek You first to make good choices in the future. Again, Thank You for praying mamas! In Your precious & all-powerful name, Jesus, Amen.
Thank you for sharing Cathy!
Father, You are faithful to pursue the prodigal. You are a loving and kind Father. It’s Your heart that all may come to know, love and follow You. You have open arms of salvation, rescue and deliverance. I pray that Cathy’s daughter would soften and turn towards You. Draw her near.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
I feel like you wrote this just for me! I love how you called it, being “uninvited.” I never thought of my situation that way before, but it’s perfect. Next Monday marks one year since my relationship ended and then a month later I lost my job. Two experiences of being invited in a very short time that left me reeling, as you put it. It felt like I lost everything, all at once. God recently brought a new sisterhood of friends into my life. They were desperately needed and have been filling in the gap, pouring out love and encouragement. I have learned so much in the last year, about myself and my God. He is good. All the time. Even when I can’t see it.
Amen & amen, Angela!
Yes and Amen Angela! I am so sorry for the pain that you’ve walked through, but I love how God has worked things out for your good and His glory. May you continue to trust in His ways and timing even when you can’t see it. Praise God for divine friendships at just the right time. He is so good!
Blessings!
I have a story of God’s faithfulness in an incredibly difficult time I am experiencing now. My dad was suddenly and unexpectedly ushered into glory in February. I had a dentist appointment the following morning that I needed to keep because I knew I had an infected tooth. Unsurprisingly, I needed a root canal. (Because why not one more thing, right? At least that was my thought at the time.) “Coincidentally”, Dad had an appointment scheduled with the endodontist that same day which another family member had called to cancel, so the receptionist, who is also a Christian, was one of very few people who already knew what had happened. When I called to make my own appointment, we were crying together on the phone as we talked. During that conversation, she mentioned Deuteronomy 33:27 where it says “underneath are the everlasting arms”. It was not one of the verses I had already thought of, but it was exactly the one I needed to cling to during that week. My dad was a pastor and the person I had always relied on most for spiritual counsel, so the hit of losing him was even harder. But God used that conversation to remind me that He was the One who had really been taking care of me through Dad for 43 years. And He hasn’t gone anywhere. There was nothing coincidental about that conversation…the Lord had prepared the timing long in advance. God’s care for me will look different now (and I HATE that it had to change; the pain and grief are still immense), but His hand will continue to provide all that I need.
So much yes Rachel! I am so sorry for your loss, but that is the best story of His faithfulness. His kindness is always ready to be lavished on His children! Praise God for His intimate work in the very details of our lives. It is sweet indeed!
Blessings!
Karina, I enjoyed reading this and it reminded me of seeing Kelly Minter in March at a church in another city. I’d been through 3 of her Bible studies and decided to go to the event. First time she had been to Oregon. It blessed my heart and I was able to see her a bit later afterwards. She actually remembered me as I’d sent her a coloring page my Bible study leader drew with Kelly playing her guitar and it went with a scripture verse for Christmas. I knew her email due to me signing up for her emails.
I’m going through another time of not working. I’m recovering from my asthma attack I had last month and issues with walking. I’m feeling better health wise, and working on exercise for better walking. I’m glad I can still walk but don’t know if I will go back to work in August. At my age now it takes awhile to recover. That’s my long story that is short. I would appreciate your prayers. Thanks for your encouragement.
Becky, thank you for sharing! I love Kelly! She is a sweet friend. I love how the Lord leads and guides according to His purposes. They end up being the sweetest times.
Father, You are our provider in every way. Provision and healing are Becky’s inheritance. I pray that this season is one of divine rest and peace for her body, soul and spirit. May she come out of it full of Your strength and joy. I speak to her lungs to work the way God designed them to. Holy Spirit, fill them with Your breath. May she breathe out praise! I speak healing and endurance to her legs. Heal every part of them that is not working. May they be stronger than before that she may jump and dance in Your presence. Give her unending grace for this season knowing that You are the prize awaiting her.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Love this story!
I just need a prayer to trust, endure and let go, and let God.
Dawn, thank you for sharing!
Father, You are trustworthy. You are faithful at every step. Remind Dawn of Your past faithfulness. Build up her faith in You that You will lead her, sustain her and give her the courage to let go and let You be Lord in her life.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Yes I am in a hard season trusting that God’s love and grace will flood me as He did you. Thank you for your amazing testimony!!!
I also have an amazing testimony. A few years back my husband and I were hiking in a state park. We took a wrong direction and were lost with no trail marker. Suddenly we were in an opening with a clearly marked trail to our right but at was 6 miles in the wrong direction at 5pm. Holy Spirit turned my head to the left. There was no marked trail but I saw a trail in the Spirit. I immediately went that way with my husband following. I saw a trail in the Spirit for 1 hour. Suddenly we were back on the original trail. 30 minutes later we walked out safe and totally amazed at God’s love and grace.
Gail, that’s incredible! Praise God!
May the Lord overwhelm you with His love and grace. He is faithful and good. Trust His ways.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Oh my goodness. No words, just tears of gratitude
My friend! These words seem so inadequate to express how grateful I am for you and all that the Lord has done through you! I LOVE you!!!!
Thank you for reminding that God has us in good times and bad and that it’s in his timing and not ours. Two years ago in July we almost loss our daughter to severe infections and covid. Due to the lack of oxygen and blood flow to her legs she has severe damage to her nerves and muscles in her right leg from her knee down. She is unable to walk without a brace and cannot feel anything They say that this is permanent damage and will not heal. But we know that with God nothing is impossible. Please pray for healing and good health as she is expecting her first child. Thank you and God Bless you all
Thank you for sharing Karen!
Father, healing is Karen’s daughter’s inheritance. I speak to every part of her body to be healed and whole. All damage to her nerves and muscles leave in Jesus’ Name. I speak to strength and fullness of healing to her legs. We thank You that this damage is not permanent. Nothing is impossible with You. We thank You that this season of motherhood will be beautiful and fruitful.
In Jesus’ Name
Amen
Karina,
God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. He brings people into our lives for a season & a reason. My pastor & his wife retired last December. I miss doing church with them & the other folks. Fortunately we still get to see each other often. We all volunteer with a local food bank. December 2021 my unit at hospital closed & I was moved to an ICU Covid unit. At that time my pastor’s wife began sending me prayers each Friday. My job has changed again. She is still sending me prayer texts each Friday. I will always treasure our friendship.
Blessings 🙂
That’s beautiful Beth! God is so good to us!
Karina,
Though your post is from Friday, I pray that you’re still looking at comments. Thank you for being willing to come alongside me and pray. Tomorrow, I have a big work meeting between supervisors and program managers. You see, we’ve doubled in size over the past eighteen months or so, from 47 soul to nearly a hundred. And as you can imagine, that, combined with new funding programs (I work for the State of NC in water, sewer, and stormwater funding) has created a ton of stress and growing pains. Wisdom and bearing with one another is needed. Thanks much.
Thank you for sharing Jennifer.
Jesus, You order our steps and lead us into Your will. You care about every detail. I pray for wisdom and clear direction to flood Jennifer’s meeting. May there be an ease and a grace to accomplish everything that is needed.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.