As we enter into 2017, my prayer for every believer involved with CWA of North Dakota is that we enter the year with hope and trust in God and diligently work to protect, defend and promote traditional Biblical values, especially the life of the unborn.
Hope in His Timing
As the Israelites waited for the promised Messiah, there were times of discouragement and unfaithfulness. Simeon and Anna, however, did not give up hope! Daily, they were in the temple praying and waiting. And so it was that they praised God when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to be dedicated. “Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel’” (Luke 2:28-32).
Trust in His Timing
Although He often does not act according to our timetable, God is always on time. We remember, “When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman … that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
Diligence in Casting
What part do we play as we stay in hope and trust God’s timing? What are we believers to do? “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie. Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6).
Our part to play is diligence and action. The Most High God’s design often isn’t for automatic success. He challenges us to be diligent as we wait for the results. We will win some and lose some. We are asked to start and not make excuses or give up, but to be diligent in our refusal to quit.
Keep casting. Though our success may not be immediate, keep casting. Because He desires it in both our hearts and deeds, keep casting.
May 2017 be a year of casting, for His glory.
Linda Thorson
State Director
CWA of North Dakota
director@northdakota.cwfa.org
nd.cwfa.org