The Timing of God

Yesterday, my topic was "Wait on the Lord." When we wait on the Lord, usually we are waiting on Him to answer requests we have put before Him. The catch here is that God will answer those prayers in His timing, not ours.



We live in such a "microwave" society that anything that takes longer than just a few minutes, we think it's too long. Consider: we have drive-through restaurants, drive-through banks, drive-through car washes, drive-through pharmacies, and even drive-through grocery stores in some areas of the country. If we don't want to cook, we zap a frozen dinner in the microwave and PRESTO! dinner is served. Or we pick up a fully prepared meal at the deli. Don't get me wrong - I take advantage of all of these conveniences and will continue to do so. But my point is we are instantly gratified through these services and we have come to expect instant gratification from everything and everyone, including God. We think that as soon as we pray, the answer should be manifested. Oh, we may not go around spouting that thought out loud, but it's there.



God's timing has nothing to do with our instant gratification and everything to do with how we handle the wait. Do we wait in peace and expectation? (The word 'expectation' here means we are expecting - we believe - that God will answer.) Or do we fidget and fuss, frustrated at every little delay?

Waiting on God's timing gives us so many opportunities for growth and I believe this is one reason He wants us to wait.

• We have the opportunity to grow in faith. As we wait for God's answer, we are trusting - growing in faith - that He will answer.
• The testing of our faith as we wait, produces patience. (James 1:3)
• Patience will "have its' perfect work, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:4)
• We grow in our relationship with God.
• Our spiritual growth will be a witness to others.
• The reward of receiving God's answer to our request will far surpass the trials of waiting.

Abba Father, I am waiting. I wait with faith, joy, and patience. I wait with hope - a heart of peace and expectation. Thank you for answers to my prayers that will be manifested in the future and for answers you have already given. Amen.

(c) 2009 Edwina E. Cowgill

Wait on the Lord

Is. 40:31 “But those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”

H eart
O f
P eace and
E xpectation

In another translation, the word ‘hope’ is ‘wait.’ “But they that WAIT upon the Lord….” I have a plaque hanging in my office where I see this verse every time I sit down at my computer. It doesn’t help to slow me down.

Why are we always in such a hurry to move on to the next best thing? Why am I always in such a hurry? I want to hurry up and get done with this despicable chore so that I can move on to something more fun. (fill in the blank with words/situations that apply to you.)

We want to get through one situation, be it good, bad or indifferent, so that we can move forward, especially if we find ourselves in difficult circumstances. But what if God wants to use the situation of which you are now in the middle to help you grow? To feed you spiritually? He may not have brought those circumstances to you, but He can certainly use them to cause you to grow in Him, if you will let Him.

My priest preached an excellent message this past Sunday from Ezekiel 2:8 and 3:1-2.
“But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” Ez. 2:8

And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Ez. 3:1-2

“Eat what I give you…” “eat what is before you…” In other words, whatever circumstances you find yourself in today, do not try to get that situation resolved unless God is telling you to do so.

I have been fussing and railing against a situation that I am in and have been in for quite some time. It hasn’t done any good. God still has me in that place because He has not finished with me there. To prove His point, God gave me a confirmation word several weeks ago and this message from Fr. David on Sunday. Stay in this particular situation- eat what has been set before me.

What do we do when we surrender and agree to “eat what is before us?” We wait. And …we wait. And…we wait some more. Read Is. 40:31 again. “But they that WAIT upon the Lord…” Waiting births patience. In this day and age of running from one thing to the next, without pausing to catch our breaths, much less spend quality time with God, we need all the patience we can get. Patience can birth perseverance and James says in Chapter 1, verse 4, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” By eating what is set before us, waiting patiently, God has the opportunity to make us mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I don’t know about you, but I would much rather eat what is set before me and let God do His work in me during that time, than to miss out on what God has for me by helping myself to the next plate.

(c) 2009 Edwina E. Cowgill

Body of Jewels

Some time ago, I dreamed about a chest, similar to a pirate’s chest, which was sitting on a table. The chest was stunning, made of rich mahogany wood and the hinges were shining, pure gold. Upon opening the chest, I discovered jewels of every kind and color imaginable. Deep red rubies, sky-blue aquamarines, sparkling diamonds, purple amethysts. Multi-colored opals, tigers’ eyes, onyx. Citrines, garnets, pearls and emeralds. There were rings, necklaces, broaches, earrings, bracelets and loose gems. The chest was so full that when I opened it, the jewels spilled out, cascading onto the table. Rays of sunlight splashed onto the jewels, making their colors even richer and sending fragments of rainbow colors over the table.

I believe this is how God looks at us – as a vessel, a chest, if you will – full of jewels. He looks at our heart and sees a sparkling blood-red ruby. Other than the diamond, the ruby is the hardest gem known to man. Natural rubies have imperfections in them, just like our hearts do. But when God looks at our heart, He doesn’t see the hardness or imperfections. He sees the strength of the heart, the power of the beat, both of which come from Him. He pours His love for us into our ruby hearts.

God looks at our lungs and because He breathes His life into us, he sees sparkling diamonds that are clear and pure. When diamonds are moved in the light, they become “alive” as the clarity – the clearness – refracts into multi-facets. As we breathe and move in Him who is alive within us, our lives should be clear and transparent so others can see Jesus in us.

When our Father looks into our eyes, He sees jewels of different colors – golden amber, brilliant aquamarine, emerald green, deep dark onyx. If the eyes are truly the window to our souls, as some say, just imagine the beauty God sees as He looks at our souls through our eyes.

You see, when God looks at you, He sees who He created you to be – not who you see when you look into the mirror. He doesn’t see the flaws you see – He sees your ruby heart of gentleness and kindness. He doesn’t see the lackluster of your diamond lungs – He sees you sharing Him when you gave that homeless man money for a meal. He doesn’t see the weaknesses in your soul – He sees His strength working in and through you. He doesn’t remember that sin you confessed because He cast it into the depths of the sea.

God sees each of us as a jewel – we are jewels in His eyes. And He considers us to be the Pearls of Great Price. God gave away His most precious possession, His Son, to purchase us – the Pearls of Great Price. He has placed a high price on you and on me because we are so valuable to Him. Pearls shine with a luster and glow and our lives, even our countenance, shines because of Who lives within us.

So when our Abba Father looks at us, He sees beauty, value and worth. He sees rubies, diamonds, emeralds and onyx. He sees jewels and the Pearls of Great Price. Because that is who we are to Him.

(c) 2008 Edwina E. Cowgill

The Front Porch

For the last several months, I have belonged to an online writing group. The below was written in response to a recent prompt. (A prompt is a word, sentence or phrase that the writer uses as the theme of their article or short story.)


I grew up in the South, hot and humid Georgia. When I was a child, no one had heard of global warming. We didn't have air conditioners to keep us at a constant 72 degrees. When we were outside during the summer months, the men would sweat, the women would perspire (although Southern belles refused to admit to perspiring - - they 'glowed'), and us kids didn't care what you called it. We just had a good time playing outside all day long.

Most evenings when the temperature had dropped a few degrees and the supper dishes were done,(it wasn't dinner - it was supper; dinner was eaten at lunch - confusing as heck isn't it!) almost everybody on the street could be found sitting on their front porch. This was the time of day that, as a teenager, I dubbed "The Gossip Hour." Without leaving their porch, in other words yelling across the street or next door, most conversations went something like this:

Agnes: 'Evening, Edna.
Edna: 'Evenin' Agnes. How's your arthritis?
Agnes: 'Bout the same. Say, did 'cha hear the news about Flo's girl?
Edna: No. What's that child gone and done now?
Agnes: Why she's up and got herself pregnant again. (How one gets oneself pregnant is beyond me.) And that no account, good-for-nothing husband of hers still not working.
Edna: Lawd 'a mercy. Don't them two have better sense?
Agnes: Well, you'd think so. After all, this is number 6 or is it 7?
Edna: Lawd 'a mercy.

Agnes and Edna continued their nightly conversations and by the end of the week the entire neighborhood knew who was cheatin' on who, who was pregnant again, who was out of a job and who wasn't speaking to who and why. Oh yes, Sunday nights was always "roast the preacher" night as the ladies gave "constructive criticism" on the sermon he had preached that morning. Obviously, he didn't preach on gossip often enough!

These days most of us don't even know our neighbors. Homes are built with the tiniest front porch you ever saw. You barely have room to stand on the porch, much less sit on it. And that's a shame because I sure would like to know who is cheatin' on who, who's out of a job and if Flo's granddaughter is pregnant again!

(c) 2009 Edwina E. Cowgill

Memorial Day Musings

Today is Memorial Day. It is the day set aside once a year to remember those valiant men and women who have fought for the freedom of all American citizens and who paid the ultimate price for our freedom - death in the line of duty.

Unfortunately, many Americans, myself included, see this day as the "first official day of the summer season," a day to finish those odd and end jobs around the house that we started sometime last year, a day to gather with family and friends for the first cook-out of the season or a day to relax and rest before our summer activities begin. Don't misunderstand me -- there is nothing wrong with any of these pursuits! The problem is we do these things to the exclusion of the true purpose of the holiday - - honoring the men and women who gave their life so that the United States of America continues to be "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

This day has nothing to do with our political affliation. It doesn't matter if we agreed with past administrations and past wars or the current administration and the current war and conflicts. This day has everything to do with taking time to remember and to give thanks that we live in a nation that, despite all of her flaws and problems, (and there are many) is still the greatest nation on the earth.

Today, at 3:00 PM EST, Americans are being urged to take time to give thanks for our freedom and for the men and women who have made that possible. No matter what I'm doing this afternoon at 3PM, I will stop and thank God for my freedom and for those who have made that freedom possible. I will also thank Him for our current military serving in posts around the world. Please consider taking a moment and joining with me in prayer!

This blog is dedicated to my son, Sgt. Anthony Kyle Bond, currently serving in the United States Marine Corps, in New Orleans, LA. Kyle has served two tours in Iraq. Kyle, I love you and I am so very proud of you! Thank you for what you have done to ensure the freedom of all Americans!

(c) 2009 Edwina E. Cowgill

Health & Aging: A Semi-Humorous Look at What Our Bodies Do To Us

Amazing how we take so many things for granted, isn’t it? In fact, is there anything we don’t take for granted? That we don’t assume will always be there when we need it?

Take, for example, our health. Don’t we assume that we will always be young, that our bodies will always work as if they were still 20 years old? And we live with this assumption, for the most part, until we hit 40, 45 or if we’re lucky, 50. But at the magic number – whatever that might be for each of us – things begin to fall apart – or off! We get tired more quickly, winded more easily and our eye sight gets dimmer. Instead of single lens, we skip bi-fold and go straight to tri-fold lenses! To make matters even worse, our metabolism begins to slow down and it takes a year to lose 5 pounds while it only takes a month to gain 10. The first gray hairs call for an emergency visit to the hair salon. Bones begin to creak and illnesses we’ve never heard of – suddenly, we have them!

The other day I was busy doing……whatever it was I was doing (the mind is the first to go!) when suddenly the room around me was spinning. More accurately – I was spinning – the room was not. What a weird sensation! In a few minutes, the spinning stopped so I blamed it on an overactive imagination (not to be confused with an overactive bladder – another joy of getting older) and went about doing….whatever it was I was doing. But as the evening progressed, the spinning returned and I realized that something out of the ordinary was happening. So the next morning, off to my doctor I go.

I have vertigo. Vertigo?? What the heck is that? She tells me it’s basically dizziness due to inner or middle ear imbalances. (At least she didn’t say a brain imbalance!) So now in addition to the medicine for high cholesterol and a host of other problems, I am taking drugs for this too! Honestly, I could open my own pharmacy!!

(c) 2008 Edwina E. Cowgill

What Would Jesus Do?

I am sitting in the doctor’s office waiting room, having driven my husband to his appointment. I don’t mind driving him and waiting as it gives me time to do one of my favorite things – people watch. This morning is no different, as there are a number of people waiting their turn to see the doctor for their allotted 10 minutes.

There is the woman who is in obvious pain from what appears to be a migraine. She has on dark sunglasses to block out as much of the light in the room as possible. She leans her head onto her hand; occasionally she makes a low, moaning sound as the pain becomes almost more than she can tolerate. I wonder to myself what has triggered her migraine and having suffered from migraines myself in the past, I say a prayer for her. Should I have offered to pray with her right there in the waiting room?

The obese woman sitting in the corner by herself looks so very miserable. Is her obesity caused by a medical condition? Or does it cover up emotional wounds that she has never faced? There is a self-imposed wall surrounding her that I can feel from where I sit. It is as if her obesity is a fortress – keeping her locked in and others out. Should I have told her how much God loves her and how beautiful she is to Him?

Then there is the elderly man who cannot walk on his own. His legs are four wheels on a chair that his daughter pushes while his wife walks alongside. This man has a twinkle in his eye that sparkles like diamonds. His smile radiates around the room and his laughter is infectious. Life has dealt him some blows, obviously. His body has begun to betray him, hence the wheelchair. As I listen to him repeat his sentences frequently, I realize that his mind, so sharp in youth, has begun to play tricks on him. He still has a lively, contagious sense of humor. He wonders out loud why he is “there to see the doctor about my hip when it is my head that hurts!” His daughter tells him that “his hip bone is connected to his head bone” – like the old song we all sang as children – and he laughed happily. In a few minutes he wondered out loud why he is “there to see the doctor about my hip when it is my head that hurts!” As I watched his wife and daughter, their faces slightly fell as they realized, not for the first time I’m sure, that his mind continues to slip away a little more each day. His sense of humor prevails as he said (more than once) “I’m here to see Dr. Nee about my hip pain.” And he would laugh uproariously. Should I have shown my support to the wife and daughter by reminding them that God is their strength?

These people caused me to think about how we, as Christians, can and should be a witness of God’s love, care and mercy. Every day, everywhere we go there are many people who need an encouraging word or a friendly smile. And yet, we are usually so busy with our own life and our own schedule that we are not even aware of those around us, much less what they may need at the very moment our lives collide, however briefly. God has called us to be His light to the world but how can we when we are moving at warped speed? What if we are the only Christian who crosses that person’s path that day? What kind of witness would we leave with them?

“But I’m so busy. I have to go here, do this, do that, see this person and that person….” I understand busy – believe me, I do. But if we are so busy that we cannot take a moment to speak to someone in kindness, we are too busy. If we are so distracted that we cannot smile at a person who so obviously needs encouragement, we are too distracted. If we are so rushed that we cannot offer up a brief prayer for someone who is in pain, we are too rushed.

“What would Jesus do?” became a popular saying a few years back and it is an excellent question to ask ourselves. Had I asked myself that question in the doctor’s office that day, I would have known what I should have done. Because Jesus would have prayed with the lady who had the migraine, He would have told the obese woman how much He loved her and how beautiful she was to Him, and He would have laughed with the elderly gentleman and shown His support to his wife and daughter.

Beginning today I’m going to be more aware of the people around me who need encouragement, whose spirits need lifting. And I am going to be His light to them. I challenge you to do the same.

(c) 2008 Edwina E. Cowgill

























© 2008 Edwina E. Cowgill

Going Nowhere Fast

I did something the other day that I never do. When the alarm goes off, I usually get right up. I have been known to lie back down after resetting the alarm, but even that doesn’t happen too often. But the other morning, I didn’t even get up. I reset the clock – not once, not twice – but three times! When the alarm rang for the third time, it was 7:10. I normally leave for work at 7:30, although I can get to work by 8:30 if I leave at 7:45 and drive like a maniac! So that morning, I went flying through the house, slinging on my clothes and dragging a brush through my hair. No make-up day! Amazingly, I was walking out the door at 7:45.

It was already determined I would be late for work. There was an accident on the expressway and traffic was parked as far as the eye could see – going nowhere fast.

Have you ever people-watched while stuck in traffic? Most people don’t have anything to do when they are caught in a traffic jam, but it’s quite fun to watch what some people will do. There are the important executives who use this time to finalize deals or call their assistants and give them work to do. There are others who will call their friends just to chat and pass the time away. Then there are people who left home before they were actually ready. There is the man in the lane next to me who is using his battery-operated shaver. One woman is applying her makeup. There is also the guy who appears to be reading his mail.

I finally arrive at work 1 ½ hours after I left my house. After a busy day at work, I was ready to hit the road at 5:00 PM for what would hopefully only be a 45 minute ride. It was not to be. This time I got stuck in traffic before I ever reached the interstate.

I was stopped on a road that I call “Car Alley” because there is every kind of car dealership you can think of on this road. So while sitting still on the road, it seemed everyone was looking at cars and dreaming. There were BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus, Lincolns, Jeeps, Hummers and the more common but less exciting Fords, Chevrolets and Chryslers. I probably “spent” hundreds of thousands of dollars picking out my dream car!!

As cars crept forward, I got stopped in the turn lane on an overpass bridge. This is a 5-lane bridge that really should only be 4-lane. When the traffic going in the opposite direction gets stopped, you can carry on a conversation with the person in the car next to you – the cars are that close.

As always, it’s interesting to watch people. In the afternoon, they are in just as much of a hurry as they are in the morning. I wonder where they’re going to in such a hurry. Perhaps some are like I am – eager to get home to their husband and children. Maybe they’re meeting friends for dinner, or have to take their children to sports practice or piano lessons. Maybe they have a meeting to get to. But we are all in a hurry – going nowhere fast.

(c) 2008 Edwina E. Cowgill