speaker's week.

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength! 

They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

This week is an interesting change of pace during the semester. All classes are put on hold for the week so we can gather together three times daily to hear from a speaker [and ultimately, the Lord and His Word]! I'm really enjoying it this semester.. it's technically my fourth speaker's week, but i missed the whole second one [hospital] and most of the third one [sick]. So I am glad to be here! It's always a great time to simply seek the Lord. And even if we don't remember that He's going to speak to us... He does. I'm glad it's based upon His faithfulness, not ours. I had kind of forgotten about it, but every single semester this becomes a really special week, and a lot of people gain specific direction for their lives, just from being faithful to wait on the Lord.

The above verse has been one I've known for a loooong time. But lately, it's been a very encouraging promise! I can't run this race and do everything in my own strength; I fall flat on my face after 2 or 3 steps. But as we wait on the Lord, HE renews our strength. So the end result is running without growing weary, and walking without fainting! I need that renewed strength. 

Gayle Erwin is our speaker for the first half of the week. I got to read most of his book, "The Jesus Style," in the past few weeks, and I was amazed at the simplicity of the message. Jesus came to be a servant of all. And therein is our pattern for life and ministry. Last night Gayle summed it up like this: We need to see Jesus, and know Him personally. As we know Him, we are filled with His Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit is [among other things] JOY! We are filled with joy because we know Him, and because we are SAVED! Such genuine joy abounds and overflows in the life of believers, so that our natural response is to be like Jesus: to go and serve others. And when we serve others [instead of putting ourselves first], we are blessed. So we see Jesus- we're filled with joy- we overflow into others' lives- and we are blessed. Then we see Jesus even more clearly, and the cycle continues.

It was so good, so refreshing to hear these simple reminders, especially concerning the joy we have as believers. Sure, we're human, we go through rough times, life isn't a piece of cake. BUT we have hope!! We can be the most joyful people on earth! Are we??

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalm 27:14

...In Your presence is fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11