"Creation Groans - We Groan - The Holy Spirit Groans" - Why Waiting Is Sometimes Painful

Creation Groans – We Groan – The Holy Spirit Groans 
“Why Waiting Is Sometimes Painful”
 
By Mary Lindow
 
WELCOME TO THIS PODCAST EPISODE! 
As I promised, I had told you I was going to share a few podcasts and share a few wonderful stories and experiences that I have had where the Lord has divinely protected, orchestrated and guided my life and my husband Steve’s life. 
It’s been a very interesting and intriguing journey, and at times very perilous and not at all fun when it comes to the persecution side of things. 
 
For some reason, there are individuals who preach a gospel that say to the masses that follow them, “Everything is going to be rosy! Everything is going to be fully prosperous financially, and you’re going to be perfectly healthy every day of your life. Every single day of your life is one big, happy party!”
Well, for sure, this is not biblical foundational truth when you hear these things. 
 
If you examine the scriptures, you will see that there was a tremendous amount of persecution and much sorrow for strong believers, even some having to be driven into living into caves due to persecution! The apostle Paul speaks about learning how to abase and to abound, meaning, he learned how to function and adjust whether he had plenty or whether he had little. But, he continued to serve Christ and continued no matter how difficult the persecution became, to get back up, even after he was stoned one time and they left him for dead. He got back up and marched back into the city, met up with some dear friends, went to the next city and preached again! 
(Acts 14:19-21)
 
This Podcast Is Going To Discuss The Current Groaning Of Creation, 
Our Own Groaning And The Longing For God To Finally Complete 
The Fullness Of Things So That Christ Can Return, And Of Course 
The Holy Spirit Makes Groaning And Utterances Too Deep 
For Our Own Words, Travailing Through Us As We Pray.
 
Romans 8:26-27 tells us this! 
It says:
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  
27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
 
ALL THREE OF THESE TYPES OF GROANING ARE TAKING PLACE RIGHT NOW.  It’s no secret if you know Steve and I that we have gone through a very difficult season starting a few months before the COVID-19 virus swept our world. With that taking place, we had the loss of our counseling Offices, our dear friend and team counselor/colleague and key supervisor, who carried the doctoral licensure for our Counseling Center died from Covid19. 
Adding to the difficulty, ministry invitations to teach and speak also came to a screeching standstill because people couldn’t travel and churches were suffering financially or were uncomfortable holding services.
 
WHAT IS ONE TO DO WHEN IT FEELS LIKE YOU’RE EXPERIENCING THE LIFE OF JOB OR JOSEPH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT? Certainly it’s not wise to pretend that everything is “perky and wonderful” and then lie to people when they too were suffering. 
No! We groaned and we wept and we encouraged and we prayed and prayed!  And then prayed some more with others who were suffering and going through the groanings of trauma and loss.
For the most part (and I’m truthfully speaking), I’m telling the partial story because the long version of the personal costs and deeper details would take entirely too long to share. I’m sharing openly and a bit vulnerably for a reason though! 
 
We personally had parents locked down in nursing homes over a thousand miles away that we could not get to and one of them died after being abused in that nursing home. Oh yes, we had police and investigators and detectives and even the state of Illinois health board investigating, but by the time they caught up with the perpetrators and those that had dropped my precious 90+ year-old mother-in-law on the front-side of her head, onto a hard wooden bedside table, and then onto the floor where they had stopped using fall mats (because no one was permitted to come into the nursing home to check during lockdowns), her bones were fractured as well as previously from another fall we didn’t know about, until the x-ray team was sent in, garbed up, to run a scan on her. She was also suffering from dementia so it was frantic and frightening for her. 
 
Deep Anguish. Deep Groaning!  The damage had been done and shortly after all of the fees and fines were placed upon this nursing facility, they placed her in a Covid-19 wing, and she died. 
Alone. 
We couldn’t bury her. 
We had one hour to make a decision what to do with her tired little body.  
 
The Glimmer Of Good News was that my father-in-law, who was in an assisted living facility a few blocks away, lived a little longer. He only got to see his wife one time in 18 months and that was through an acrylic panel. No hugging, no touching. 
When he became more frail and tired, Covid restrictions were just then being lifted. 
 
STEVE WAS PROMPTED BY THE LORD to fly to Illinois to see his father because he knew his time to go to heaven was near.  A very dear friend that is like a close family member, graciously offered to cover Steve’s flight expenses and partial hotel stay.
Steve had two days of being at the hospital with Steve’s father while he was being refitted with a new pacemaker, and being treated for an infection from sitting too long and alone in his assisted living apartment. He had been moved to a new, fresh, clean, assisted living facility, where one of our nieces was the new head administrator. Everything seemed so peaceful and wonderful! Steve’s dad was delighted to be getting such wonderful attention and care. 
Steve hugged him good night and said; “I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast Dad! Sleep well.” 
 
At 8:30 the next morning, Steve received a phone call…
… From our niece, and his Dad had fallen into her arms when she went to check on him that morning. He had told her he felt a little dizzy, and then passed into heaven. 
 
God’s Timing Was In The Details. 
There was joy that Steve could go see his Father, there was joy in the new accommodations and “sense of safety” with the Covid restrictions being lifted, and then there was sudden sorrow, groaning, grief, and loss. Steve’s parents had made plans to be buried next to each other, but it was impossible, since Steve‘s mother had to be cremated due to burial restrictions during the thick darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
A BEAUTIFUL THING TOOK PLACE AMIDST THE DEEPEST SORROW. 
Our United States military allows you to place the urn of a deceased spouse into the arms of the other deceased family member, if they were former military.  Steve’s dad was a World War II veteran. Steve’s Mother’s urn was placed in the arms of Steve’s dad, her husband, and they were buried together. An additional blessing was that because Steve was there, he was able to officiate his father’s funeral. It was a full honors military funeral.
 
The Majority Of People Don’t Like To Hear About Hardship From Other People. Especially people in ministry, missionary work, prison ministries, those who rescue trafficked children or those in care giving careers.  There is a “subtle suspicion” that suddenly causes people to pull back and pretend they don’t see the struggle or suffering taking place when they’re used to someone “appearing to look like they have it all together” or who have been some kind of a bright shining hope to them at one time in their lives, or are a ministry, or helper that they once looked up to. 
 
YOU SEE, THE PROBLEM WITH MOST OF US IS,
WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE PAIN, SUFFERING,
AND THE GRIEF OF OTHERS.
 
We Don’t Like To Face The Reality
That We May Be Called Upon 
To Help Those That Are Groaning.
 
 
Just Recently, Steve And I Were Again Facing A Bit Of Difficulty because he had an injury take place when he was working at a local Home Depot in a part-time job where everybody in each department take turns working at the customer services register. Steve being the kind of guy that he is, never slacks off in his work. He leaned over into a shopping cart because there was no one else younger or stronger nearby to help, and lifted out a 60-pound bag of dry cement to scan the price. Steve is 76years old. He is very healthy, very strong, but the lifting of the heavy object caused bulging discs in his lower back and he was in absolutely excruciating pain, thus, started a long recovery. 
 
He Is Actually Doing Really Well Now, and we are so grateful for the prayers and the wonderful chiropractor and doctor that we have, who are both Christians and are 100% committed to working towards better health without surgeries. During this time of Steve having to be home and not working and going to physical therapy, we were both also still doing part-time counseling. Steve gradually had the strength to work on installing and fixing a small appliance in our home. 
 
STEVE ALWAYS, WEARS HIS WEDDING BAND ON HIS LEFT HAND. 
He loves that wedding band! 
Sometimes we set our wedding bands on our kitchen windowsill close to each other so that we can see them next to each other and feel the “cozy joy and love” of knowing we are forever each other’s true love. 
When we were first married, we had picked out our wedding bands, and Steve’s was white gold with a gold center band running through it, with a few lovely diamonds embedded in it. It’s a very special lifetime treasure, which we hope to pass on to one of our grandchildren one day. 
 
Steve Had Taken His Ring Off And He Set It In A Strange, Not Normal Place. 
I had been cleaning house and I noticed his ring sitting in an unusual place. 
I thought to myself that I had better leave it there because he might remember where he put it and might want to put it back on. 
About three days later, he told me he could not find his ring. He couldn’t remember where he put it and I went to look for it in the location that I had last seen it. 
It was gone. 
 
Now Here’s Where It Gets Interesting! 
Steve had a little tin up on his bookcase in his office area. It was an old Altoid mint tin. In it, he keeps a cloth tape measure, rolled up very tightly, a couple coins, and I think he has some paper clips in there. But that’s where he usually takes his ring off and usually puts it in the tin, or next to it every night. He had gone in and looked and took that bookcase apart, and yet, the ring was not to be seen. 
I had gone in and looked from top to bottom as well, looked behind his desk with a flashlight, you name it, and I was searching everywhere! I even looked in his sock drawer to see if the ring had somehow fallen in there, but we could not find it. 
 
WE WERE GREATLY DISCOURAGED, HEARTSICK, SADDENED. 
Yes, it was another time groaning, another disappointment another loss, and although it may seem to be materialistic to some, this was something emotional. It was a bond between us both, that when we took our vows we put those rings on each other‘s hands looking firmly in each other’s eyes saying, “till death do us part”. 
 
You don’t want to replace something like that.
It has history. 
It has memories. 
It has weight to it. 
 
One week passed. 
Two weeks passed. 
Three weeks passed. 
We still could not find it. 
 
I Even Took My Vacuum Cleaner Bag Out And Put A Mask On and poked through it’s contents with a pencil into every single dusty section to see if maybe it had gotten suctioned up into the bag. Nope, it wasn’t in there.
I finally decided I was going to share it in the Kingdom Prayer rooms on Faith United Network’s Christian media site. I’m part of a team of prayer warriors there that pray for people from everywhere, and we fervently pray for, “everything”. Several people decided they were going to get busy praying with us and I basically said that our hearts are broken. 
It’s been something that we just were in anguish over.
 
ONE AFTERNOON I WENT TO LAY DOWN ON OUR BED TO REST. 
The next day was Father’s Day. 
As I lay there I asked the Lord if he would please by his grace, by his mercy, guide me to that ring, show me where it was. I spoke to the Lord saying to him that it would be such an indicator of great love for Steve to find that ring for Father’s Day. It would mean so much to know that the Father cared about even the slightest detail of our lives. 
I Just Could Not Sleep During That Nap After Praying And Crying A Little Bit. So, I got up and something prompted me to go back into Steve‘s office and look in that mint tin, one more time. 
 
Now remember…
Steve had looked in there and I had looked in there thoroughly.  
As I took the tin down and held it closer to my line of sight, at first I couldn’t believe what I was seeing!  Right there, perfectly placed like an egg in the middle of a nest, right in the middle of the wound up cloth measuring tape, perfectly wrapped around it, was Steve’s ring, sitting in the center of it. If we missed seeing it, then we missed it! But I know, and Steve knows that we both had looked in that location several times to no avail.  If the Lord in his kindness and his goodness decided to make sure that the ring was put in a place and then prompted me to go look one more time, I’m going to receive it in childlike faith that he cared so much that let us know. 
 
THE HEAVENLY FATHER CARES ABOUT THE VERY SMALLEST OF THINGS!
Now, some may say, “This is foolishness! Why would God care so much about a ring, and why would he possibly move it or have you see it in a different way?” 
 
There’s Another Interesting Happening In The Scripture.
The floating ax head is a story from 2 Kings 6:1-7, where the prophet Elisha helps a man who lost a borrowed ax head in the water. Elisha performs a miracle by making the iron ax head, float to the surface, demonstrating God's care for even small concerns in our lives.
 
There’s Also A Story Of The Woman Who Had Lost One Of Her Ten Silver Coins.  When she swept her house and looked everywhere for it and when she found it, she went outside and all of her neighbors rejoiced with her. (Luke 15:8-10)   
I WAS SO EXCITED that I’d been prompted to go look specifically in the location of Steve’s ring!  I put it on my finger and walked out and smiled at Steve and I said, “Guess what? Happy Father’s Day!”  He was so delighted and we both cried a little bit, then and then stopped and gave God huge thanks, and then of course I immediately went and shared with the prayer group that the ring had been found! Yippee! There was genuine delight and genuine rejoicing!
 
Dear Believer! 
God IS In The Smallest Of Details. 
He’s In The Little Things That Matter. 
 
RIGHT NOW WE ARE EXPERIENCING UNPRECEDENTED DEVASTATIONS, HATRED, AND TURMOIL IN THE WORLD. Some say that things may be getting better, but maybe in another location it’s becoming more difficult. 
 
THE EARTH IS GROANING!
We are aching and groaning and questioning! 
We are crying out to God saying, 
“What is going on? What more can we do? How can we pray? 
Why are so many suffering? 
Why are the answers not coming? 
Why is it taking so long? 
Why do I have to wait for the answer?”
 
Friends, Inside Of All Of Us, The Holy Spirit Is Groaning. 
That is the urging for us to pray, to cry out and weep before God with groaning too deep for even our own words.
The needs of God‘s people, and the cry for God’s intervention is as urgent in our days as it was in the time of Isaiah. I’m concerned that we may have forgotten the proper concept of what the so-called Christian life is in the sight of God.
Honestly, unless God comes down as “when the melting fire burns to make his name known to his adversaries”, our efforts to stop these unrelenting attacks are pretty much fruitless. That’s from Isaiah 64:2 
 
LOOK AT THE PICTURE OF MANY IN PUBLIC MINISTRY RIGHT NOW! 
How much of it presented in the wisdom of man, applauding the talent, the charisma and the physical appearance? And yet how little of the demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s genuine power.
THE BIBLE DOESN’T HIDE BROKENNESS. 
It doesn’t tie up pain up in a neat little package. What it does is, it shows us the kind of hope that enters into our suffering. 
A hope that weeps, a hope that groans.  
Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” 
 
The Hebrew Word For “Near” Doesn’t Mean Help Is On Its Way. 
No! It’s a much more in its potent meaning! It means “present” -right now. Close enough for you to feel God’s breath while he speaks in your ear that. He is there. 
The Word “Crushed” Is Also Strong Word.  
When you’re crushed, you feel ground down, shattered, and at times you cannot lift your head. 
Friends! God doesn’t despise you or ignore you when you’re crushed. 
Actually, he moves TOWARDS you. 
He definitely doesn’t say, “get up and stop your sniveling”, first! 
Instead he says, “I will reach down and help you.” He did this through sharing, sending his son Jesus Christ. 
Love came down to us… 
 
DC Robertson In His 30 Day Devotional Book Titled “Hope For The Broken” Made Very Powerful Statements. I Will Share A Few With You. 
 “Hope doesn’t start when the storm passes. It starts when you realize you are not alone in the storm.  This is a place where the real journey of Hope begins, not in the removal or the resolution of our pain, but in the nearness of God TO us while we are IN pain. 
That’s what sets biblical hope apart from motivational thinking. 
It’s not about finding the silver lining. It’s about finding the savior in the dark.”
 
FRIENDS. THE CHURCH IN A BROADER SENSE, 
IS SUFFERING GREATLY BY HER OWN HANDS. 
Self harm, whether it’s by individuals or institutions, without a doubt involves defective thinking that is a side effect of self-deception. 
 
Many Of Us Are Grieved And Groan At The Devastation In The Church That Happens When Victims Are Silenced And When Abusers Are Protected. So often, Power is abused and truth is hidden from those considered by the deceivers as “the less powerful” in the body of Christ. His bride is still struggling with being unwell and too often is found to be “unsafe”. 
 
DR. DIANE LANGBERG HAS SO MANY GOOD STATEMENTS TO SAY ABOUT THESE THINGS. 
RECENTLY, I READ THIS EXCERPT FROM ONE OF HER POSTS. 
“It’s extremely important to remember that all power is given to us. The power that is operating in someone’s position, they’re gifting, their knowledge or verbal ability, or their spiritual authority has one source. All of that power comes from Christ. He said to us all power is given to ME in heaven and on earth, it’s not ours! It’s his and it’s to be used in humility and in alignment with his word and his character. 
He who had all power never used it to feed off of a vulnerable person or to increase his stature or to protect himself. Any power that we have is his and is to be used to bless others with his grace and truth.”
Christian psychologist Diane Langberg is a deeply intelligent and humble woman who has arbitrated among war torn countries, advocating for healing and preaching Christ through loving actions and helping reconciliation take place. She makes very potent yet honest assessments regarding the condition of many of the houses of worship being exposed today. 
 
I’D ABSOLUTELY SAY FRIENDS
THAT THERE’S A WHOLE LOT OF GROANING GOING ON
AND THE HOLY SPIRIT GROANS AS HE SEES
THE DECEPTION AND THE HARM BEING DONE!
 
Here are Diane’s words;
“Where do we who serve a holy God, full of grace and truth, find justification for protecting a place where he desires to dwell, when that place is full of sin and harm done to his lambs? When this is done, we have failed to meet even the requirements of the law of the land, which calls the abuse of children and spouses criminal.
Jesus cleansed the temple twice. His people did not listen. The spiritual leaders of the people failed to obey him. The desecration of God‘s house and his people were scathingly denounced by both Jeremiah and Jesus. 
We who are the people of God, who worship in his sanctuary, need to pay heed and listen! 
Our God would have his refuge be holy, like he is holy. And in Matthew, after Jesus cleansed the temple the second time, he gave us a clear view of his ability to restore God‘s house to its true calling, giving us a picture of what that restoration looks like! 
After the cleansing, the wounded and the sick came in and he healed them. And the little ones came into the temple and sang praises to our God.
When the people of God expose deeds of darkness and the wolves in our midst that commit them, the wounded are healed, and the children sing. It is then that we will know the sanctuary of our God is indeed a holy dwelling for our Lord’s Holy Spirit and a safe harbor for his lambs. 
One of the measurements of our faithfulness to God is in the way that we conduct ourselves in relationship to our fellow humans.
A second measure of our faithfulness to God is in the stamping out and the calling out of sins that harm humanity. 
When these conditions are met, we as his people then live out the character of a holy and loving God and do this in front of the afflicted and needy while a watching world observes. 
It’s when we chase out the darkness and we address the corruption and provide a true sanctuary of safety, that we once again become a holy and a safe place.”
 (Excerpt From the Book “In Our Lives First” - Meditations For Counselors. Volume 2) 
 
DIANE’S WORDS HAVE A DEEP CONVICTING MESSAGE! 
Holy Spirit groaning most definitely takes place as you digest and pray over her words. 
The truth can cut deep into our denial of things.  The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus, and he told his disciples that he would send another, which would be the Holy Spirit who would convict the world of sin.
 
Conviction Causes Us To Groan As The Holy Spirit Groans,
Seeing The Condition Our Own Souls And The Souls
Of The Present Day Deceivers Of Our Current Day.
 
CREATION GROANS!
Romans 8:22-23 so deeply expresses this “groaning of all creation and longing” as we wait upon God, waiting for him to transform every aspect of our lives as individual temples of the Holy Spirit and to transform his church, making his bride spotless and without blemishes or malice.
22 “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together as if in the pains of childbirth until now. 
23 And not only this, but we too, who have the first fruits of the Spirit [a joyful indication of the blessings to come], even we groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for [the sign of] our adoption as sons—the redemption and transformation of our body at the resurrection].”
 
FRIENDS, THE WAITING IS SOMETIMES PAINFUL.
The groaning of the whole of creation describes the state of suffering and dissatisfaction with everything we have today! 
Look at how the earthquakes and the tragic floods and heartbreak of their aftermath, the fires burning in the West and the winds are groaning in the Earth right now!
We know - we feel - deep down inside that something is wrong!  Our anxiety and frustration is our inward groaning.
 
SO WHAT’S TO BE DONE? 
THERE’S ONLY ONE THING.
We wait upon God.  
We must cry with a cry that never rests! We say to him, “Oh that you would open the heavens and come down, that the mountains might flow down with your presence!” That’s Isaiah 64 verse 1. 
We must desire, groan in prayer and believe, and we must ask and expect that God would show us Unseen, Unknown things. 
 
Jeremiah 33:3 says,
“Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.”
 
IF HE CAN SHOW ME IN MY SIMPLE MINDED HEART CRY, exactly where my husband‘s wedding ring had been misplaced, or where it had been lost and he had in fact, placed it where I could find it, can he not show us great and mighty things that we know nothing about?
 
Oh Weary Listener!  
We must put our trust in a God who men absolutely don’t know exactly how he goes about preparing acts of great grace and compassion for them! 
 
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE 
WAITING FOR HIM TO FREE YOU, 
TO VINDICATE YOU AND OTHERS 
FROM GROSS LOSSES AND HARM, 
KNOW THAT THIS WONDER WORKING, 
MIRACLE DOING GOD, 
CAN SURPASS ALL OF OUR EXPECTATIONS.  
 
It Must Be The Only One True God Who We Put Our Trust In. 
Yes! Let us as God’s people prepare him room in our hearts to wait on a God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above, what any of us could ask or think. 
That’s Ephesians chapter 3 vs. 20.
 
Let’s join ourselves together as his chosen ones who cry day and night to him for things that men have not seen! He is able to arise and to make his people a name filled with praise and humble adoration in the Earth!
 
Isaiah 38 verse 18 says, 
“The Lord will wait, that he may be gracious to you, 
Blessed are all those that wait for him.”
 
 
In Closing Out This Podcast, 
I’d Like To Say Lovingly But Clearly,  
We Must Take Time To Develop 
This Much Needed Element Of Our Christian Walk. 
 
 
I Echo Andrew Murray, Who Often Talks About How Little We Wait Upon God. We get too much secondhand teaching and spiritual information from the teachings of men. Now, that teaching may have great value, even like the spiritual information, John the Baptist sent his disciples away with, but he sent them to the living Christ. If the teaching leads us to God himself, then it’s good teaching. But what our lives need is more of God. 
Anyone who wants to learn the beauty of waiting on God would do himself or herself a great favor to remember the lesson from Isaiah chapter 7 verse 4. It says to take heed and be quiet. “It’s good that a man quietly waits.” 
 
Friends, Take Time To Be Separated From All Of Your Friends, All Your Duties And Cares, And Even Your Joys. Take Time To Be Still And Quiet Before God. It’s when we look to the Lord and we wait for the God of our salvation that God will hear us and answer us in the most perfect and loving way.  
Micah 7:7. 
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
 
LET’S PRAY TOGETHER 
Loving Father, I pray that You would teach me how to prayerfully and patiently wait on You, and to come to a true understanding of what it really means to wait on the Lord. Help us to be still before you, to listen to Your voice through Your Word and to abide in You.
Keep us from fretting and worry, but rather let us learn more of You. 
Draw us closer to Yourself and keep us from presumptuous thoughts, but rather teach us humility of heart, knowing that Your desire for all Your children is that we do justly, love mercy and walk humbly before You.
And in all things, I pray that as we learn to wait on You and go deeper into Your Word of truth, that in all things we would bring glory to Your name. 
In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.
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"TIMES THAT TRY THE SOULS OF HUMANITY" - COURSE CORRECTIONS

By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit
My heart aches and yes, even trembles a bit at the broad measure of deception that has had a huge increase in these difficult days.
Spirits that imitate the voice of our Savior are cloaking themselves as Angels of light and also come masquerading as the Voice of the Holy Spirit in order to distract and lure believers away, slowly from sound convictions, godly warnings, and above all, THE still small Voice.
The Bible tells us that deception; doctrines of demons, and false prophets will increase.  The Spirit  of God has spoken expressly that in the latter times some would depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
It feels as if those days are upon us and though we might try to withdraw or hide, we cannot escape them; we must overcome in the midst of them, for this is the will of God concerning us.
Strange as it may seem, the danger today is greater for the passionate Christian than for the lukewarm and the self-satisfied. 
 
“THE SEEKER AFTER GOD'S BEST THINGS IS EAGER TO HEAR ANYONE
WHO OFFERS A WAY BY WHICH HE CAN OBTAIN THEM.”
~A.W. Tozer
The type of person Mr. Tozer is speaking about, longs for some new experience, some superior view of truth, some operation of the Spirit that will raise him or her above the dead level of religious bumpiness they see all around them, and for this reason these people are ready to lean a concerned ear towards the “new and the amazing” in faith, first and foremost if it is presented by someone with an attractive personality and a reputation for “enhanced” saintliness.
HOWEVER, our Lord Jesus the great Shepherd of His sheep has not left His flock to the ruthlessness of the wolves. He has given us the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit and yes, the natural ability of common sense watching, and He expects us to apply ourselves to their help all the time.
 
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good," said Paul. -I Thess. 5:21
"Beloved, believe not every spirit," wrote John, "but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" -I John 4:1
"Beware of false prophets," our Lord warned, "which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." -Matt. 7:15
 
A TIME FOR DIRECTIONAL ADJUSTMENT
We are in much need of a directional adjustment as believers in the Body of Christ right now as the world turns itself upside down with malice, dictatorships, and political posturing. Weneed to be certain that nothing of the world and its behaviors are hidden in our own hearts. 
We must hear that magnetic pulling voice of the Holy Spirit, and obey itwithout turning left or right.
”So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. “ -Deuteronomy 5:32
 
NOTHING THAT COMES FROM GOD WILL MINISTER TO OUR PRIDE OR SELF-CENTEREDNESS.
N O T H I N G!
If we are tempted to be conceited and to feel superior because we have had an incredible vision or a radical spiritual experience, or if we feel extraordinarily more well informed or gifted with educational pursuits and feel the need to inflict our “superior-ness” upon others, we should fall immediately to our knees and repent of the ugly and fleshly, self-serving thing! We have fallen and have been duped by the arrogant and self-deceived enemy of our souls, Lucifer.
“For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.” - 1 John 2:16
 
LOOKING FOR CONTINUAL SAFETY AND HELP?
When we walk in the way of surrender and tenderness with our ears tuned in towards the frequency of the ”still small voice of God”, we actually walk in a safe haven or overshadowing safety of the Presence of God. Training our spiritual ears to hear the voice of the Father creates and provides a lifetime “guarantee” of knowing when the storms or troubles will arise as well as intense persecution.
There is a promise for direction from a place of Divine Protection and direction whenever it’sneeded.
”Therefore my heart is glad  and my tongue rejoices;
My body also will rest secure.” - Psalm 16:9
 
REST AND WAITING IS CRUCIAL
The man or woman with an honest heart will find no difficulty here. It is the hardest thing the mind and body to do!
Learning to rest and wait when the world is screaming at a fevered pitch,
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?
 
It is a hard learned yet reachable discipline if we will lean into it and ask for God’s help. 
Yes, only HE can train us in this discipline of rest and waiting. Our flesh will never give into it willingly. 
Hear and then HEED the Voice of God calling you to enter into His rest. It is a place of pleasant minimalism and uncluttered guidelines. His Presence silences all of the noise of the day and noise of the Head.
ANY REAL WORK OF GOD IN OUR HEART WILL TEND
TO MAKE US UNABLE TO ENJOY WORLD'S FELLOWSHIP.
 
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
-I John 2:15
 
It can be declared clearly, that any spirit that allows “give and take” with the world…
...Is a deceiving spirit.
 
GOD’S PRESENCE IS A PLACE OF SAFETY FOR THE WEARY
Dear child of God!There is no judgment or shame there.It is a restful place of learning to take up an easy yoke and a light burden. 
Perhaps right now…. as you read this…you might need to get away from music in headphones or speakers, away from the ring tones on your new awesome phone with all of those cool new apps, and enter intothe safe haven of God.
Lay down the weight of worry and frustration. The anger at life all bottled up in rage and gloom! All you need to take with you into the place of refuge is a willing and listening heart. Ready to trust the Divine Protector and Provider.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, Even as we put our hope in you. -Psalm 33:22
 
PLEASE SIT BACK AND LISTEN
TO THE FOLLOWING SPONTANEOUS SONG FROM THE SPIRIT OF GOD!
IT WILL SING LIFE INTO YOUR WEARY SOUL! 
 
CAPTAIN OF YOUR SOUL ©
Spontaneous Prophetic Song of The Lord
 
There is a river of life; there is a river that flows
From the city of God, There is a river of life
There is an ocean, Deep and wide and strong
And there is a pathway, in the water wide and long
 
There is a Master, Captain, at the helm of life
And there is Someone standing,
Steering the course in the fog at night
Even though the times that you can't see Me
Even though the times that you can't hear Me
I am the echo in the night
 
There is an ocean deep and wide
And there is a river flowing by your side
And even though the darkness might come
Remember the promise I've given you
I will guide you in the storms of life
 
Come with Me a while and see, that I am He
The Captain at the helm
Come and see that I have a course now set
In the heavenly realms
 
There is a river, a place for you to flow
There is a river, there is something more, For you to know
 
Let me take control, let Me drift your life away
For in the darkness of night
You can hear Me better say
 
I am the Captain of your soul
And I am the Master of the storm
Remember when you can't feel
Remember when you can't set your sail
Remember when there's no breezes
Remember there is a voice that pleases
 
There is a river, there is an ocean
There is a Captain at the helm
 
And though you might not see Me
And though you might not feel Me
I am still in the heavenly realm
I am still in the heavenly helm
 
Captain of the sea
Captain of the storm
Come and rest with Me
 
Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed, as long as the complete message, Website, podcast link and information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You! 2024
"THE MESSENGER"  - Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
www.marylindow.podbean.com
 
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Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 
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Silent No More

Dear Friends,
I have a most precious "real life" story to share with you. It is the story and of one very brave and amazing woman. Her name is Karen Elliott and she lives in San Antonio, Texas.
What Karen is about to share on this podcast and written pages will cause you to weep as as well as rejoice at the forgiveness of the Lord and His power to wash away deep traumatizing shame and sorrow.
Share this story with young women, friends, and others with a painful past or current trauma. It is not recommended that you share this with young children due to the sensitive information regarding abortion in it as well as a few detailed graphics.
This testimony has now been aired all over Europe and Israel as well as the USA and other Nations and countries. The Lord is using this tremendous story to tell of His Mercy and Grace.
If you are touched by Karen's brave sharing, please send her an email and bless her as your sister in Christ. If you need someone to talk to about a similar series of events, Karen is on of the most discreet and kind women you could ever share your broken heart with.
In His Shadow,
Mary Lindow

“Silent No More”
Testimony of Karen Elliott
karen.steve@sbcglobal.net
Thank you so much, Ladies and Gentlemen, for the opportunity to speak to you today.   I’d like to share my heart, my life with you.  All I ask is that you please listen with your heart!
You know, I used to ask myself what I wanted to be when I grew up.  There are so many things that interest me that I just wanted to embrace them all.  Art, fashion, interior design, real estate.  I was an art major in college, I had five years of private painting lessons, and painting is a chapter in my life which isn’t over just yet.  I have been under contract with a modeling agency in Texas, because I believe that mature women need to be equally represented in advertising, a trend that is just now coming to the forefront. 
I design interiors for people because I believe God wants us to flourish in our surroundings.  Another one of the things I do is to consult with women about their wardrobes…what sort of styles they should wear for their body type, what colors look good on them, even how to organize their closets so that getting dressed can be easy.
But on a more serious note, I’d like to share some of the secrets that have been hidden away in my closet.  Because you see, all of those things that I loved and embraced were on the surface.  Underneath, there was a secret that I had buried -- a secret that I told no one.
I was born to loving parents who were and still are very much in love with each other ( Karen's Mother has recently passed away).  I was raised in a Christian home and went to church.  I accepted Jesus and was born again in my mother’s bedroom when I was only nine years old.  I was already selfish and self-centered and wanted my own way.  I already needed His saving grace. 
I got married at 19 after two years of college, long before I knew who I was and what I needed in life, much less what I had to offer someone else.  That was what we had in common, and we were soon disappointed in each other.  I went to work immediately while my husband went to college and then law school. 
So much of our life was focused on when we got out of school that we forgot to invest in and enjoy the present.  The goal was more important than the means by which we would attain it. 
Church was no part of our life and neither of us thought too much about it.  I occasionally remembered that I felt God had called me to the ministry as a pastor’s wife, but it seemed that no longer had any relevance in my life.  All that mattered is that we had two darling little girls.  After seven years together and much of the enemy’s intervention, we divorced and I went to Atlanta to live with my parents.
At 25, divorced with children, and with no college degree, I felt ill-prepared for the workforce and I had to tell everybody within the first five minutes of meeting them that my ex-husband was an attorney.  My whole life had lost its focus. 
I had to support myself without my ex-husband’s education and credentials.  It seemed that I had no identity of my own.  You know, when a couple is divorced, the woman is suddenly no longer “the wife.”  The man still has his name, he still has his career, he still has his education.  If the woman did not have a career before marriage, she has to establish herself on her own.  If she marries again, she has yet another name and a new identity to assume. It can be very confusing.  A woman may ask, “Who am I, anyway?”  She searches to establish who she is.  Who she  was  is not who she is  anymore!
Though I had been a Christian most of my life, my identity was wrapped up in being the wife of my ex-husband.  So when my marriage ended, I experienced an identity crisis.  God wanted my identity to be wrapped up in Him, not in another person.
After my divorce, I started dating, and for the next couple of years I had very stringent rules for myself.  But the unthinkable happened!  I found myself pregnant!  It was not the Immaculate Conception!  I was old enough to know better!  How could I have been so stupid?  The choices I had made had trapped me!
The devil began warring on my senses.  Now I felt I had no choice!  If I were to have this baby, my ex-husband could say that I was an unfit mother and might try to take my children away from me!  I felt I had to act fast.  I decided I had to terminate the pregnancy.  I made a call to a man I knew who made the arrangements for an abortion.  The details are as vivid as though they all happened last week.
I could not have been more than four or five weeks pregnant.  After the procedure, I passed a tiny piece of pink flesh which was the beginning of a little baby.  It was not a blood clot like we sometimes have during periods of heavy flow; it was unmistakable.  I will never forget what I saw.
That image has haunted me, when I least expect it, and has never been forgotten even though I have kept my secret entirely hidden for many years. In a book by Francine Rivers called The Atonement Child,  many passages pierced my heart.  The words expressed so many thoughts and emotions that I have felt.  I would like to share one of these passages with you.

Quote:
“She had sought a way out, any way out, and then had lied to get the money for an abortion, sacrificing her unborn child.  And since then, she had lied to herself and others.  Sowing seeds of destruction.  Why had she done it?  To hide her shame?  To pretend the past couldn’t harm her?  To avoid condemnation?  And what had she accomplished?  She was ashamed, hurting, and condemned anyway.  She could have made a hundred excuses for herself – and did – but none
mattered.  None helped heal the secret pain within her because her own blood cried out against her.  You can’t run away from God!”
I had thought that an abortion wouldn’t matter, that no one would ever know, and I would just continue life as usual.  Isn’t the woman the one to make the choice about what happens to her own body?  Why hadn’t I made another choice a long time ago, saving myself from this dilemma?  I thought that the decision to abort was the end of it.  God did forgive me when I wept and repented before Him.  How could I have known that it would come back into my conscience more than 30 years later with such glaring detail?
I married the man whose baby was aborted.  We were only married a month when he filed bankruptcy.  Life seemed to be a financial roller coaster and we were doomed with financial woes.  No matter how much money we made, we never had enough to pay everyone who wanted to be paid.  We were not tithing and we were not going to church.  I was taking birth control pills and got pregnant! 
The next year our precious son was born and now we had what you could call a “blended” family.  I tell you about the financial problems so you can see that I began to live under a curse of insufficiency.   Bill collectors were always calling.  There was never enough money.
Our marriage just unraveled with all sorts of sin.  By this time I had become an astrological expert, and I could, with just a few details of your birth date, time and location, tell you more than you knew about yourself.  I attributed it all to God who was All-powerful, All-knowing, and All-creative.  He was absolutely able to put all of your characteristics and personality into your tiny body depending upon when and where you were born.  I was VERY convincing and had a lot of “believer-followers.”  My door was always open and the coffee pot was always on. 
Then one day, in desperation, I knelt down beside my bed and I asked Jesus to help me with my life and my children.  I had not been doing a very good job with any part of it.  He was right there as soon as I called His Name.  Soon after that we   enrolled the girls in a Christian school. 
I began to feel that we needed some continuity between school and home.  We started going to church and one morning I just could not quit crying.  The pastor invited me to come to his study the following week to talk and right there I was baptized in the Holy Spirit.  When I left the church, my car just transported me to a church member’s house, where I  never had been before.  They welcomed me and invited me to stay for lunch with them and the youth pastor who was also visiting at the time.  As we discussed the Holy Spirit, they asked me to renounce all the forms of the occult. 
I had been involved in everything - astrology, fortune-telling, tarot cards, ouiji boards, tea leaves – you name it!  It was then that I received my prayer language and I began to pray in tongues. 
A friend of mine called the next day to tell me that she had given birth to her first child in a neighboring state.  I could not tell the baby’s astrological sign and I still cannot to this day.  I was totally delivered from all of the occult!  I burned and destroyed all of the books and items related to astrology, worth more than $1,000! God miraculously set me free from that whole part of my life!  I thought I was no longer under the curse, but problems continued to plague our marriage and I ended up divorced again. 
Within a couple of years, I married again.  This time I decided that I was only going to marry a Christian.  I might as well have said I was going to marry the next red-haired man who crossed the street!  I started going to church and praying with this man, but my spirit was warning me.  I charged ahead into a relationship that was like oil and water.     
We were never able to live in harmony even though we stayed married for 13 years.  My children were unhappy, our finances were pitiful, I was deathly ill, and we were living in a constant state of war. 
Because I was not able to keep current on the payments, I was given a notice of foreclosure on the house.  I went through the house proclaiming all the scriptures in Gloria Copeland’s wonderful book entitled, GOD’S WILL FOR YOU IS PROSPERITY.  I spoke to the windows, the doors, the walls, the floors!  No devil was going to take them from me!
I entered a state of faith in God’s Word and one night before the house was to be sold on the courthouse steps, I received a call from a man who offered to pay the court in return for a second mortgage on the house!  It was a stay of execution!  The Lord had delivered me and my house! 
During this marriage, the government demanded our boat and trailer to pay taxes we owed, the bank repossessed our car, we could not pay our mortgage payments, and I finally had to file bankruptcy to keep my home.  Another stay of execution!  I ended up paying off the court, the fees, and all my debtors because my original in-laws loaned me the money and told me THEY did not want my house! 
I shall always be grateful for their kindness to me in a time of need.  Over the next few years, I fully repaid them by the grace of God, who always made a way for me.  During this whole period of my life, I would be under so much pressure, unable to sleep because of so much tension.  I plunged from one crisis to another, and the relief that came was always temporary….another crisis always hit.
I remember getting up during the night in turmoil and to begin thanking God for my blessings.  As I did this, I would eventually come to the place of true praise with my hands lifted to Him, dancing around in my kitchen!
I would sing, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God hath done!”  The Lord did enable me to overcome my circumstances.
However, there were some other circumstances that came into my life which were not financial.  It was my health. I found out that I had fibroid tumors which required a complete hysterectomy, and while in the hospital, the doctors discovered a lump in my breast.  This, of course, is part of the lingering curse from having had an abortion, though I did not make the connection then.
After this time, I came into a new season in my professional life.  I had become a successful businesswoman in real estate in Atlanta, Georgia.  One of my coworkers was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  Exactly one year later she died and was buried. 
My emotions were raw over the loss of my friend.  I left the next day to help my youngest daughter move to  Philadelphia.  While there, I discovered a new lump in my breast.  Alarming as that new health concern was, there were still more scary circumstances of a different nature just around the corner. 
As I flew back to Atlanta a few days later, two Canadian geese were sucked into the engine at takeoff.  We had to make an emergency landing back in Philadelphia with foam on the runway. 
Completely shaken, I vowed that if I only had one year to live, like my friend, I would not live my life like I had been!! I set about to change it.  I filed for divorce and put my house up for sale.  Within a few months, my housing and marital status had changed.
Then, one day, my high school sweetheart – Steve- and I began a long-distance friendship by telephone. I called it a “phoneship!”  I was in Atlanta; he was a thousand miles away in San Antonio, Texas.  The Lord said to me one day as I was dressing, “I have chosen Steve to restore the years the locusts have eaten in your life and for you to do the same for him.”
A year after I had decided to change my life,  Steve came to see me.  We only saw each other on four different occasions.  Then we got married in Georgia and I moved back to Texas.   Over the last fourteen years Steve and I have been closely involved with various people, churches and ministries that have continuously taught us in the ways of the Lord  and helped us understand that together we have a call to the nations!  We can say now that we have a global vision.  One day the Lord impressed me to have the word “restoration” inscribed in our wedding rings, which Steve did the very next day.  Truly, we are experiencing restoration in its fullness.  Jesus will transform your life when you let Him!
Once I was scheduled to go on an antiques- buying trip to Paris on the first of March with my employer, an interior design firm.  As I was praying about it, I distinctly felt God by His Spirit say, “No.”  That was on a Saturday.  Two days later
at a Christian conference taught by Alan Vincent, I introduced myself to the woman sitting beside me.  It was Mary Lindow from Colorado.  She felt impressed to invite me to join her and the U.S. ministry team at the first-ever Women’s Conference in Strasborg, France, to be held in three weeks. I told her I would pray about it and let her know.  My husband was very supportive and encouraged me to go.  All week I enjoyed the teaching of the Word, but I secretly was in turmoil over this decision.  Satan was constantly telling me I wasn’t good enough.
Finally, on the last day of the conference, as I was sitting at the back of the room it seemed God said to me, “Karen, you are 60 years old.  When are you going to start?”  You see, I had told the Lord for years that I wanted to be on the cutting edge of whatever He wanted to do on the earth!   Immediately,   I realized that God DID have something for me to do.  It didn’t matter if I felt unsure and inadequate.  I had listened to too many years of Satan’s accusations against me, seeking to diminish me and tell me I could not be useful to God.  He had kept me squelched under his thumb long enough! 
It is true that you put Fire on God’s altar when you answer, “Yes!”  I did say, “Yes, Lord, yes!”  It felt glorious!  I ran to tell Mary that I would go!  Two weeks later I was in Germany and France in life-changing ministry as part of the team!  
After I returned home, I was on my way to a prayer meeting about abortion.  There were representatives there from an organization that is seeking to end abortion through America’s court system.  The organization is called the Justice Foundation. As I was driving, I said out loud, “Well, God, I hope You don’t expect me to have anything to do with that!”
At that moment, the Holy Spirit filled my being and I began to realize that what God wanted was no less than what I wanted for myself.  “Restoration!”    
Near the end of April I wrote out my personal statement, also known as an affidavit, admitting the secret of my abortion. God led me to share the affidavit with Mary while she was visiting me later that same year in June.  I also shared it with a friend of mine, Eileen Vincent, who later became very involved in Prayer for the Justice Foundation.   
They were both so kind and understanding, and prayed with me to have the courage to do everything that God was calling me to do. 
Well, my affidavit lay there – hidden in the file folder all summer.  What was I waiting for?
I had been asked for the very first time to give my testimony and it was for a Christian women’s meeting called AGLOW in San Antonio, Texas the following September. I knew that God wanted me to finally reveal my secret – that which had remained hidden for so, so long in the closet of my heart. 
I knew I must first share my testimony with my husband and children.  Their reaction was wonderful.  Instead of shame and condemnation, they were so accepting of me!  I was so proud of them!
I went to the Justice Foundation to have my paper notarized and turn it in.  As I left their office, I felt that something really remarkable had happened.  My act of obedience to reveal the secret in my closet would allow God to
use me in new ways.  Two thousand affidavits were turned in from all over the country and were finally sent to the Supreme Court of the US to help overturn legalized abortion in America!  I was so pleased that my affidavit was among them.
I have come into full agreement with God’s TRUTH, and that truth is that “it is not in the human or legal interest of any mother to kill her own child.  A mother’s true interest is in her child’s LIFE and her relationship with her child.  Abortion should come to an end.”
I don’t know what the statistics are, but women who have had abortions are much more likely to develop breast cancer and they are also very often unable to have more children. The Lord allowed me to have a son in spite of my sin.  The blood of
Jesus is enough, for He has forgiven me. I asked for and received that forgiveness more than 35 years ago.  But God wasn’t really through. 
He has been leading me to give my testimony so that all of us who have been through this awful act will have the courage to come forward and admit what we have done. 

By coming out into the open, we can end hell’s grip on our lives.  We can be free of the trauma, the guilt, and the shame. 
Researchers describe something called, “Post Abortion Syndrome” as a woman’s inability to process the fear, anger, sadness and guilt surrounding her abortion.  She may have trouble with these emotions as well as grieving the loss of her baby, and coming to peace with God, herself, and the others involved in the abortion decision.  A woman can experience many lasting effects from an abortion, including, guilt, crying, flashbacks, sadness, anger, anxiety, sleeping problems, relationship problems, alcohol abuse, depression, eating disorders, drug abuse, and suicidal thoughts.
Those secrets that remain hidden continue to have power over you, and what I’m wanting to do is to help women see that
if they can come to terms with abortion, that Satan’s hold and power over them would end.  Like a bomb, I had to detonate abortion’s power so it wouldn’t be something that Satan could use to keep me bound.
In answer to my question, “What was I waiting for?”  God has a plan for my life that is constantly unfolding.  That date with AGLOW in September was another turning point in my life.  It was the same month in 1969 that I had had an
abortion, ending a little life so recently begun.   I began my journey of sharing my testimony and doing my part to help end abortion more than thirty years later.
Is there anything hidden in your closet?  Has Satan been talking to you, like he talked to me, keeping you silent and squelched, unable to answer the Lord’s call, like he did to me?  Has he rendered you ineffective in your life?
Today we can break agreement with the enemy.  We can choose to believe what God says about us.  We can say, “Yes, Lord.”  Why don’t you make a decision to give 100 percent to Jesus?  He’ll take you to new places, doing new things, and He will restore the years the locusts have eaten in your life! 
Whatever we have done in the past or whatever has been done to us or someone we love will lose its power when we put our fire on God’s altar by saying, “Yes, Lord, Yes!”  Whatever the Lord God asks YOU to do, do it!
If there has been an abortion in your past, I encourage you today to silence the enemy once and for all!!! 
Won’t you decide today to be silent and shameful no more?


Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source and website information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You
Copyright © 2012 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com