By Mary Lindow

 

I welcome you to today's podcast and look forward to sharing this message with you! 

I told you in my last podcast that had some things on my heart that we're concerning me as well as just observing some of the trajectory of things going on, I guess we could call it “largely in the Body of Christ”, as well as the Lord allowing exposures and allowing things to be brought to light when others choose to not fear and revere the Lord.  When they have no real understanding of how long he gives us before we are allowed to have that brought to light.

 

In Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 it says,

(This is the key scripture I’m using to address part of this message.)

“Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,

and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him.”

 

BEING TESTED, STRETCHED, AND RESTRAINED.

It’s in all of our lives as believers, we face times and settings where there is a feeling of being pulled and tested, stretched and restrained.

Often, during these excruciating events, those who avoid personal character development tend to give unrestrained advice, spiritualized platitudes, and often, trumped up words of “so-called” prophetic inspiration to help us not suffer so much!

 

As we begin to see the Lord's plan in all of this we also come to understand that if we are not first hearing His voice, His heart, His word in the matters that are straining us, nothing any man or woman says can bring the ultimate light of clarity and release!

 

WE HAVE WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, AND FALL.

We all face seasons of change that correspond much like the four seasons we observe yearly.

Nothing is more surprising than to have an interruption of what we anticipate to be what is "normal" for an earthly expectation, in one of those seasons.

When a sudden ice storm blows in unexpected in the late spring and encrusts the tender blooms on fruit trees and garden plants, we are devastated by the loss of not only the blooms, but also the fruit it could have produced. It appears as if there has been a cruel storm, sent to cause crop failure.

 

UPHEAVAL. LOSS. DISAPPOINTMENT. 

For many listening to or reading this message, you feel as if you have experienced a "Crop failure", perhaps several, and just can’t take one more aching disappointment. 

Many hearts have passed their tender agonies on to me on paper, in emails and through the telephone.

 

ANGUISH HAS ITS OWN PERFUME

I have also heard the whispers of the voices of darkness try to entice, with wearisome words of worry, paranoia and doubting!

"Give up!" they say! 

“What good is this time of shaking doing?"

"What possible good can come out of believing that there is something occurring that will bring a fresh and healthy  move of God’s goodness, when all seems to have stalled or strained?"

 

In Galatians 5:19-21 Paul lists the works of the 'flesh' (“sinful nature”).  

In the middle he mentions “idolatry, sorcery” (NKJV) or “idolatry and witchcraft” (NIV).

 

THE CONTROL CONNECTION!

This is our fallen, rebellious, sinful nature. And if not brutally dealt with - this insidious root can deceive even the Christian believer if he of she is not transparent before God and is in humble, healthy and mature relational accountability to other members in the Body of Christ! 

(Not easy to do…but healthy!)

But real godly accountability must be vulnerable at all times, wise in listening to advice, and not selective about what things WE want to be accountable for or not. 

 

“Delicatessen Accountability” is not going to bless your life, 

and it will frustrate your family and friends to tears.

 

 

HUMILITY HAS NO PROBLEM EXPOSING ITSELF.

It’s a natural outpouring of what is in the heart of a true follower when put under the pressure of the test of exposure.

 

NOTICE IN THE BOOK OF ACTS THAT SOME BELIEVERS 

OPENLY CONFESSED THEIR SINS TO ONE ANOTHER!

 

Acts 19:18 says, 

“Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.”

 

AND AGAIN IN THE BOOK OF JAMES,

ALL BELIEVERS ARE URGED TO CONFESS THEIR SINS 

HUMBLY TO ONE ANOTHER, AND ALLOW THEM 

TO BE PRAYED FOR AND HEALED OF HIDDEN WRONGDOING!

 

James 5:16 says,

“Therefore confess your sins to each other,

and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

 

 

So! What’s The Definition of ACCOUNTABILITY? 

Accountability - noun

responsibility." 

Liability, answerability

:  the quality or state of being accountable; 

especially,  an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions

 

THIS NATURE OF THE FLESH OFTEN MANIFESTS ITSELF,

 EVEN IN INFANCY, IN EFFORTS TO CONTROL OTHER PEOPLE! 

We feel secure if we can control others.

Then they do not threaten us! 

They do what WE want!

 

 

GOD, ON THE OTHER HAND…

…NEVER SEEKS TO CONTROL US.

He respects the free will He has given to each of us, although He does hold us responsible for how we use that freedom.

 

THERE ARE THREE WAYS THE DESIRE TO CONTROL OTHERS EXPRESSES ITSELF:

 

☑ MANIPULATION

☑ INTIMIDATION

☑ DOMINATION

 

THE GOAL IS DOMINATION!

People who recognize that they are weaker than those they seek to control, tend to manipulate.

Those who feel stronger tend to intimidate. 

But the end purpose is the same: 

TO DOMINATE - 

meaning….

… To control others and get them to do what we want.

 

MANY FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS PORTRAY THIS.

Husbands intimidate their wives by fits of rage or actual violence.

Wives manipulate their husbands by tears and hurt feelings, and often making them feel guilty for their shortcomings. 

Parents frequently intimidate or manipulate their children. 

But, alternatively, children can become extremely good at manipulating their parents.

 

ONE MAIN TOOL OF MANIPULATION …

… IS GUILT.

Once we learn to recognize the desire to control others as an evil, manipulative force, we will see it at work in many different areas.

 

ONCE WE RECOGNIZE THESE DEVICES ARE 

DISGUISES OF REBELLION, WE REALIZE 

THAT IN OUR CONTEMPORARY AND POST MODERN CULTURE

 WE ARE BEING EXPOSED CONTINUALLY TO ITS PRESSURE! 

 

 

This sure gives new meaning to Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that says,  “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers”. 

People who are in the habit of using manipulation or intimidation to control others will be taken over by a deceitful spirit masquerading itself in many cloaked forms, often shifting it's present behavior or mask, in order to influence others to THEIR  WAY way of thinking. 

This is still a form of evil. 

After that they will be unable to relate to anyone apart from these tactics.

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” -Proverbs 28:13

 

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you,  And did not cover up my wrongdoing.

I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "- And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”  Selah. -Psalm 32:5

 

 

EVERY PERSON MUST MEET THE CONDITIONS FOR BEING SET FREE

Psalm 38:18 says

“I confess my wrongdoing;

I am troubled by my sin.”

 

ON ONE SIDE, THE PERSON EXERCISING CONTROL MUST REPENT AND RENOUNCE HIS OR HER DESIRE TO CONTROL.

ON THE OTHER SIDE, THE PERSON BEING CONTROLLED MUST REPENT OF SUBMITTING TO SUCH CONTROL.

(This does not mean necessarily a separation from the relationship… but a healthy detaching from 'being controlled' as the relationship functions. 

Fear is at work underneath this structure… fear of man…etc.)

 

FEAR OF MAN. What IS That?

It is obvious that we must fear God rather than man. If we fear man more than God, we will displease God most of the time, because man's ways are usually opposite of God's.

 

THE WORD "FEAR" MEANS TO "TREMBLE".

The fear of man may be evident by someone being overly fashion-conscious, needing to be noticed for their trendy appearance. Other forms of having the fear of man is being easily embarrassed (even when doing right), being quick to defend ourselves (with lies, if need be), the telling of grandiose or constant lies and deceptions to gain honor from others, by pretending to understand when we don't, by giving compliments which we don't mean, by pretending to agree when we should disagree, by avoiding giving criticisms and warnings even when necessary.

AND, here’s a big one.

Gaslighting or planting suspicious seeds about someone else in order to appear more credible or spiritual to peers. 

Oh the insidious nature of the flesh! 

 

OBVIOUSLY, A MAN-FEARER WILL NOT ONLY DISPLEASE GOD, 

BUT WILL ALSO ULTIMATELY BE CONSIDERED TOTALLY UNSTABLE AND UNTRUSTWORTHY BY OTHERS - BECAUSE HE OR SHE WILL CHANGE THEIR MIND AS SOON AS THEY FACE SOMEONE ELSE.

 

In other words, the "honor" that they receive is only a momentary acknowledgement for "convenience" provided by their man-pleasing deed. 

➡️ Man-fearers are "used" and then despised. ⬅️

Besides…

…WHO KNOWS WHEN A "MAN-FEARER" MAY TURN AGAINST YOU, AND "SLAY" YOU, SO THEY CAN OBTAIN HONOR FROM OTHER MEN OR WOMEN?

 

Look at the way politicians cave in under pressure due to the fear of man and loosing face in front of the “Big MONEY OR INFLUENCER People”!

EVEN if a man-fearer was loved by another, he or she is not loved, but actually his/her “pretended-self” is the "one" that is loved.

 

WHAT GOOD IS HAVING FEAR OF GOD AT WORK IN OUR LIVES? 

PROVERBS 9: 10 says,

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom"

 

The word 'fear" means to "reverence".

One who fears God is more concerned about what God thinks than what men think. (ACTS 4:19) 

The result of this fear, this reverence is a single-minded obedience to God's Word, and a single-minded aim to glorify God! 

 

A GOD-FEARER IS WILLING TO SUFFER SHAME AND PAIN RATHER THAN TO DISOBEY GOD.

(Like Daniel and his friends did. Read DANIEL 3).

 

 

THE FEAR OF GOD IS:

THE RESULT OF LOVING HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US!

Fearing Him because He is constantly watching us, 

and 

Expecting from Him alone, all our present and eternal rewards. 

 

Since man's ways are usually opposite to God's, there will be a continuous struggle in us whether to honor God or man.

 

The fear of God is pretty evident in many instances by practicing a godly carefulness regarding being "In fashion and trendy ", having a slowness to be embarrassed before men, speaking that will not only compliment but  will also warn (in a gracious and loving manner, Romans 10:18), having a quickness to defend God's honor, and a quickness to admit your own mistakes. Having a cautiousness to accept lavish and public compliments, and having a quickness to give the glory to God in a humble manner.

 

SOMEONE  WHO FEARS GOD IS STABLE, PREDICTABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY 

He or she will simply obey God's Word and will not change their mind because of man's faces or “undertones of condescension.”

 

FRIENDS! 

WE MUST STOP JUST "ACTING" SPIRITUAL!

WE MUST "BE" SPIRITUAL.

We must stop concentrating on the outside and start concentrating on the inside.

Management experts say that there is no formula for success but God says:

"Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, 

so that you may flourish in all that you do"

(DEU. 29:9).

 

In the midst of these strains and attempts to distract comes a clear undeniable "Divine Tension" that pulls and stretches the heart of the humbled believer.

It calls simply, firmly, and does not lack a depth of confidence and direction.

This “Presence” causes a clash with all that seems to be "the way of man" and will not relent.

 

THE EARTH IS IN TURMOIL!

It doesn't take much to understand that the earth is in upheaval, rivalry, and chaos wherever we look. There is a tangible and penetrating "tension" in the events we are seeing unfold every day. 

Parallel to this explosion of pure evil and lulling to sleep of many, there is a Divine Course being laid out for those who have come to the end of themselves.

 

 

ETERNITY IS IN THE SIGHTS OF THOSE LOOKING TO A KINGDOM YET UNSEEN!

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have been preparing a bride. 

This is done only through the shaping tools of heavenly choice.

The chisel and hammer have been at times brutal and unflinching, yet when the soft hand of The Almighty begins to apply the oil of polishing, 

He does it with His own hand as well.

He makes it beautiful in His own timing, even though the “Divine Tension” seems as if it might cause us to "snap" under the pressure of His hand, smoothing away the roughness of our thoughts and soul's intentions.

 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says,

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;

Yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

 

HEARING, REFINING,  and HEEDING

These three words can be hard to listen to at times. 

The King of all Glory is training those who have been thrust on the altar of fire to hear from Him as one who strains to catch the song of a bird in distant meadow.

It takes the "spiritual ear" and training it to identify even the slightest note or sound, however distant, and to learn to silence the sounds and voices of distraction until the "honing in" on the sound, the glorious sound of peace, finally directs and sustains us with all that we hear.

And then, having drunk deeply of the Voice of the Beloved and Divine Counselor, quickly, without the mental filing way of instructions, or the weighing of how much it might cost, we move and heed His mapping out of plans for this appointed time.

 

Isaiah speaks so clearly about those who desire to honor God fully and who see the world in need of the telling of the good and beautiful truth of the sacrifice that Jesus was for their redemption.

 

 

As I read this passage in closing,

I would encourage you to speak it as if it was your very own words. Speak them before the Lord and own them, take them to heart and allow him to use you more beautifully and purposefully in the days ahead, more than ever before.

 

Isaiah 61

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,Because the LORD has anointed me

To preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim freedom for the captives

And release from darkness for the prisoners,

 

2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor

And the day of vengeance of our God,

To comfort all who mourn,

 

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion

To bestow on them a crown of beauty

Instead of ashes,

The oil of gladness

Instead of mourning, 

And a garment of praise Instead of a spirit of despair.

 

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

A planting of the LORD

For the display of his splendor.”

 

Wow! These are such beautiful words! 

I just love reading the words of God and speaking them out loud. 

Speaking these words to remind myself that this is the voice of the ONE who created me, the voice of the Savior who died for me, and the power of the comforter, the Holy Spirit, the advocate. The one who comes alongside to help!

These are the Beloved Ones, and the ones who have loved me and they function in a unit of such glorified deity that I stand in awe that they acknowledge that I am loved and wanted and valuable enough that a life was spilled and spent, that I might have eternity! 

 

I thank you for listening today and I ask the Holy Spirit to speak these words clearly to you and that you would ponder and let them move deeply within you in these days where there is just so much noise and so many good and “not so good” podcasts to listen to. 

Sometimes  you just feel like you get hooked on listening to certain threads or certain themes, and I have found myself needing to pull back a little bit and just be quiet, just be still!

 

You know friends, the greatest gift to a believer is peace in the presence of God, and then rest comes from that. 

 

I encourage you to maybe share this podcast with someone else who needs to hear it!

Good bye for now!

 

Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is welcomed provided that complete podcast source and website information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You!

Copyright  2026

"THE ADVOCATE OF HOPE "

~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

https://marylindow.podbean.com/

 

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By Mary Lindow

SUFFERING AND SORROW ARE A PART OF LIFE

Knowing this, however, doesn’t make it any easier to cope when you find yourself in the midst of the deepest, darkest trials of faith, and mentally anguish and strain.

Don’t you wish Christianity could make you exempt from suffering? That would be great, but as most of us have learned, following our faith doesn’t give us a free ride.

We catch as much trouble as unbelievers—often more.

The difference, of course, is that we can turn to Jesus when things go wrong. Unbelievers might argue that we’re only turning to our imagination, but we know better.

At some time in your life, however, suffering will hit you so hard that you won’t be able to do any of those things, and that dark time will probably visit you more than once.

“Even in darkness, light dawns for the upright,

for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.”

Psalm 112:4

 

WE ALL WANT THINGS WE DON’T GET.

Maybe it’s a person you’re sure would make a perfect spouse, and the relationship crumbles apart. Maybe it’s a better job or promotion, and you don’t make the cut. Or it might be a goal you poured your time and energy into, and it doesn’t come to pass or others sabotage it all.
All of us have prayed for the recovery of loved ones who were ill, but they died anyway.

It takes real spiritual maturity to stay faithful when things go wrong, but severing our relationship with God punishes us, not him. It’s self-destructive behavior that can put us on the path to a miserable life. The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) teaches us that God always wants us to come back to him.

Whether your problem is discouragement, illness or aging, sometimes all you have left is Jesus.

When you’re angry and bitter, you can still cling to Jesus in the midst of your tears. You can grab onto him and refuse to let go until he brings you through it. You’ll find, to your surprise that he holds on to you even tighter than you hold on to him.

 

JESUS UNDERSTANDS SORROW

He knows about being hurt. He remembers the terrible moment on the cross when his Father was forced to abandon him, because he was filthy from taking on our sins. Jesus won’t let you go.’

And as you age and start down the path from this life to the next, Jesus will take your hand to guide you. He appreciates all that you have done for him through the years, but what he has always wanted most is your love.

So there you are in the middle of one of life’s train-wrecks-dazed, wounded, wondering what shoe-or bomb-will be dropping next, and up walks Job’s comforters.

We all remember Job from the Bible. A rich, powerful man, a great father and good in every way was Job.

Then, in a series of overlapping upheavals, he lost everything and everybody except his wife-who turned out to be a whole lot less than sympathetic in her changed status.

Battered Job ends up sitting alone on a pile of dirt, scratching his boil-covered body with some broken pottery.

 

WE CAN IDENTIFY WITH POOR JOB.

Life drags us through some tough times of loss that make us feel every bit like Job. Caught in a vortex of pain, and wondering if we’ll ever make it to safety.

And, boy, do we recognize Job’s so-called friends who showed up to by all accounts offer support and comfort. As they sat with Job in his misery, they took turns playing a self-centered, self-righteous, can-you-top-this game of knowing for certain that every bit of Job ‘s disaster had to be his own fault or a lack of trust in God. They weren’t sure how or why because Job seemed so decent, but deep down, they insisted, he just couldn’t be all he pretended to be.

 

THIS IS FAMILIAR TERRITORY

You get fired, and friends smirk knowingly when you try to explain the political nature of the event. Your child gets into difficulty-well; you know the kind of comfort you’ll get from friends about that. (It probably started sometime during potty training.)

Yet others try to “help” you with what I call “prayer lecturing.” While praying “for and with you” they let you (and God) know just how lucky you should be to even have running water, had a meal that day and more! Not really comforting in any way, and very very short on compassion.

Yet, from the story, it’s clear that Job was completely innocent. Dreadful things do happen to completely innocent people, good people.
Because of their opinion of Job’s guilt, history has bestowed his friends- (and their current replicas) – the label, “Job’s comforters.”
So-called friends who add to a suffering person’s anguish by piling on false charges of blame and guilt and harsh reprimand for daring to show sadness or agony.

You may never have met anybody like Job, but you’ve met his comforters on more than one occasion. They seem to be everywhere.

 

WE CAN CHARGE SOME OF IT OFF TO JEALOUSY

Job had everything a person could dream of wanting-and then some-so jealousy was never more than a stone’s throw away. The green-eyed monster is a little more subtle with people living everyday, typical lives, but jealousy doesn’t need much ground to take root and grow with vigor.

 

WE DON’T WANT TO ADMIT BAD THINGS MAY HAPPEN TO US!

If bad things happen to people who don’t deserve them, they could happen to anybody, including me. If I don’t want bad things to happen to me, (who does?), I have to persuade myself and everybody around me that the victim’s actions caused the problem. If blame can be assigned, then I’ll be safe as long as I’m good.

In other words, if I can claim that the cause of your problem is something you do that I don’t do, then what happened to you can’t happen to me. There is, of course, n
o logic to this, but it brings some shaky comfort to frightened hearts.
We see this thinking at work when people stare numbly at adversity and ask, “What did I do to deserve this?” Sometimes the answer is, “nothing.”

 

HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF "WHY ME?"

And it doesn’t have to be bad; you could be excited from something wonderful. Most often then not I ask myself this after something I am looking forward to goes wrong.

Even at times when something goes wrong I lay awake at night and my thoughts wonder to what previously occurred. I am sure everyone does it at times, wishing for another try or chance.

You may lay awake thinking about your suffering, part of life’s suffering is misery’s shadow persisting/hanging on; not only do you suffer but you have to think about suffering.

I can’t prove this with statistics or find it any book I know of, yet I would say that more people either come to the faith or fall away because of this reason above all; the disturbance of suffering.

YOU SEE GOD USES TIMES OF SUFFERING…

...TO TEACH AND GROW US.

If you allow yourself to recount your sufferings, did you not learn more about faith while suffering then any other time?
 It has been said that; “Blessings are God’s whispers, he speaks in our conscience, but shouts to us in our suffering.”

“O my Comforter in sorrow,

My heart is faint within me.”

Jeremiah 8:18

Suffering becomes the only way to realize our hollow spiritual self. Pain is unmasked, and every person knows when something is not right when they are hurting. Pain insists upon being attended to.

So when you travel down this line of thought you come to the idea, why do I or someone else suffer when others don’t?

 

I KNOW SUFFERING IS EXHAUSTING AND PAIN HURTS

That is why it is called pain and suffering. If there were an escape a person of great wisdom and insight would have done it already. Yet Discipleship demands such trials to compel us towards renewal. Read Hebrews 2:10

“God, for whom and through whom everything was made,

chose to bring many children into glory.

And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering,

a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.”

The real question is what to do when life has just punched us a good one, and Job’s comforters show up at our door. Nobody says we have to let them in. And certainly nobody says we have to entertain them. And, most positively, nobody says we have to believe them.

“For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives,

So also through Christ our comfort overflows.”
2 Corinthians 1:5

We can sort out the who’s-to-blame-for-what after we get some solid ground under our feet and a little energy back into our lives.

But we still won’t want Job’s comforters anywhere around us…

...We will want people who care.

"Compassion"

To me not to be kind
 is evil of the mind.

No need to pray or preach,

Let us our children teach
 with every fond caress,

Pity and gentleness:

So in the end may we 
God’s Kingdom cause to be.

Author  of Poem- R.W. Service

 

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed provided that complete article, podcast link and website information for Mary Lindow is included. 

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By Mary Lindow 

I am by far not an expert on the subject of plumblines and righteousness, so take what I say in the light of one who at time gropes like a child in the dark, ever reaching for the hand of the ONE to lead me into a safe place filled with His Hope, His Mercy, His Light and Life.

WE LIVE IN A CORRUPT WORLD and therefore, have the “effects and affects” of that corruption ever influencing, ever tainting and ever wooing the flesh. 

Plumbline: a tool that consists of a small, heavy object attached to a string or rope and that is used especially to see if something (such as a wall) is perfectly vertical or in alignment)  

A plumbline is a simple but accurate tool used for determining whether or not something is perfectly vertical or upright. The Lord also used, and uses, a "plumbline," His Word, to determine how upright His people truly are in His sight.

How upright they think they are, or how upright they proclaim themselves to be, means nothing to God.

"Behold, I WILL set a plumbline in the midst of My people". 

-Amos 7:7 

A PLUMBLINE SET OUT BY THE HAND OF GOD IS ONE THAT WE CAN ANCHOR OUR HEARTS TO.

It will always, always, ALWAYS, direct us to the truth in a matter; even if it requires pain, loss, persecution and perhaps death in areas we feel we may well have rights to. 

It will also be a shield, a balm, a comfort and a teacher to those who will yield to the directive positioning of the Master. 

“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumbline.” -Isaiah 28:17 

LIFE – DISTRESS - AND PERSECUTION 
I have found that in my life, distress and persecution do not feel like God’s care being poured out on me. My heart is not immediately drawn to thanksgiving and gratefulness for the faithfulness of God on display as I cling to the battered pieces that look like potential “rafts” of hope, only to find out that many of them have gaping holes or slow leaks in them. 

Rather, it feels like yet another hurt is being permanently woven into my tattered and war-torn soul. It seems as if another mound of questions are piling up and just waiting for an answer and a true solid REAL anchor of hope. 

I CAN REALLY CONNECT TO THE WRITER OF PSALM 42 
He said “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” It’s at those very times that the words of the Savior are so important. When we are down and in turmoil. 

But, how do we connect the dots between what we know is true about God’s faithfulness and what our hearts feel? When flipped and flung around by the waves, weary from crying and when no answer seems at hand, what is the answer? 

When my circumstances show many foes and tyrants rising up against me and my heart is prone to wander and fear, what hope is there of peace? 

When my feelings start controlling my thoughts, how can I rest in God’s promises? 

AT THIS POINT… I HEAR THE “GASPS” … 
…And perhaps shocked comments of a few who are amazed that someone who appears to walk so fervently and intimately with the Lord would have such difficulties! 

Well! Guess what?
I do struggle, I do hurt, and yes I do doubt when I have been side swiped or “rammed” by skilled cons and those who, although may have the appearance of godliness and offered friendship or fellowship, end up having private and evil agendas behind their well placed and planned schemes.

And boy oh boy! Those skilled players know the wicked art of wounding the heart and causing people to reel in pain! 

BUT, THERE IS ONE WHO FULLY SEES IT ALL 
The main skill in the issue of dealing with life as a spiritual person, is to know how to handle yourself when things not only crush and grind your heart, but what to do with the anguish and toll of their aftermath. 

We have to get ourselves into a place where we hear clearly again.  We need have to address ourselves, preach to ourselves, and ask questions about ourselves. 
We must say to our soul: "Why are you cast down –Why are you so anxious and lacking in peace?" 
We must urge ourselves, and say ‘Hope in God’–instead of remaining in this paralyzed, aching state!” 

AND THEN WE MUST TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER
We must go on to remind ourselves just “Who “God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has promised that he Himself said that He would do. 

Having done that we can stand up and sing out strongly, defying the torment of the soul, and resist other people’s wicked tongues and arrogance, and refuse to go along with the devil and the whole world, and say: ‘Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” 

The hope and promise of the fairness of God’s justice when dealing with the hurtful things and presumptions of others gives me the confidence to know that God will never turn away from me in my need. No matter how they seem to prosper in the short term, wicked men and women will ultimately pay for their sins, in this life or the next. Jesus died to meet my greatest hardships and sorrows for me, and I need to preach this to myself every day.

His power is greater than my weariness and suffering. 

The comforting and instruction that comes from simply running to feed upon His word instead of the toxic poison of the replaying of trauma reminds me that what Jesus has done is strong enough for my soul to rejoice in and to be set into a place where it can rest and regroup, gaining a healthy perspective about what to give out to others and what is simply…
…. To be enjoyed by the Lord Himself. 

THE NATURAL IMPULSES OF MANKIND ARE SINFUL AND DECEITFUL! 
Human willpower alone will never be able to change this. 
We need God's help to truly change our hearts. 

REMEMBER. You cannot change the heart of anyone else either. 

If you try to, you will feel the bite of stinging venom or be laughed out of a room. Only the power of the conviction of the Holy Spirit can permeate and get around the jam-packed hardhearted egos of the self sufficient and bitter. 

Jeremiah 17:9 says that the human heart is deceitful in all things and is even beyond cure!

We must be cautious and wise in reproving and warning such types of people about their bad behaviors and wicked actions where there seems to be no appearance or hope of change and where there is danger of experiencing great and heart wrecking retaliation and slander. 

These types trample the warnings and urging for repentance and humbling of the heart under their feet, and turn again and slash at you, despising the warnings that are “tearfully and fearfully” given, and often hurt the persons who give them, either by words or deeds. 

"Don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy. 

Don't throw your pearls to pigs! 

They will trample the pearls, 

then turn and attack you.” 

-Matthew 7:6   
"GIVE ME THE FACTS MA’AM JUST THE FACTS” 
I remember that phrase from a TV show called “Dragnet”. The detective would not allow the details of the case to be skewed by any assumptions or pontificating from those he interviewed. He stoically and firmly demanded only the facts. 

And so, here are the “facts” about the heart of a good man or woman.

1.) The good man or woman: Brings good things out of the good stored up in his/her heart. And the facts about an evil man or woman. 

2.) The evil man/woman brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his/her heart. For out of the overflow of his or her heart his or her mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 

  THE FRAILTY, BRIEFNESS, AND INSECURITY OF LIFE 
The frailty, briefness, and insecurity of life should hold down the vanity and presumptuous confidence of all of our projects and boasting about future greatness and bragging rights! We are always to depend on the will and leading of God. 

OUR TIMES ARE NOT IN OUR OWN HANDS, BUT ARE INSTEAD IN THE TIMING OF GOD. Our heads may be filled with cares and plans for ourselves, or our families, or our friends; but Divine intervention often throws our plans into bewilderment. All we have in mind, and all we do, should be with a humble and deep dependence on God.

It is foolish, and it is hurtful, to boast of trendy “latest happening” things and prospective projects, and it will bring great disappointment and will prove destructive to relationships and meaningful help to others in the end. 

“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” 
-1 John 2:16

LISTEN KINDLY - BEFORE SPEAKING YOUR THOUGHTS 
People don't need a lecture on the meaning of suffering or to have a barrage of scriptures “machine-gunned” at them as a reprimand for sharing their moment of grief or struggle! (Especially when their hearts are breaking, weary of the battle and if they are fatigued.)

Job could have done without some of the self-righteous answers that came from his “well-meaning” friends. All of the answers could have even been true, but Job didn't need to hear any of them. 

He needed their love, not their value judgments. 

In fact, it appears as if God judged THEM for trying to offer simple solutions to things that were beyond their comprehension. They had never walked in the loss he was in anguish over. 

WHEN WE SUFFER UNJUSTLY WE HAVE A MAJOR CHOICE TO MAKE
How will we respond? We can feel sorry for ourselves (and understandably so, for a while), become bitter and cynical, get drawn into a war of words, or even become mixed up in a major conflict.

On the other hand, we can take our suffering to the cross and allow our pain to draw us into a deeper place of understanding of what Jesus went though in his sufferings. This does not remove the pain, but does help us to know what to do with our hurt. 

This is the 'fellowship of his sufferings' (Philippians 3:10), one of the gateways to closeness with God and the release of his power in our lives. The weight of heartbreak shared with a loving friend cuts it in half. When the burden is shared with many friends, we can cope with almost anything.

We never feel more revitalized than when a friend loves us enough to walk with us in our pain. Not lecture us. 

The apostle Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth: 
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God". -1 Corinthians 1.3-4 

SOMETIMES GOD GETS INVOLVED WITH DIRECT MIRACLES, Giving supernatural strength to those in need. But for the most part, he depends on us, his people, to do his work in the world. We love each other, work for healing, and suffer with those who suffer. 

The next time you see a friend who is suffering, Jesus may just invite you to be the warm embrace! We comfort each other with the comfort we have received in Christ. And when we do, we become the Body of Christ and he receives the glory! 

THE BIBLE IS CLEAR! 
We are to bear one another's burdens. 
We are to comfort others as Christ has given comfort to us. 
Your hard time becomes my hard time. 

We join hands in the journey. 
When you succeed, I succeed. 
When you suffer, I suffer. But we do it together. We share it together. 

And we do it, not so much in our wisdom or our words, but in our availability, our understanding, and through our presence. 

THAT'S WHAT FELLOWSHIP IS ALL ABOUT! 
But not “bland” fellowship.
It is CHRISTIAN fellowship. It is the business of burden bearing.
Authentic CHRISTIAN fellowship says that when you need me . . . I'll be there.

Support in suffering is at the core of what it means to share life together in Christ. The word for "comfort” is the same root word as the name Jesus used to describe one of the functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Paraclete). “I will be a comforter, one who comes alongside to give help.” And so as God comes alongside you, now you are able to come alongside another. As the Comforter is at work within you, so you also can be of comfort to those around you. 

WE ARE CALLED TO BEAR ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS.  To mourn with those who mourn.
To be a follower of Jesus means to come alongside people who are hurting and find ways to help them walk even through the valley of the shadow of death. We are called to do this, as the word of God and care of God is shared with the intention of stirring, plowing up hardened hearts, creating a place for repentance and challenging saints to hope again, I know and believe that as we learn again as believers, to care, to truly listen and to hope fully again, that the sweet and heavy weight of HIS Glory will be made known and will manifest in unfettered and uncontrolled waves of worship and spontaneous adoration of the King of Heaven. 

HE REALLY DOES KNOW WHAT HE WANTS
Let's focus on bowing low and seeking His heart and plans in what matters to Him.
Indeed, HE is the Plumbline. 

Prayer 
God, I ask in Jesus' name, that you comfort, strengthen and encourage all who are hurting deeply right now and are going through so much pain and heartache. 

Don't allow them to give up in the heat of the battle. 

Let them feel your arms wrapping around them and your love overflowing and filling them up. Lord, I will pray often and I know that you will hear my voice, even when I speak to You in my silent thoughts. 

To You, I am crying out and my prayers are now before You. 

Father, I give to You my problems, I do not want them. 

Father, please restore them to You. I know that you have compassion for your children. Father, show them your ways and teach them your paths. Lead them in your truth and teach them you are the God of our salvation and on you we will wait. 

Protect them from the evils of this life and guide them through all of their days. Father, thank You for hearing my prayer Father and for considering and for having compassion on all who hear and read these words, and all who hurt, in this troubled world we live in. 

Keep them in the center of Your love. 

In Jesus’ Name

~ Amen 

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed provided that complete article, podcast link and website information for Mary Lindow is included. 

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By Mary Lindow

 

I welcome you all to this podcast and it’s going to be a very tender and special podcast. Especially during this time right now where the world is in upheaval and so many things are going on in the church, with so many further exposures of deviant acts, monetary gambling as it were, and just inappropriate and criminal activity, and then it being covered up.

It can be a lot to have to just navigate…

… and of course to process.

 

We’re going to look at something more precious and tender, which is the fact that the Lord “Sees us”.

He wants you to know he sees YOU individually as his unique and beautiful creation.

 

So! I want to bring up the subject,

“What Is A Sparrow?”

The scripture talks about that the Heavenly Father even cares about the sparrows even though they’re really pretty common and a little non-descriptive. They’re not bright little birds. They’re just kind of dull in color, kind of a dove gray.

 

But you know what?

THE SPARROW IS A CLEVER LITTLE BIRD

In Psalm 84 David describes his longing to be with the people of God and in the actual moment that he wrote this, he was a wanderer. He was a fugitive.

He was not able to be in a place where he could have fellowship with God or other people, and this is when he wrote Psalm 84.

It says,

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

 

Have you ever felt this way or longed for fellowship like David wrote about with the Lord?

His word so clearly expresses what it meant to David.

Then, he remembered one of his bird watching experiences. He remembered how at one time when he was in the house of God, he looked up toward the altar and he noticed some movement. When he looked closer, he found a sparrow building her nest, so he wrote in verse 3:

“Even the sparrow has found a home,

And the swallow a nest for herself,

Where she may have her young—a place near your altar.”

 

“Lord Almighty, my King and my God!” he said.

“I wish I could be like that sparrow.

I wish I could be like that swallow that is able to build its nest at the very altar of God.”

 

What David is saying here is, “Can you think of anything better than to have your home in the altar of God in the sanctuary?”

This is something so very precious to me because I am always so tremendously interested in nurturing and loving my family and my grandchildren, that I cannot pass this over.

Did you notice this swallow chose the altar of God to build a nest for her family?  She could have chosen any place to build a nest, but she chose the altar of God.

Yes! The sparrow is a clever bird.

 

BUILDING YOUR NEST IN THE SANCTUARY OF GOD

I believe that things are put here for a reason and for instruction, so I am going to suggest that if you want your family to be all that God wants it to be, build your nest, (metaphorically speaking), at the altar.

Build your nest in the sanctuary because in the sanctuary, is the answer to every question that you have.

And I hope that you understand that I am not talking about a church building!

I am talking about your fellowship with God.

There must also, always be room in your nest to include those with broken wings, or who have been abandoned or left as orphans.

 

A SPARROW IS VALUABLE!

One more lovely thing about the sparrow.

The sparrow is a valuable bird.

I am sure that some people might question this statement! But it is a valuable bird, indeed.

Some may say, “But not to man”!  It is Valuable to God though!

 

I am sure the Lord did some bird watching as he travelled to places with his dear friends, but this particular instance that He records is in the temple.

As He went into the temple one day, He saw a whole bunch of sparrows, (remember that we are talking about a small bird) with their legs tied together, and they were being sold for a sacrifice in the temple.

In Matthew, chapter 10 notice what Jesus has to say about sparrows.

As He looked at those sparrows, He said, in verse 29:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?”

 

That was the least expensive offering that anybody could make!

If we were to stop there, we would say what we ordinarily say, “What is a sparrow? They are not worth anything at all,”

but the Lord said, in the last part of verse 29:

…And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father knowing about it.

 

That is how valuable they are.

Not one sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing about it.

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU SEE A DEAD SPARROW?

Do you just kick it out of the way and go on?  

Often we see someone much like the little dead sparrow, wounded or suffering from the cruelty of others too busy to really care about a “broken wing” or perhaps a broken heart.

So many are busy licking their own wounds and getting on with their own lives, that they are unaware of the “sparrows” that God has placed in their midst. Those who need to be invited into a place of “Sanctuary”!

Do you treat your employees like this or a friend who has been through a season of sorrow or loss?

Do you find yourself simply walking past the Wounded or “dead Sparrow”?

That would be a normal reaction, but evidently when the Lord saw the sparrow that fell, he felt very differently.  

He said,

“MY FATHER KNOWS ABOUT THAT SPARROW…

…And my Father cares about it.”

 

Then notice what He says:

Matthew 10:30

“And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

 

A SPARROW IS SO IMPORTANT TO GOD,

…that it doesn't fall to the ground without God knowing about it, and you and those whom He has placed around you to radiate truth and hope to, are of more value than many sparrows.

In Matthew, chapter 6, I think that Lord has done some bird watching and might want us to do some as well!

Because…

…He said:

Matthew 6:26-34

26 "Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds.

27 You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves.

29 But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.

30 I clothe the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even surer that I will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith!

31 Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

32 The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them.

33 Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.

34 So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

 

That last part of verse 26….

…It asks such a beautiful and piercing question.

“And do you not know that you are worth much more than the birds?”

 

Or in another translation is asks,

“Are you not of more value than they? 

 

In other words, if God cares this much about a sparrow, about a bird, how much more then does He care about you? 

 

Think about it: 

We are the Crown Jewel of His creation. 

We are made in His image! 

We see what He has made in nature alone and then think,

“Wow, even mankind is elevated above all of that. 

God you really are amazing. 

God you really do love us!” 

If our response is not adoration and praise, we need to check our hearts and see God once again for Who He is. 

 

A very well spoken and eloquent preacher said one time,

“There is never a sparrow that dies but that God goes to its funeral.”

 

This really touched my heart and impressed me.

Not a sparrow dies, but that God..

… goes to its funeral.

 

THE NEXT TIME THAT YOU SEE A SPARROW…

…Remember that God is paying attention to that little sparrow. God is interested in you and He is interested and concerned about me as well!

Remember that God cares about you so much more than even that sparrow, and that He wants to draw you closely into a safe place of Sanctuary with Him!  A place of safety and peace, where you can rest and learn about His love for you, for your family and those dear close friends and perhaps a few lost or weary lonely souls that He has sent to you.

 

In such vulnerable moments we need to take heart to the words of

2 Chronicles 16:9

It says,

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro (or back and forth) throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

King David tenderly expressed this reality when he wrote,

“Keep me as the apple of Your eye [that means, the pupil or center of your vision]; hide me under the shadow of Your wings.” (Psalm 17:8).

 

Truly, we need to know we are not alone.

I hope you will never again look at a sparrow in quite the same way. We’re even told in Psalm 84:3-4 that sparrows and swallows find a home and nest at the altars of the Lord, at the tabernacle, at temple of God, and how much more so should we!

Here’s a little observation assignment for you:

Watch a little bird.

And when you do, stay focused for a while.

Yes, focus, and realize that God is looking at you, even more intently in that very same moment.

After all, people are like sparrows in being noticed and cared for by God, yet in an even greater way.

 

But mark this difference in your observing:

You will move on in a world that doesn’t stop, but God never takes His eyes off of you.

God deeply cares for you as spoken in 1 Peter 5:7.

It says,

“Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him,

For He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].”

 

 

It’s All Part of An Amazing Love Story

—of a love affair started by Him and is highlighted by the invitation from God’s Son to “Follow Him.”

This invitation is constant and runs over like a cool glass of water, with an incredible promise to us who, like the sparrow, are not neglected or forgotten.

 

While the world values power, status, and outward appearance…

… God values the lowly and unseen.

 

Sparrows were considered little worth in ancient marketplaces, yet Jesus said not one falls without the Father knowing.

This is not a message about birds alone, but about you and me.

 

If God cares for the sparrow, how much more does He care for you, His beloved child?

In moments when we feel overlooked or forgotten, the image of the sparrow reminds us that God’s eyes never turn away.

He knows your fears.

He sees your needs,

and He is,

Always near.

This truth helps to free us to live without fear and to trust in His daily provision and protection.

 

I REALLY LIKE THIS SOFT, HONEST AND SIMPLE PRAYER BY ANABELLE THOMPSON WHO IS A MISSIONARY.

Father God, thank You for showing me how deeply You care for every living thing through the sparrow.

Even when I feel small or unnoticed, help me remember that Your eyes are always on me.

Teach me to trust in Your daily care and to rest in the knowledge that I am never forgotten.

Help me to live with faith that sees Your hand in every detail, just as You provide for the birds of the air.

May I always find peace in knowing You are near. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

 

Dear Listener!

The Heavenly Father HAS MUCH TO TELL YOU REGARDING ALL OF THE PLANS THAT HE HAS FOR YOU!

“Settle into the nest…

…And Rest!”

God is waiting to speak and meet with you!

 

Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source, podcast and website information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You!

Copyright  2026

"THE ADVOCATE OF HOPE "

~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

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By Mary Lindow

AS I PREPARE THIS PODCAST OUR HOME HAS THE AROMA OF BANANA BREAD FILLING THE AIR WITH A COZY WARMTH.
Soft Carols are playing in the background. My dear Steve has gone bed for now.

He’s been working on a carpentry project for my Christmas present.

 

AS I SIT HERE, MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE MOVED WITH TENDERNESS FOR THOSE WHO ARE GRIEVING over the recent miscarriage of a 22 week old baby, a friend who has had a sudden death of a family member, those friends of mine tending to the sick and fragile, and for the widows I know, who ache for the arms of the one they loved so well for so long.

My heart is saddened by the weariness of knowing single friends of Steve and I are longing for rest and still have hopes of meeting another godly person who might be the one to nurture and live them.

ALL OF THE KINDNESSES AND BEAUTIFUL THINGS OF CHRISTMAS, truly, when wrapped up in compassion, outreach to those who are hurting, personal sacrifice so that others may thrive, and with discernment to know when these things are God nudging you, this is what makes the true value of Christmas shine.

 

CHRIST CAME TO GIVE.

He came to give all.
To tend to all those that were held captive, to set them free, to open the eyes of the blinded and the cerebral intellectuals who refuse to hear the truth.

But yet, HE came!
And HE is still speaking today, still pursuing those who run from him.

 

WHEN GOD BREATHED THE BREATH OF LIFE

INTO EVERY HUMAN BEING...

...IT WAS HIS BREATH

 

As long as there is breath in a human, it is the breath of God.
God will pursue every human being, regardless of how they feel towards him. This is the love that came down at Christmas. And this is the love that stays. People can run. But they cannot hide from the light of God.

 

AS I SHARE THIS BRIEF BUT WARM AND HEARTFELT PODCAST WITH YOU, I wanted to share something so profoundly, beautiful and so well spoken. I’ve read over and meditated/ pondered it many times during this Christmas season because there have been disappointments! There have has been betrayals, harsh words, indifference, people pushing you away because they can’t receive the love you offer them.

These are the things Jesus experienced on a regular basis, and yet in his perfection, he continued to pursue the will of God in his life, and eventually, it COST him his life!

 

THAT LITTLE, WEE BABE IN THE MANGER TROUGH, He was filled with the fullness of God and was God, but chose to walk out in human flesh, incarnate, the life of everyday human beings, in order to prove that he was aware of the suffering and the sorrows of this human life in a fallen world.

 

AS I SHARE THIS BEAUTIFUL EXPRESSION FROM ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL BY THE NAME OF JESSICA JECKER, (who is an influencer on another social media site), I hope that you will allow it to saturate any part of you that is suffering or that is resisting love, or, is perhaps angry at God, questioning why life is so hard, or where you may have become bitter and hardened to the tenderness that is available to each of us.

 

LISTEN CLOSELY TO THE CRY OF MALACHI AND WHAT GOD‘S WORD SPOKE. Listen to the words of one pondering the beauty and the fierce sacrifice that Jesus so humbly and willingly yielded to so that we might truly celebrate a Savior.

HERE IT IS:

“This week, I lingered in the final breath of Malachi’s words and I felt the unbearable weight of what followed.

When the prophet finished speaking, heaven did not answer. The echo of his voice faded...and then... nothing.
Four hundred years of silence.
No open vision.

No burning word.

No prophet rising with fire in his bones.

No “Thus says the Lord” breaking the darkness.

Four hundred years of waiting.

Of longing. Of groaning.

Of hearts lifted toward heaven that seemed sealed shut.

Generation after generation was born into the quiet.

They lived. They died.

And still—no voice.

Until one night. On a dirt floor in a forgotten place...

in a stable that did not look holy...

in the shadows of obscurity and insignificance... a sound was released.

After four hundred years, heaven spoke again—
Not with thunder, not with fire, not from a mountain- but from the lungs of a newborn.

A cry pierced the silence.
A cry that split history in two.
A cry that carried eternity within it.
In that moment, the King of Glory stepped down into the dust of His own creation. The Eternal wrapped Himself in skin.

The Word became flesh—and cried.

The Son laid aside His throne and chose a manger.

Heaven’s highest treasure placed in a feeding trough.

He came low. He came meek.

He came breakable.

Wrapped in swaddling cloths, laid where animals ate, born beneath the looming shadow of a cross.

A Lamb born to be slain.

The Hope of a hopeless world breathed His first breath in the dark.

A weary world rejoiced as a young virgin labored and delivered its redemption.

In that manger, the Great I AM made Himself vulnerable.

Touchable.

Killable.

And with one holy cry, the silence was shattered.

The separation was broken. The way was opened.

Then, suddenly, heaven could not remain quiet.

The skies erupted with angelic voices declaring, “Glory to God in the highest!”

Wonderful. Counselor. Mighty God!
Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace.
With the cry of an infant, heaven invaded earth.
Behold—our Redeemer. Behold—our King.
Behold—the fulfillment of every promise.
Behold—the sound that broke four hundred years of silence.
Not the roar of an army. Not the shout of a king claiming His crown.
But the fragile cry of God-with-us.
He did not arrive with a sword in His hand, but with nails already written into His future.

He did not enter wrapped in royalty, but in cloths that foretold a burial. The silence was not just broken, it was answered.
Every unanswered prayer. Every tear cried into the dark.
Every generation that waited without seeing.

Every promise that seemed delayed but not denied. All of it converged in that single cry.
That night, heaven did not just speak- heaven gave. God did not send another prophet.

He did not send another sign.

He sent Himself.

And in that stable, eternity took its first shallow breath. Omnipotence learned weakness.

Glory learned humility. Love made itself small.

The cry that shattered the silence would one day be echoed again- not from a manger, but from a cross.

The first cry said, “He has come.”
The final cry would say, “It is finished.”

From swaddling cloths to grave clothes, from a feeding trough to a borrowed tomb, He came to be broken so we could be made whole.

And even now, that sound still reverberates.

It calls the weary. It awakens the forgotten.

It reaches into the places where heaven has felt silent again.

If God could speak through the cry of a baby, He can still break silence in our darkest night.

So behold Him.

Not distant.
Not untouchable.

Not unmoved.

 

But Emmanuel.

God.  With. Us."

 

SUCH TREMENDOUS AND EXPRESSIVE WORDS!

 

DEAR PERSON, WHO MAY BE LISTENING TO THIS PODCAST OR READING IT IN PRINTED FORM.

Talk to Jesus.

Cry.

Ask Him to show you his love, his true self, his kindness.

His merciful forgiveness.

He’s listening.

 

LET’S PRAY BEFORE I END THIS PODCAST.

"Heavenly Father,
For Those Who Are Lonely This Christmas,
I Pray That You Would Surround Them With Your Presence.
Let Them Feel Your Nearness.
Bring People Into Their Lives Who Can Offer Companionship and Comfort.

Help Them To Know That Even When They Feel Alone, Abandoned or Weary That They Are Never Truly Alone Because You Are Always With Them.

Heal the Wounds That the Holidays Have Opened.
Replace Sorrow With Your Joy, Despair With Your Hope, and Loneliness With the Knowledge That You Will Never Leave Us or Forsake Us.

Thank You That Jesus Came To Heal the Brokenhearted and to Bind up our Deep Wounds From Life on Planet Earth.

I Trust You To Do That Work in my Life and in the Lives of all Who Are Hurting This Christmas.

Father, This Christmas I Celebrate the Birth of my Savior With a Grateful Heart.
Help Me To Never Get Over the Wonder of the Gospel, Never Stop Being Amazed That You Loved Me Enough To Send Jesus.

May my Life Be a Living Thank-You Note for the Gift You Gave at Christmas—the Gift of Your Son, my Savior and my King.
In the Comforting Name of Jesus, Amen."

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS PODCAST!

I know that we are fast approaching that day we celebrate and give gifts and just sit back and enjoy the beauty of the season, but, I know many people suffer during this time and, Jesus is there with you.

He’s understands you’re suffering and he understands where you’re stuck.

I encourage you to not hold onto those things that you want to manage or control or that you think, “This is just the way it’s going to, be it’s always been this way.”

That is fatalistic thinking and it’s really actually ungodly.

It’s an attitude that says, “I will control my destiny, and... I have control over my life because nobody else can help me.”

 

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SOFTEN, TO TENDERIZE YOUR HEART BEFORE THE LORD IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, and as you listen to Christmas carols and hear the words of “Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come, Let Earth Receive her King and Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room.”

That means it’s up to us to “prepare room” in our hearts to receive what the king has for us.

All the things the King has for us.

Some of it is discipline.
Some of it is change.
Some of it is repenting for just being angry ,

and
some of it is walking in fear.

Know this, that if we will prepare a room for him to come in and live and dwell, we can enjoy His presence in a greater way with us during this season and into the next year.

 

I’M GOING TO CLOSE OUT FOR NOW AND I WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR LISTENING!

I want to thank those of you who have been so kind to support and assist me.
Honestly, I am just so grateful because I just don’t know how I would really do these without those that are touched and moved by God to assist is publishing this podcast and also to assist me in helping others with counseling who have a lower incomes, or, who are going through difficulties where their income is so tight, and they need that counseling, they need that help.

WHEN YOU HELP BLESS AND SUPPORT WHAT THE LORD HAS ASKED ME TO DO OFTEN I’M ABLE TO DO A LOT OF PRO BONO WORK because I know there’s a little bit more in that bank account for ministry that I can then draw on.

Steve and I live very frugally. We don’t have big mansions and we certainly aren’t driving any Rolls-Royce’s, yet God seems to always come through and provide in ways that truly humble us. Part of that is those that God moves on, and those that listen to him and do support what God has called us to do in these days.

I thank you again, and I asked that he pours out a blessing upon you in grace and in kindness and in peace for your kindness and grace back to me.

I WISH YOU ALL THE VERY MOST PEACEFUL AND BLESSED AND JOYFUL CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SEASON!

 

I will close this podcast out now and send my love and blessing to each one you!

Merry Christmas!

 

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed

As long as the complete message, website and podcast

 information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You! Copyright © 2025

 

" THE MESSENGER "  - "The Advocate of Hope"

 Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

PODCAST

 

If you would be so kind and assist Mary helping her to meet other administrative needs such as website and podcast costs, 

or 

desire to bless her service in ministry with Spirit-led Love gifts or regular support:

Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 

► Personal Checks ► Business Checks

► Money Orders ► Cashiers Checks

To: 

His Beloved Ministries Inc. 

PO Box 1253

Denver, Colorado 80614
 USA 

 

Or feel free to use our send a tax-deductible gift with

Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow 

Under the name of - Mary Lindow

His Beloved Ministries Inc. 

 

ALL gifts are tax-deductible under

His Beloved Ministries 5013c non-profit status.

 

We are financially accountable

and have been in full compliance since 1985. 

THANK YOU!

 

   

👆🏽

Want to  know about what Steve and Mary Lindow

are Involved with in Serving Jesus?

CLICK THE PICTURE!

 

“God Is Fully With Us In These Strange Days”

 

By Mary Lindow

 

Just over 2,000 years ago, Emmanuel, also called the Christ, changed the world. 

In that moment when God became flesh, humanity watched prophecies unfold as hope was born. Jesus, our Emmanuel, provided hope that sin and death wouldn’t always win and mankind wouldn’t always feel so painfully alone. 

 

What Does Emmanuel Mean in the Bible?

It’s a word written on countless Christmas cards and sung in some of our most-loved carols. 

In Scripture, it first appears in the Old Testament in Isaiah 7:14, which says, 

 

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign; 

The virgin will conceive, and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Emmanuel”.

 

The Lord Himself will do this, Scripture says. 

In other words, this act, which occurred in the birth of Christ, was God-ordained and God-accomplished. 

 

This points to grace, which doesn’t come through human effort but rather through relying on God to do what we humans cannot. This was the reason Christ came. 

 

God GAVE us this child, named Emmanuel,

which literally means, 

“with us is God,” or “God WITH us.” 

 

He may seem distant. 

It may even seem impossible this year for you to feel hopeful. 

You might have lost your job. 

Or maybe you’re feeling isolated from those you love. 

You may have even grieved the loss of a family member or friend.

 

Though he may have felt far away to them, 

God was so much closer than his people knew —

gently planning Jesus’ entrance into the world

in the most unexpected way.

 

Looking around, all you might be able to see right now is darkness. 

If you try to adjust your eyes, blinking into the night, there seems to be no light. 

The weight of sickness, death, injustice and pain perhaps, seem too heavy.

 

That’s why I love this idea of advent which is practiced only among Christians. 

And yes, it comes from probably a more liturgical view, but has been so embraced and now practice in homes and church gatherings across the world, as families gather to contemplate and to pray and to spend quiet time discussing when Jesus came as a child as the Messiah! 

Emmanuel!!! God WITH Us!

 

 

Advent means "coming" or "arrival" and refers to the Christian season that begins four Sundays before Christmas, where focusing on preparation for the celebration of Jesus's birth and his anticipated return is a beautiful thing! It’s definitely better than the commercial glut of constant “buy, buy, buy,” and, the overkill of sappy fantasy Christmas shows, as well as the pressurized giving of gifts to every boss, coworker, friend and pet! 

It’s a time of expectation, reverence and hope for many Christians!

 

I was reading through a Wycliffe advent devotional last evening, and these words so struck me that I’m going to share them with you trusting that they too, will move your heart to remember that Emmanuel, God …. IS with us! 

No matter what may come

 

This excerpt of the devotional said,

“As we enter the Advent season, do you feel weary? You’re not alone.

Or maybe you’re just tired. Numb. Ready to pull the covers over your head and try this whole "Christmas cheer" thing again next year. 

 

Don’t feel guilty. 

Instead, acknowledge the very real darkness of this world and you’ll have eyes to see Advent through the same lens as the people waiting for a Messiah thousands of years ago.

You could even say that being weary and worn out is an acceptable place from which to approach this Advent season. Because Advent exists to remind us that, while darkness surrounds us and troubles exist, the hope of Christmas isn’t far away.

 

The people of Israel hadn’t heard anything from God about their redeemer. 

God’s chosen people must have cried out to him, asking how long it would be before their hope, their salvation, would arrive! 

It was too dark, and God seemed to be silent. 

 

Has he felt that way to you this year? Silent?

Though he may have felt far away to them, God was so much closer than his people knew —gently planning Jesus’ entrance into the world in the most unexpected way.

 

But at the appointed time, Jesus came — God with us in flesh and blood. Born in Bethlehem, carried to Egypt, raised in Nazareth. Son of Man and Son of God. A humble child and a holy King. Worshiped by some, rejected by many. Fully human, yet eternally divine.”

 

 

What beautiful and raw honesty in those words in that excerpt from the devotional!

 

Friends! Any way you look at it, Emmanuel was a living Divine Grace. 

The infinite King, wrapped in the cloth of an infant. 

The holy One, living among the fallen. 

In Him, the impossible became real, not only in prophecy, but in His very presence. 

 

When God stepped into our world, 

“impossible” lost all meaning.

 

 

In Isaiah 42:16 it says,

“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; 

I will lead them in paths that they have not known: 

I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. 

These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” 

 

 

Dear believer! 

The darkness of this world has always tried encroach upon the joy and the hope of God being with his people. 

It hates that we cling to the light, and even though we cannot see or understand, everything fully about the ONE who came and paid the price for us, yet we abandoned our own hearts to him, trusting that he will guide and light our path. It is in this practice that all of hell must bow its knee and tremble for the very fact that Christ is in us and he is the hope of glory. 

Someday we will return to the ONE who created us, but for now, he has come to walk with us, to be with us, and his Holy Spirit is here to correct, to guide, to convict and to advocate for us. 

 

Let us cry out, “Oh Come! Oh Come Emmanuel! Oh come God! Be with us, in us, and move through us to help others who are trapped in the darkness!”

 

Let’s take time to pray together about all of this right now.

Lord God,
only you can see into our hearts and know
that under all the busy-ness of our lives ,
there is a deep longing
to make this season one that welcomes you
more deeply into our own lives.

 

Our hearts desire the warmth of your love
and our minds search for your Light in the midst of the darkness.

Help us to be peacemakers this season and to give special love to those
who disagree with us.

Please, Give us the strength and courage to forgive those who have hurt us or who treat us dismissively.

Help us to free our hearts from the prison of anger and hurt.

Only you Lord can bless us,
protect us from all evil, and bring us rest in this weary world.

We thank you for being a God that IS  with us!
Amen.

 

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed

As long as the complete message, website and podcast

 information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You! Copyright © 2025

 

" THE MESSENGER "  - "The Advocate of Hope"

 Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

PODCAST

 

If you would be so kind and assist Mary helping her to meet other administrative needs such as website and podcast costs, 

or 

desire to bless her service in ministry with Spirit-led Love gifts or regular support:

Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 

► Personal Checks ► Business Checks

► Money Orders ► Cashiers Checks

To: 

His Beloved Ministries Inc. 

PO Box 1253

Denver, Colorado 80614
 USA 

 

Or feel free to use our send a tax-deductible gift with

Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow 

Under the name of - Mary Lindow

His Beloved Ministries Inc. 

 

ALL gifts are tax-deductible under

His Beloved Ministries 5013c non-profit status.

 

We are financially accountable

and have been in full compliance since 1985. 

THANK YOU!

 

   

👆🏽

Want to  know about what Steve and Mary Lindow

are Involved with in Serving Jesus?

CLICK THE PICTURE!

 

 

By Mary Lindow

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace,

But with humility comes wisdom.”

-Proverbs 11:2

 

WHEN THE SOUL GOES THROUGH HUMBLING EXPERIENCES

We all know that there are times when the soul goes through humbling experiences.

Perhaps in the past you had strength, calm, security and confidence, and then all of that suddenly gets stripped and your soul sees itself and it's true state of desperate need. 

If you are alert you will recognize that the Lord is opening our eyes to secret pride. That internal thinking that all of our achievement is of our own doing and not purely a gift from above.

Yes, these times come so it will never occur to us again that we are stronger in spirit than anyone else! If we look up on any other person as weaker, it is only because we have not been taken through the purging fire of God completely. Perhaps this is what's happening to someone we know, and it's no business of ours to preen our feathers of “goodness” while they are being refined and challenged. On the other side of that coin, God wants for us to have an open and humble spirit, realizing that if we were in their position we may not handle the circumstances as well, and might actually do worse!

 

THIS HUMBLING PROCESS IS IN GOD’S HANDS

It is his way of raising in your heart, a new love for all of mankind.

In the past you may have judged others either for their pride, or for being in personal difficulties. 

Even worse, you may have seen others who are lukewarm or weak in their faith and compared it with your own strong devotion and enthusiasm for God.

God is merciful and he shows us all of our own places of emptiness.

Allowing us to go through humbling experiences is how He knocks this out of the seat of our own “judgment” which is His seat alone! He wants us to keep our eyes on our own response to what we know He wants us to do, so that we remain in a place of simple obedience to Him.

 

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy one understands." -Proverbs 9:10

  

WE ARE ON A HUMBLE SPIRITUAL ROAD

David stood in the presence of wicked men (Samuel chapter 16:5-6 and 9-10) and there he was wondering why the Lord put up with their evil behavior while he was going through such anguish in his own life!

But he still prayed and said, 

“I will watch my ways so I may not sin with my tongue.

I will keep my mouth shut as if it were tied with ropes, while the sinful are near me.” –Psalm 39:1

 

When David finally saw how limited and small that his own viewpoint was, he continued to say,

“I remained silent and I wasn't about to open my mouth because you Lord are the one who allowed this!”

 

This is a humble condition much like David's that the Lord will bring our souls to as we are on this humble, spiritual road, 

He says to you and I that He longs to help you to be submitted to His hand alone, obedient to His voice alone!  We are not to resist Him!

 We are not really serving Him and our brothers and sisters if we've taken the high seat above them.

When the Lord begins to work this way of tenderness in our hearts we must listen to what He says no matter what or WHOM He allows to bring the message through. In the past, arrogance has been the measuring stick where many would only receive teaching and correction, from someone THEY thought was worthy to DARE speak to them! 

Those days are over.

“If you have jealousy in your heart and fight to have many things, do not be proud of it.  Do not lie against the truth." -James 3:14

 

WE MUST CLEARLY SEE THAT CORRUPTION CAN RAPIDLY OCCUR IN ANY PERSON OR ANY GROUP, ORGANIZED, RELAXED, OR OTHERWISE,when the tendency to think that they have arrived at a new or deeper revelation about something more so than others who perhaps express the Lord's voice differently.

 

ARROGANCE IS THE ASSUMPTION THAT I, INDIVIDUALLY,

OR SOME GROUP THAT I AM A PART OF, COLLECTIVELY,

IS SOMEHOW SUPERIOR TO SOMEONE ELSE OR

SOME OTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE.

 

AT THE HEART OF ARROGANCE IS SELF-CENTEREDNESS.

And, self-centeredness is the foundation of human sin. I believe any serious attempt at self-examination by an honest person will reveal that we humans are sinful and flawed beyond measure.

Paul writes, “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand…Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death?”

 

WE ARE CONSUMED BY SELF.

And every time we arrogantly place our own needs before others we are enslaved by sin.

 

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

HOW SHOULD WE LIVE INSTEAD OF IN THAT ARROGANT MODE?

WHAT IS THE ANTIDOTE?

 

How about the words of Jesus? What did he say?

"Everyone who exalts himself (for example, "Aren't I great? Aren't I right? Don't I always have the best opinion?") will be humbled.

 

But, he who humbles himself (for example, "This is my opinion but it may not be right. I don't have a corner on the market of truth.")

will be exalted."

 

THE LORD IS NOT SPEEDING UP THE DELIVERY OF ANY "FRESH THING" IN THE EARTH IN ORDER TO GET US TO HIS PURPOSES QUICKLY.

No. He is testing the hearts of men and women everywhere, looking for humility, selflessness, and honor, for those who although not perfect, have also served and pointed the way to salvation for many years previously.

 

THE LORD IS NOT GOING TO HONOR THE INDIVIDUAL

WHO SHOUTS THAT "CHANGE IS NEEDED"

OR THAT "CHANGE IS COMING" AND THEN

SLASHES AND BURNS ANYTHING

THAT DOESN'T EMBRACE THEIR VERSION OF IT.

 

 

THE LORD IS INTERESTED IN THE EVIDENCE OF HUMILITY AND THE EVIDENCE OF GRACE.

These key character issues attract the pure and simple Presence of the Lord. Blessed are the PURE in heart...for they shall see God.

Until the Body of Christ that has been through many difficult and shattering events, rids itself of bitter and venomous words against one another and accepts that each one like sheep have gone astray and turned to what pleased them at the moment, there will be little evidence of much harvest .

 

THE LOST AND CONFUSED WORLD OUT THERE WATCHES CHRISTIANS TEAR EACH OTHER TO SHREDS DAILY AND WONDERS WHY WE ARE ASKING THEM TO JOIN US!

Remember Christ’s two great commandments—love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself.

 

SELF-CENTEREDNESS IS THE REVERSAL OF THE GREAT COMMANDMENT. Self-centeredness means to place ourselves first, in effect proclaiming our own form of self-government (not needing or wanting the advice or insight of others), therefore our neighbors become an afterthought, and God becomes simply a convenience to be considered only when it’s helpful to us.

It is evident even in our language that self-centeredness is woven into the fabric of the human experience.

 

THE ONE TRUE SACRIFICIAL MODEL TOLD US THAT HE WOULD SEND THE VERY SPIRIT OF GOD IN ORDER TO CONVICT ALL PEOPLE OF SIN, TO COMFORT, TO GUIDE, AND TO SET THEM FREE.

 Indeed. The very evidence of a redemptive type of life, is in one who washes the feet of his/her brothers and his/her enemies in an act of cleansing the dirt from the road of life off of the pathway to the Truth.

May we truly hear the sound of the unmistakable heartbeat of a redemptive model rising up in clear resounding purity, personal transparency, and in the covering of the multitude of sins by speaking and meditating only on those things that are noble, just, pure, and of a good report.

 

AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS NATIONS, THE ANTIDOTE TO ARROGANCE AND SELF-CENTEREDNESS IS A HEAVY DOSE OF HUMILITY. That is; a profound willingness to recognize the value, and respect the dignity of every human life. And, furthermore, a humble heart calls us to seek and serve Christ in ALL persons by giving of ourselves willingly for the welfare of other people.

 

THE LORD SAYS,

"Do not let a wise man brag about how wise he is. Do not let a strong man boast about how strong he is. Do not let  a rich person brag about how rich he is.

But here is what the one who brags should boast about. He should brag that he has understanding and knows me. I want him to know that I am the Lord.

No matter what I do on earth, I am always kind, fair and right. And I take delight in that," announces the Lord.

JEREMIAH 9:23-24 (New International Reader's Version)

 

 

WE MUST HAVE EARS THAT ARE OPEN TO HIS VOICE ALONE

 We can enjoy the extreme value of knowing that we must be under the direction of our matchless Lord. 

Remember that He may use anyone, however unpleasing to the eye, unintelligent, or, not so affluent! When you see they may be able to teach you and direct you on your way, it is because of the attraction and Divine beauty they have in their lives from honoring the Lord.

It’s that they are truly humble, not simply by saying it - but by literally BEING humble.

 

 HEEDING ANOTHER VOICE OF PROMISE AND PROMOTION?

 The Lord has impressed me to share that some have heeded "another voice", one who would put them up, on the pinnacle of the world and promise them all power and wealth if they but, “just bow down”. The Lord wants you to know, (although I tremble at even delivering this), that many have already bent one knee downward to hopefully obtain a bit of blessing from “both sides.”

Get up and RUN from deception and self-indulgence, blatant lying, and entitlement!

You can be sure that using people or spiritual metaphors or “things” just for what you can get out of them—the typical indicators of idolatry—will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the Kingdom of Christ.

 You have been taken in and spoiled by religious and deceptive smooth talk. The Lord is furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but who really want nothing to do with Him. You have groped your way through that murk once, but no longer.

You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain.

 

GOD OFTEN MOVES AMONG THE OUTCASTS

 -Isaiah 66:2 says,

“Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD.

These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”  

 

You've probably never been stuck on a deserted island, but you may know pretty well how it feels.

In a world of bad relationships and superficial relationships and broken relationships, a lot of people know the feeling of being emotionally cast aside, abandoned, and maybe even discarded.

Because of some of what you've been through, you may feel like you're the outcast.

 Your days on that island may be almost over. In fact, it could be that all your failed or frustrating relationships have actually been preparing you to experience the central relationships you were being equipped and prepared for.

Anyone who has ever felt like an emotional outcast needs to hear the fabulous promise of Jesus Christ in this word from the Word of God. 

 

Jesus says to all those who belong to Him, 

"I will not leave you as orphans. I WILL come to you.” 

-John 14:18

 

This is the same Savior, who says, 

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” -Hebrews. 13:5

 

He's the One, who promised, 

"The one that comes to me, I will certainly not cast out."

-John 6:37

 

 

AND FROM NOW ON, THAT PROMISE OF JESUS CAN BE ALL ABOUT YOU! "THE ONE THAT COMES TO ME, I WILL CERTAINLY NOT CAST OUT."

  

THE LORD WOULD SAY THESE WORDS TO YOU AND I 

“You now understand the pain of betrayal, losses so great that you can no longer talk about them.

You have ached in such agonizing despair that at times you have begged me to let you die.

Friends have turned and chosen to see you through blinded eyes of their own making and have refused to help you to find your footing again, thinking they are doing you a service by letting you grovel and weep in painful loss and sorrow.

They have competed for gain to their own egos and have self promoted at the expense of exchanging deeper relationships for ego stroking. 

You have been reduced in the past season to identify with those who were forced to make bricks for Pharaoh without straw.

I too was a man of sorrows and endured the shame in order to be formed, shaped, and made ready for the moment of redemption.

And so shall it be with you.

Redemption from the losses will come to those who choose obedience over pleasure,  serving others over being the served one, and letting go of the dreams of greatness you cling too, no longer using my name or gifts as a calling card.

  

THE CALL OF THE MOMENT IS THIS! 

“Let the follies of your dim visions fall away”, says the Spirit of God!

“I have a more perfect way that I am forming in you and for you. 

I have caused you to cease from striving, from worrying, and from being anxious. 

You now rest up again my chest, waiting, trusting, wanting only ME.

You have become kinder, a better listener, a more trusted confidant.

I can work well with those attributes. 

Just Watch Me.

I WILL Open the Way of Hope and Shine Light on the pathway for those who have ceased from manipulating the moment.”

 

SEARED OR FERVENT

 In ~ 1 Timothy 4 it says,

“The spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith

and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

 

SUCH TEACHINGS COME THROUGH HYPOCRITICAL LIARS, 

WHOSE CONSCIENCES HAVE BEEN SEARED AS WITH A HOT IRON.”

 

To have a seared or calloused conscience means to cause something to wither.

To make (someone's conscience, heart, or feelings), insensitive.

 

Without the willingness of heart to fall upon the rock of God’s word, allowing every strength and support of ours to be fully broken, the wicked heart of mankind will continue to allow the searing patterns of indifference and insensitivity to affect their choices and will permeate more and more of the moral and sacred places of society.

 

I have been impressed to warn believers that the increase of sexual lures and smutty language has begun to pay a toll much larger than they realize. 

 

WE ARE TO BE MATURE AND SOLEMN 

 Huge numbers of people are being brought to ruin because they are not thinking; thoughtlessly causing hurt or inconvenience to others is the devastation of thousands, and many a precious soul has been shattered through carelessness. 

 

The Lord is asking you and I to "consider our ways," and return to a walk with The Still Small Voice and begin a familiarity with him yet again. With conviction, it would be the most rewarding relationship you could fall into!

"But since we belong to the day, let us be sober."

-1 Thessalonians 5:8

 

PRAYER AND THANKFULNESS 

 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

-Colossians 4:2

 

As I finish these insights, I will share the last  challenging impressions that the Lord clearly impressed me with.

 

“Each day, upon waking, where does your heart and mind wander to?

 Is it the plans and lists of things you must accomplish for the day?

 Is it the meal you are about to eat? 

Is it worry and the bracing yourself for another grinding day of dealing with the pressures of life?

Return to those early awakening moments where you and I share in the dialog of My plans for you.

Each day you have to live and to give, you have been given the opportunity to impact someone and to do a kindness or act of training for another.

 

Where has your thankful heart wandered?

Without it, behaviors and moods of bitterness and drudgery will manifest and sour even the brightest flower of hope.

 

Return to the heart of the issue and clean away the rusty decay of grindstone thinking.

Each day can be a fresh adventure into Kingdom purposes or, a continual repeating of a dreary existence. 

Choose ever so wisely.”

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, Let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably,  with reverence and awe.”

~Hebrews 12:28

 

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed

As long as the complete message, website and podcast

 information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You! Copyright © 2025

 

" THE MESSENGER " Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

PODCAST

 

If you would be so kind and assist Mary helping her to meet other administrative needs such as website and podcast costs, 

or 

desire to bless her service in ministry with Spirit-led Love gifts or regular support:

Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 

► Personal Checks ► Business Checks

► Money Orders ► Cashiers Checks

To: 

His Beloved Ministries Inc. 

PO Box 1253

Denver, Colorado 80614
 USA 

 

Or feel free to use our send a tax-deductible gift with

Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow 

Under the name of - Mary Lindow

His Beloved Ministries Inc. 

 

ALL gifts are tax-deductible under

His Beloved Ministries 5013c non-profit status.

 

We are financially accountable

and have been in full compliance since 1985. 

THANK YOU!

 

   

👆🏽

Want to  know about what Steve and Mary Lindow

are Involved with in Serving Jesus?

CLICK THE PICTURE!

 

Staying Focused and Integral In A Treacherous & Chaotic World

By Mary Lindow

 

A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A CRUCIAL PROJECT,

I found my life barraged and pressured by distractions of all kinds. Now, this is not an unusual pattern.

DISTRACTIONS COME TO STEAL OUR PASSION, OUR PURPOSE, GOD’S PROMISES, AND HIS PROVISION.

 

I have a scripture and a strategy that I use when distractions come to derail my focus now that really helps to keep me on track and focus on what’s in front of me. This can apply to everything from work, house cleaning, Counseling, writing and ministry, right down to sticking with the list for the grocery store, and not adding extra cheese and crackers and other goodies in the shopping basket!

 

WHEN NEHEMIAH WAS REBUILDING THE WALL, distractions came in the form of men calling out to him, high up on his ladder, to come down to discuss “their” important matters. These men presented concerns and rumors they feared to be truth, and, they were persistent and insistent that he come down and address the matters with them immediately!

Nehemiah responds plainly, 

"I cannot come down, I am doing a great work."

 

THERE ARE MANY DISTRACTIONS BEING HURLED AT THE BODY OF CHRIST CONSTANTLY.

So what do we do? 

We look those distractions square in the face and we say,

"We cannot come down. We are doing a great work." 

End. Of. Story.

 

WE HAVE NO TIME FOR DISTRACTIONS. 

THERE'S TOO MUCH ON THE LINE.

There's restoration to be done, broken down walls and broken down people to be filled back up, truth to be told, healing to be performed, love and justice to manifest and so on.

 

AND WHILE WE ARE DOING THESE ASSIGNED BY THE LORD TASKS,  (because if they’re not assigned by the Lord then we’re basically doing our own thing, not his important work), while we are doing the assigned things from the Lord, we pray. 

And by that I mean, we dialog with God our Father, and praise, and tell Jesus about the gratitude that we have for His life that He poured out for us, and speak back to Him the words He taught us in the 4 New Testament Gospels. And, we also allow the Holy Spirit of God to have access to our hearts, bringing a sweet exposure and conviction where we might need to have our hearts cleaned up and "grown up" further in the way God has mapped out for those He loves so very much.

 

When we do these things in reverence and determination

as we work, You will find that we do not have time

for distractions. 

 

WHEN GOD SPEAKS AND WHEN WE FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS, and when the Holy Spirit is busy working in the dry and hard places of our souls, as we do that in our work, every single day, we do not have time for other distractions!  

We. Cannot. Come. Down. 

 

WE CANNOT TAKE TIME TO BE PULLED INTO CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE WICKED, "weasely", and filled with all kinds of narratives that have nothing to do with what God has and IS doing right now right in front of us in our daily lives.

 

THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE ARE NOT TO BE INFORMED AND...

...that we are not to be advocates for godly truths. That is part of rebuilding walls that have come down in our society. But getting into non-ending dialogs and basically verbal fights with people who just want to prove a point is literally drawing us into distraction and frustration.

 

SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

It’s a Reality and Intense Fight for Good Over Evil! 

Listen ever so closely to these mighty battle strategies against distractions!

 

Now my beloved ones, 

I have saved these most important truths for last Instructions.

Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-your union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you.

 Put on God’s complete set of armor provided for us, so that you will be protected as you fight against the evil strategies of the accuser!

Your hand-to-hand combat is not with human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in rebellion under the heavenly realms. 

For they are a powerful class of demon-gods and evil spirits that hold this dark world in bondage. 

Because of this, you must wear all the armor that God provides so you’re protected as you confront the slanderer, for you are destined for all glorious and godly things and will rise victorious.

- Ephesians 6: 10-13

 

FRIENDS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST GOOD AND EVIL!

We are doing a great work! 

We are obeying God! 

And, let’s hope that we aren’t doing it with haughtiness or an attitude of being a little better than everyone else in the way that we serve God! No way!

Someone whom God has called to rebuild or to restore and to do every day jobs, understands that the distractions of ego or the distractions of frustration, often create breaks in relationships, breaks in friendships, and it kills the opportunity to have peace with God fully.

 

SO FRIENDS! 

REFOCUS.

Do not negotiate with distractions. 

Simply move on and put your hands to the great work before you.

Humbly. Purposefully. 

Without an attitude of needing to prove you’re heroic.

 

WE WORK, WE SERVE, WE LOVE, AND WE FIGHT, with our eyes focused on the One who rides at the forefront of our battles.

He’s there day and night, radiating comfort, wisdom, and grants discernment for every challenging situation that you and I will face.

 

MY FINAL PRAYER FOR YOU AS I CLOSE OUT TODAY’S PODCAST, is from Hebrews 13:21

“May God Equip You With All You Need For Doing His Will. 

May He Produce In You, Through The Power Of Jesus Christ, 

Every Good Thing That Is Pleasing To Him.

All Glory To Him Forever And Ever!

Amen.”

 

STAY STEADY ON WARRIORS.  

WE CANNOT COME DOWN TO NEGOTIATE WITH DISTRACTIONS. 

WE HAVE GOD’S WORK TO DO.

 

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source, podcast and website information

for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You Copyright © 2025

"THE MESSENGER"  - "The Advocate of Hope"

~Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

Mary's Podcast Site and Link 

Mary's Mentoring Videos Link and Site  

 

Your Gracious Support and Donations Are So Very Helpful And Assist Mary In Publishing Her Teaching Podcasts, Inspirational Videos and Audio Messages.

THANK YOU!

Please go to PAYPAL to donate 
or support this blog: 

Donate to the tax-deductible ministry name of: 

Mary Lindow

paypal.me/mlindow    

 

(His Beloved Ministries Inc.) 

Or 
You Can Mail a Check or Cashiers Check to: 

His Beloved Ministries INC 

PO Box 1253 

Eastlake CO 80614 

United States

THANK YOU!

 

 

 

By Mary Lindow 

 

WE LIVE IN A CORRUPT WORLD and therefore, have the “effects and affects” of that corruption ever influencing, ever tainting and ever wooing the flesh. 

Let’s look at the definition of a key word I am going to use in this crucial message. Plumbline: a tool that consists of a small, heavy object attached to a string or rope and that is used especially to see if something (such as a wall) is perfectly vertical or in alignment)  

 

A plumbline is a simple but accurate tool used for determining whether or not something is perfectly vertical or upright. The Lord also used, and uses, a "plumbline," His Word, to determine how upright His people truly are in His sight.

How upright they think they are, or how upright they proclaim themselves to be, means nothing to God.

 "Behold, I WILL set a plumbline in the midst of My people".  -Amos 7:7 

 

A PLUMBLINE SET OUT BY THE HAND OF GOD IS ONE THAT WE CAN ANCHOR OUR HEARTS TO. 

It will always, always, ALWAYS, direct us to the truth in a matter; even if it requires pain, loss, persecution and perhaps death in areas we feel we may well have rights to. 

It will also be a shield, a balm, a comfort and a teacher to those who will yield to the directive positioning of the Master. 

 “I will make justice the measuring line 

and righteousness the plumbline.” 

-Isaiah 28:17 

 

I am by far not an expert on the subject of plumblines and righteousness, so take what I say in the light of one who at time gropes like a child in the dark, ever reaching for the hand of the ONE to lead me into a safe place filled with His Hope, His Mercy, His Light and Life.

 

LIFE – DISTRESS - AND PERSECUTION 

I have found that in my life, distress and persecution do not feel like God’s care being poured out on me. My heart is not immediately drawn to thanksgiving and gratefulness for the faithfulness of God on display as I cling to the battered pieces that look like potential “rafts” of hope, only to find out that many of them have gaping holes or slow leaks in them. 

Rather, it feels like yet another hurt is being permanently woven into my tattered and war-torn soul. It seems as if another mound of questions are piling up and just waiting for an answer and a true solid REAL anchor of hope. 

 

A Courageous, brilliant, humble servant of God and fellow female Counselor and minister of the Gospel has deeply impressed me and my approach to caring for and ministering to others. She spoke the following words boldly regarding pain, abuse, and the suffering of traumatic events.

Quoting Dr. Langberg,

"In the midst of the trauma and suffering I have also seen the work of the Redeemer. He fills his people with his life and in ordinary ways, little by little; they bring his hope and healing to a ruined world. Traumatized and caregiver alike are transformed. He works both ways as they bend together to bring his redemption to the ravages of evil. I know this to be true for he has done so in me.

I have learned many lessons over the years. I have listened to countless tragedies. Of one thing I am certain: unless we are gripped by the truths of the Cross of Christ in our own hearts and lives, the hope and power of the Cross will not pass from us to others. We cannot give what we do not have.  May love and obedience to the Son of Man so govern our personal lives that he can through us bring his life to this ruined planet." (End of quote)

 

I CAN REALLY CONNECT TO THE WRITER OF PSALM 42 

He said “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” It’s at those very times that the words of the Savior are so important. When we are down and in turmoil. 

But, how do we connect the dots between what we know is true about God’s faithfulness and what our hearts feel? When flipped and flung around by the waves, weary from crying and when no answer seems at hand, what IS the answer? 

When my circumstances show many foes and tyrants rising up against me and my heart is prone to wander and fear, what hope is there of peace? 

When my feelings start controlling my thoughts, how can I rest in God’s promises? 

 

AT THIS POINT… I HEAR THE “GASPS”,  (and perhaps shocked comments of a few who are amazed that someone who "appears" to walk so fervently and intimately with the Lord) would have such difficulties! 

Well! Guess what?

I do struggle, I do hurt, and yes I do doubt when I have been side swiped or “rammed” by skilled cons and those who, although may have the appearance of godliness and offered friendship or fellowship, end up having private and evil agendas behind their well placed and planned schemes.

And boy oh boy! Those skilled players know the wicked art of wounding the heart and causing people to reel in pain! 

 

BUT, THERE IS ONE WHO FULLY SEES IT ALL 

The main skill in the issue of dealing with life as a spiritual person, is to know how to handle yourself when things not only crush and grind your heart, but what to do with the anguish and toll of their aftermath. 

We have to get ourselves into a place where we hear clearly again. 

We need have to address ourselves, preach to ourselves, and ask questions about ourselves. 

We must say to our soul: "Why are you cast down –Why are you so anxious and lacking in peace?" 

We must urge ourselves, and say ‘Hope in God’ – instead of remaining in this paralyzed, aching state!” 

 

AND THEN WE MUST TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER

We must go on to remind ourselves just “Who" God is, and what God is, and what God has done, and what God has promised that he Himself said that He would do. 

Having done that we can stand up and sing out strongly, defying the torment of the soul, and resist other people’s wicked tongues and arrogance, and refuse to go along with the devil and the whole world, and say: ‘Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” 

 

The hope and promise of the fairness of God’s justice when dealing with the hurtful things and presumptions of others gives me the confidence to know that God will never turn away from me in my need. No matter how they seem to prosper in the short term, wicked men and women will ultimately pay for their sins, in this life or the next. Jesus died to meet my greatest hardships and sorrows for me, and I need to preach this to myself every day.

 

His power is greater than my weariness and suffering. 

The comforting and instruction that comes from simply running to feed upon His word instead of the toxic poison of the replaying of trauma reminds me that what Jesus has done is strong enough for my soul to rejoice in and to be set into a place where it can rest and regroup, gaining a healthy perspective about what to give out to others and what is simply…

…. To be enjoyed by the Lord Himself. 

 

THE NATURAL IMPULSES OF MANKIND ARE SINFUL AND DECEITFUL! 

Human willpower alone will never be able to change this. 

We need God's help to truly change our hearts. 

REMEMBER. You cannot change the heart of anyone else either. 

If you try to, you will feel the bite of stinging venom or be laughed out of a room. Only the power of the conviction of the Holy Spirit can permeate and get around the jam-packed hardhearted egos of the self sufficient and bitter. 

Jeremiah 17:9 says that the human heart is deceitful in all things and is even beyond cure!

 

We must be cautious and wise in reproving and warning such types of people about their bad behaviors and wicked actions where there seems to be no appearance or hope of change and where there is danger of experiencing great and heart wrecking retaliation and slander. 

 

THESE TYPES TRAMPLE THE WARNINGS AND URGING FOR REPENTANCE  and humbling of the heart under their feet, and turn again and slash at you, despising the warnings that are “tearfully and fearfully” given, and often hurt the persons who give them, either by words or deeds. 

 

"Don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy. 

Don't throw your pearls to pigs! 

They will trample the pearls, 

then turn and attack you.” 

-Matthew 7:6 

 

“GIVE ME THE FACTS MA’AM JUST THE FACTS”

I remember that phrase from a TV show called “Dragnet”. The detective would not allow the details of the case to be skewed by any assumptions or pontificating from those he interviewed. He stoically and firmly demanded only the facts. 

 

And so, here are the “facts” about the heart of a good man or woman.

1.) The good man or woman:

 Brings good things out of the good stored up in his/her heart.

 

And the facts about an evil man or woman. 

2.) The evil man/woman,

 Brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his/her heart.

For out of the overflow of his or her heart his or her mouth speaks. 

-Luke 6:45 

 

THE FRAILTY, BRIEFNESS, AND INSECURITY OF LIFE 

The frailty, briefness, and insecurity of life should hold down the vanity and presumptuous confidence of all of our projects and boasting about future greatness and bragging rights! We are always to depend on the will and leading of God. 

 

OUR TIMES ARE NOT IN OUR OWN HANDS, BUT ARE INSTEAD IN THE TIMING OF GOD. Our heads may be filled with cares and plans for ourselves, or our families, or our friends; but Divine intervention often throws our plans into bewilderment. All we have in mind, and all we do, should be with a humble and deep dependence on God.

It is foolish, and it is hurtful, to boast of trendy “latest happening” things and prospective projects, and it will bring great disappointment and will prove destructive to relationships and meaningful help to others in the end. 

 

“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. 

These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” 

-1 John 2:16

 

LISTEN KINDLY - BEFORE SPEAKING YOUR THOUGHTS 

People don't need a lecture on the meaning of suffering or to have a barrage of scriptures “machine-gunned” at them as a reprimand for sharing their moment of grief or struggle! (Especially when their hearts are breaking, weary of the battle and if they are fatigued.)

Job could have done without some of the self-righteous answers that came from his “well-meaning” friends. All of the answers could have even been true, but Job didn't need to hear any of them. 

He needed their love, not their value judgments. 

In fact, it appears as if God judged THEM for trying to offer simple solutions to things that were beyond their comprehension. They had never walked in the loss he was in anguish over. 

 

WHEN WE SUFFER UNJUSTLY WE HAVE A MAJOR CHOICE TO MAKE

How will we respond? We can feel sorry for ourselves (and understandably so, for a while), become bitter and cynical, get drawn into a war of words, or even become mixed up in a major conflict.

On the other hand, we can take our suffering to the cross and allow our pain to draw us into a deeper place of understanding of what Jesus went though in his sufferings.

This does not remove the pain, but does help us to know what to do with our hurt. 

 

THIS IS THE 'FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS (Philippians 3:10), one of the gateways to closeness with God and the release of his power in our lives. The weight of heartbreak shared with a loving friend cuts it in half. When the burden is shared with many friends, we can cope with almost anything.

We never feel more revitalized than when a friend loves us enough to walk with us in our pain. Not lecture us. 

 

The apostle Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth: 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God". -1 Corinthians 1.3-4 

 

SOMETIMES GOD GETS INVOLVED WITH DIRECT MIRACLES, 

Giving supernatural strength to those in need. But for the most part, he depends on us, his people, to do his work in the world. We love each other, work for healing, and suffer with those who suffer. 

The next time you see a friend who is suffering, Jesus may just invite you to be the warm embrace! We comfort each other with the comfort we have received in Christ. And when we do, we become the Body of Christ and he receives the glory! 

 

THE BIBLE IS CLEAR! 

We are to bear one another's burdens. 

We are to comfort others as Christ has given comfort to us. 

Your hard time becomes my hard time. 

We join hands in the journey. 

When you succeed, I succeed. 

When you suffer, I suffer. But we do it together. We share it together. 

And we do it, not so much in our wisdom or our words, but in our availability, our understanding, and through our presence. 

 

THAT'S WHAT FELLOWSHIP IS ALL ABOUT! 

But not “bland” fellowship.

It is CHRISTIAN fellowship. It is the business of burden bearing.

Authentic CHRISTIAN fellowship says that when you need me . . . I'll be there.

Support in suffering is at the core of what it means to share life together in Christ. The word for "comfort” is the same root word as the name Jesus used to describe one of the functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Paraclete). “I will be a comforter, one who comes alongside to give help.” And so as God comes alongside you, now you are able to come alongside another. As the Comforter is at work within you, so you also can be of comfort to those around you. 

 

WE ARE CALLED TO BEAR ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS. 

To mourn with those who mourn.

To be a follower of Jesus means to come alongside people who are hurting and find ways to help them walk even through the valley of the shadow of death. We are called to do this, as the word of God and care of God is shared with the intention of stirring, plowing up hardened hearts, creating a place for repentance and challenging saints to hope again.  I know and believe that as we learn again as believers, to care, to truly listen and to hope fully again, that the sweet and heavy weight of HIS Glory will be made known and will manifest in unfettered and uncontrolled waves of worship and spontaneous adoration of the King of Heaven. 

 

MY FRIENDS IN CHRIST…

…LISTEN TO THESE NEXT WORDS I SHARE WITH YOU VERY CAREFULLY.

Toleration of sin, pretense, and crookedness do not reveal the character of God, even if they bear his name. 

Arrogance is never godly. 

Covering up sin is never godly. 

Abuse of power is never godly. 

Shepherds who feed on sheep are abusive. 

Leadership that preserves and protects the system, rather than the people, turns the house of God into a safe place for predators.

Exposure brings hope, because it brings the cancer to the light. 

To hide sin by cover-up or silent complicity is spiritual abuse.

 

HE REALLY DOES KNOW WHAT HE WANTS

Let's focus on bowing low and seeking His heart and plans in what matters to Him.

Indeed, HE is the Plumbline.

Jesus demonstrated in the flesh what a human being is to be like who bears God's image. He pursued the vulnerable, protected the little ones, and poured out compassion on the least of these.

Any dismissal of abuse, any baptizing of evil, any cover-up or denial is nothing like Him. 

Any discarding of the least of these or trampling of the vulnerable is an assault on God Himself—no matter the spiritual words used as an excuse.

 

AGAIN, I will share another phenomenal insight from Dr. LANGBERG regarding this matter.

She said these words in an article;

“You see, this Jesus had a passion for redeeming. 

For those who have been abused, and are suffering from its debilitating aftereffects, listen hard. 

There is hope for you-hope for healing and transformation. I know;

I come to you from the frontlines and have seen it happen countless times.

It takes courage, hard work, and there is no quick fix.

Such redemption was Jesus' master passion.

This God came to seek and redeem what has been lost. We must acknowledge and tell the truth about these things.

Great damage is being done to God’s sheep, in his name. 

He weeps over such leaders and the sheep they harm.

Be watchful. 

Recognize coercive and manipulative behavior.

 

CALL IT BY ITS RIGHT NAME WHEN SOMEONE IN POWER USES SPIRITUAL WORDS AND IDEAS TO SILENCE, CONTROL, AND INTIMIDATE. 

Be discerning about those who hold power—including yourself. 

Do not be deceived. 

May we, with Daniel, call out to God:

“O Lord, hear! O Lord forgive. O Lord listen and act.

For your own sake do not delay, because your church and your people are called by your name” (Dan. 9:19).

 

SO FRIEND. WHAT HAVE YOU LOST? 

Your voice?

The truth, drowned out by lies? 

Your life and its vibrancy, its strength, its giftedness? 

Your hope? 

God has said He is making all things new... and that includes you.

Devastation is, bit by bit, redeem-able. I know. I have had a front-row seat to God's redemptive power in my life, and for the record, one of the people He has done redemptive work in, is me.

My work with victims in ministry as well as teaching in schools has revealed to me who God is. Evil can be transformed in the life in which it occurred. That work is also redemptive in the one who walks alongside the broken vessel. Evil is then twice crushed.

May the Church of Jesus Christ repent of her pursuit of human externals and bend down, listen, and walk alongside trauma, abuse, racism, hatred, and a blind eye as did her Lord.  In doing so, we will bring joy to the heart of the Father. 

 

I’D LIKE YOU TO PRAY WITH ME BECAUSE RIGHT NOW,

I am sure that this touched several hearts, and maybe even made some fear come into some of you who are hiding things or who have abused others, and it’s time to come clean. 

It’s time to get the help that you need. 

 

So, I’d like to pray with all of you listening today.  I ask you to stop and be still.  Position your heart before the Lord as we bring this to him.

 

Prayer 

God, I ask in Jesus' name, that you comfort, strengthen and encourage all who are hurting deeply right now and are going through so much pain and heartache. 

Don't allow them to give up in the heat of the battle. 

Let them feel your arms wrapping around them and your love overflowing and filling them up. Lord, I will pray often and I know that you will hear my voice, even when I speak to You in my silent thoughts. 

To You, I am crying out and my prayers are now before You. 

Father, I give to You my problems, I do not want them. 

Father, please restore them to You. I know that you have compassion for your children. Father, show them your ways and teach them your paths. Lead them in your truth and teach them you are the God of our salvation and on you we will wait. 

Protect them from the evils of this life and guide them through all of their days. Father, thank You for hearing my prayer Father and for considering and for having compassion on all who hear and read these words, and all who hurt, in this troubled world we live in. 

Keep them in the center of Your love. 

In Jesus’ Name~ Amen 

 

I KNOW THAT THIS WAS MOST LIKELY A DIFFICULT AND PROBABLY PAINFUL PODCAST FOR SOME OF YOU,  BUT IT’S A FREEING PODCAST.

It brings out into the light the reality that we need to speak up when we see harm being done and we need to get help when we have been harmed so that the stopping of the sorrow when the grief in the trauma can begin and a new pathway can be created in our lives. 

 

I look forward to sharing my next podcast with you! I do want to thank those you are so kind and so gracious. 

I have a few very faithful individuals who do support and partner with me to produce these podcasts and I want to let you know I’m always amazed at how many places these go to, because I don’t really do a lot of promoting!

They just get picked up by other podcast groups and it goes out all across the world, so somewhere in this, the Holy Spirit is using it to glorify the name of Jesus, and for that I am so grateful that he would find something in me that is worthy of sharing.

So, thank you again to those of you who help me.

 

I look forward to being with all of you again and in the meantime, stand firm, call upon the name of the Lord, and tell the truth, in Jesus name. 

Goodbye for now!

 

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed provided that complete article, podcast link and website information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You Copyright © "2025 " -  

"THE MESSENGER  - The Advocate of Hope"

~ Mary Lindow 

www.marylindow.com

https://marylindow.podbean.com

Your Gracious Support and Donations Are So Very Helpful

And Assist Mary In Publishing Her Teaching Podcasts

and Audio Messages.

THANK YOU!

Please go to PAYPAL to donate

or support this blog:

Donate to the tax-deductible ministry name of:

paypal.me/mlindow    

mary lindow

@mlindow

Mary Lindow - His Beloved Ministries Inc.

Or

You Can Mail a Check or Cashiers Check to:

His Beloved Ministries INC

PO Box 1253

Eastlake CO 80614

"WOLVES IN THE PULPIT"

Laura Lynn Thompson Interviewing Mary Lindow

 

God sees beyond outward appearances 

and focuses on the heart and intentions 

of individuals, as stated in 1 Samuel 16:7

 "For the Lord sees not as man sees; 

man looks on the outward appearance, 

but the Lord looks on the heart." 

 

This emphasizes the importance of 

inner qualities over external traits.

 

Hello there Brothers and Sisters! 

Today’s podcast is a little bit different. 

I’m going to be sharing with you a link that you can click on in the picture above in the podcast. 

LINK:➡️  Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson And Guest Mary Lindow "WOLVES IN THE PULPIT"

I was asked and had the privilege to be on a Christian broadcasting program on YouTube with Laura Lynn Tyler Thompson out of Canada.

Laura Lynn has been a really wonderful blessing to the Body of Christ for years. She was a CBN host in Canada for many years, did other broadcasting work, and she has had the courage after having known of the Daystar network coverup of the abuse of a child from staff members, Laura Lynn was one of the first people to step back and say, “I will no longer broadcast my show on the program as long as the cover-up remains, and that the abuse allegations have not been properly vetted and handled.”

She now has her own program and has been interviewing people from across the world, as well as having a lot of interviews behind the scenes with victims of abuse, victims who have been SA'd or harmed in the church, and by other predators in ministry organizations. 

Laura Lynn received hundreds of phone calls from people wanting to tell their stories, and on this current program she asked me to be a guest/interviewee. 

We talked about wolves in the pulpit.

I looked at it from the angle of having been a woman in ministry for many years and the unfortunate accounts of inappropriate actions taken towards me as a woman. Also, we discussed current events of many cases taking place in the church and broadly across many denominations of unbelievable stories of abuse taking place that are now in major court cases.

 I also discussed biblically and from a Christian counselor‘s viewpoint:

What this looks like 

How we address it

How we help people 

and 

What we do when we find out there has been a tragic and heinous expression of harm done to children, to women, to young boys.

 

So! Without further explanation, I’m going to go ahead and let that program be something you can click on and look at.

 

(Click this link to go directly to the recorded version of the show. )

Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson And Guest Mary Lindow "WOLVES IN THE PULPIT"

 

I am not able to put an audio version of this on my program due to the fact that Laura Lynn has copyright laws and I want to respect that this is a copyrighted program. 

 

If you will click the link, it will take you immediately over to the program and I think you will enjoy this and you will learn some things.

 

Laura Lynn is a fierce advocate to protect people in the church from not only just abuse that can happen in a sexual  nature, but also spiritual abuse and all kinds of harm that can come to place when we have wolves in the pulpit, or, when we have predators in our children’s ministries.

 

So! Without further explanation, I ask you to go ahead and click that link and I hope to have it up on my website. It should be underneath my podcasts.

My website is at www. Marylindow.com. 

I want to let you know I was not in anyway compensated to do this interview. 

This was to give voice to the victims who have been abused.

 

I love you all and I thank those of you that I have graciously supporting me! I couldn’t do what I do without you. 

I know that the Lord will bless you for your kindness towards me! 

 

So without further ado, I say goodbye and I look forward to the next podcast!  But! Please click the link to go listen to this very important and Informative Video program.

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed
provided that complete message, podcast link and website information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You!

Copyright 2025  "THE MESSENGER" - The Advocate Of Hope  ~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

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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.

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed
provided that complete message, podcast link and website information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You!

Copyright 2025  "THE MESSENGER" - The Advocate Of Hope  ~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

PODCAST LINK

Your Gracious Support and Donations Are So Very Helpful And Assist Mary In Publishing Her Teaching Podcasts, Inspirational Videos and Audio Messages.

THANK YOU!

Please go to PAYPAL to donate 
or support this blog: 

Donate to the tax-deductible ministry name of: 

paypal.me/mlindow    (His Beloved Ministries Inc.) 

Or 
You Can Mail a Check or Cashiers Check to: 

His Beloved Ministries INC 

PO Box 1253 

Eastlake CO 80614 

United States

THANK YOU!