Look Honey! I think it's a Sign!

I have always believed and heard from others that when God speaks in 3's you better be listening! What I mean by that is when you randomly get the same message or verse spoken or shared three different times, it might just mean that God is trying to tell you something. I guess it doesn't have to be in 3's but by the third time I usually get the picture. Like in 1 Samuel chapter 3, it took Samuel running to Eli 3 times before Eli figured that maybe God was speaking to Samuel. But anyways, These past couple weeks I have received a similar message three separate times and I am getting the picture that God is speaking, and the message this time is on Faith!

I felt like before I am able to look back on the huge picture and understand it all, I wanted to write down what the Lord has been speaking to me. Mostly so I can come back later and see how it all turned out and why this particular lesson was so important other than the obvious reasons.

My husband and I have this running joke that when we see something printed on a "sign" that speaks to our certain situation we say, "Honey, I think it's a "sign"!"

Ok, ok, back to the story. As some of you may know, Jeremy and I have been living in this transitional period, where Jeremy is working and living in San Diego for the week and I am here in El Centro, CA living with my gracious In-Laws. In the past when we have been in situations like this we have had some goal for the future, a light at the end of the tunnel of sorts. This particular time we have no idea what is in store, all we know is we can't afford to live in SD any longer and this is where we are at. I have no idea how long this season of uncertainty will last. But what is next for the Espino's you might ask? That is where these beautiful lessons God is speaking into me have been a huge source of comfort and Joy in this time. To have faith in the waiting season, to not forget all the times He has been faithful in the past. To know that these hardships have a purpose and that there are good things in store for us, no matter how much I doubt and get discouraged. I have to believe that He is molding and shaping these lumps of cold hard clay into a useful vessel for His glory! I know our measly little trials dim in comparison to other precious saints who endure such hardships I cannot even begin to understand. But I am thankful for the lessons God is teaching me and I pray I truly grow and change and walk closer with Him through it all.

So getting to the first time God spoke to me was when I was reading Cheryl Broderson's book, When a Woman Lets Go of Her Fears. First I love this book because it touches gently on fears but puts much more emphasis on faith which is the opposite of fear. Great book! Follow the link and get it! Anyway, Cheryl was talking about Martha from the Bible and how when Jesus didn't come and heal Lazarus in time to save him, Martha was greatly distressed. She shared how Martha DID have faith in Jesus, she pointed out that martha believed that Jesus could heal and that He was the Messiah who came to save the world, but when He supposedly failed to do what she had believed He would and could do, she was discouraged and heartbroken. This spoke straight to my heart because I have felt this way about our call to ministry and what I thought we would be doing by now for the Lord. Its been 10 years since Bible college and every attempt at serving the Lord has left us in heartbreak in one way or another. I have come to the place of feeling like God has let us down, that He didn't come through and He let our dream for ministry die and go to the grave. But what Martha didn't realize is that Jesus not only had the power to heal, but He had the Resurrection power that would soon raise her beloved brother from the tomb.
Cheryl also began to share about more great men and women of faith in Hebrews Chapter 11 which most of us know is the great hall of faith! :) But one particular guy has always stood out to me and that is Joseph, he has always been my favorite bible character. His life was full of twsits and turns and ups and downs, from the time he was enslaved to the time he was promoted by the Pharaoh totaled about 13 years. That is along time to be wondering if God had forgotten him, but Joseph stayed faithful to God. And the thing Cheryl really encouraged my heart about is that we don't need some great faith to walk this walk with Him. We only need to believe in Him, if we can do that, then everything else is taken care of. We don't have to have faith that He will raise dreams from the dead or that good will come of all this. If we can continue walking in the belief that He is, and that He will reward us for diligently seeking Him(Hebrews 11:6), then He will take care of the rest.

Wow, this is getting long.....bare with me. :)



Second "sign" that the Lord was speaking to me about Faith was when I went to the mid week service at CC El Centro. After worship Pastor Pete gets up and says let turn to Hebrews.....and before he said the words I knew chapter 11 was what he was going to say! And sure enough we were going to be studying in the great hall of Faith! I knew something was up but either way i was excited to hear the word. I got two major things out of the message that spoke to me something about faith I had never thought about. First he talked about how faith is an attitude. I always forget that if I am constantly doubting and thinking negatively about a situation then I am not having faith in my God. If I commit to looking at the good things and praising Him through it all it keeps my eyes looking up and remembering that I serve a good God who loves me! :) Secondly, he talked about Moses' parents believing that their child was special and having courage to keep him hidden. Pastor Pete went on to share how we as parents need to have faith for our children. We as parents need to affirm our kids and believe that God can do mighty things through them and not to give up on them when we feel that there is no hope. This encouraged me greatly with my son Aiden and gave me hope that through all of his hurtles, God can work wonders and who knows, maybe one day my son who is hard of hearing and can't talk yet will stand and share the gospel or sing in front of hundreds! :)



Alright now we get to the third way God has been speaking to me about faith. Recently I started reading Warren W. Wiersbe's book, 50 People Every Christian Should Know, and I am amazed at how much it has been building my faith. I wasn't sure why but It blessed me to see how fellow Christians in the past made it through and were known for their great faith. Well yesterday I was continuing my reading in Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love, and he began sharing out of Hebrews 11, ding ding ding.....yes lucky number 3! :) Anyway, he was sharing about these great men and women who had bold faith and were willing to lay aside their comfortable lives to follow Gods call on their life. And I put the two together, as we read and remember that many have gone before us and are in heaven cheering us on I thought of that verse in Hebrews 12.


Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:1,2a

Here is an excerpt from Crazy Love,

But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through.
~Francis Chan

Well, That is what God has been showing me and speaking to me about where I am in life right now. If I place my hope and faith in Him, and in all that He is, (my Comforter, my Provider, my Father, my Shepherd), then I don't have to worry about tomorrow. He has it all planned out and I can rest in Him as he carries me through. I want to run a race that is worthy of the prize! All these great men and women who have gone before, doesn't it make you want to come even a little bit close to where they were at. They were just ordinary lumps of clay but they placed their faith in an extraordinary God!