Category Archives: DEVOTIONALS

You can do it!!!

Dreading your daily work. Well, Lord, I am going to try to sneak up on it, on this outlining I am dreading, sort of get into it before I have time to think about. So let’s do a short devotional time first thing this morning and a longer one later. I’ll just sit here with You, watching the sun coming up over the rooftops, just being with You, trying to cast this care upon You and leave it there because I know You care mightily about me and everything I do (I Peter 5:7). 

And, I do recall Proverbs 16:3, where You say:

Roll your works upon the Lord
[commit and trust them wholly to Him]
He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and]
so shall your plans be established and succeed.” (AMPC)Father, I do roll this writing thing all upon You and I trust You to do what Your Word says. Amen.

Divine little reminders. I stood up, walked over to the desk area and the big pad of paper on which I had outlined Chapter Four. By chance (ha!—see Ruth 2:3-4), I happened to glance at the little card taped to the top of the hutch cubby. Creased in half, with the edges partly rubbed off from having been carried inside my billfold for years, the front of the card was a picture of a glorious sunset over ocean, with Romans 11:36 at the bottom: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever!” (NIV)

“Soli Deo gloria.” Tears came, those tender tears that always come when we are deeply aware that God is saying something to us.

Thank You, Father,” I murmured. Four times in the past few days I had read of people who used this motto specifically to dedicate their work to God: authors Jan Karon and Tracie Peterson and composers George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach.

“Soli Deo gloria is the motto that grew out of the Protestant Reformation and was used on every composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. He affixed the initials SDG at the bottom of each manuscript to communicate the idea that it is God and God alone who is to receive the glory for the wonders of His work of creation and of redemption.” What Does “Soli Deo Gloria” Mean? (ligonier.org)

Loving Father Carrying His Child Stock Photos - FreeImages.comI finally heard what God was saying.   As I paused and just rested with God, I finally understood what I think God was saying to me through circumstances. I think God was reminding me that I had dedicated my life and my work to God and that I am doing all I can for Him, the best I can, so I can know that He IS indeed leading my steps. Furthermore, far from condemning my weaknesses, such as a tendency to dread hard things and to fret, God feels great compassion toward me and He will help me with my specific weaknesses , just as a father watches and knows just when his toddler needs to be picked up and carried.

Dear Father, I choose to believe and fix my thoughts on the truth that You are leading each step of my life, and that includes my work for You. I know You are in control of that as much as anything else in the world. And I know You will accomplish Your purposes in my life and my work for you as I simply do my little part and walk holy before You, with my whole heart.  And I know this applies to each minute and each aspect of my life, not only our writing.

What about your work and your life? Some of us can point to a specific task that is our work for God. For some seasons of life, however, our main work for God is more dispersed, like being a stay-at-home mom, working to support your family, or caring for a sick loved one.

Regardless, all of us have some specific gift we are to exercise.  And all of us are commanded to live our life for God, to be a living sacrifice for Him. That is the real day’s work for all of us. In Romans 12:1 Paul tells us: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (NIV).  And in Colossians 3;17 we hear “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

You can, this very day, live for God, whether the main work in your life is in an office, a factory, a home with children, a church, a rock mine, or living your life for God while residing in a retirement community. You can do the same even if you are in a season where you must rest and get well, or where everything is happening too fast. You can purposefully choose to give this day to God. You can choose to live it for Him and for His glory.

Public Domain Clip Art Image | Calendar | ID: 13924942213430 ...“The trouble with life is that it is so daily.” (Chuck Swindoll) I must remind myself often that the everyday tasks of daily life—making breakfast, fetching home the groceries, housecleaning, paying bills, getting the car repaired—are as much a part of my life for God as when I am privileged to be seated at my desk writing. I must remember that God cares about the minutes and hours of the activities of my daily living as much as when I am doing something specifically for Him.

For that reason, I periodically reread the small book “The Practice of the Presence of God”. Written by Brother Lawrence, this short volume shows us how to be aware of God’s loving presence during all the hours of daily life, simply by turning to God with a humble, thankful heart.

“You can do it!!! As I turned toward my desk with refreshed determination and confidence, I saw the Leggo cat note holder one of my grandsons had made me for Christmas. On it he had written “you can do it!!!”  Notice the three exclamation marks. When I opened his gift Christmas morning, I knew it would be one of the things that has a permanent place on my desk.

This precious gift is, I firmly believe, another Divine “happenstance.”  My frail heart needs encouragement constantly and my heavenly Father knows that. So, God moves me to meditate on the numberless verses in the Word that strengthen the weak heart, He sends encouragement every day, and He sends courage through little pats on the head, like seeing that worn-out card and Ansel’s note holder today. God reminds me, and you, that, in His strength – you can do it!!!

Father, I ask that You send special tokens of encouragement to Your children today, in whatever way touches each one most deeply. Let someone they thought takes them for granted say thank you in a notable way. Let them see their favorite bird as they walk in to the office one more time or, one more time, start on a messy house. Let the flaming crimson and gold of a sunset warm their heart. Let a sense of well-being blanket them as they sit down for their evening meal.

Although we live by faith, not feelings, bless them this day with the awareness that You are right there with them, that Your love for them is higher than the heavens are above this beautiful earth. Let them know that You take delight in their love for You, that You sing over them, that You have written their name on the palms of Your hands. Make Your face shine upon them and give them Your peace that is more than we can understand.  Let them know that You are with them when they are with You.

Open their eyes, Father, and let them see signs of Your love and Your specific encouragement for them. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen!

The message on the back of that card was:

Everything comes from God. He designed it, He created it, and He sustains it. There’s nothing that’s beyond His imagination. And He wants to pass that optimism on to us. When He gives us a job to do, He wants us to know that it’s not too big for us. He’ll enable us to do whatever He asks us to do. We can serve Him with confidence, knowing that He chose to put us into this situation because He knew that – with His strength – we could do it.

Friend, in God’s strength, you and I can do it!!!  If you have given your heart to Him, the same One Who tells the oceans where to stop is busying Himself with the details of your life. And He really, really loves you.

Waves on the seashore seascape image - Free stock photo - Public Domain ...

 

Many sparrows

Tree Sparrow Passer Montanus Free Stock Photo - Public Domain PicturesEarly morning thoughts. I took a sip of tea, leaned forward and opened the blinds behind the desk. There, in the yellow halo of light from the blazing security light affixed to the wall, three small gray and brown sparrows perched in the entwining branches of the crepe myrtle trees screening the window of my second floor condo. Two had their heads tucked under their wings, demonstrating all the flexibility usually attributed to those of the feline persuasion. The third miniature beauty was occupied with his morning ablutions, pecking his tiny beak atop, behind and under his uplifted snippet of a wing.

Beyond and to the sides of this sparrow’s bedroom of light there in the tree branches, darkness was still really dark, stirring, as it always did, tender memories of high school mornings when my father, who arose at five to go to the rock mine, sometimes woke me when I had a paper due or needed an extra hour of piano practice.

“How can that be so many decades ago now?” I wondered. “Thank You, Lord, for those two Scriptures yesterday, that one in Isaiah and in Psalms”.

 Even to your old age I am He, and even to hair white with age will I carry you. I have made, and I will bear; yes, I will carry and will save you. (Isaiah 46:4, AMPC)

 I will come in the strength and with the mighty acts of the Lord God; I will mention and praise Your righteousness, even Yours alone.

O God, You have taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared Your wondrous works.

 Yes, even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, [but keep me alive] until I have declared Your mighty strength to [this] generation, and Your might and power to all that are to come. (Psalm 71:16-18, AMPC)

File:Alarm Clocks 20101105.jpg - Wikimedia CommonsCoping with problems. I had recently started going to bed earlier so that I could get up earlier for the specific purpose of dividing up time spent sitting at the computer, part of ongoing efforts to keep on with the work of writing despite the recent barrage of age-related challenges like eye strain, stiff joints, fatigue, and on and on.

But today, looking at the sparrows I am richly blessed as the word of God comes to mind, as always bringing truth and therefore peace. The truth is that I am exceedingly blessed, in countless ways. Having a home, food, a car, the freedoms of living in America are things I try to remember to thank God for daily. But I also thank Him for the health He has given and for the wisdom He gives in how to keep going, and even laugh, in spite of the problems associated with old age and white hairs.

So, this morning as I look at the sparrows, I think:

“Finally, I get it Lord . . . there are many sparrows. Many. And I am worth more than many of them, You said. As they simply perch and sleep, and awake and happily chirp the day awake they do not worry how they will do their job of finding food. If one of them is a little older and is feeling stiff, they do not worry.

Two days later. . . I was having a great day, with an unusually long stretch of time to write since it was not only a rest day from exercise but also a day with few other chores to do as well. Most of the morning, I spent happily combining ten or so separate files into one, closing in on the process of getting the book “Undepressed” ready to put on the website, hopefully by the end of this month.

At one, I took an hour’s rest, flat on the bed, part of my self-imposed health habits that help greatly. After a bite of lunch and a quick quiet time, I was debating whether to continue work on compiling files or to return to work on the new book about becoming a believer when a text pinged.

“We have noticed suspicious activity on your account. If you did not authorize the following transaction, text N to this number. . . “

Well, that led to four more text messages, with waits in between each, and then the text “Your debit card has been cancelled due to fraudulent activity. Please see your financial institution or call this number for a new card. . . “

Aaaarrgggghhhhh!

“Just when things are going so well, just when I have some extra time, just when I was in such a good mood. . . “ began the silent fuming.

But, by grace, not for long.

“I am sorry, Lord. Thank You for catching this attempt at fraud.  Thank you that they only got one hundred dollars before the fraud protection system stopped it. Help me redeem this time, Lord. Let there be someone at the credit union that I can witness to. Help me have a good attitude.”

Well, there just was no chance to witness to anyone. I got a new card, was given the phone number to call and dispute the fraudulent charges, and advised, which I already knew, that any automatic payments that had been set up on the old card would have to be re-established.

I walked back out into the Texas sun, still highly irked at the loss in time and the loss of the good mood. I had so much I wanted to get done today!

But, as I pulled back into the parking lot and walked to my unit, I realized it had only taken an hour. The credit union was less than two miles from my home, there had been only a short line, and I could probably have the money taken by fraud restored.

How He takes care of sparrows. That’s when I remembered this blog post I had started a couple of days before, and I thought.

“Lord, part of the way you take care of the billions of sparrows in Your world is through protecting them from harm, just like You protected me from financial harm. And those sparrows do not worry or fret about cats or birds of prey or other dangers, once they are passed.”

Ambulance Free Stock Photo - Public Domain PicturesI sat back down at my desk and thought about the day and other blessings and protections. I had been up at five to drive someone I love to the hospital for a procedure, where all turned out to be fine, a blessing to that person and to me. On the way home, I had been passed on the interstate by two fire engines and an ambulance, on their way I soon saw as I creeped along in the backed-up traffic, to a bad car accident. Had I not had to wait an hour at the hospital while the check-in snafu got untangled before I left, I might have been in that accident.

“Father, like a child fussing because his papa will not let him cross the street when cars are coming or a child throwing a tantrum because she cannot have a cookie thirty minutes before dinner, I have whined and been mad about delays today. And all the while You have been protecting me. Forgive me, Lord, and show me how to be more grateful for all the hours and hours of time You give me every day and all the blessings You constantly pour out.

 Help me truly consider the lilies and the sparrows. Give me the heart of a trusting, non-complaining and grateful child.”

Biblical basis. As ever, I cannot seem to write short blog posts! In looking up the well-known sparrows reference I found that Jesus used the metaphor of sparrows and another time He used ravens and lilies to tell us not to worry. Most of Mattthew 10 contains the instructions of Jesus to His disciples when He was sending them out to minister. He warns them that they will be persecuted and tells them not to worry because they are “worth more than many sparrows” and God cares for every single sparrow.

In Luke 12, Jesus was addressing not only His twelve disciples but a large crowd as well.

22 Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?

Garden Of White Lilies Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures27 “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.

32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

33 “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. 34 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

As Halley’s Bible Handbook notes “Jesus had favorite sayings that He repeated again and again. One of them was about God’s unfailing care for and guidance of His people.” (p. 669).

How gracious God is to bring His Word to our minds again and again, and again, and just when we need it, just as He provides food each day for every sparrow. And part of His daily manna this day, this hour, for this all-too-human human being is this verse:

Casting the whole of your care

…….[all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns,

………once and for all] on Him,

…..for

…….He cares for you affectionately and

……………..cares about you watchfully. (I Peter 5:7, AMPC) (emphasis added)

Lord, please keep reminding Your silly child that I am worth more than many sparrows and that You are watching over me, affectionately, every moment of every day!

Sparrow Sunset Line Photograph by Ericamaxine Price

Why do I need more gratitude??!!

Image result for public domain picture of CAR AIR CONDITIONERFrustrations of daily life. I stared out the car window at the intersection twenty feet away. The Texas sun glared off each windshield and every piece of chrome on the cars passing by. Although the air conditioner blew blessedly cool air on my face, I could mentally feel the already blistering heat. Ten forty-five. I had planned to be back home seated at the computer by now.

I had driven by this in-and-out vehicle inspection site, one a half miles from my home, earlier but had passed it by because of the long line. Then I had driven two miles to another shop that the internet said did inspections. However, a sign just above the bays where you drive your car in for an oil change said “Sorry, but we no longer do state vehicle inspections.” I had backed up in a corner in their little parking lot, out of the way and, trying not to be mad, looked up “car inspections near me.”

“Ug!  I hate the internet! I said, my voice loud in the car’s interior.  “Why is it so hard to look up anything anymore!”

Image result for public domain picture of cell phone in handThe list of inspection sites on my phone showed a phone number and links to a website and directions but without clicking on the directions, there was no way to tell the address. The little map with pins on it did not have the streets labelled.

I could feel my breath getting shorter as the irritation rose. I could also feel a twinge of chest pain. That often happens lately when I start getting upset. I consider it my personal early warning system, an urgent message to calm down NOW and take things slower NOW.

(If you have chest pain, please see a doctor. I pay attention to chest pain but I can, with a fair degree of confidence, modify my behavior and wait for it to ease because I am under the care of a cardiologist who so advised me.)

So, trying to calm down I hit the directions button and followed the voice to the next site. I parked and walked to the door. Another “We no longer do vehicle inspections.” The thin skin over my elbow felt like it was roasting. Back in the car, one more sip of the iced water I carry with me all summer long, one more session with the phone, then one more site and one more sign.

“I give up.” I said and drove back to the original site close to my home.  Thankfully, there were only two cars in each of the two lanes ahead of me. I pulled in line and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, a man came to my window, took my payment, then said as he reached for the handle of the car door, “We’ll take it from here.”

Image result for PUBLIC DOMAIN PICTTURE OF clockThis was one of the speedy inspection stations/speedy oil change places and it looked, from driving by, that you sat in the car while the car was inspected or the oil was changed.  I had come here because I did not want to go to a service shop where you had to sit and sometimes wait an hour. That was hard on my touchy hip.

Stifling another deep sigh—it was not this young man’s fault and I was sure he saw disgruntled faces all day long—I asked “Where am I supposed to wait?”  I realized that sounded sarcastic.

He gestured to two picnic benches resting, barely, in the shade of a little Mexican restaurant, then pointed at the crew of men paving the section of asphalt driveway next to the inspection building.

“They are paving our spot.”

Too upset to immediately hear the sarcasm in my words and apologize for sounding upset, as I normally would have done, I nonetheless was aware I needed to do something.

“Thank you,” I said with a softer tone and an attempt at a smile. “I appreciate it.”

Forgive me, Father. I am listening now. I walked the twenty feet to the two picnic tables, grateful that the corner of one bench was still in a three-foot wide strip of shade before the advancing sun removed that one last bit of shadowed coolness in the entire block. The air was filled with the tantalizing smell of cooking beef.

“Okay, I said, “I’ll start the book I brought with me on do-it-yourself physical therapy for your knees.” But when I looked in my purse, I realized I had left the little book in the car.

Once again, I sighed. “Okay, Father. I realize You are trying to tell me something. I am sorry for getting so upset. I will just sit here and listen for what You want to say.”

I looked again at the intersection next to the inspection site, at the hot glare, the cars whizzing by, going in four directions. People out and about, many of whom would not have the luxury of going back home and staying inside, out of the heat, for the rest of the day.

Route Crew Photo - Getty ImagesThen I looked at the construction crew. Two men were using huge push brooms to smooth out the fresh asphalt. They all had long sleeve shirts and long pants on, a phenomenon I had thought peculiar when I first came to Texas ten years ago from Florida. I had learned since that people wear long sleeves because the Texas sun is more vicious than the Florida sun which passes through softening, highly humid air.

“How hot are they?” I wondered. “And they do this kind of work all day and all year long.”

There was a loud repeated thudding as some machine, just out of my sight, pounded away, breaking up a new section of pavement to be worked on, I presumed.

“And they have to listen to loud machinery all day long, too.’

“Freda, you need to be more grateful and stop complaining! What a wimp you can be! You are acting just like the Israelites complaining about sweet tasting manna.

“Expect trials to multiply.”  Then I thought of the devotional by Charles H. Spurgeon God had brought to my attention through a friend earlier that morning. When I got home, fifteen minutes later, I pulled out my well-worn copy of “Beside Still Waters” and turned to page two. It began:

Image result for PUBLIC DOMAIN PICTTURE OF OPEN BOOK IN LAP“God does not put heavy burdens on weak shoulders. God educates and tests our faith by trials that increase in proportion to our faith. God expects us to do adult work and to endure adult afflictions only after we have reached a mature status in Christ Jesus. Therefore, beloved, expect your trials to multiple as you proceed toward heaven.”

Spurgeon expounded on that theme, recalling that, in Abraham’s old age God had tested Abraham (Genesis 22:1).  Spurgeon warned “to never plan on a rest from trials this side of the grave.” He concluded by reminding us that we must stay in the fight and use our armor because we are in a war. We “must watch, pray and fight” and we must expect our “last battle to be the most difficult, for the enemy’s fiercest charge is reserved for the end of the day.”

Finally, deep understanding. This was a theme I had danced around in my solitary ponderings and in conversation with a friend who has also undergone a long string of troubles and trials, as I am sure you have also. But this time, on this pyretic morning in Texas, going about the routine of taking care of the ever-growing mound of small and trifling matters necessary to sustain life in our world, God gave the strength necessary to truly embrace this truth and accept it, rather than run from it as I had before.

Why I need to be more grateful. “Okay, Father. I see this clearly now. And I also see that You have all these last few months, with all these challenges, been equipping me with one of the best shields, that of developing a truly grateful heart.

You know when I first started consciously trying to be grateful, for the everyday little things right in front of me as well as for seemingly big things, it felt like just an exercise. I still had so much complaining going on inside at the same time I was saying ‘Thank You, Father, for this home, this furniture, all the food in my cabinets, the money that pays the bills, the dependable car I drive. . .’

But it has become more sincere and now I really mean it when I express my gratitude to You. You have renewed my heart.  Thank You, Father. I could not do it, no matter how hard I tried but You did.

And this is part of why You wrote Philippians 4:6-8 too, isn’t it, where You told us not to worry, to just ask You for what we need and to keep our minds fixed on good things.

 6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].

This thing about being grateful all day long is part of verse eight, part of the good things we are supposed to be thinking about, isn’t it Lord?

So, Father, I will think about good things today, I will think about all the wonderful things You are doing in my life and the lives of those I know and in this entire world. I will be grateful that I know You are all-powerful and also so very loving and merciful and that You help us in all our weaknesses and always will. I will strive to be more mindful of how great You are and how awesome it is that You take time to be involved in the details of my little life.  I will be grateful. for . .

Image result for PUBLIC DOMAIN PICTTURE OF PEACEFUL MOUNTATINS

Look! The Lord my God is near!

Image result for free picture of hark the herald angelsLook! The Lord my God is near! He will keep me safe from fear.
Though the enemy roar, God is king forevermore!
I submit to God’s great hand. He will lift me up to stand.
Casting all my care on Him, on His love I can depend.
Look! The Lord my God is near! He will keep me safe from fear!

Desperate about His Word. The short poem above, and the three stanzas below, can be sung to the tune of “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” while you go about your daily life this Christmas season. I wrote this poem two years ago, in the Christmas 2019 season. It is one of several poems singable to Christmas carol tunes, which you can find in the booklet entitled “Carols for Consecration” on the Books and More page of this website. They were all written as I was pondering Scripture.

Two years ago, I was learning how to maintain healing from life-controlling depression and fear, a healing God began in March of that year. What brought healing? Diligent, daily meditation on God’s Word. Two years ago, I desperately needed the constant reassurance this poem describes. Fortunately, that desperation led me to meditate on comforting Bible verses hour after hour, all day long, during every free minute, every day, week after week, month after month. God’s Word healed my heart after all else failed.

God has maintained the healing and helped me grow. How? By His grace moving me to continue delighting in His law and diligently meditating “on His law day and night.” (Psalm 1:2, NIV).

Still desperate about His Word. I am still desperate about His Word because I have learned I can do nothing without Him but that “I can do everything through Christ Who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13, NLT) By His grace I can now say to my loving, gracious Father:

“I will keep Your law continually, forever and ever [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it]. And I will walk at liberty and at ease, for I have sought and inquired for [and desperately required] Your precepts. (Psalm 119:45, AMPC)”

Image result for Free picture of Tree By Water. Size: 143 x 100. Source: pixabay.comI pray this and the other poems in “Carols for Consecration” move you to diligently meditate more and more on His truths, so that you may “have a constant supply of Living Water, that you may bear your fruit in season, that your leaf may not wither, and that all you do will prosper.” (Adapted from Psalm 1:3). To learn more about “Diligent Meditation”, see the booklet by that title on the Books and More page.

Below are the other stanzas of “Look! The Lord my God is near!”

[2] I can keep my heart controlled. God Himself indwells my soul!
I’m alert, and I watch out, for the devil prowls about.
I resist him, I stand strong, though the trial might feel long.
In my weakness, He gives grace, so I rise and run my race!
I can keep myself controlled. God Himself indwells my soul!

[3] My God covers me with peace. All my fears and worries cease!
He will keep me in His rest as I think on what is best.
In my weakness, He is strong. He will keep me from all wrong.
I will walk with Him in love. I will keep my mind above.
My God covers me with peace. All my fears and worries cease!

Image result for Free Picture of Earth in God's Hand. Size: 188 x 104. Source: concordpastor.blogspot.com[4] God Himself has full control. He who rules earth rules my soul!
He will give me grace to fight. We will win o’er darkest night!
Nothing that attacks me stands, for He holds me in His hand!
God is faithful. He will save!  This the banner that I wave!
God Himself has full control. He who rules earth rules my soul!

 

 

Are you under His feathers? Psalm 91, Pt. 2

Image result for free picture of shadow of the almightyMore about the secret place. In studying the first two verses of Psalm 91, we learned that all the rich promises of this psalm are contingent upon our fulfilling the conditions in those first two verses, which are dwelling in “the secret place of the Most High” and trusting God, with confidence, to take care of us.

Surprised afresh by even more truth.  I had my little outline ready for the next few verses of Psalm 91, intending to look at the “thens” or the effects of dwelling in the secret place, which we do by habitually loving, obeying Him, and trusting  Him.  But in getting my three Bibles opened to Psalm 91, in the NLT I saw something powerful:  most of this psalm is simply reassurances of God’s love.

His promises make an outline. For me, this entire psalm is about God’s compassionate, merciful, Father heart. It is about His craving to help us know His Father heart better and– in the strength that comes from that knowledge–to live the abundant life, with the confidence and the constant comfort found in His presence.  I say that because in this psalm, He is teaching us, in detail, how He will take care of us and He is promising. Notice how often He repeats “He will” and “I will”.

His promise to take care of us is the foundation of this psalm, the truth He keeps repeating in different ways. God’s promises are one way to outline this psalm, one way to structure our understanding of His central message here:

If we love and obey Him, He WILL take care of us.

Each verse (except 1, 2 and 9) describes what God will do for us. Verses 1 and 2 describe our part, but verses 3 through 16 describe what God will do in response.  So, a simple outline is:

  1. 1-4 — Our obedience and God’s response (summarized)
  2. 5-8 — Details about how God will respond — the “He wills”
  3. 9-16 – A restatement of verses 1-2, the exploits we will achieve, and seven thundering “I will” promises.

Image result for free picture of father comforting childSafe in God’s father arms.  In these promises can’t you hear Him pleading to come into His arms, into the secret place of His presence? Can’t you hear Him promising and reassuring, like a parent reassures a frightened or fretful little child? “There, there now. Everything is all right. It is all okay. Daddy is right here. I will help you. You are safe. . .”

And all the while, that Daddy’s strong, father arms are holding that little child close to his chest, enveloping her in the warmth and strength of his own body. You cannot hold a child close without that child feeling comfort simply from contact with your body. The very essence of your physical presence, your strength and power and superior size, brings comfort, just as the warmth of a mother hen’s body, the softness of her feathers, and the soothing darkness under her wings comfort a little chick.

Why so many promises? God could have ended this psalm with verse 4, because verses 1 through 4 give the entire message. However, I believe He continued expounding upon His message because He knew hearing the details of how He will protect us would bring comfort. Father God knew how many millions of His children through the ages would need to hear each of these words. He knew we sometimes need to hear “You are safe” more than once and in more than one way.

To continue with the previous example, when you cradle a frightened or hurt child in your arms, you keep murmuring reassurances, over and over, you instinctively rock them back and forth, and you do all that until the child is calm and at rest in your arms. You do not just say “It is all right” once then put the child on his feet—because you know that child needs to hear your voice and your words until calm returns. You know that child needs time in a safe place, time for heart rate and breathing to slow, and time for human touch to perform its God-ordained work.  Just like that child, we need to stay in His presence, quiet and still, for  a while.

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I believe (and this is a thought I approach with utmost reverence and respect) that somehow, in the spiritual realm, God comforts us when we are in His presence by giving us something of the essence of His Very Self. Somehow, when we come into contact with Him, our human spirit and our soul actually touch and are touched by Him and in that touching, He imparts part of Himself, a bit of the essence of Who He is, just as a loving human father imparts something of his physical being to the child he cradles in his arms. We receive that from Him when we stop what we are doing and focus our whole attention on Him.

NOTE: After I had written the first draft of this blog post, I found similar thoughts in “Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ”, a book written by Jeanne Guyon in the latter part of the seventeenth century. How kind God is to us when we seek Him!

Image result for free picture of god is loveGod could have made the Bible very short. He could have stated each command and principle one time and given only one brief illustration or story. But, no, like the Perfect Rabbi He is, He repeats things over and over and over, in a multitude of ways. He knows we sometimes need many words from our Heavenly Father, many reassurances, much cuddling, and much time in the secret place of His arms. So, He repeats truth by placing it in numerous places throughout the Bible and in some places, such as the psalms, He repeats a truth over and over, within just a few sentences, like in Psalm 91 when he repeats “I will. . . I will. . . I will. . . “.

Our seeking Him blesses Him.  I personally believe that the main reason God tells us, repeatedly, to turn to Him and trust Him is because it benefits us and keeps us safe. Putting the other first is part of true love (I Corinthians 13) and sacrificial love is part of God’s nature (John 3:16).

I think it must also be that the act of giving us comfort and reassurances blesses God. It must be good and pleasant for God when we seek Him out for comfort, when He is the one we turn to when we hurt or are afraid or when a bully, like the enemy of our souls, has threatened harm. It must be a delight to His Father heart, like the surge of relief when you successfully kiss away the hurt of a boo-boo.

Because of the nature of love—and we know that God IS love—giving comfort blesses the One who gives it. God would never do anything from selfish motives but it is somehow built into the nature of things, the way that love works, that it is good for God when we turn to Him for our needs. Somehow, when we let God meet our needs, we do a good thing for Him. That is a jewel to ponder for the rest of this earthly life!

So, with that thought and keeping in mind what verses 1 and 2 teach, let’s examine verses 3 and 4.

Image result for free picture of fowlers snareVerse 3: “For [then] He will deliver you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.” (AMPC)

Notice the “For [then]” at the start of verse 3. To reiterate, all the promises in this psalm depend upon our doing our part, as God explains in verses 1 and 2.

“He will deliver you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.” God delivers us from the traps of the enemy in two ways: from getting caught in the trap and freeing us after we have stepped into it. I was blessed to see that this was part of the sermon outline Charles Spurgeon used on this verse (The Snare of the Fowler by C. H. Spurgeon (blueletterbible.org))   The seven insights below are from that sermon by Pastor Spurgeon. I urge you to look up the entire sermon at the link given above.

  1. In Psalm 91:3, Satan is depicted as attacking not with persecution and as a roaring lion (I Peter 5:8) but as a snake, an adder, . . . “creeping silently along the path, endeavoring to bite our heel with his poisoned fangs, and weaken the power of grace and ruin the life of godliness within us.”
  2. The fowler (Satan) has numerous kinds of snares, suited for each bird.
  3. The fowler carefully conceals his trap. The non-believer rushes into sin whereas believers are “taken by secrecy.” As Spurgeon says, if the devil knocked on our door “with his horns visible” we would not let him in, but we too often welcome him in when he comes dressed as a gentleman.
  4. “The fowler’s snare is frequently associated with pleasures, profit, and advantage.” Satan makes sin look like fun and look like it will be good for us.
  5. Image result for free picture of a decoy duck and a real duckSometimes the fowler uses the force of an example, a “decoy duck”. The enemy does not send an outright sinner to lead us astray. Rather he “. . . makes use of a man who is pretendedly religious, and who looks to be of the same quality as yourself, and therefore entices you astray. . .” Then if that man goes astray, I am easily trapped in the same snare. “Be careful of your companions. . . follow them no further than they follow Christ. Let your course be entirely independent of everyone else.”
  6. Image result for free picture of a falcon on the wristAlso, Spurgeon notes that sometimes when the fowler cannot “take his bird by deceit and craft, he will send his hawk into the air to bring down his prey. He will go “a hawking after his prey.”
  7. Finally, sometimes the fowler uses all his tactics at once so that the “bird is beset on every side.”

And from the deadly pestilence (AMPC) or “deadly disease” (NIV).  Even without being a historian, I know that in Bible times all types of disease, including many types of plagues, were more common. It is easy to see why Holy Spirit moved on the psalmist to include this promise, is it not? Even though we live in a fallen world, surrounded by temptations and sin, sickness, and death, as we seek God, He delivers us and gives us victory and the peace that comes from God and which is part of God Himself. Take heart, fellow pilgrim! In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11)! His Word guides us into experiencing part of, while here on earth, the greatest blessing of eternal life—being in the presence of God Himself.  Selah, oh, selah!

Verse 4. [Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.” (AMPC)  (NIV says shield and rampart.)

Then He will cover you with His pinions.” The first four verses suggest a process, steps we can take with God. (1) We make God our home and (2) trust in Him with confidence, (3)  then He delivers us from Satan’s snares, (4) then He “covers us with His pinions” . And, (5) from that place under His outstretched wings, we are empowered to truly trust and find refuge.

Notice that in Verse 2 we say “God is my refuge” and we trust in Him, but Verse 4 says then we shall trust and find refuge.  To find refuge means we have to look for it. We have to take action. To put it another way. . .

See the source imageI think it is like God, using the metaphor of a bird, stretches out His wings over us and the outermost edges of his wings, His pinions, overshadow us. Remember, verse one says we are under the shadow of the Almighty. Then, like a tiny chick snuggling in as close as possible to the mother hen’s body, once we are safe in the shadow of His presence, if we keep snuggling in closer to Him, then we will find the refuge we seek.

It is like a fuzzy little chick running to its mother when danger approaches. That chick is not safe until the running its little feet are doing positions it under her pinions—the feathers she is stretching out to protect him. And that chick is not truly safe until he snuggles in close to mother hen’s body where, even if the attacker continues to pursue, the chick will be safe while the mother hen defends against  the attacker. I have never raised chickens but I am sure a mother hen will fight to her death to protect a chick under her wings.

In my opinion, because God is so merciful and compassionate and loving, He overshadows and protects us when we love and serve Him, but when we press in even closer, He gives us deeper trust and peace. A child who runs to her father when she is afraid benefits greatly just from his nearness but she benefits from the full measure of his love and fierce desire to comfort her only when she has flung herself on him  and wound her arms around his neck.

“His truth and faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.” I believe this sentence suggests two ways that God shields us. (1) God protects us because of His nature—He is by nature faithful to His children and His covenant with them–and (2) He also protects us by giving us the ability to remember His nature.

When we have had experiences where God delivered us, we begin to understand His character, and then we can trust Him because He is always, always, always faithful.  This is what Psalm 9:10 promises:

“And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God’s Word and the right of their necessity.] (AMPC)

A little girl playing in the back yard who has run into her father’s arms to get away from the over-excited puppy chasing her feels safe because her father has kept her safe before. She has known only love and comfort in His arms. I am sure beyond all doubt, dear friend, that you have found the same each and every time you have been aware of being in God’s presence, in His arms.

When I read the last half of verse four, another verse that talks about God shielding us comes to mind:

Image result for free picture of shield and bucklerThe Lord is my Strength and my [impenetrable] Shield; my heart trusts in, relies on, and confidently leans on Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song will I praise Him.” (Psalm 28:7, AMPC)

Other verses that speak of God being our impenetrable shield include Psalm 19:14, 28:7, 29:11. 46:1, 62:7, and 68:28. Pondering these verses and their context is a comfort.

A shield is a piece of defensive armor, and a buckler, according to some sources, is a small shield carried in the left hand and used to deflect blows from an enemy. Other sources say a buckler was a shield that completely covered the body. Regardless, the truth is that God’s protection is complete. He is all-powerful. (Job 42:2, Luke 1:37, and Jeremiah 32:17). And Psalm125:2 encourages us “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people both now and forevermore.” (NIV)

When we exercise our faith in God, we are lifting up the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16) and it will “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” (NIV).

Our heavenly Father is exceedingly loving and compassionate and “earnestly imprints on His heart” that we are frail, weak humans. (Psalm 103) We do not have to have perfect faith.  We just have to try to trust and to run in His direction. If we do, then we will find His strong, loving arms outstretched to us, to scoop us close, and ever closer, under His feathers – until we can truly trust. May it ever be so, oh, our Father!

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Fretting is forgetting

Fretting is forgetting, eyes off what He has done—
the victories He has given, the battles He has won.
My peace is in the knowing, eyes fixed on Him not me—
heart pondering His power.
In trusting, I am free.

See the source image

A personal note. My dear friend, I am sharing how I have stumbled and how God put me back on the right path. My prayer is that it encourages you to receive more of God’s goodness and grace and to better understand His deep, abiding passion for all of us.

Since God healed deep depression and fear, I have stayed in victory for many months. However, deep emotional struggles tangled up the last few days, and feelings have gradually worsened for weeks. One morning, I reviewed the past month, searching for what had gone wrong. A  month ago when reviewing  the nearly complete manuscript about overcoming depression, I had been living daily life consciously with God, being productive, and free from thoughts, feelings and reactions caused by depression and fear. And I was writing almost daily, my work for God and my joy.

I moved away, not God. So, on that first truly cold day here in Austin, I sat in the rocker with the window cracked two inches, relishing the truly cold air and the predawn darkness outside the window, re-reading my journaling notes back to when I had felt so close to God and joyful and excited about each day.  I have heard, more than once, that when you feel distant from God, it is you who moved, not God. So, I knew that because I no longer felt close to God meant that I had moved away, not Him.

So, I prayed and began taking notes as I reviewed the month.

Fretting is forgetting, eyes off what He has done. I had by grace been walking in the light (Psalm 56:13), BUT when several physical problems intensified simultaneously (asthma, feet issues, joints, heart concerns, etc.) I spent precious time and energy doing the best I could with each problem, which included prayer, going to doctors, refining my diet, adding more stretches and exercise as well as rest, etc. That was where my eyes turned off God and toward the problems, thus, toward darkness.

Image result for free picture of a dark pathThe path of fretting leads to darkness. Although I know better, I began fretting, focusing on problems, rather than God’s promises. We can focus on only one thing, so in turning my focus away from light, and toward my problems, I was heading toward the darkness with its deadly snares of discouragement, fear, and despair.  And I kept on in that direction, unaware that my pathway was growing darker, my vision growing dimmer. God lovingly warns us in Psalm 37:8 b:  “. . . Do not fret– it leads only to evil.” (NIV)

The victories He has given, the battles He has won.  Even though the book I was finishing described the many victories God had given over depression, I was not thinking about them myself and thanking God for them afresh, which would have kept my attention on God’s power and my heart filled with light.

Image result for free picture of poisonWithout God’s power and victories in mind, we often start thinking our current situation is impossible. We begin losing hope and subconsciously begin doubting God and His power and His love for us. Eventually we can even start to doubt His goodness and fall for the same lie Satan told Eve in Genesis 3:4-5. Satan told Eve that God was withholding good from her and Adam, that He was not giving them the best.  Those kinds of evil thoughts can flow subconsciously, in our hearts, beyond our awareness because, as Jeremiah 17:9 cautions, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV)

Psalm 105 to 107: the wisdom of often remembering what God has done.  Psalm 105, 106, and 107 clearly tell us it is wise to consciously, intentionally  recall what God has done. These three psalms show the wisdom of regularly observing and heeding the Lord’s “goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men.” The key idea that links these psalms is Psalm 107:43:

“Whoso is wise [if there be any truly wise] will observe and heed these things; and they will diligently consider the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord. (AMPC).”  

“These things” are God’s goodness and loving-kindness and “His wonderful works for the children of men”, some of which are recounted in Psalm 105 and 106.

Psalm 105 opens with “O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the people” (KJV) Verses 1 through 5 tell us five things to do: thank the Lord, sing to Him, glory in His holy name, look to Him and His strength, and remember “the wonders He has done.”  In the rest of Psalm 105 God reminds Israel, and us, of how faithful He was to them, beginning with Abraham all the way through their history to when He gave them the promised land in order that “they might observe His statutes and keep His laws (hearing, receiving, loving and obeying them].” (AMPC) In other words, He created a people of His own and put them in the wonderful land He had prepared so that they could love and follow Him. He does the same thing when He matures us, taking us on a journey to a position of right-standing with Him, so that we can enjoy the fulfillment of His promises.

Image result for free picture of red seaPsalm 106 starts with praise for God and His merciful doings and then confesses that “our fathers in Egypt understood not nor appreciated your miracles; they did not [earnestly] remember the multitude of Your mercies, nor imprint Your loving-kindness [on their hearts], but they were rebellious and provoked the Lord at the sea, even at the Red Sea (v. 7, AMPC) Then we read that “nevertheless, He saved them for His name’s sake [to prove the righteousness of the divine character], that He might make His mighty power to be known.”   And we read how He saved them over and over when they kept rebelling all throughout their wilderness journey. Read for yourself and see how merciful God was with them, “nevertheless” hearing their cry and how

He [earnestly] remembered for their sake His covenant, and relented their sentence of evil—according to the abundance of His mercy and loving-kindness [when they cried out to Him]” v. 45, AMPC)

They forgot what God had done and turned away over and over and over but every time God rescued them when they called out to Him.

Psalm 107. Then read Psalm 107, which opens with “O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.” (AMPC). Notice that the idea of thanking the Lord for his goodness and mercy and loving-kindness is repeated four times as a lament, in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31. The psalmist is deeply grieved that people are not doing that. He laments –“Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord His goodness and loving-kindness, and His wonderful works to the children of men!”  Psalm 107 concludes with verse 43, which tells us it is truly wise to “observe and heed these things” and “diligently consider the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord.”

God is clearly telling us what to do—we are to “Give thanks to the LORD because He is good. His love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1, 136:1, NIV) And, as with all that He does, it is for our good. Selah and selah and selah, oh my soul!

Image result for free picture of gods loveBesides Psalm 107, another psalm, Psalm 136, also opens with “O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.” The phrase “His mercy and loving-kindness endures forever” is repeated in all 26 verses of Psalm 136, after statements about His great wonders from the time of creation to His current bountiful provision for Israel. God wants us to remember that “His love endures forever” (NIV)

So, dear friend, I lament . . . If only I had remembered to remember His countless gifts to me personally and His eternal loving nature, I would have recalled the battles He had fought for me and the victories we had won as He trained me to keep myself calm in times of adversity (Psalm 94:13). I would not have kept fretting about my problems and looking to my own strength. I could have stayed out of the snares of discouragement and despair that bound me up in self-focus.

My peace is in the knowing, eyes fixed on Him not me. In hindsight, I can see where I failed in my part of the blessed promise in Isaiah 26:3

“ You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.”  (AMPC)

My heart remained committed to Him but I was leaning on my own understanding–my mind not fixed on Him– as I tried to figure out solutions to the problems. I was trapped in the snare of fretting and worry because it made me feel in control. I had stopped hoping confidently in God. How the enemy must love it when he manages to steal our hope and our conscious confidence in God!

. . . heart pondering His power. . . in trusting, I am free. When my mind is on God, either through talking with Him or pondering on His Word, I am free from hurt from the world, my flesh, and the devil. Keeping my mind on God and the truths of His Word keeps me trusting, believing, and waiting with confident expectation.

Image result for free picture of chainThere is a deep mystery and connection for me between the words trust, faith, hope, confidence and expectation and what it produces in the life of God’s believing children. I see a faint glimmer of how it works. It is cause and effect, like the links of a chain. I believe the mechanism of its operation, the way it works, is summarized in “We live by faith, not by sight.” or as I heard paraphrased recently, “We live by believing not by seeing.”

To me, that means we have to reach out, into the unseen and eternal spiritual realm (2 Corinthians 4:18) and when we do, our faith (which is trust, hope, and belief) is doing our part and then God responds. I know our faith pleases God, because He says we have to believe in Him and have to believe that He will reward our diligent seeking of Him.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6, NIV)

The way of faith in Psalm 91. In Psalm 91, I see this same cause and effect between our faith and the rewards of being consciously aware of God’s presence, which includes peace.

When I do my part and dwell in the secret place of the Most High (verse 1) and

When I say the Lord “. . . is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Hm I lean and rely and in him, I [confidently] trust!

THEN He delivers me from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

THEN He will cover me with His pinions,

and while I am there, under the covering of His wings—and His wings are spread over me, covering me, BECAUSEI reached out in faith to Him—I shall (which means definitely) be enabled to trust and find the refuge I seek.

And His truth and faithfulness will THEN be my shield and my protection.

This Is the main idea of the poem that started this writing, this idea that when I remember what God has done, I can put my faith—my active, reaching out trust—in Him. THEN, in the act of trusting itself, I am at peace.

Like firmly embedded nails, during my emotional stumbling, our loving Shepherd has deeply rooted more of His wisdom about trusting into my heart (Ecclesiastes 12:11). And I am grateful.

Image result for free pictukre of child on stairsHis discipline is so, so loving.  The depth of God’s love—the little we can understand of its fathomless depths—is astounding. “God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10b, NIV).  I get a small understanding of this when I recall a story I heard long ago. As a woman tearfully watched her young son, who had a pronounced limp, struggle to get his tricycle up the stairs and onto the porch, her friend asked why she did not help. The loving mother replied, “If I help him now, he will never learn to do things for himself.”

Think about how much God loves us, but also consider His wisdom. He knows we have to learn basic disciplines of the Christian faith, that we must remain faithful to His teachings (John 8:31), that we must keep growing and developing (2 Peter 1:3-10) and pressing on toward maturity (Philippians 3:12-21). So, God lovingly sends circumstances that force us to grow. He lovingly prunes us (John 15:2) so we will bear even more fruit. And He trains us to cleanse ourselves from ignoble purposes, so that we may be “instruments for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work” (2 Timothy 2:20-21)

When I am in painful struggles, I may wonder, at least subconsciously, as perhaps that precious little boy did, why God does not remove the problem when it would be so easy for Him to do so. But, I can choose, by faith, to remember that God is working for my good, in all things (Romans 8:28). I can also choose to say I am blessed because “Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You discipline and instruct,  Lord, and teach out of Your law, that (emphasis added)  You may give him power to keep himself calm in the days of adversity, until the [inevitable] pit of corruption is dug for the wicked. “Psalm 94:12-13, AMPC)

Image result for free pictukre of heartThe blessings of this trial – a renewed heart and renewed commitment. God used this latest turbulent time, of my own making, to show I needed a specific plan to keep walking in victory and to stay out of the pit of depression and fear. By His grace, I had developed some excellent spiritual disciplines during that season of intense healing, but I needed some “insurance” that I would maintain those disciplines as well as some other habits that guard against discouragement and depression. Failing in some of these areas is, I believe, what opened the door to discouragement this last time. So, I am confessing and repenting of those sins, as I have already done with a close friend, knowing He will cleanse me from them. (“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9, NASB).

I believe God clearly showed me the need for a specific plan to stay out of the pit. I am earnest about this agreement with God, but I am not calling it a vow. Failing to keep vows is sin. It is disrespectful to God and foolish. We are to stand in awe of God in all things. Regarding vows, He tells us clearly:

“When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. 6Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, fear God. (Ecclesiastes 5:4-7, NIV).

Image result for free pictukre of waling with godStaying in His presence, feasting on His Word, serving Him with love. I am setting my heart to be as careful as I can in maintaining the spiritual habits I personally need as well as certain other habits. I am recommitting to love the Lord in this way with “all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).  My plan is to:

  • Maintain the daily devotional times of Bible study and prayer He has shown are needed for me personally,
  • The best I can to either talk with God or be meditating on the Word, (Psalm 1), all day, from rising up to lying down, and
  • Do whatever my hand finds to do with all my might and to do it willingly, as for the Lord (Ecclesiastes 9:10, Colossians 3:23).

Confident joy! We can be confident that God is with us when we seek to follow Him more closely, and that He will help us and give us strength.  He says in Isaiah 48:10

“Fear not, [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice.” (AMPC)

We can also be confident because we know that growing in Him is in accordance with His will.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him.” (I John 5:14-15, NIV)

How blessed we are that God shows us clearly how to live, patiently teaching over and over what we need to know, whether our walk with Him has been long or short! How blessed we are that His presence fills us with joy and the promise of eternal pleasures with Him!

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. “(Psalm 16:11, NIV)

Selah, and selah, and selah, oh my soul!

Image result for Walking in God's Plan

 

“Troubles, trials, distress, and frustration.”

Just a regular frustrating day.  “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world, you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration. Be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I am overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] John 16:33, AMPC

Image result for Free Picture of OatmealThe “tribulations and trials and distress and frustrations” of being human had filled the first hours of this day. As I ate my oatmeal, I felt guilty for sleeping late although health issues required extra rest right now. Irritated that negative thoughts, which had led to depression in years past, now swirled in my mind, I asked myself “Are these health problems going to drag me back toward the pit? I am doing the best I can, Lord, but it is really hard.”

“Lord, surely in this world we do have troubles, trials, distress and frustration. Help me be of good cheer, like You said, and to remember that You have overcome the world for me.” I paused. “Even though it surely does not feel like it today!”

Next, after 45 minutes at the computer, I hit save, bagged up the garbage to toss in the dumpster and headed out the door for my daily short, and slow, walk.

“I’m frustrated about the writing, too, Lord. You always give so many thoughts and I want to include so much of the Bible, but I read that people do not want to read long blog posts. And there are so many projects I want to write but my back cannot take long hours at the computer like before.”

“Oh, Lord! Forgive me for complaining! It is such a gift and a privilege to serve You and live for You.  I know You will guide, Lord, and show just what to do each day. Help me focus on Your truths and not my fears and frustrations!”

God speaks through nature. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” (Psalm 19:1-2, NIV)

Image result for Free Picture of Neighborhood StreetI started walking slowly down the short street bordering my building, striving to put my heel down first, as the physical therapist had coached me to do, noticing again how the trees along the sidewalk formed a straight line all the way to the first intersection, which abutted the neighborhood elementary school. When I walked earlier in the morning, several men in work clothes stood together, waiting for a ride to their work, but by late morning, like today, it was just me and the Lord and an occasional cat, napping under a broken toy wagon next to the sagging and soggy yellow couch and the splintered bookcase.

My walk usually ended at the intersection but the wind blowing through the trees along the small, gravel track at the elementary school enticed me. I sidled through the open gate and walked to the green wrought iron bench. Still feeling tired and discouraged, I texted a friend whose husband was facing yet another surgery and another friend whose teenager was being, well, a real teenager.

As I looked, the wind kept moving the overgrown grass in rippling waves, fluttering the leaves of the trees, murmuring in my ears, bringing back the pure pleasures of childhood, like the feel of Florida’s sugary soft beach sand curling around bare toes,  the cool touch of the conch shell pressing  into my ear, and the sound of the ocean’s power echoing within its twisting chamber. Finally, I really looked. Finally, I started listening to God.

Who can know the path of the wind? Who can know the way of God? Part of Psalm 103 bubbled up from within: “As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” (NIV) 

“Lord, surely, I am indeed a blade of grass. Teach me, oh Lord, to “number my days aright” so I can live wisely. (Psalm 90:12) Help me remember that I am here on earth, and You are there in heaven, ruling and reigning over all things. Help me remember I cannot understand Your ways any more than I can tell which way the wind will blow next, like that verse in Ecclesiastes I memorized so long ago, that as I “do not know how the body is formed in the womb, so I cannot understand the way of God, the Maker of all things.” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). Help me stop trying to figure everything out, which I know makes me feel in control. Help me trust You when things seem to be going all wrong.”

Image result for Free Picture of Wind In WheatI looked intently at the grass. The green of the bottom two-thirds blended into yellow and pale brown, with dark brown spikes at the top of each stem, like mature heads of wheat, pulling the entire strand of grass over in the moments the wind was still. The up, then down, left, then right, then swirling patterns made the path of the wind visible.

“How many strands of grass?” I wondered, “cover this little track, the in-field, the surrounding areas up to the fence and then toward the playground. Thousands? Millions? Yet they all move as one when the wind touches them. Each blade is so fragile, but together they make a grand symphony of motion.”

The way of the word in the heart. “Oh, Father! Please help Your silly child. Help me get in the right rhythm with You again, to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galations 5:25). Help me return to depending on You and not my own strength to keep myself together. That is what I was doing the last few days, right?  Help me yield to Your ways and Your leading, just as these blades of grass yield to the wind and in so doing are beautiful. Help me yield, Lord! Help me trust! I trust You, Lord! Help me trust You more! “

“I know every single person also has loads of troubles, trials, distress and frustrations, just as I do. They are just different for each person. Help me honor You, Lord, in my individual life, this day, this hour. Help me be cheerful, and take courage and be confident, certain, and undaunted, as You told your disciples just before Your arrest and trial and crucifixion.  Help me remember that You have overcome the world and that it cannot harm me because You have deprived it of that power. Help me fix my mind on heavenly things and KEEP it set, because that is where my real life is, with You, not here on earth.”  (And set your minds and keep them set on what is above—the higher things—not on the things that are on the earth.” Colossians 3:2, AMPC)

When I got back home, I looked up the verse about the wind. “As You do now know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in the womb, so you cannot understand the way of God, the maker of all things. (NIV) Then I read verse 6.

Image result for Free Picture of Sowing SeedSow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.”  

“Wow, Lord! Those two verses together mean to me that we are to work steadily each day, all day, because we do not know whether which one or all of our tasks will succeed any more than we can predict where the wind will blow next. Oh, help me, Lord, to do “whatever my hand finds to do” with all my heart, knowing I am working for You (Colossians 3:23 and Ecclesiastes 9:10).  Yes, Father, even if that is a morning of frustrating phone calls and an afternoon of doctor visits and errands. Let the deep meaning of Romans 8:28 resonate inside my heart. Assure me that You are a partner in my labor and that everything is fitting into a plan because I love You.”

“We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor], all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.” (AMPC)

“Remind me that You are a partner in my work. Help me live each hour with that awareness.”

“Help me remember that “the Lord delights in the way of the man whose steps he has made firm” and that “though he stumble, he will not fall for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” (Psalms 37:23-24, NIV). And as the Amplified says You busy Yourself with his every step. That, truly, is remarkable!”

“Believe in the Lord your God and you will be able to stand firm. (2 Chronicles 20:20a) (NLT) As I tidied up before heading out the door, I saw my battered copy of the NLT open on the kitchen counter. From my daily Bible reading that morning, it was to open to the story of King Jehoshaphat’s victory over the combined armies of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir.  Although Jehoshaphat was initially terrified to learn that the armies were surrounding him, he “begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting.” (2 Chronicles 20:3, NLT)  He stood before the people and prayed a powerful prayer in verses 6-12, praising God for His power, reminding Him of His promise to hear their cry, admitting their powerlessness and looking to Him for help.

Then “The spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there” and Jahaziel told the people not to be afraid or discouraged  because “the battle is not yours, but God’s” (v. 15) He said they only had to take their positions and stand still and “watch the Lord’s victory.”  Verse 18 and 19 records that King Jehoshaphat bowed low to the ground, as did all the people, and then they all worshipped God.

‘Give thanks to the LORD; his faithful love endures forever.’ (Psalm 136:1, NLT) Early that morning, before troubles, trials, distress and frustration invaded my mind, I had drawn a box around verse 20, where Jehoshaphat had encouraged his people saying:.

“Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.” (NLT)

After that, Jehoshaphat had placed “. . . singers ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising Him for His holy splendor. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the LORD; his faithful love endures forever.’ (Psalm 136:1)

IImage result for free picture of jehoshaphat stood at my clean kitchen counter and continued re-reading the story. At the very moment they began to sing and give praise (emphasis added), the LORD caused the armies of Amon, Moab and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. (v. 22)” The story continued, telling that when the “army of Judah arrived at the looking point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.” (v 24).  

“Yes, I see that, Lord, and thank You! At the very moment they started to sing, You fought for them.”

I smiled, copied verse 20b on a folded piece of printer paper—”Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in His prophets, and you will succeed. I could memorize that much while I waited at the doctor’s office. I walked out the door, saying, from the heart.

“Oh, Lord! How I do thank You! Your faithful love surely endures forever. What wonderful things You do for Your children!  Thank You for Your Word, that gives such clear guidance and encouragement. Thank You for being with us each moment of every day, thank You, Lord, thank You, for . . . ”

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God notices you – always

Image result for Jacob Ladder to Heaven“Behold, I am with you and will keep [careful watch over you and guard] you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this [promised] land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15 (AMPC) – Part of God’s promise to Jacob, when he left his father Isaac’s house.

“Behold, I am with you.”  I stepped out of the front door of my daughter’s house, noticing that her key chain had a heft mine did not. Cool air caressed my face, and I inhaled deeply, relishing the crispness of it, and hoping the chilly days of February would extend well into the springtime.

I climbed into my daughter’s SUV and put the my purse, thermos of water, and two napkins (which my grandsons would put in their laps to, somewhat, catch cracker crumbs from their after-school, on-the-road snack)  in the passenger seat, my usual weekday routine. As I backed up and drove down the neighborhood street under the oaks that nearly met overhead. I started repeating the phrases of Genesis 28:15, my current meditation verse.

Father, that phrase ‘Behold, I am with you’, starts with ‘Behold’, which means to pay attention to something, to stop and take notice, like when the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. You really want me to stop and realize You are with me, don’t You?”

Tears moistened my eyes. My throat tightened. “Thank You, Father that You know how I feel. You know I still feel so small and unimportant and so guilty sometimes that I wasted two years being so depressed and fearful. I am so, so grateful that You are healing the depression as You give me the strength to keep my mind on You and Your Word all day.

And to know, to have You say to my mind almost audibly through that verse, that You are right here with me in this car, that You are here with me in all my failures and fears, well, Father, it is more than I can understand but I thank You so much for letting me feel Your presence. Thank You, Father, thank You. If You are with me, everything will be okay. Help me remember that.”

Image result for free picture of street with brown trees and grass“I will keep watch over you with care.” I turned left on Stassney, then right on Manchaca, heading toward school, driving through streets surrounded by faded brown winter trees and grass and a low, gray sky above. Leaving the heater gave the air inside the car a pleasant, brisk bite.

And the thought, Father, that You keep watch over me, why that is a military term, isn’t it? You want me to think of You like a soldier standing guard through the night and the day, purposefully focused on keeping that which he is guarding safe from all harm. And You say you keep watch over me with care, which means diligently, paying attention to each detail. And it is You, You, Lord, Who made and sustains the entire universe, You are the One who is keeping watch over every detail of my days, every day. That is just too wonderful for me to understand, Lord.”

“I will take notice of you wherever you may go.” The familiar road dipped down then up then turned left in a slow arc as I drove by offices and stores. Excitement and pleasure built, as it always did, when I was about to see my grandsons.

Image result for free picture of parent and child in woods“Lord, there is something about that phrase “take notice of you.” I know it means to pay special attention to, or to be interested in, and the dictionary said it means ‘to observe with special attention.” Father, the picture that comes to mind each time with that phrase is of a parent noticing the tiny things her child is doing and how much that little child wants the parent to notice them, to pay attention to them, to help build a block tower or to take a walk in the park to find roly-polies and pine cones.

I guess that’s why that phrase means so much to me, Lord. You know the hurts of the past that You are still healing. You know I felt unnoticed and unimportant growing up. I did not feel loved, even though I was. And You know how the enemy has used those same lies for all my life to torment me, to steal good things from my life and to get me depressed and discouraged so often through the years.

Thank You, Father, that Your Word, Your truth, is changing my heart at the root level as I keep thinking about Your truths, over and over a hundred times a day even with the same truth, like now, that You, You, Lord up in heaven, are noticing me, right now, this very moment. And that what I am doing—this ordinary, mundane thing—is precious in Your sight. You are noticing how I have prepared the little snack the boys love, You notice how I love the cool weather You’ve given, You notice that I am trying to memorize Your Word, You notice that I am trying with all my heart to please You and do what You want all day long.

Image result for free picture of daytime skyYou notice me, Lord! Help me never take that for granted.  You notice when I feel I have failed, and the truth of Your wonderful Word tells me that Your love for me is as high as the heavens are above the earth, that Your love has separated my sins—and that includes my failures—as far as the east is from the west. Your Word tells me that You do all that because You love me and have compassion on me like a father loves and pities his children, and that You have imprinted on Your heart that I am just dust, a frail human being.  Thank you, Father, for those comforting truths in Psalm 103.

Thank You, Father, thank You. To know that You notice each thing I do, that You observe me with special attention is comforting. It gives me strength to keep going and to trust that You will continue the healing.”

“. . . and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I told you.”  I parked on the street bordering the school, along with other parents and grandparents, then walked up the sloping hill to the school entrance, slowly to avoid getting too short of breath. Sitting on the bench encircling a grandfather oak, waiting for the bell, I saw Ansel, head swiveling as he walked out, third behind his teacher. He broke out of line, said something to her, then, as she saw me, she nodded to him, bumped fists, and he ran toward me, backpack wobbling from side to side, his face lit up.

Image result for free picture of child leaving school“Nana!”, he yelled. “I knew you were coming!”

We waited on Ben’s class, then the three of us walked to the car. As we drove home, I listened to their brotherly chatter in the back seat. I also listened to what Holy Spirit whispered in my heart as I repeated the last phrase of Genesis 28:15-16.

“Thank You, Lord.” I silently prayed as Ansel asked Ben if he had seen the new swings on the playground,  “Thank You that I know You will finish the good work of healing You have started in me. Thank You that I know You will be with me every moment, just as You are right now.”

A personal request

Dear, dear reader, I wish I could adequately explain what a difference keeping God’s Word in my mind has made for me. The scene described above happened many months ago, when I had just  started the habit of studying the Word of God, diligently, in my areas of personal need and meditating upon and memorizing the verses Holy Spirit showed me. During the months of doing that, God healed deep depression and fear. Counseling and medicine had helped, but life remained a daily misery until God’s Word began its healing work.

And the healing came, hour by hour, day by day, week upon week, as I kept studying and meditating all day long on God’s truths about peace and His loving provision and other healing truths. The truth of God did its work as I drove to work, got groceries, spent time with my family, and most of all when I was home, alone with God, facing the struggle of reclaiming the happy and productive life depression had stolen for two years.

God’s Word will heal your life. Your problem may not be depression and anxiety, but whatever it is, God’s Word will heal your heart and your life. I beg you to start the habit of constant, all-day and night meditation upon verses from the Bible that address your needs.

Usually, a piece of writing seems to end itself. But I only know how to end this one by pleading, once again: Please make getting God’s Word into your heart a daily priority.  God’s Word will make your heart whole and sound. God’s Words truly are “ . . . life to those that find them, healing and health to all their flesh.” Proverbs 4:22, AMPC.

The next blog post, “The Arsenal of God’s Word” will give a list of Scriptures that will lead you toward peace and explain more about how the Word works in your heart.

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“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” (Philemon 25)

 

 

God Promises His Presence IF . . . Part Eight

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  • Part One – God’s presence is often termed “God’s face”, He tells us to seek His face, it is a vital need for us, and He will help us.
  • Part Two – Basic truth’s about God’s presence. He promises His presence if we love and obey Him.
  • Part Three – Some of the many ways we can love God.
  • Part Four –  We sometimes see God’s face and sometimes not because God is sovereign. He initiates our awareness of His presence, He responds to our reaching out, and He withdraws temporarily. There are also hindrances to His presence over which we have some control.
  • Part Five: Hindrances to God’s presence include disobedience, lack of love, our physical condition, and our soul’s condition, our spiritual condition, lack of experience or knowledge, hidden sin, and lies from the enemy.
  • Part Six: The enemy attacks our minds with vicious lies, trying to keep us from being aware of God’s presence.
  • Part Seven: What to do if you do not feel His presence or never have.

In this last part of the series “God Promises His Presence IF. . . “, we see why we must never give up.

PART EIGHT:  DO NOT GIVE UP!

  • Rely on God, and do not turn to the world. God answers us when we rely on Him. (2 Chronicles 14:11).
  • “God is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” (2 Chronicles 15:2b, NIV)
  • God is always looking out for us, to strengthen us.
  • We win our battles when we rely on the Lord because it is the Lord Who does the fighting, not us.

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Rely on God, and do not turn to the world. God answers us when we rely on Him. (2 Chronicles 14:11).  In 2 Chronicles 14, King Asa “did what was right and good in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 14:2). He began removing idol worship and commanded his people to seek God. “God gave him rest” during those years (v. 6). After Asa had built up his kingdom, the Cushites, the fiercest army on earth at the time, attacked. But Asa prayed,

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“LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.” (v. 11, NIV).

Asa won a mighty victory over the Cushite army that day. Why? Because he relied on God.

God is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”  (2 Chronicles 15:2b, NIV). In 2 Chronicles 15, as King Asa and his army were returning to Jerusalem after the mighty victory described in Chapter 14, the prophet Azariah went out to meet him. Azariah told Asa and all his kingdom that:

The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”

The prophet reminded Asa that, in previous times, the whole world was in turmoil because they had rejected God. He said that if Asa would be strong and not give up, his work would be rewarded (v. 7).  Asa was encouraged and continued his work of removing idol worship that he had begun before the Cushites attacked. And Asa had peace for many years.

Although our world is in turmoil, if we, like Asa, remember the battles God has already won for us as we relied on him, if we remember that God is with us when we are with Him, we can draw on His strength to finish the work God has for us.

See the source imageGod is always ready to give us His strength when we are weak and need encouraging. He says that very thing in 2 Chronicles 16. God is always looking out for us, to strengthen us. 2 Chronicles 16:9, tells us  “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth, to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” (NIV)

Sadly, this same King Asa, who was so encouraged in Chapter 15 by hearing that “The Lord is with you while you are with Him”, this same king who carried out a major reform of his entire kingdom, this same king who was clearly warned not to forsake God or God would forsake him– this same King did indeed forsake God. In Chapter 16, after many, many years of peace, when King Asa’s city was besieged, Asa bought help, with treasures from the Lord’s temple no less, from another king.

But because Asa relied on another king for help rather than God, this time he did not have victory. Then a different prophet, Hanani, reminded King Asa that, in the previous battle years ago, God had delivered the mighty Cushite army into Asa’s hand because Asa had relied on the Lord. Hanani said that though the Cushite army was mighty, “Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand.” (V. 8). Why? Hanani tells King Asa:

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen the hearts of those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”

Image result for free picture of parent and child and training wheelsThat reassures us that any time we begin to lose heart and become discouraged, we can count on God to steady us and give us what we need to move forward. I like to think of that as the way a parent walks right beside a child who is just learning to ride without training wheels.  The parent hovers as the child pedals along, and holds his hands on either side, ready to instantly catch and set the child upright should there be a wild wobble.

Then Hanani continued speaking to King Asa. “You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

God is clearly teaching us that we win our battles when we rely on the Lord because it is the Lord Who does the fighting, not us. He gives us His strength when we need it because He is always looking out over the entire world, every moment, for His children who need His strength. He wants us to know that because it encourages us.

God sees every single person on earth whose heart is fully committed to Him. God watches us every moment, He knows when we are struggling, for whatever reason, and He will deliver us.

When I too, like Asa, get discouraged and fearful because l am besieged by real problems, unable to have what I need, including my usual supply of God’s presence and peace just as King Asa could not get supplies for his kingdom when he was under siege, I can seek help from God, who never, never, never fails me. And I can wait, with confidence, knowing that He will again give me the peace that comes from awareness of His presence. If I spend my efforts trying worldly methods to find peace, as Asa spent his wealth trying to buy help from worldly kings, I will fail and be at war. If I seek relief through entertainment, food, other people, drugs, or whatever, peace will elude me. But, if I put my trust in God, if I trust Him and obey. . .

WHILE YOU WAIT ON HIM . . . TAKE COURAGE!

Stay Strong in the FaithAll of us are being challenged lately, in many ways, to stand strong in faith. This is an excellent time to strengthen our ability to walk closely with God and to be aware of His presence. If awareness of His presence is new to you, be patient. Give your relationship time to grow and while it is growing, be assured that God is pleased with your reaching out to Him. So . . .

  • Remember He never leaves you for one moment. (Deuteronomy 31:8; Isaiah 41:10-13)
  • Remember that being desperate for God is a good thing. God tells us to desperately seek Him. In Psalm 27:8 David says to God, “You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need].”
  • Remember God loves to be with us. Recall Eden. It gives Him pleasure to be with us, and we were created for the purpose of glorifying God and giving Him pleasure (Isaiah 43:7 and Revelations 4:11)
  • Remember He is longing, passionately, to let you lean on Him and his strength, like a tired wife leans on her loving husband or a child leans on his trusted father. (Isaiah 30:18)
  • Remember always to revere, respect and appreciate God’s presence and who He is but also remember He wants close fellowship with us. Although we are to stand in awe of God, God also wants us to be affectionate with Him. The book of Psalms, in the Amplified version, includes eighteen passages that say we are to “bless (affectionately and gratefully praise) the Lord”. And Jesus says when we observe the Lord’s supper “to call Me [affectionately to remembrance] (I Corinthians 11:24-25, AMPC).  We can approach God like the perfect Father He is, all-powerful but full of compassion and mercy and love for us, His dearly beloved and cherished children.

See the source imageAnd I say, again, because it is important: Although we are to stand in awe of God, God also wants us to be affectionate with Him. We are His dearly beloved and cherished children. If a human father treasures the affection of his children, how much more deeply must our love touch our Heavenly Father?

FINALLY, WAIT WITH CONFIDENT EXPECTANCY!

Waiting with expectation is the key to peace and victorious living.  Remember that in Psalm 27 David talks about the importance of seeking God. The last verse, verse 14 encourages us: “Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!” We can have confidence that God will deliver us and if we wait for Him with expectancy, we will maintain our peace and walk in His ways as we wait. That will make our lives a light to others!

Your deliverer is coming!  I wish I had remembered to listen to the song “My Deliverer is Coming!” by Rich Mullins during the first part of writing this little book. While I was studying the topic and struggling to perceive God’s presence, the spirit of hope in this song would have helped.

I urge you to look up and read the lyrics over thoughtfully, then listen to the song. You can find the lyrics  and several videos on God Tube as well as You Tube by using your web browser.  The anointing on some songs truly goes beyond words. This is one of those heavily anointed songs. It will give you the shivers. It will give you courage. And, it will make you take a deep breath, squint your eyes, clench your fists, raise your hands toward heaven  and say “Yes, Lord! Whatever it takes!”

Friend and fellow pilgrim, whatever you face in your life, God WILL answer and you will feel His peace. Wait, I say again, “Wait for, hope for and expect the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14, NIV) Our Deliverer is coming! Hallelujah! All glory and honor and praise be unto our King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Think of it! One day soon we will be part of that great multitude described in Revelations 7. We will fall facedown before the throne and worship God, saying:

“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” (Revelations 7:12, NIV)

 

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God Promises His presence IF . . . Part Seven

Review:Image result for Free Picture of Clouds

  • Part One – God’s presence is often termed “God’s face”, He tells us to seek His face, it is a vital need for us, and He will help us.
  • Part Two – Basic truth’s about God’s presence. He promises His presence if we love and obey Him.
  • Part Three – Some of the many ways we can love God.
  • Part Four –  We sometimes see God’s face and sometimes not because God is sovereign. He initiates our awareness of His presence, He responds to our reaching out, and He withdraws temporarily. There are also hindrances to His presence over which we have some control.
  • Part Five: Hindrances to God’s presence include disobedience, lack of love, our physical condition, and our soul’s condition, our spiritual condition, lack of experience or knowledge, hidden sin, and lies from the enemy.
  • Part Six: The enemy attacks our minds with vicious lies, trying to keep us from being aware of God’s presence

PART SEVEN: IF YOU DO NOT FEEL HIS PRESENCE NOW OR NEVER HAVE

Image result for free picture of someone behind youGod is with you, whether or not you feel His presence. When I searched the web for free pictures of “someone behind you” I chose this picture. Why? It is cute and light-hearted and I know God wants us to have a joy-filled relationship with Him. To everything there is indeed a season (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and that includes times for joy and, yes, silliness. I wanted to remind you, and me, that although we are exploring a serious subject, it is also a most happy one.

I urge you, if you have lost the feeling of being connected to God, or if you never have been consciously aware of Him, to persevere in seeking Him. I especially want to remind you that God is always with you, no matter if you are aware of Him or not. I also especially want to encourage you that in seeking His face, you are doing a wonderful thing! Resist any self-critical thoughts that might try to take root in your mind about this matter of seeking God’s face. God is not mad at you in bringing this to your attention. He is longing to bless you even more than He has already! His intentions toward us are always, always, always loving and kind. And He is not only watching over us, like that cute kitten, He lives in us if we love and obey His commands (John 14:15-21).

Remind yourself that God never fails and God never fails YOU. In Hebrews 13:5, God reassures us that He will never fail us. After telling us not to crave earthly possessions but to be satisfied with what we have we hear:

“He [God] Himself has said, ‘I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax my hold on you) [Assuredly not!] (AMPC)

Notice that this promise covers every situation and circumstance. Notice the superlative language: in any way, in any degree. Notice that God repeats three times “I will not, I will not, I will not . . . “ Then He adds even more emphasis with “Assuredly not!”  Friend, He will surely help us in this matter of seeking His face!

Image result for free picture of hide and seekRemind yourself that He promises we can find Him. God is not playing hide and seek with us. In Deuteronomy 4, God reassures His people and tells them that even after they have been worshipping idols and have been taken captive that “if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for him with all your heart and all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29, NIV).  This comforting promise tells me that even if I have put something before God, which is idolatry, if I seek Him with all my heart and all my soul, I will find Him.

Ask and be persistent.  When Jesus taught His disciples about prayer He said:

  • Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10, NIV)

Do not be afraid of spiritual things and of going deeper with God. Unfortunately, Satan uses fear to keep some of us from pursuing a closer closeness with God. Spiritual things can indeed seem frightening. We cannot see God and we cannot see Satan, and Satan has saturated our culture with lies about the unseen world and terrifying visual images of what might be around us but invisible to us. He also leads some people who claim to be influenced by God to behave in weird and eerie ways. Is it any wonder some of us are afraid to just sit alone with God and talk with Him? Is it any wonder some of us are afraid that doing so might open a door to something evil?

Parents Give Children GiftsGod knows our hearts. He understands our fear and does not condemn us for it. And He knows that truth sets us free and removes fear.  So He reassures us that if we seek Him, we will find Him, not something bad. After Jesus instructs us to ask, seek, and knock because we will receive, we will find, and the door will be opened to us (Luke 11:9-10), He says:

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[a] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (NIV)

Ask Holy Spirit to search your heart and show you if you have sinned in some way or if there is something He has told you to do that you have not done. It might seem a “little sin” or some little thing to do or stop doing, but if God told you, it is important. Recently, God showed me I needed to be more systematic in the Bible passages I meditate on each day. I could not feel His presence until I began doing that.

Remember that sin causes God to turn His face way from us (Isaiah 59:2). One of the many things Holy Spirit does is to convict us (John 16:8) but He does so without condemnation (Romans 8:1). The enemy criticizes, belittles, and ridicules. God is gentle with us. Notice how He pleads with us in Isaiah 1:18

“Come now. Let us reason together’, says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool”.

That is a gentle, loving offer! God wants us to talk together with Him, and He promises to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, of course – to rid us of sin, of the places in our lives where we miss the mark. God is pleased when we try to draw closer to Him, and He helps us do that. Holy Spirit teaches us (John 14:26), and He gives us wisdom. “For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6, NIV).

Image result for free picture of father and childrenGod speaks to each of us in different ways so do not expect your experience to be identical to that of anyone else. If you have been blessed to observe and interact with children, you know some are loud and rowdy, always seeking attention whereas others prefer more peaceful activities, out of the spotlight.  God understands absolutely each detail about everyone of His many, many children.  (Do we need to remind ourselves again that He knows how many hairs are on our head?)

God will communicate with you in the way He knows is best for you. You may hear Him speak through a song when you start up your car. You may feel His love in the smile of a grocery store checker. He may blanket you in peace as you gaze at a sunset, a flower, a caterpillar, or your grandchild’s face.

God says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart.” (Jeremiah 1:5a, NIV) He tells you “even the very hairs of your head are numbered.” (Matthew 10:30, NIV). One reason He included Psalm 139 in the Bible, I believe, is to reassure our frail human hearts how intimately He knows us. Take time to read Psalm 139 now. Selah! Pause and calmly think about it!

I also urge you to make three things your daily habit:  Thank Him, talk with Him as often as you can remember, and meditate on the Word. These three habits are powerful helps to find God’s presence. For more details, read the blog post entitled “My Spiritual Emergency Kit.” These three habits greatly increase awareness of God’s presence in my daily life.

In Part Eight, the last part of this series, we will look at some Biblical reasons why we should never give up in pursuing God. The most reassuring reason for me is this:

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen the hearts of those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9, NIV)

Image result for free picture of god looking at earth