I woke at five this morning hearing the word, "Comfort my people." I turned over and went back to sleep thinking, "Who am I to comfort anyone? " For several days I had been battling depression. An hour later I woke with the same message. "Comfort my people." I got up.
As I sat in a rocking chair on my front porch letting the gentle breeze of morning blow away some of the sorrows I had wrestled with in the night I spoke words of comfort to myself. I watched the horses quietly grazing in the field and listened to the birds singing a message I couldn't interpret.
I listened in the silence to the word of God. I did not turn away from the comfort I was offered. I read the first book of Acts where Jesus told his disciples to wait for the promise of the Father. The promise was fulfilled in the person of the Holy Spirit. In the quiet of the morning sitting on my own front porch the Spirit spoke to my soul the comfort and the truth of coming Kingdom.
I was still letting these thoughts bathe my mind when my husband came to bring me the phone. My friend had called telling me about an assignment she'd been given. She was to find a place of comfort in her mind a place to go when the stresses of life closed in on her. The place she had chosen was to sit with me on my front porch.
Lord, I know what it is to be comforted by Your Spirit to be taught eternal truth. I know how to tell my downcast soul the truth. Please let me share with others the comfort You have shared with me.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Recieved
I recieved a package from my son. He had giveinterestingone of his books. When I opened the book a letter fell out it said, "Mom, I found this book interesting and I wanted to share it with you." The title of the book was familar we had talked it about during our weekly phone conversations. I was flattered that my son had wanted to share his thoughts with me but I was intimidated by the book
As time went on the book traveled with me I moved it from place to place always within reach but never opened. When I would see the cover of the book I felt both longing and guilt. I recognized that my son was inviting me into his world by giving me this book. It was his copy, he had written notes in it. But still I was afraid to even open it, afraid that I would find that I couldn't unnderstand what was being said.
On a recent visit with my son he asked, "Mom, did you ever read the book I sent you?" I answered honestly. He didn't respond with condemntion but I also couldn't miss the hint of disappointment in his voice. That night I lay in bed wrapped in a deep since of regret. Why had I allowed my feeling of inadaquacy to keep me from recieving this special gift. I determined that night that when I got home I would finally recieve the gift that had been given me. I would enter my son's world through the pages of his book.
As I thought about this experience I was reminded of many conversations I've had with people who have told me the trouble they've had reading the Bible. Most of the people who have told me this don't just have one copy but many and in more than one translation yet they can't seem to bring themselves to read it. God tells us that his word is a "lamp to our feet and a light for our path." (Psalm 119:105) This is something we crave yet still the book remains closed. The Bible also gives the promise that those who read it will be, "complete and equipped for every good word." (2 Timothy 3:17) These are the gifts that are waiting to be recieved, an invitation to have our path illlumined, to be made complete and to be equipped for every good work.
Father, You have given us Your word and through it You have shared Your thoughts with us. We know that if the book remains closed we have not truely recieved the gift that You desire to give us. Help us to open the book have communion with you within it's pages
Monday, April 7, 2014
Transformed
Sadie had her first baby last night and her life will forever be changed. I am going to Rachel and Zach's wedding today. Rachel will no longer be Rachel Shrock she will be Rachel Clanton. I have set apart April 26th to spend the day with my friend Wendy. Last year on that day her world was forever altered when her husband died.
Circumstances change and we find our lives altered. Sometimes the changes bring joy sometimes they bring tears, sometimes they bring both. Whether my life is being altered by joy or sorrow I find that I crave something that will not change. In fact I have found that the more transition I experience in life the more I long for stability!
"Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings." (Psalm 61:1-4) When God answers this prayer and I find my feet on solid, higher ground I gain perspective. Though the landscape of my life is altered I have sought refuge and found it in the strong tower of God's faithfulness.
Life continually is changing and so am I. I have been changed and altered by the things I have experienced. Like Sadie when my first child was put into my arms I began to see the world through a different lens. Like Rachel when I entered into a covenant relationship with my husband I learned to think not as a single person but as part of a couple. Like Wendy I have known what it is to have grief alter my life. But I also know that when I seek refuge under the wings of God my life is transformed!
Heavenly Father, thank You that you hear the cry of those who when their world spins call to You. Thank You, for leading us to the rock that is higher than we are. Thank You, for opening Your wings to us and inviting us to find refuge. Thank You, that when we come to that high and holy place we do not stay the same. Thank You, that when we seek in the midst of our ever changing world the intimacy that we find close to Your heart, beneath Your wing, we also find that we have been transformed.
Circumstances change and we find our lives altered. Sometimes the changes bring joy sometimes they bring tears, sometimes they bring both. Whether my life is being altered by joy or sorrow I find that I crave something that will not change. In fact I have found that the more transition I experience in life the more I long for stability!
"Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings." (Psalm 61:1-4) When God answers this prayer and I find my feet on solid, higher ground I gain perspective. Though the landscape of my life is altered I have sought refuge and found it in the strong tower of God's faithfulness.
Life continually is changing and so am I. I have been changed and altered by the things I have experienced. Like Sadie when my first child was put into my arms I began to see the world through a different lens. Like Rachel when I entered into a covenant relationship with my husband I learned to think not as a single person but as part of a couple. Like Wendy I have known what it is to have grief alter my life. But I also know that when I seek refuge under the wings of God my life is transformed!
Heavenly Father, thank You that you hear the cry of those who when their world spins call to You. Thank You, for leading us to the rock that is higher than we are. Thank You, for opening Your wings to us and inviting us to find refuge. Thank You, that when we come to that high and holy place we do not stay the same. Thank You, that when we seek in the midst of our ever changing world the intimacy that we find close to Your heart, beneath Your wing, we also find that we have been transformed.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
My Soul Remember This!
Every year the memory comes and takes her by the hand and leads her to a place she doesn't want to go. It's not a course she would choose yet she feels obliged to follow the well worn path on which grief leads her. Familiar sorrows and old wounds bring fresh tears. The memories of regret seem to eclipse the happy times and she wonders again, "Can I ever escape this darkness?"
For seventy years they had marked the day the temple was destroyed, they had also marked the day of their last act of rebellion that sent them into captivity. For seventy years they had wept and fasted on these anniversaries of grief. They would not forget their failure, they would not forget their grief and what they had lost. They would remember and keep the wound from healing and keep the pain alive. Yet after seventy years they finally asked the Lord of hosts if this weeping and fasting over their loss was from Him. (Zechariah 7) They were surprised when He said, "No."
How can you not remember the grief and sorrow that altered your life and put you on a course that was not of your choosing? Can you keep from lamenting? I think the answer is found in the book of Lamentations. A book that was written to lament the fall of Jerusalem. It begins with these words, "How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weeps bitterly in the night with tears on her cheeks." (Lamentations 1:1,2) There is a time to weep.
One of the blessings of the Scriptures is that it sheds eternal light on our earthly sorrows. It is a lamp for our feet and a light to our path. So when the darkness comes year after year and reaches out his scaly hand to bind me again with grief and regret I turn to the book of Lamentations and read, "My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope; The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul,"therefore I will hope in him." (Lamentations 3:20-24)
Oh Lord Jesus, You are the bright and morning star You took our grief and carried our sorrows. Weeping may abide for the night but joy, with it's strength, comes in the morning bringing with it new mercies and Your unfailing love! Oh Lord, let my soul remember this!
For seventy years they had marked the day the temple was destroyed, they had also marked the day of their last act of rebellion that sent them into captivity. For seventy years they had wept and fasted on these anniversaries of grief. They would not forget their failure, they would not forget their grief and what they had lost. They would remember and keep the wound from healing and keep the pain alive. Yet after seventy years they finally asked the Lord of hosts if this weeping and fasting over their loss was from Him. (Zechariah 7) They were surprised when He said, "No."
How can you not remember the grief and sorrow that altered your life and put you on a course that was not of your choosing? Can you keep from lamenting? I think the answer is found in the book of Lamentations. A book that was written to lament the fall of Jerusalem. It begins with these words, "How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weeps bitterly in the night with tears on her cheeks." (Lamentations 1:1,2) There is a time to weep.
One of the blessings of the Scriptures is that it sheds eternal light on our earthly sorrows. It is a lamp for our feet and a light to our path. So when the darkness comes year after year and reaches out his scaly hand to bind me again with grief and regret I turn to the book of Lamentations and read, "My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope; The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul,"therefore I will hope in him." (Lamentations 3:20-24)
Oh Lord Jesus, You are the bright and morning star You took our grief and carried our sorrows. Weeping may abide for the night but joy, with it's strength, comes in the morning bringing with it new mercies and Your unfailing love! Oh Lord, let my soul remember this!
Thursday, April 3, 2014
The Secret Place
She invited me to join her. I would climb up into her tiny bed and she would wrap her arm around me, leaf through the onion skin thin pages that in my mind sounded like the rustle of angel's wings and begin to read. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91:1) I would snuggle closer thinking that surly I was dwelling in that secret place because in the secret place of the most High you could hear His voice as I did listening to words of His book.
Sometimes in the night while grandmother would be reading to me I could hear a storm raging outside and the rain would beat against the windows. But I was safe within the walls of my grandmother's house learning the eternal truth that I could abide in the shadow of the Almighty. No matter what would happen in my life I had an invitation to live in the shadow of someone I could trust. The Almighty had promised to be my fortress and my hiding place.
"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." (Psalm 91:4) "Mimi, what are you humming?" I smile, I didn't even know I was humming. I bend down and pick up my granddaughter, wrap my arms around her and softly sing, "There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God. A place were sin cannot molest near to the heart of God. Oh Jesus, blest redeemer sent from the heart of God. Hold those who wait before you near to the heart of God."
I share with my granddaughter the truth that my grandmother shared with me that we have an invitation to dwell in the secret place of the most High and abide under the shelter of the Almighty. And then I tell her about the one who was sent from the heart of God. I share with her how Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said, "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!"(Matthew 23:37) "Oh my precious child, accept the invitation and draw near to His heart!"
Lord Jesus You came from the secret place of the most High with an invitation that I might take the shadow of Your cross for my abiding place. You opened the wing of Your unfailing love to me and so I come. I have found in You my resting place. Let me be covered with the feathers of Your faithfulness.
Sometimes in the night while grandmother would be reading to me I could hear a storm raging outside and the rain would beat against the windows. But I was safe within the walls of my grandmother's house learning the eternal truth that I could abide in the shadow of the Almighty. No matter what would happen in my life I had an invitation to live in the shadow of someone I could trust. The Almighty had promised to be my fortress and my hiding place.
"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." (Psalm 91:4) "Mimi, what are you humming?" I smile, I didn't even know I was humming. I bend down and pick up my granddaughter, wrap my arms around her and softly sing, "There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God. A place were sin cannot molest near to the heart of God. Oh Jesus, blest redeemer sent from the heart of God. Hold those who wait before you near to the heart of God."
I share with my granddaughter the truth that my grandmother shared with me that we have an invitation to dwell in the secret place of the most High and abide under the shelter of the Almighty. And then I tell her about the one who was sent from the heart of God. I share with her how Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said, "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!"(Matthew 23:37) "Oh my precious child, accept the invitation and draw near to His heart!"
Lord Jesus You came from the secret place of the most High with an invitation that I might take the shadow of Your cross for my abiding place. You opened the wing of Your unfailing love to me and so I come. I have found in You my resting place. Let me be covered with the feathers of Your faithfulness.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Into the Deep Waters
In the shallow water my feet can touch the bottom and I feel safe. I feel like I'm in control. Often while in the shallow water I invite God to join me in what I'm doing. My prayers revolve around the things I see and feel and touch. While wading in the shoal I hear an invitation, "Come with me into the deep waters."
What would it mean for me to accept this invitation? Would I be in control of the direction my life would take if I put out into the deep waters/ When Jesus invited Peter to put out into the deep Peter informed him that he had spent all night fishing and had caught nothing yet he accepted Jesus' invitation. Somehow with Jesus in the deep waters Peter was changed. If I accept this invitation to go into the deep waters will I find that like Peter I am being invited to join Jesus in what He's doing instead of inviting Jesus to join me in what I'm doing.
Sometimes I feel that if God invites me to follow Him into deep waters it should be a pleasant trip yet I vividly remember the story of when Jesus invited Peter to get into the boat and go to the other side. That trip into deep waters included a storm. If I were Peter I would have been praying for smooth sailing but Jesus used the storm to take Peter from fear to faith. The storm showed Peter that Jesus was Lord of the wind and the waves. Jesus was inviting Peter to do something more than just go from one side of the shore to the next.
If I give up the security of shallow waters and accept the call to go into deep waters do I at least get to keep the security of being in a boat? What happened to Peter when he stepped out of the boat because Jesus had said, "Come"? Peter found with his eyes focused on Jesus that waves became something that you walk on.
Lord Jesus, I want to follow You and exchange my shallow self centered prayers into deep God centered prayers. I want to exchange fear for faith and instead of asking You to join me in what I'm doing I want to join You in what your doing.
What would it mean for me to accept this invitation? Would I be in control of the direction my life would take if I put out into the deep waters/ When Jesus invited Peter to put out into the deep Peter informed him that he had spent all night fishing and had caught nothing yet he accepted Jesus' invitation. Somehow with Jesus in the deep waters Peter was changed. If I accept this invitation to go into the deep waters will I find that like Peter I am being invited to join Jesus in what He's doing instead of inviting Jesus to join me in what I'm doing.
Sometimes I feel that if God invites me to follow Him into deep waters it should be a pleasant trip yet I vividly remember the story of when Jesus invited Peter to get into the boat and go to the other side. That trip into deep waters included a storm. If I were Peter I would have been praying for smooth sailing but Jesus used the storm to take Peter from fear to faith. The storm showed Peter that Jesus was Lord of the wind and the waves. Jesus was inviting Peter to do something more than just go from one side of the shore to the next.
If I give up the security of shallow waters and accept the call to go into deep waters do I at least get to keep the security of being in a boat? What happened to Peter when he stepped out of the boat because Jesus had said, "Come"? Peter found with his eyes focused on Jesus that waves became something that you walk on.
Lord Jesus, I want to follow You and exchange my shallow self centered prayers into deep God centered prayers. I want to exchange fear for faith and instead of asking You to join me in what I'm doing I want to join You in what your doing.
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