I received countless hugs during my recent trip back to the States. Having been away for a couple of years, all those hugs—although most welcome—really caught me off guard. I reckon I just didn’t expect so many. There was one, however, that really stood out to me. That stalwart embrace brought to my mind the following passage from God’s Word:
“There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, ‘Destroy them.’” ~Deuteronomy 33:26-27
I’ve been meditating on that verse for nearly a month now, thanking God for His excellency. What an awesome thought to consider: My God rides over the clouds to help me in my time of need. His arms are the enfolding refuge 'round about my soul. I reach out, reach out and reach out, again and again to the One who is able to sustain every part of me, to the One who has defied all my foes with two words: Destroy them. What comfort, what safety, what love.
That is how I feel as I surrender to His embrace.
A couple of weeks ago, my roomie and I babysat our friends’ children. The youngest, not two years old, grew sleepy-eyed so I sang quietly to him as the two of us gazed through the office window over a peaceful, green field. He fell asleep in my arms. I lay him down with some covers and waited until he was sound so I could leave him to rest but he did not. No…he felt my movements, woke up and sat up with his arms stretched out to me. I tried sitting with him but he wanted me to stand. My arms grew tired so I tried lying down with him this time. Again he awoke, with arms stretched out. This time I asked God to strengthen my arms. And He did. It was so humbling to think that this wee child found true rest, comfort and safety within my arms. Nothing else would do, no other place could satisfy him.
That is when God reminded me—yet again—of His own, strong, everlasting arms. He never grows weary when He is holding us. I looked down to my own arms, now strengthened. How could He grow weary when the object of His love and affection is dependent solely upon Him? As we submit our lives into the care of His outstretched and everlasting arms, His own heart spills over with complete joy. How He longs to feel our heartbeats next to His. How He longs to hear the sound of our relaxed breath next to His ear. How He longs to be trusted as the Protector of our souls. And how He desires to bear the full weight of our weary bodies, of our cares, needs, wants and concerns.
That is how He feels as we surrender to His embrace.
Oh, to forsake every other thing and every other place. Oh, to rest safely and securely, as a trusting child, and to be satisfied only within the embrace of the One who rides across the heavens to help us--The One who sustains us, who fights for us…yea, who has loved (and does love) us with an everlasting love.
Praise Him and bless Him, our Eternal Refuge. For to Him belong the everlasting arms.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Balance in Battle
In my sphere there exist many who have yet to give their lives to Jesus. They are ever on my mind and heart. If that be the case for this wee girl, then how much more does He—with His boundless love—long for an abiding relationship with them? How He must yearn to call them His own...His own special people, His beloved.
I am thankful God formed me as a woman. We are feeling creatures. We are, for the most part, compassionate by nature. As we bring souls to the throne of God’s heavenly grace, it is most often with deep emotion and a passionate desire for Him to draw them nigh. Our hearts break. The ability to feel such complexities…it is truly a gift.
Even as the Lord would use our God-given emotions, we must submit them to the filter of His will and allow Him to give us a balanced perspective for the spiritual battle in which we are engaged. Yes…it is a privilege to feel deeply but we are not responsible for their salvation. Only Jesus can save. Only His Holy Spirit can penetrate the stoniest heart and replace it with a heart of flesh. As Ezekiel pointed out (in chapter 3), we have been given charge to sound the warning cries but each person will ultimately choose whether they will turn from wickedness and yield to the Lord or whether they will continue the life of sin they have come to love.
At times we allow the weighty burdens of those around us to bend our backs as we labour in prayer. But Jesus said,
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ~Matthew 11:28-30
The burdens belong to Him and so does the battle…
“The horse is prepared for the day of battle but deliverance is of the Lord.” ~Proverbs 21:31
As a woman called into the royal family of Christ—and consequently as a soldier into spiritual battle—my tailor-fit arsenal houses a God-given supply of emotions. I am learning the discipline of their preparation and practise in battle. More importantly, my heart is learning how to lay deliverance before the only One through whom it is possible…the Lord Himself.
So on this day I find much needed rest and balance within His sovereignty. I find myself happily under His yoke, trusting that the precious names and faces I lay before Him are HIS to deliver. After all, it is HIS battle. He is simply asking me to be prepared for it.
I am thankful God formed me as a woman. We are feeling creatures. We are, for the most part, compassionate by nature. As we bring souls to the throne of God’s heavenly grace, it is most often with deep emotion and a passionate desire for Him to draw them nigh. Our hearts break. The ability to feel such complexities…it is truly a gift.
Even as the Lord would use our God-given emotions, we must submit them to the filter of His will and allow Him to give us a balanced perspective for the spiritual battle in which we are engaged. Yes…it is a privilege to feel deeply but we are not responsible for their salvation. Only Jesus can save. Only His Holy Spirit can penetrate the stoniest heart and replace it with a heart of flesh. As Ezekiel pointed out (in chapter 3), we have been given charge to sound the warning cries but each person will ultimately choose whether they will turn from wickedness and yield to the Lord or whether they will continue the life of sin they have come to love.
At times we allow the weighty burdens of those around us to bend our backs as we labour in prayer. But Jesus said,
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ~Matthew 11:28-30
The burdens belong to Him and so does the battle…
“The horse is prepared for the day of battle but deliverance is of the Lord.” ~Proverbs 21:31
As a woman called into the royal family of Christ—and consequently as a soldier into spiritual battle—my tailor-fit arsenal houses a God-given supply of emotions. I am learning the discipline of their preparation and practise in battle. More importantly, my heart is learning how to lay deliverance before the only One through whom it is possible…the Lord Himself.
So on this day I find much needed rest and balance within His sovereignty. I find myself happily under His yoke, trusting that the precious names and faces I lay before Him are HIS to deliver. After all, it is HIS battle. He is simply asking me to be prepared for it.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
That No Flesh Should Glory
I felt like a fool as I went to the Lord this morning, my heart like a vast mixing bowl. In this little girl lay a mixture of frailty, weakness and despicability…of urgency and excitement…and continued perplexity. I had been meditating on the doors He has opened for ministry, both seen and unseen. As I lifted up each gift and each opportunity, I found myself wondering—yet again—why He would choose someone so weak, so untrained and so unqualified. Then came the touchstone of His voice…
“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…” ~1 Corinthians 1:26-27
He also reminded me of a story that a beloved friend recently shared with me. It is the account of a Brazilian man who was—at one time foolish in his unbelieving heart—ultimately transformed into a fool for Christ. This man was literally known as the village fool. Having spent most of his life greeting the bottom of a liquor bottle, villagers despised him and avoided boat rides into town with him for the fear of unsolicited salivary showers. One day this foolish salivary baptiser gave his life to Jesus. He was next seen about the villages with Bible in hand, preaching God’s Word, only…the man could not read. It seems he would gather a crowd of listeners then pick one of them out to read the Scriptures to him. Next he would turn to the multitudes and recite from memory what he had just heard. This is how he learned God’s Word. Suffice it to say, many of our brothers and sisters came to Christ through this fool. (He did eventually learn to read.)
“…and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” ~1 Corinthians 1:28-29
We may argue that we are not experienced or that our gifts are not highly developed. Perhaps these gifts are ‘unaccredited’ in the eyes of the world or even amongst our peers. They may seem small, they may seem large. They may be vocal, they may be silent but in this we must be confident: They are from Him and for Him. If He has provided opportunities for the furtherance of His kingdom, then we must trust Him with them. He has given us everything we need to accomplish His will today. Everything. Today.
This morning I felt like the illiterate fool. Seeing my lack and desiring so desperately to redeem the time in these dark days I asked, "Lord how? As the fool forsook his illiteracy and used His ears to hear and mouth to speak, show me how to use what I DO have.”
Perhaps He is asking you what He asked me. “Will you trust Me? Will you take what I have given you, pour it on others and keep coming back for more? Will you step aside with all your inhibitions and give full room for Me to stand in the spotlight? Will your boast be in Me?”
How about it?
“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…” ~1 Corinthians 1:26-27
He also reminded me of a story that a beloved friend recently shared with me. It is the account of a Brazilian man who was—at one time foolish in his unbelieving heart—ultimately transformed into a fool for Christ. This man was literally known as the village fool. Having spent most of his life greeting the bottom of a liquor bottle, villagers despised him and avoided boat rides into town with him for the fear of unsolicited salivary showers. One day this foolish salivary baptiser gave his life to Jesus. He was next seen about the villages with Bible in hand, preaching God’s Word, only…the man could not read. It seems he would gather a crowd of listeners then pick one of them out to read the Scriptures to him. Next he would turn to the multitudes and recite from memory what he had just heard. This is how he learned God’s Word. Suffice it to say, many of our brothers and sisters came to Christ through this fool. (He did eventually learn to read.)
“…and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” ~1 Corinthians 1:28-29
We may argue that we are not experienced or that our gifts are not highly developed. Perhaps these gifts are ‘unaccredited’ in the eyes of the world or even amongst our peers. They may seem small, they may seem large. They may be vocal, they may be silent but in this we must be confident: They are from Him and for Him. If He has provided opportunities for the furtherance of His kingdom, then we must trust Him with them. He has given us everything we need to accomplish His will today. Everything. Today.
This morning I felt like the illiterate fool. Seeing my lack and desiring so desperately to redeem the time in these dark days I asked, "Lord how? As the fool forsook his illiteracy and used His ears to hear and mouth to speak, show me how to use what I DO have.”
Perhaps He is asking you what He asked me. “Will you trust Me? Will you take what I have given you, pour it on others and keep coming back for more? Will you step aside with all your inhibitions and give full room for Me to stand in the spotlight? Will your boast be in Me?”
How about it?
Saturday, July 30, 2005
His Weeping Is Not In Vain
“Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.' Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, 'Where have you laid him?' They said to Him, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, 'See how He loved him!'" ~John 11:32-36
Last night I met a man who began almost every sentence with, “I don’t know if you want to hear this,” or “You probably don’t want to hear this,” and finally, “You don’t have to hear this…do you want to hear this?”
Last night I met a man who began almost every sentence with, “I don’t know if you want to hear this,” or “You probably don’t want to hear this,” and finally, “You don’t have to hear this…do you want to hear this?”
Little did this man know that the listening ear is a chosen weapon for us ‘scouts’. God’s Holy Spirit uses the listening ear to show us how we ought to pray. I don’t believe I am gifted with evangelistic speech but with God’s discernment, I can listen and take these findings (motivations, hurts, enquiries, confusions, and disappointments) back to the One who knows all. No, I am not a gifted speaker but the Lord is. I am learning to let Him do the talking at His will, at His command.
God’s voice: “On you go,” I replied, “of course I want to listen.”
The man: “I have not stopped weeping—that is, I have wept every day, all day for the last five years.”
God’s heart: I have wept over this man for longer than the last five years.
God’s voice: “As sure as you sit up every night weeping, Jesus weeps over you. He loves you, He died for you and He wants you with Him. Remember these words when you wake up weeping on this night."
Later the man turned to Robert and began to ask him questions. Robert (who leads the outreach) shared, with powerful conviction, from his heart all that the Holy Spirit had done to bring Him into a loving relationship with Jesus and all He still does to this day…even that God Himself led this man to have this very conversation with us. The man’s heart seemed to soften. By the end of the evening, he had taken away some gospel tracts and a copy of God’s own voice, the Bible.
The man: “Perhaps there is something to what you’ve said to me tonight…I will take this all on board and think about it this week. I will take this book away with me and read it from cover to cover and let you know what I find out when I see you next Friday.”
Upon comparing notes after his departure, we discovered that the Lord had given us all the same urgency over this man: He was not to leave without hearing God’s words, His truth.
Finally, my point: As sure as this man has wept unceasingly for the last five years, Jesus weeps daily over those who are a spiritual representation of the entombed Lazarus. Jesus could see ahead, He knew the outcome, He had the solid hope that Lazarus would arise. So why should He weep? Why? Because Jesus loved Lazarus…He loved Mary…He loved the whole family. By example, Jesus weeps with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)
I don’t know why we feel more urgency at one time or another…but I pray to have a deeper, more consistent sense of it. I would like to weep with urgent, fiery compassion and LOVE as Jesus does. I want His heart. I pray for continued obedience…from making cups of tea, to a listening ear, to sharing God’s voice.
May His name be lifted up—whether in word, prayer or deed—that He might draw souls to Himself and yet awaken them to eternal life. His weeping is not in vain, rather, it is the fruit of His love.
Later the man turned to Robert and began to ask him questions. Robert (who leads the outreach) shared, with powerful conviction, from his heart all that the Holy Spirit had done to bring Him into a loving relationship with Jesus and all He still does to this day…even that God Himself led this man to have this very conversation with us. The man’s heart seemed to soften. By the end of the evening, he had taken away some gospel tracts and a copy of God’s own voice, the Bible.
The man: “Perhaps there is something to what you’ve said to me tonight…I will take this all on board and think about it this week. I will take this book away with me and read it from cover to cover and let you know what I find out when I see you next Friday.”
Upon comparing notes after his departure, we discovered that the Lord had given us all the same urgency over this man: He was not to leave without hearing God’s words, His truth.
Finally, my point: As sure as this man has wept unceasingly for the last five years, Jesus weeps daily over those who are a spiritual representation of the entombed Lazarus. Jesus could see ahead, He knew the outcome, He had the solid hope that Lazarus would arise. So why should He weep? Why? Because Jesus loved Lazarus…He loved Mary…He loved the whole family. By example, Jesus weeps with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)
I don’t know why we feel more urgency at one time or another…but I pray to have a deeper, more consistent sense of it. I would like to weep with urgent, fiery compassion and LOVE as Jesus does. I want His heart. I pray for continued obedience…from making cups of tea, to a listening ear, to sharing God’s voice.
May His name be lifted up—whether in word, prayer or deed—that He might draw souls to Himself and yet awaken them to eternal life. His weeping is not in vain, rather, it is the fruit of His love.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
A Heart Set On Pilgrimage
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (or 'Weeping'), they make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion." ~Psalm 84: 5-7
A friend recently suggested I might like blogging. Earlier in the same week I prayed that God would help me to be better at recording His ministry to me. People are always asking me, "So what is God doing in your life?" Whether His voice is visual, audible or still and small, He is always revealing Himself...so much, in fact, that I cannot always keep up with a pen. So my attempts at logging His faithfulness have been better, but still inconsistent. When it is time to send out my quarterly newsletters, there is much to share but it is a real challenge to narrow His concepts, vision and ministry to fit just one page.
There are other reasons I want to log my 'memorial stones' though. Recounting God's faithfulness is something He wisely instructs us to do (Joshua 4). He knows that for each sojourner on the way to Zion, the pathway is layed with stepping stones, each one named Strength. Standing on one, we can look back at the last one and say, "God is good. He is faithful. He is the strength that brought me to the place where I now stand. Let me move forward, always in His direction."
Remembering God's faithfulness and who He is propels us to the next place into which He has prepared for us to walk with Him and toward Him. It is the place where we can continue our fellowship with Him and make Him known. May He also be free to use our experiences as a spring for others during their times in the Valley.
Whether in Scotland or the States, in the Valley of Weeping or in a pool 'neath the downpour of His blessings, may He be found worthy and glorified for Who He is, the things He has done and in the things we endeavor to remember and share.
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