Tuesday, November 25, 2008

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift. A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.”
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:15-18

Life can be hard. Every day we face dozens of choices, pressures of work undone, the voice in our head that says, ‘don’t stop, go, go, go.’ When I feel the weight of the tasks before me I tend to push harder, run faster, and stretch myself further. When the weight becomes unbearable, I then become ready to mount my horse and flee as far as I can. But however fast we run whether to catch up or get ahead we will just end up feeling defeated when we try and do the impossible on our own. This last weekend I was blessed with a restful getaway with some close friends. For 2 whole days we left the distractions of our daily lives and filled our days instead with good conversation, games, food, sleep, movies, more food, and reflections on how the Lord’s hand has been at work in each of our lives. We left on Sunday feeling rested, refreshed, and stuffed to the limit. And although, yes, we did travel to a place that was free from our daily tasks to have a restful weekend… the beauty of rest is that we do not always have to getaway and escape. The Lord offers rest even in the hustle and bustle of daily living through offering Himself and His promises. The Lord does not promise that life will be easy or fair. Praise God that it is not, because it is through obstacles that we are broken and reminded of our great need for Jesus. And although the Lord does not promise a life of ease, He does promise grace, love, mercy and a deeper relationship with Him.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Delight


According to Webster delight is the following:
“a high degree of gratification; Joy ; also: extreme satisfaction”

While I was in college I was a nanny for about 3 years. This last weekend I spent the day with the two children that I help care for during those years. Through my time with them I was reminded that extreme satisfaction does not come from possessions, circumstances, or accomplishments. We find true delight through relationship. Delight is found in the precious moments when we are completely present with whatever person we are with and thankful for what is right before us. On Saturday I found myself laughing, smiling, and being filled with joy because the two kids I was with were so delighted just spending time with me. I found delight in their delight. I am sure parents you experience this time and again with your children. The Lord used this weekend to remind me of how much He, as my Father, delights in me. I remember this last summer when I was in Ireland, I was at this gorgeous lush park standing at one of the higher peaks looking down on this breathtaking view, and at that moment I felt overwhelmed by the amount of joy and delight that filled my heart and soul. This was not because of the beauty that I was surrounded by but because I was standing there in the presence of my heavenly Father enjoying this precious moment with Him alone.
The Lord’s word tells us that He delights in giving us our deepest desires. However, our deepest desire should be a deeper relationship with Him. In Him we find our greatest delight.

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

This week let’s listen for the Lord’s song, allow Him to quiet us with His love, and let’s find delight in the precious moments the Lord gives us when it is just us and Him enjoying one another’s presence.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

An Anchor for the Soul

My mind has been in a million places in the last week. I go from thinking about Andy to thinking about eternity and about life and what it is we are living for. I live for Jesus and am filled with a thankful heart for His love, grace, and strength. My heart breaks for those who experience tragedy or suffering and can’t see past the pain and the brokenness. I am thankful to love and live for a God who gives me hope and fills my heart with comfort, peace, and joy and increases my intimacy with Him through pain and suffering. Each day is a gift. I desire to live each day to the fullest. To wake up each morning and breath in a new day. To offer myself again to the Lord to reflect His love, His grace, His hope, and His glory. Through the brokenness my desire only increases for those who are overcome by this brokenness and do not have the hope of Jesus to hold onto, to have faith that one day the heaviness will be no more.


“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:17-20