2 Chronicles 16: 7,9,12
vs. 7 "...Because you relied on the King of Syria and not the Lord, the King of Syria has escaped you."
vs. 12 "...yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord but sought help from physicians."
vs. 9 "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him."
I picture someone in charge of a large event - a walkie talkie in hand briskly walking around looking for problems and issues that can arise, ready to solve them. Someone you could easily go to if you needed directions or if you needed assistance, even offering to walk you over to the place you are trying to find. If I went over to just an attendee of the event, they in no way could help me like the organizer could. If I needed something in an emergency they wouldn't have the resources available to give me everything I needed. The organizer would have planned for potential needs that came up. He would have resources and pull to get me what I needed. In this picture that organizer is my Lord and the big event is my life.
So what that tells me is you have known since the beginning of time, those weeks when I'm going to have one of "those" weeks. You have a plan and a way out. You are equipped and ready to give me all the support I need. You are not worried and you may be wondering why I am because You have everything under control. You know the way out of this crowd of chaos and You know what I need to solve the problem I'm facing. You have all the resources available and all You have to do is call it into existence. I can have peace in my circumstances because I am with the organizer of the event. I am safe in Your presence.
Sometimes I feel like I'm lost in the crowd at a chaotic event. In those times, I don't feel safe and with all the chaos I don't see a solution. With every turn it feels like I am even more lost and I feel like I'm losing track of the things I care about. Your word promises strong support. I believe I will find the Lost and Found station and soon I will be reconnected with who I care about. Away from all the craziness of the crowd, I will be able to hear myself think again. If I am injured, there will be a First Aid Station next door where I can get my injuries attended to. You have already thought of what I would need today. The resources are already in place - I just have to keep walking until I find them. I trust there will be signs along the way to help me find what I need. There will be places of refreshments and even benches to sit down and rest along the way.
The crowd may be loud and chaotic. It may take longer than I anticipated, but You have already planned it all out and I don't need to worry. I just need to trust You. You know what I need and You will never let me down. Thank you for being my strong support today. I love you Lord.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Words worth repeating
Proverbs 21:9 and Proverbs 25:24 - SAME Verse
"It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house with a quarrelsome wife".
Ouch! But I understand... who wants to live with someone picking at you? The picture of this wife is someone with a scowl on their face, a critical word on their lips and ready for a fight. Someone who sees the negative in everything including her spouse.
In contrast I think of the Proverbs 31 woman. Vs. 11 says - the heart of her husband trusts in her... she does him good, not harm. Vs. 26 says - she opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
So who am I versus who I want to be? I know at times I have been and can be woman in the verse above. I'm not proud of that and do not want to go there again. It doesn't feel good. It accomplishes nothing - in fact it tears everything I care about down.
I want to be the woman that her husband has no doubt how much she loves him. I want our home to be a refuge for him and my family. I want my words to build him up and let him know I believe in him. That I see all the possibilities and plans God has for him. I want to be an example to my girls of how to love their future husbands.
Where do I start? By loving him. By reflecting on his strengths and not his weaknesses. By appreciating the role he has as head of our family and not trying to take his authority from him. By serving him in our home. It's intentional. Yes, there is a risk to love, but by serving my husband,loving him, recognizing him as head of our home - I am serving my Father in heaven who will never fail me.
"It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house with a quarrelsome wife".
Ouch! But I understand... who wants to live with someone picking at you? The picture of this wife is someone with a scowl on their face, a critical word on their lips and ready for a fight. Someone who sees the negative in everything including her spouse.
In contrast I think of the Proverbs 31 woman. Vs. 11 says - the heart of her husband trusts in her... she does him good, not harm. Vs. 26 says - she opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
So who am I versus who I want to be? I know at times I have been and can be woman in the verse above. I'm not proud of that and do not want to go there again. It doesn't feel good. It accomplishes nothing - in fact it tears everything I care about down.
I want to be the woman that her husband has no doubt how much she loves him. I want our home to be a refuge for him and my family. I want my words to build him up and let him know I believe in him. That I see all the possibilities and plans God has for him. I want to be an example to my girls of how to love their future husbands.
Where do I start? By loving him. By reflecting on his strengths and not his weaknesses. By appreciating the role he has as head of our family and not trying to take his authority from him. By serving him in our home. It's intentional. Yes, there is a risk to love, but by serving my husband,loving him, recognizing him as head of our home - I am serving my Father in heaven who will never fail me.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Redemption
Redemption is the word on my mind today. As Christians it is a word often used, but I don't know how well we understand it.
For those of us who have BIG THINGS in our past I believe redemption is key to our understanding of who we are in Christ. It is recognizing God's forgiveness and the salvation He gave us simply because He loved us and wanted a relationship with us.
Without redemption we are still walking scarred, flawed, remembering with clarity our failures and feeling that we are one decision away to returning to our old life.
I was trying to think about what redemption might look like. At first I thought of a purse. The compliment to the perfect outfit that God has given us. But then I thought how we could easily put down the purse and walk away without it... that won't work.
Then I thought that redemption could be a shirt. It's a gift, something we put on and people can see it. But still, as discouragement comes we can decide we are no longer worthy of the gift God gave and take it off - revealing the scars and identity of the past.
Now listen - I am not a fan of tattoos (think you will all look really silly when you are 92 with those things on), but this is the picture that I believe best represents redemption. It's a conscious decision to put it on. It's personal and it's permanent. It is something that God intends for us to keep with us forever. It is not temporary but even more than that, it reflects WHO's we are. Anyone can get one, but it does come at a price, but the ultimate price has already been paid.
Come to Jesus and He will change your life forever. His grace is sufficient for you.
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,"
Ephesians 1:7 ESV
For those of us who have BIG THINGS in our past I believe redemption is key to our understanding of who we are in Christ. It is recognizing God's forgiveness and the salvation He gave us simply because He loved us and wanted a relationship with us.
Without redemption we are still walking scarred, flawed, remembering with clarity our failures and feeling that we are one decision away to returning to our old life.
I was trying to think about what redemption might look like. At first I thought of a purse. The compliment to the perfect outfit that God has given us. But then I thought how we could easily put down the purse and walk away without it... that won't work.
Then I thought that redemption could be a shirt. It's a gift, something we put on and people can see it. But still, as discouragement comes we can decide we are no longer worthy of the gift God gave and take it off - revealing the scars and identity of the past.
Now listen - I am not a fan of tattoos (think you will all look really silly when you are 92 with those things on), but this is the picture that I believe best represents redemption. It's a conscious decision to put it on. It's personal and it's permanent. It is something that God intends for us to keep with us forever. It is not temporary but even more than that, it reflects WHO's we are. Anyone can get one, but it does come at a price, but the ultimate price has already been paid.
Come to Jesus and He will change your life forever. His grace is sufficient for you.
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,"
Ephesians 1:7 ESV
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