As I write, our entire world is experiencing the Coronavirus. It is a time of lost jobs, financial uncertainty, sickness, and death. As a result, many are unnerved with unrest. Even those of us who love Jesus may find our circumstances causing disheartening thoughts to race.
We are to have compassion in our relationships, but what about that person who continually causes strife? The one that drives us to the feet of Jesus and to seek counseling?
We all have people in our lives who either grate on our nerves or treat us disrespectfully. I don’t know about you, but I am guilty of sometimes reacting with the same attitude.
Once, I was sharing something with a friend. She stopped what she was doing, turned toward me, and gave me her full attention. It was a very busy time for her, but she still stopped everything. It struck me how this made me feel; valued, loved, and my words were important to her. It was a slight gesture that weighed tons in my soul.
I rented a cabin on Lake Catherine in Arkansas for a week to spend time with the Lord and work through a challenging time in life. I searched for a study to guide my time with Him. So, one evening, I stood in between the shelves of LifeWay, praying for the Lord to show me which book to pick.
Thorns… I don’t like them.
Recently, I was caught in a fight with multiple vine-like thorn bushes while trying to clear an area of land. The more I wrestled with them, the more they caught my clothes and circled around me… like a live animal attacking. I cried out for help!
Siblings… do you have them?
Growing up, there were four of us and everyone was very talkative!
In our younger years, it was chaos… everyone talking at once or arguing!
I loved my siblings, but there were times we were divided.
Sometimes when you first meet someone, you are not sure how this relationship will go.
When I consider my relationship with God, I am shocked by what Scripture reveals about how He first perceived me.
As I began this year, I prayed to the Lord to show me a word that He wants me to focus on for this year. And He brought to mind the word… Surrender.
In a race, passing of the baton is interesting to watch. When done well, it can look effortless and smooth.
In Scripture, this passing of the baton also happened… but from a father to a son.
A song touched my heart today. Rich lyrics tell the story of a motley crew of misfits who have accepted an invitation to come and share—to “come to the table.”
Just like that –– our lives changed.
The fears and frustrations we feel are real.
We cope.
Our patience is tested.
We experience loss.
We regroup.
The Word of God, our unchanging foundation, remains the same and is true.
Find the moon in the sky before dawn.
Allow the sun to nourish you.
Study the hues and tones of God’s chosen colors in a sunset.
Listen to bird conversations.
Feel the breeze.
Don’t work, don’t talk, just be still and listen.
Wait for renewal, strength and peace to be restored.
One of my most treasured grandmother memories was when my first grandchild was three years old. I was a substitute teacher for her church missions Kabam class. When I introduced myself to the group as her grandmother, she innocently said, “Tell them how you love me.” She is now is a gifted young musician, writer and scholar. She looks forward to serving orphans and widows on mission trips each summer. Etched in my memory, her innocent statement urges me to tell others about my love story with Christ. The vastness of his individual love is unique for each follower and should be shared. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
It all began in the garden, didn’t it? It certainly would have been God’s desire that we be holy as He is. After all He created man in his own image (Genesis 1:27), and holiness is the essence of His being. Makes me wonder how different things could have been.
In my search for the fear of the LORD this year I am certainly in need of both wisdom and understanding. See how key knowledge of the Holy One is. I need to know God, not just know about God. The Hebrew for knowledge, yada, is experiential knowledge, not merely head knowledge.
Names in biblical times were important. “I AM WHO I AM” proclaims the “eternity and self-existence of God”*. Plain and simple, that is who He is. The name by which He is to be known forever is ‘The LORD’, translated Yahweh. The Israelites considered Yahweh too holy to speak or write out in full.** At least they started out with reverence and awe.
The Old Testament patriarchs and prophets were no strangers to godly fear. Take Isaiah’s cry for example: “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5).
Really—Fear? Who in the world would choose “fear” as their word for the year? But that is the word that dawned on me as my girlfriends and I began a journey through Kathy Howard’s Before His Throne* Bible study in January.
