.listen.

Periodically, I feel the Lord leading me to spend a week quiet in His presence.

Truly quiet. No wrestling with decisions. No distracted praying.  

Just... listening. 

Listening for His voice in my soul.

"Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward."
Isaiah 51:4-5

Do we really know how to listen? Remorsefully, I think about how often I fill the time with me and God with words...so many words. Not all bad ones. But do I stop enough to listen to Him? Do I pause long enough to hear His voice?

"Know this, my beloved brothers; let every person be quick to hear..." 

James 1:19

In any relationship, there is talking and listening; giving and taking. Why should communicating with God be any different? We've been in those conversations that are really monologues. You can't get a word in to save your life, and if you happen to eke out a few thoughts, it's obvious the other person is just waiting for your mouth to stop moving so they can pick up where they left off.

Are we carrying on a monologue with God?

Our society puts much emphasis on words. Fill the void with words. They don't even have to be helpful or true it seems like...just produce words. We can't let that mentality bleed into our relationship with Jesus. If you find yourself (like me) lacking on listening, don't hesitate to relax in God's presence, close your eyes, and just listen. Whether He has something to say to you or simply wants to bless you with His nearness, let Him have the floor.

God has so refreshed me this week. I have felt His arms wrap around my soul.

He is eager to do the same for you.

God My Stronghold

I don't know about you, but I feel like our culture has worked overtime in order to outdo each other in deception. We've seen it all in the past 7 days:

Conspiracies. Hoaxes. Lies.

I'm really writing this note to myself, because I wanted to read something that wasn't a hoax, a conspiracy or a lie. If you too are weary of that, please read on.

During my devo time, the Lord brought to mind this old worship song:

"And Lord you are my hope
Because you've created in me
A heart that lives the victory
That you've already won.

"Oh Lord you're my protection from my enemies,
You've set me high upon a rock and you defend my soul.
And when their ways advance against me, I am confident
That they cannot make me less, for you have made me whole."

This is the news story that God want his children to always turn their hearts toward. I can't tell you how this song blessed me this morning.

He is perfect protection.
He is Truth.
He is hope to all who will have Him.

I knew this and I believed this, but my "knower" I guess had to be reminded.

Maybe you don't buy into all this. I would ask you if you aren't tired as well of all the lies. Wouldn't you like for just once something to be true? For something to work out in your favor?

"Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed." 

Lamentations 3:22

I think it's obvious that left to our own devices, devoid of God, we consume each other. 

From Psalm 73, NLT version:

"These fat cats have everything their hearts could wish for!

They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others.

They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.

And so the people are dismayed and confused,

drinking in all their words.

'What does God know?' they ask.

'Does the Most High even know what's happening?'

Yes, He does. 

"Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.

Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside...

Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.

Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.

My health may fail, and my spirit grow weak,

but GOD remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever."

Be encouraged, friends. God is still on the throne.

I don't know about you, but that's the best news I've read all week. 

10 Things God Will (Most Likely) Never Say

I don’t know about you, but I love making lists of my favorite things.  Top 10 Books, Favorite Foods, Top Dream Vacations, 10 Random Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Me; you name it, I have probably made a list for it.

It’s human nature to list things; it’s one way we can define ourselves and put parameters around our lives. Lists are tangible.

Our desire for the tangible can get us in trouble when we relate to God.  God does not think how we think, nor does he approach schedules and situations (if He even calls them that) how we, our family, or our friends approach them. 

Here is a list of phrases that though we may say them all the time, we will never ever hear God say:

1. “Oops!”
2. “Wait…what?”
3. “Wait…who?”
4.  “Oh, crap!”
5. “Well, that was stupid of me.”
6. “I guess I forgot…”
7. “If at first I don’t succeed…”
8. “My alarm didn’t go off…I guess.”
9. “I just didn’t have time.”
10. “You just don’t understand MY schedule and MY life right now!”

Let’s praise God that he won’t ever say those things!  He is perfect, He never forgets, and He is on top of things. 

Isaiah 50:2 says, “Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea.”

Backing up one chapter, Isaiah 49:15-16 says, “Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”

Let's face it: we sometimes have Dori-like memories when it comes to how God works in our lives. We're human and mistakes ARE going to be made. However, we must daily (maybe even hourly?) remind ourselves that though we may have our problems with excuses, forgetfulness, and mistakes, God doesn't, and He has promised that His grace is sufficient to cover our weaknesses. Isn’t it cool to have a friend like that?

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and FORGET NOT all his benefits."

Psalm 103:2

It Won't Be Taken Away

In today's selection from Jesus Calling, a scripture resonated with me in a way that it hadn't before.

"...You have chosen the better thing and it will not be taken away from you."

This scripture is Luke 10:42 and is referring to the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus was commenting on Mary's choice to commune with Him and how that wouldn't be taken from her.
The devo today talked about the rewards of choosing to commune with God even though sometimes it is not appreciated or even misunderstood by others, like in the story of Mary and Martha. God promises returns when we choose Him, and those rewards are not to be taken away.

This hit home with me as recently I found out that my internship will not pan out how I desired. I enjoyed the work, was very good at it and have received excellent feedback from my immediate superiors. For reasons beyond my control and theirs, it just simply isn't going to pan out beyond the end of July.

A choice is before me: blare my "I'm discouraged" horn (and in this case, I would have good reason to) or hum a different tune.
As we all know, throughout our lives there are seemingly worthwhile ventures that we invest ourselves in and seemingly get nothing. They are "taken away from us," so to speak. It is an encouraging reminder as God's kids that no matter what endeavors in our lives fail to bring returns or are taken away from us, those daily decisions to commune with Him, the hourly decisions to choose HIM over all, will never fail to reward and it can't be taken away from us. I like that kind of security. That's just how it works in God's economy.

God's economy > any other economy.

A Prayer

This is a prayer I jotted down in my journal 3-4 years ago. I posted it on my blog last April, but never posted a link to it. I felt like I wanted to share it again on this fine Saturday.

Blessings to you all! Have a wonderful day :)

I have learned much, lost much, and gained much. And I by no means feel that I have reached a plateau. I cannot afford that luxury. Such is the ebb and flow of life.

Oh Father, I am so humbled by you. You have made us in your image; yet we are eternally-bound beings in mortally-bound bodies. You have called us to share the Good News, but there is not a more leaky bunch of jars to carry that Water of Life than us.

Yet you so patiently hold us, patch us, reshape us, and pour us out and fill us up at the right time, your time.

Your love permeates every cell of my body. It wraps around me, soothes me, whispers in my ear as I lay exhausted in my bed and directs me as I hurry to class.

I look for you everywhere, God. I find you in so many places throughout the day. You gift me with breath in my lungs, the dawn, and unending mercies every day. A second chance. I see your glory in the skies.

I see and rejoice in your unfailing beauty in the flowers- in the trees.

I listen for you in other peoples’ voices. I earnestly seek for evidence of you in their lives to see if I have found a brother or sister.

I rejoice in your safety. Who knows how many times you have shielded me from harm, the unsavory eye, my own self?

God, I feel your love when I am with those who I love. What sweet fellowship!

I savor, I store up, I rejoice in those quiet moments with you when your peace steals over my soul. Peace I don’t deserve. Peace that I should not be having- but it’s there.

I am further humbled when, though I am your child, you reveal areas in my life that have previously hid from your light. Areas I would have said were fine. Areas I jealously guard. Let it all come under your jurisdiction.

One thing I ask of-this is what I seek: to do for others, to live beyond myself. I do not wish to be an ending place, but a starting point for you to reach peoples’ lives. This world needs you God.

Hear my heart, know my thoughts. Keep me in the shadow of your wings.

A Huge Gaping Abyss

Here is another devo from the vault! I wrote this Aug/Sept of my freshman year in college. I have grown a lot in the area of trusting God with my future since then, but thought it would be cool to post this before my LAST WEEK of regular classes (maybe ever?) starts up. 

Enjoy!

I recently attended a leadership orientation for my scholarship group.  As is typical with these types of orientations, we got to partake in a variety of icebreakers.  One such task, though relatively simple, proved amazingly hard for me. 

Picture this: you and your partner. Small balls on the ground.  Your partner directs you to the balls and you throw the balls to try to tag the other people out by listening to your partner’s instructions. 

Oh yeah, and you are blindfolded, as are the other people you are trying to tag. 

Since I went first, my partner actually had to lead me out of the room where we were meeting to the playing space outside.  Here is where I ran into my problem. 

I couldn’t see. 

I didn’t know what to expect next. 

Any step could be my last (okay, not really but just play along).  The next step could plunge me into a huge gaping abyss. 

Even with my partner leading me by the elbow and reassuring me I was on solid ground, I literally could not tell my legs to take bigger steps out to the yard.  I was taking little baby steps.  My partner eventually dragged me the rest of the way down the path.

Why would I be telling you this?

This is a message the Lord has been teaching me through a variety of circumstances.  Even if we can’t see or think one moment ahead, He has already been there and back again.  

Proverbs 20:24 says, “A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?” 

Why is it so hard to just let go and trust?  I was slightly appalled at how even though someone was telling me,”Hey, it’s okay, take bigger steps,” I absolutely refused to take bigger steps for fear of plummeting to the ground and making a fool of myself.

Can’t you just hear the Lord saying, “Hey, it’s okay. I am right here. Take bigger steps”?

Isaiah 43:1-2, Psalm 139:16, Proverbs 3:5-6

God Knows When You Sigh

A little something I wrote in October of 2010.

God knows when you sigh…and when you cry.

He knows if it was a gut-wrenching sob over a loved one that was taken from you. He knows if they were tears of joy.

He sees also if it’s a heart that is tearing in two that produces silent tears that trickle slowly down your face. He knows the deep longings that echo with soundless voices in your spirit. Longings that you cannot yourself voice.

He sees your shoulders sag and your eyes gaze off in the distance even though you smile and put on the “right” face when you talk with people. Longings that no one else knows about.

Tears hidden from the world. He sees them all.

And he keeps track of them.

That speaks of an incredibly intimate God. I have a hard time opening up to people. Up to a certain point, I’m friendly and open, but once certain lines are crossed, I shut the door. It is hard to trust myself to other people. But God is already there, already “nearer than breathing, nearer than hands in feet." (from Streams in the Desert, May 29 entry) Wow! You can’t get much closer than that!

There is relief in knowing that God knows the content and extent of my longings and desires. It is wonderful to be known. Open up your heart today to the Shepherd, to your Lover- and be known fully.

“…for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.” Psalm 6:8

“O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you.” Psalm 38:9

“For he knows the secrets of the heart.” Psalm 44:21

“You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” Psalm 56:8

“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him…” Psalm 62:8

“But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.” Psalm 66:19

“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” Psalm 107:9

“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” Jeremiah 31:25

Self-Check

One of my Mom's friends on Facebook shared this link to a post on Pastor Perry Noble's blog. Noble is the pastor of a church in South Carolina.

Read through it and see what you think.

As I read through the blog post, one of the several thoughts that occurred to me was that these are some of the most frequent "complaints" others have against Christians. If this is what they see exhibited in a Christian's life, why would anyone find that appealing? I sure wouldn't.

If I've learned anything, it's that for the one person you know is watching you and observing the choices you make, there are about five more people watching that you don't know about.

A life filled to the brim, saturated with joy, peace, purpose, passion and trust in God is so attractive. It is one of the greatest testimonies a person can have.

What would someone who didn't know the Lord find attractive or "different in a good way" about your life?

Food for thought...

The Forever

From a journal entry in December 2010, with some modifications :)

Always.

Forever. 

Our society really misuses these poor words. I mean, we don't really have other options. The English language didn't give us words to denote varying levels of a particular idea or sentiment, like other languages do.

I personally toss these words around without thinking about them.  How many times have you said or heard phrases like these?

"I was waiting for the doctor for forever today!" (Hmm...is 45 minutes more accurate?)

"Like, for real- I was in that line at Wal-Mart forevvaa!" (I think it was probably 10 minutes.)

"Ugh, I was stopped at the light for forever!" (Two minutes, really? Forever?)

Forever is used in these circumstances to denote how long they lasted. It can also be used to declare such unending pleasure in a particular activity as to wish away its unavoidable termination.

"Ohhh, I wish it was always Christmas break!"

"I could just sit here on the beach for forever!"

Etc., etc.

Using this as an example, Christmas Break cannot last forever- we must move on to the rest of our calendar. If it was break all the time, how would we know to enjoy it? There would not be anything significant to let us know that we could and should enjoy this restful period.

These trite phrases are traded fast and furious throughout the day. What got me started thinking about this was eternity and heaven, and how our lives there as Christians really are forever. Our lives there will never end.

Do we really know what always and forever means? Can our brains even process this concept?

Think of how bounded by time our world is, especially the Western world. Everything most definitely has an end.

We finish books, we complete a degree, we consume a meal, we arrive at our destination, the song ends, the party ends, our naps end, the movie ends, the story ends.

Yet in heaven, The End no longer has any relevance. What will that even be like?

Truth is, we don't know yet. We can't know, because our minds are still bounded by time. I'm ok with not fully comprehending yet. 

I'm no philosopher or theologian...I just was thinking, and wanted to get you all to do the same...

I'm So Thirsty!

Hi all!

I wanted to expand on my Facebook status from this morning.

Think about how your body feels when it is dehydrated...now apply that to what happens to your spirit when it gets spiritually "dehydrated."

The Lord dropped this example in my mind about this time last year. I talked about it with my brother and we had a good conversation picking apart this example. 

One doesn't have to be a doctor or a nutritional expert to know that the body suffers mightily without regular amounts of water. Body systems, brain function, skin quality and so many other aspects of the human body depend on drinking water, and a lot of it. 

We all know this. I'm not revealing something radical.

This applies to our "spiritual bodies" (a.k.a. our spirits) as well.  They too must be regularly hydrated with "living water." 

Do we hydrate our spirits adequately? Do we know when our spirits are thirsty? Can we tell before it's too late that our spirits have become dehydrated?

Our physical bodies are noisy, constantly announcing its need for food, drink, sleep, etc. 

Our spirit is much quieter, and sometimes cannot be heard over the annoying clamor of the body. 

Knowing this, we must be proactive to take in the water of God's word. (If you're thirsty, you are already somewhat dehydrated). We would never intentionally deprive our bodies of water.  We should be far more worried about cutting off the flow of Living Water to our spirits. 

Read that Scripture one more time. Listen to that podcast. Drink some water! To start with, check out John 4:1-15 and Isaiah 55:1-2. 

One more thought.

It doesn't cost to quench your thirst or hunger for God. He gives spiritual drink and food freely- without cost. 

Isn't that refreshing?

Mentally Speaking

I started working on this particular post several weeks ago, but didn't post it. I took another look at it and well, here it is.

Take a moment and visualize. That's all I want you to do- just visualize. How do you view that which is most important and vital to your life?

For example, I view:
My parents as my counselors and friends
My brother as my best friend
Time as the most precious thing I can give anyone
Life as a journey (This is not a cliché comment, not every personality type views life like that)
Christianity as a relationship, not a religion

How you visualize something greatly affects how you act in relationship to that idea or person.
Basic? Yes.
Obvious? You would like to think so.

Stay with me.

Making a list of priorities is fairly important in this society, wouldn't you agree? There are lists on what to list on your list of priorities, books, talks, etc., etc., on the very subject. You have work priorities, school priorities, family priorities, life priorities...is the word priorities looking and sounding weird now?

We are a very priority-orientated culture.

Again, I think we can all agree that the people, projects and "things" at the top of the list get more time and attention than those toward the bottom of the list. But it's often a fight to keep that which we have deemed as being worthy of holding that top position in said position. Conversely, it is easy for priorities to change. So let's be honest, the best-constructed priority chart is still a very liquid list.

For as useful as this is at focusing our energy and resources, I would like to propose that visualizing our relationship with God in the same way is not such a good idea. In fact, it could be a hindrance to growing in our relationship with Him.

I came across the following example about four years ago and it has stuck in my mind. I wish I could remember exactly where I read it, but that isn't going to happen. 

What if we visualized God as the hub of our lives from which everything else radiates, like spokes on a wheel?

                                                            Google Images

How does that change your image of your relationship with God? How might that change how you interact with Him?

Arranging our lives with God as the hub means that He is going to have a greater chance to affect every aspect of our lives. We don't have to pencil Him in. We don't have to fight to make Him a priority. If we have placed Him at the center of our lives (and it is a daily choice) then He IS going to transform us and perfect us.

I think God deserves to be at the center of our lives, and not just at the top of our priorities.