Experiencing His presence!

He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies.                 Psalm 18:11 (NKJV)
 
Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him.

                                                                            Psalm 68:4 (NKJV)
 
Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.                                    Psalm 97:2 (NKJV)

He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind.

                                                                            Psalm 104:3 (NKJV)

 

 

My daughter was recently wed to a wonderful young man!  Many preparations and expense went into the day.  Both the wedding ceremony and the reception were planned as outdoor events, which seemed to be a great decision as all of the weather forecasts predicted a warm (hot even), clear, sunny day.  Yet 2 days before the event, predictions of rain came.  Oh no!

 

Many had prayed for a wonderful marriage celebration and that the Lord would be present throughout.  On the day of, as my daughter and I reached the venue, the skies were darkening and small sprinklings of rain began to fall.  “Lord, why?  You’ve blessed all of our preparations to this point.  Why must it rain now and if it must, please don’t let it rain on us!”  Well, only small sprinklings, for a short period of time, fell on us that day.  And I watched dark clouds pass over us without a down-pour of rain.  What I didn’t know, and was informed of later, is that it had rained all around us. 

 

Days later, something occurred this me…..in scripture, the Lord said that He dwells amidst the clouds, dark clouds even.  Hmmm? “Lord, was I asking for your presence, and praying against Your presence at the same time?”  And how many times have I asked Him to show himself strong and not understood the manner in which He moved.  Just wondering.......

 

I will never forget that day.  And not just because of the joyous celebration, but moreso because of the magnificent presence of the Lord.  So many people commented later about being affected by the event in ways that they hadn’t expected.  I know what was felt was His presence!

 

I've learned my lesson.

 

"Lord, I trust you and your ways are higher than the heavens.  You answer the prayers of your people. And you grace us with your presence!  Though storm clouds may enter my life, you’re a God who rides among the clouds and I never need fear in your presence!  Forgive me, Lord and move freely throughout my life.  May I smile at each cloud (literal and figurative ones) that I see from this day forward!"

 

Loved ones, be blessed.

Humble Obedience!

For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.                  2 Kings 17:22-23 (NKJV)

It’s very disheartening when God’s people willfully reject Him.  It’s sad to consider the hardness of heart of those who rebel against a merciful, patient and forgiving Lord.  And who can withstand His righteous judgement?

David understood something of the Lord that subsequent generations had forgotten…the significance of humble obedience.

LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.                                                                                                           Psalm 15 (NKJV)

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.                                                                Psalm 24:3-5 (NKJV)

As Israel entered the land from which they were many years later dispossessed, the Lord said to them –

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?                                                        Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NKJV)

Nevertheless, Israel rejected His commands and suffered the consequences.

Dear Ones, the Lord’s love language has always been humble obedience.  Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep My commandments”. 

My encouragement to you today, Loved One – Keep it simple!  Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and follow His commands – not your commands, not the world’s commands or demands, but His J !  It is for YOUR good.

Be blessed!

The Hard Work of Believing

I recently came across a beautiful definition of faith –

Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind (believing) that a certain statement

is true. Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust.*

I’ve rephrased this definition to say, ‘faith = belief + trust’.  Ephesians 1:11-13 speaks of the marvelous inheritance obtained by those, who trusted and believed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Over the years, from the opportunities I’ve had to speak with women, I find that many believe Jesus to be all that He proclaims, but they struggle in trusting that He will be ‘all’ in their lives.  And I must admit, that it’s so much easier to believe and trust what God says that He’ll do for someone else, than it is to believe and trust His promises to you.  You can clearly see His hand moving and orchestrating blessing for another, but when it comes to yourself – not so clear!  There are many reasons that it’s harder to have faith (trust and belief) in His personal promises.

(1)   Some have been greatly disappointed by friends and/or loved ones and have, in turn, improperly imposed those hurts, fears and doubts upon the Lord. The response of the Word is,

 "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19

(2)   Some feel unworthy of the magnificent promises made to those who believe, corporately and individually. To this I agree, on our own merit, we are unworthy.  It is because of Jesus that we are made worthy.  And the Word replies -

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. – Titus 3:3-7

(3)   And, some don’t know of the fullness of their inheritance in Christ.  This is gained through the knowledge of His Word and the growing personal relationship with Christ.  Take to heart Paul’s prayer for those in the church of Ephesus.

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.   Ephesians 3:14-21

Pray this prayer over your life.  Substitute the words, ‘you’ and ‘your’ to make this prayer personal, ie. ‘that He would grant me, according….’!

Through many of our reasons for not trusting God, the Adversary of our souls is vigorously making a case to support that lack of trust.  Yet, the important truth is that my faith-walk will only be as effective as my ability to trust and believe.  So there’s work to be done – hard work!

Today, I find myself saying, quite often, “Lord, I trust you!  I may not understand my circumstances, but I trust that You are good AND that You are good to me.  I may not like my circumstances, but I trust that You are good AND that You are good to me.  I believe and trust that you see me, right now at this very moment and I believe and trust, that when it’s all said and done, I will be victorious!”

The hard work is knowing (studying the Word) and then choosing (based on your abiding relationship with Him) to repeat what He says regarding the circumstances of your life versus repeating ‘filthy words of doubt and fear’ that so easily come to take residence in our hearts and minds.  It’s easy to be untrusting, so are you willing to do the work?

My heart’s desire is that my faith-walk will reflect the greatness of the God that I serve.  I don’t at all expect to accomplish this in my own strength, so I believe and trust the power of His Spirit working in me!  I agree with Philippians 4:13.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Amen and amen!

* Illustrated Bible Dictionary: And Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature.