Embedded Messages

You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the LORD delights in you, And your land shall be married. And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; And you shall be called Sought Out, City Not Forsaken. Isaiah 62:4, 12 (New King James Version)

Two phrases stand out in this passage that are incredible for me to read and necessary for me to believe. They are “The Lord delights in you” and “You shall be called Sought Out.” For most of my Christian life I would have read this passage and thought of the words as only being spoken to and about the nation of Israel. Originally it was, but on this side of the cross any who are redeemed of the Lord can and should accept the words for themselves.

Some of us struggle with the concept of such acceptance because we limit our view of God to what we have experienced with people. We are stuck with a mindset that says we are undesirable, unwanted, unnoticed, forgotten, forsaken, and alone. We matter to no one. Lies? Yes. Believed anyway? Absolutely. We weren’t created with that message but it was written on our heart and mind at some point or at many points.

Yesterday was a day of connecting a present emotion with the same emotion from my past. Two things showed me the connection….identical emotion and identical reaction to the emotion. After spending the day battling feelings, God helped me to see that my primary emotion driven belief was one of not mattering to people. He then helped me to remember it was the way I felt in childhood when my parents would drink or be in bars. I remember having a sadness I never shared with others. I never talked about it. I didn’t tell my parents how I felt. I didn’t tell friends how I felt. I simply withdrew until a more pleasant experience happened. Now as an adult, when I experience that belief and sadness I default to withdrawal. It is natural for me but harmful for relationships. It prevents the very closeness for which I hunger.

As I see this pattern, my hope for freedom and change has to begin with what God says. As I learn to trust His words and allow them to take up residence in me, the aspects of my relationships with others will be effected for the good.

Father, may Your words speak louder than the lies embedded in me. Amen.

Your Love (Psalm 139) - Oslo Gospel Choir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAZrV1pS2Ek&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

What an Offer!

For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13 (New King James Version)

If I were facing a difficulty, attempting something new, stepping away from my comfort zone, or feeling completely overwhelmed, and someone I looked up to, admired, and respected offered to help me, I would readily accept their help and walk with a bit more confidence and assurance. I would welcome not only their help but also their company. As a matter of fact, when I began this journey 7 years ago, I had someone do that very thing….walk with me and help me. It felt wonderful and yet it was temporary. There came a time when that help was no longer offered, available, or in a true sense, necessary. What did I learn from that? The helpers in our life are usually in our life for a specific time and need. When that time and need change so do the ones helping. That is comforting to me because I know God can be trusted to continue to cross my paths with His instruments of help.

Having said that, I am also aware that God Himself promises to walk with me and help me. How He longs for me to see that and rejoice in it even more than when people are helping me. Recently He asked me the question, “If certain individuals offered to be with you and help you, you would be thrilled beyond words. Why is it you do not respond the same to the offer of My presence and My help?” It was kind of question that stopped me in my tracks and forced me to admit the truth. The truth? Help from people can often seem more real, more present, and more desirable to me than God's help. That is NOT the way I want it to be, but nothing will change if I don’t see the reality of it in my life. Denying or hiding it will not help me to reverse that statement. I know this is not the way it is suppose to be but in reality that is exactly how it is.

I love God. I get excited when talking about God. I have a passion to know Him. Yet, I long for change in this area. Asking another person to help me is not my answer. I need God’s help with this one. He and He alone knows why I think the way I think about Him and my relationship with Him. He and He alone can bring me to the place of seeing Him above and beyond any person in my life….even the very ones He has used or presently uses in my life.

Father, may the truth and reality of You set me free! Amen.

Mighty to Save - Laura Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYqogpLpC5Q

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Seeing Ourselves

Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." Isaiah 6:5 (New American Standard Bible)

I find it interesting that the very thing that Isaiah viewed as his worst asset was the very thing that God wanted to use…his mouth, his words, his voice. Our weaknesses are not a deterrent to God’s plan but rather a starting place for that plan to come forth…to be birthed. When we bring our weaknesses to God and receive His forgiveness and cleansing we are actually putting ourselves in a position to be used of Him. Until we can come to that place we are simply observers of His kingdom work.

It took me a long time to realize that admitting the truth about myself to God, myself, and others was the first step toward freedom and usefulness. What I shuttered at the most was what God wanted to use. What I thought disqualified me actually qualified me. Along with that is the joy of knowing I am not alone…I follow a long line of individuals who had to face the “not so pretty” picture of themselves in order to begin seeing God’s portrait that included them. This often followed a time of failure and a time of solitude.

Moses’ killed a man and spent 40 years in the wilderness before God’s call came to him. He had been spent of all his self-sufficiency and know how. David committed adultery and murder and spent many years running from Saul before assuming his place as king. Joseph boasted of dreams and ended up spending 13 years as a slave and prisoner before rising to a place of authority in Egypt. Person after person is shown in their human frailty and a time of conditioning that God brought them through to mold them into the person He created them to be for the fulfillment of His purpose.

I have spent the past number of years painfully seeing my own heart and life condition. It hasn’t been pretty, comfortable, or enjoyable, but it has been necessary and productive. Just coming to the place of saying, like Isaiah, “I am a person of __________,” has caused me to hang my head in shame on more than one occasion. Looking back at my Bible ancestors gives me hope, though, because I know it is part of the process God will use with me just as He did with them. To know that my words of admittance are always received by Him in love makes all the difference in the world. Whatever He is able to redeem and restore from this life of mine, I praise Him for!

Father, touch me with the coals of cleansing and make me fit for Your use and Your hands. Amen.

Call On Jesus - Hillsong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz8P96myUZk&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Let's Start Here

For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited. I am the LORD, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:18 (New King James Version)

Genesis 1:1 is the introduction of God and what He did. Chapters 44and 45 of Isaiah reiterate that truth of God’s existence as well as His creation. I would invite anyone to read those two chapters and underline each time God speaks of creating the world as well as being God alone. It is not only a rich theological find but a pivotal starting point for each of us.

Sad to say, some can read portions of Scripture and walk away unmoved and unchanged. They are much like Pharoah when Moses spoke to him about letting the children of Israel go free from Egyptian rule. His response? “Who is God?” It wasn’t a question of a searching heart but rather a proud statement of self-importance and self-worship. Some have little respect for the Word of God and have no trouble snubbing their noses and hearts at it. For them, we must continue to direct them back to Scripture and pray that one day God will open their heart to the truth.

I rejoice, though, that not everyone will have that response. Some, me included, will find great comfort and encouragement in the proclamation of God and His creation. When that happens, we come to realize that since He created everything and He is God alone, then He becomes our starting point for life. Here is what I take away from Scripture this morning.

God fashioned this world and established the way this world should operate. His Word is my guidebook for how to live in this world in relationship with God and others. He has a purpose for His creation and I am part of that purpose. Just as He did not create this world in vain, as a waste, or without intentional purpose, neither did He create me in vain, as a waste, or without intentional purpose. The world was created to be inhabited by us and we were created to be inhabited by God.

I have played board games with individuals who have made up their own rules to play by and the game no longer resembled its original design. That is okay to do with a game you purchase, but I do not want to live my life according to my own rules, boundaries, and plans. God’s ways and thoughts are higher than my own and I want live my life to the fullest. That is only possible as I align myself with His original design. That in turn, is only possible as I look into His Word and take note of how He says things are to operate. There is not an area or issue in my life that is not addressed in some way in the Bible. It is my intent to discover what it says and by God’s grace allow the truths to transform me.

Father, I am ready to approach Your Word in a life changing way. I have lived long enough my by own means, methods, and coping skills. Teach me. Guide me. Change me. Amen.

You Are God Alone - Phillips, Craig, & Dean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xPzTSpbYmk&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

A Matter of My Will and Choice

And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah 32:17 (New American Standard Bible)

God desires to instill within me peace, quietness, and confidence. When those qualities are missing in my internal world and I find myself walking in turmoil, restlessness, and uncertainty, I can be sure something has gone awry. While there are bound to be times when life gets messy and off-centered, there is need for concern when I find myself unable to move forward and regain my sure footedness. When my thought life, words, and emotions become wrapped and entrapped in negativity, self pity, and prolonged grief, I can be sure I have taken my eyes off God, closed my heart to His work, and embraced lies over truth. What may start out as a reaction to circumstances can quickly become a place in which I willfully choose to dwell.

There are numerous things in life that I do not necessarily cause, choose, or wish to happen. While I may not be personally responsible for their introduction into my life, I am responsible for the way I respond to them and the duration of time I allow them to negatively affect me. When I have crossed the line from being hurt to becoming bitter, I have entered a place that is far removed from peace, quietness, and confidence. God in His graciousness and wisdom brings about enough discomfort and pain to coax me into a desire for change. It is never His intent that I continue to live in a prison of my own making.

So what does it take to move out of an emotional box that I have constructed and crawled into? TRUTH!!!! I must be willing to see the truth about my circumstances, heart, and mindset in light of what God says and does. Getting me to that point may have many avenues. At all times, I have God’s Spirit living in me and if I listen to Him He will reveal heart changing truth to me. I have God’s Word which will definitely show me truth that is meant to set me free. I also have truth tellers in my life who are connected enough to the heart of God to plainly tell me the very things I need to hear. While they assure me of their love for me and interest in me, they know better than to sugar coat or water down the truth God leads them to share.

Many have been the times when these individuals have come along side me to encourage me to once again see the truth and embrace it. While their hearts go out to me and their prayers go up for me, they know better than to simply give me a listening ear, strong shoulder, and an endless supply of sympathy. They consistently and lovingly speak the truth and as I receive it for myself I experience a return of peace, quietness, and confidence. Amazing!

Father, thank you that when my will and emotions choose a wrong path, You graciously and purposefully redirect my mind and my steps. Amen.

Your Name - Phillips, Craig, & Dean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=othYj8jWSwc

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Who I Really Need

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 (King James Version)


Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2 (King James Version)

Today is a day when I just want to crawl into the truth of who God is. David and Isaiah are both telling me where to take any inner turmoil. God is using their words to probe my heart. He is asking, “What are you looking for? What do you need?” No matter what I tell Him, no matter what I say, His response is always the same. “I am your refuge. I am your strength, I am your help, I am your salvation, I am your song!”

All of my attempts to find what I am looking for in external sources are met with His words. He is not being mean, but rather is doing the most loving, beneficial act toward me. He is actually answering a prayer I voiced several years ago. I saw another person’s walk with Him and wanted to know Him in the same way. I wanted to stand with a confidence that can only be found in Him. I wanted reliance that was aimed at Him. I wanted to live every day of my life out of an intimate relationship with Him. I did not know all that would entail in order to make it a reality in my own life, but He knew!

He knew it would require the removal of all my external props. He knew it would involve taking me out of my comfort zones. He knew it would necessitate learning to cry on His shoulder, take my heart aches to Him, and allow Him to search me thoroughly. He knew I would have to face my own skepticisms and suspicions about His ability to meet my deepest needs. He knew I would have to learn to transfer all of my dependency off my idols and on to Him. And He knew none of those things would come naturally or easily to me. But His knowledge is matched with His patience.

I am learning maturity in Christ does not mean I no longer struggle. It means I know where to take the struggles. At any given moment, as my needs arise, I turn to Him.

Father, life hurts. It is full of disappointment that often leaves me with a sadness inside. I bring it to You again. I need You alone. Amen.

There is None Like You - Lenny LeBlanc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N-JK9iZcrg&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

What God Can Do With One

When he was but one I called him, then I blessed him and multiplied him. Isaiah 51:2 (New American Standard Bible)

God took one solitary man by the name of Abraham and brought forth an entire nation. Like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashores the number of that nation is vast and innumerable. Jesus took one little boy’s lunch and fed over 5,000 people with it. One widow in the days of Elisha saw a jar of oil fill many containers. One widow in Elijah’s day saw a little oil and flour provide meals for her, her son, and Elijah for 3 years until a famine had ended.

What do these miraculous stories all have in common? God took people and objects far beyond their original capabilities. He was able to get more mileage out of each than what was formerly thought possible. When God touches a life, an event, a circumstance, or an object He has no limits. No boundaries. No inabilities.

I have heard it said that sin will take you further than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and hold you longer than you want to stay. But God is able to operate in much the same way. God can take you further than you hoped to go, reward you more than you hoped to receive, and use you in more ways than you ever dreamed.

When He looks at us, He does not see just one individual. He sees potential, opportunities, and dreams. He did not stop multiplying and blessing when the Bible was completed. He still takes what we hold in our hands and goes beyond our own design and purpose.

One aspect of faith is believing God can do ANYTHING! When His hand touches a life the results are amazing. He still desires to be fully involved in our life. He still takes objects in His hands and multiplies what is there. Today I am challenged to see what God will take farther than I thought possible. He knows my personal fears and apprehensions even better than I do. He knows my intimate thoughts, dreams, and ambitions. He knows and yet none of that stops Him from working in and through me. He simply reminds me that His plans and purposes are higher than my own and His ability to carry them out extends beyond my ability to always see it. He daily invites me to trust Him and fix my eyes on Him rather than on the limitations, hindrances, and impossibilities that so often dance across the floor of my imagination. He will not give up on me and throw up His hands in exasperation. His investment and involvement in my life is never in vain.

Father, You are still able to do so much more than I can imagine. Fulfill your dreams for me. Amen.

Take My Life (And Let It Be) - Chris Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Byp7aK2DA

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

His Works, His Hands

But now, O LORD, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8 (New American Standard Bible)

As a branch in God’s hands, I am pruned at appropriate times in necessary ways. As His sheep, I am shepherded and cared for. As clay upon His wheel and in His hands I am molded to His likings. I long for the results that come from His involvement in my life but often squirm during the process. This morning I am asking myself what the process has entailed.

It has entailed taking me out of comfort zones, removing significant individuals from my life, showing me the truth about His heart and character, showing me the dangers of living out of my emotions, correcting wrong steps I take, transforming my character and thoughts, exposing my weaknesses and wounds, teaching me to live according to truth rather than perceptions, redirecting my attention to what He is presently doing rather than what He has done in the past, instilling in me a teachable spirit in the midst of difficult lessons, and wiping away tears that fall when I don’t understand what He is doing or forget that He is doing all things out of love.

I am a recipient and example of His labor of love and that knowledge requires trust on my part. Trust that God knows what He is doing. Trust that He will accomplish that which He has determined to do. Trust that He will keep His word. Trust that He is able to do far more than I could imagine. Trust that my limitations do not limit Him. Trust that at no time does His love for me become merely toleration. Trust that I have not exhausted His supply of mercy, grace, forgiveness, and strength. Trust that He will eventually bring me to the point that I completely release all that I am still holding on to. Trust that His requirements of me are good, necessary, and beneficial.

He knows my personality and make up. My weaknesses and bents. My places of stubbornness. My potential. My fears and insecurities. With that knowledge He has not abandoned me, become exasperated by me, shamed me, or given up on me. His involvement in my life has not waned in the least. I marvel at the thought of that and it comes against all preconceived ideas I have had of myself and Him.

Father, show me where I still lack trust in You. Teach me to fix my eyes on You. Amen.

He Knows My Name - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXsiWoyjw60&feature=related

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

Breaking the Pattern

They will sanctify My name; indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Those who err in mind will know the truth, and those who criticize will accept instruction. Isaiah 29:23,24 (New American Standard Bible)

I have learned that when an uneasy feeling settles over me or I begin feeling shaky internally, it is time to do some searching. It is not enough to know there is a problem, I must get to the root of the problem. The “symptoms” I am experiencing will not go away without dealing with what is causing them to surface. Today’s verse shows me the issue and the solution. My shift of emotions, attitudes, and feelings can usually be traced back to error filled thinking and a critical spirit. God’s answer for me is to know the truth, accept His instruction, sanctify (revere) His name, and stand in awe of Him. But these are only words on a page unless I put them into practice on a daily basis.

James reminds me to be a doer of the Word and not merely a hearer. Truth only changes me as I apply it to my life. So what makes this so difficult to do? Many things. When one has spent years making wrong choices of thoughts and emotions there is a pattern that must be broken. The strongholds of idolatry and self pity must be acknowledged and torn down. What use to feel good and seem right must be seen as detrimental to my spiritual, emotional, and social health. When one has grown accustomed to jumping into one mental pit after another there comes a time when staying out of the pit must be a priority and accepted choice.

The words of 2 Chronicles 25:8 come to mind which says, “The Lord has much more to give you than this.” The “this” He is referring to for me this morning is all the ways I have learned to cope and survive emotionally. As I make my way around an all too familiar “spiral” God is letting me know He has a better way for me to think and act than what I have been use to. While I may feel shaky, He is reminding me of all the solid things in my life such as His Word, His Spirit, and Himself. This is what He is using to redirect my focus and my heart back toward Himself. As they take center stage for me, the rest begins to lessen and weaken. Calm replaces turmoil. Joy replaces discontentment. Peace replaces uneasiness. It is continually realigning myself to trusting, believing, acknowledging, and accepting Who God is and His ways for me. Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little (Isaiah 28:13). Change and growth take God, time, and continual cooperation. With that I move forward instead of down. Praise Him!

Father, the old ways are slowly giving way to Your ways. How You long to free me from what has been a way of life for me. Keep teaching me to turn to You and abide in You. Amen.

Change My Heart Oh God - Eddie Espinosa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEtsHWFE6-w

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Staying Power

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 (New King James Version)

What is it that robs you of peace and joy? Circumstances? Failure? Disappointment? Loss? According to James 1:3, those things develop us into stronger Christians. They are what we face in life but they are not the robbers. Our thoughts and what we choose to meditate and dwell upon are the culprits! God’s promise for peace is contingent upon our keeping our thoughts directed toward Him. Looking to Him to sustain and uphold us. To be our leaning post upon which we rest and relax. Not just every once in a while but on a continual basis.

Flowery words? To some. But they are meant to be more than words. They are meant to breath life into our fitful lives. God knows how easily we can drain and strain our strength by the mere practice of looking away from Him and (for the most part) forgetting about Him. We wear ourselves out with worry and anxiety. Like the slow churning of lava prior to the volcanic eruption, we poise ourselves for emptiness and bewilderness. Jesus promised abundant life and we dig our feet into the sod of a cemetery.

So what is it that fills me with anything but peace? Allowing myself to continually dwell on past relationships that did not work out the way I had hoped. Resigning myself to the thought that life holds no more adventure or change. Harboring regrets over past failure and present relapses into dangerous thinking. Allowing perceptions and distortions to play freely across the fields of my mind. It is deliberate thinking in the wrong direction and on the wrong objects.

A read through of the Psalms will quickly give me more than enough to think upon. Reviewing God’s past intervention in my life will equip me to live life peacefully. It is purposeful and intentional meditation upon the heart, character, and actions of God that will break the cycle of peace-draining mindsets.

I write often of the thought life because I experience the painful results of not taking the thoughts captive. Today is a day for redirecting my thoughts and standing guard against any that would be counter productive to God’s desire for me. He who holds my life in His hands longs to be the one upon whom my mind is fixated!

Father, fill my mind with thoughts of You! Amen.

Warrior is a Child/Do I Trust You - Twila Paris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pzu-jWpcdw&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

When the Two Clash

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 (Amplified Bible)

Often I am challenged to ask myself if I really believe what I am reading from God’s Word or if they are just lofty thoughts that have yet to be fully embraced by me. The moment of truth comes when I face difficulties, disappointments, and the hardships of life. Not when the sun is shining and everything is going my way, but when the storms of life descend upon my peaceful world. Those are the times when what I really believe comes to the surface. Those are the times I must acknowledge the truth of my own heart.

Not only are God’s ways and thoughts higher than my own but often they are quite different from my own. I would like to say that when there is conflict between the two, I very easily lay down my will for His. I gladly release my grip to take His hand. I venture forth with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. I would like to say that is the norm for me, but the truth of the matter is that I more often find myself resisting the changes He brings about.

I can so easily resist the change of relationships when His plans and purposes for those relationships have been fully accomplished. How easy it is to wrap myself in a mantle of grief over loss and resist the invitation to move forward into new relationships. I can look back over my life as if it were a canyon scene with many mountain ranges. At various places I see the past “nests” of relationships that God allowed me to remain in for a while. What I failed to see was that it was always His hand that rustled the nests in order to move me on to higher places with Himself. Instead, I could only see my hurt and ask myself a host of unanswerable questions. Far too many times I would have chosen to stay indefinitely and resist the call to His ways and thoughts. What I have learned is God will remove me whether I go willingly or not. It simply means with unwillingness I will experience more pain than is necessary.

It is that way no matter what area of life is out of my control. Be it health, finances, relationships, employment, dreams, expectations, or daily happenings, it always comes down to His ways and thoughts being higher than my own. I once again acknowledge that as truth and embrace it afresh.

Father, resistance to Your ways and thoughts carries a price tag I no longer want to pay. I surrender. Amen.

Knees to the Earth - Watermark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01eAZ85kXSA

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

He Gives Power and Strength

He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Isaiah 40:29 (New American Standard Bible)

Scripture is my source of remembering. Today’s verse reminds me in a precious way that when I am in need God will supply the strength and power I lack. In those times when the fight is not in me, He supplies. When I retreat, recoil, and resign, He supplies. When I am giving up and giving in to the very things I most want victory over, He supplies. When my need is great, His supply is abundant. I cling to His promises this morning. They shine upon my recent moments of failure and frustration.

How easy it is to recite and review Scriptural principles when I am feeling on top of it all. Everything at that point makes sense leaving me with an air of a confident conqueror. I play out in my mind how the next testing will be handled. I know the words I will speak, the feelings I will subdue, and the victory I will walk in. It is like a well scripted movie playing out in my mind. I have the lines down pat, all the scenes perfected, and the ending set. It all works well in my mind as I simply wait for the curtain call. Then life happens.

I can tell the moment my pre-planned program begins to unravel. I can tell when the internal shift takes place and the resolve I had determined ahead of time makes a quick exit. As I run into a wall of emotions the fight in me turns to flight and I am left in a heap. Physically I feel as if I am moving in slow motion. Emotionally I feel trapped. Spiritually I feel like a failure. When it is over I look back in disbelief at my decision to give up and not implement the very tools that would be successful ….prayer and scripture.

This morning it makes sense, but this morning the battle is not raging and the emotions are not spiraling. This morning I confess the failures of last night’s battle and determine once again to do better “next time.” With that determination I voice the words, “He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.” In my weariness and lack of might I qualify for His strength and power as promised.

Father, You promise to give me strength and power. I choose to believe You. I choose to receive! Amen.

What Faith Can Do - Kutless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwDu0IWjoN0

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Out of the Cave

To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3 (New King James Version)

It was a year ago that I rear ended a vehicle and found myself in the emergency room with a broken sternum. Pain medication was necessary at first and limits were put on how much I could lift. My duties at work were changed to accommodate my need for healing. Prayers were spoken on my behalf and appreciated tremendously. It took time for the bone to heal and the limitations to be lifted. Eventually the tenderness subsided as well as the thoughts of the incident. Lessons were learned and life went on. Physical restoration can often be more quickly obtained than damage to our emotions.

It was over three years ago that a change in relationship shook my world and the eventual severing of it caused me to crash emotionally. I entered a cave of internal darkness that was profound and seemingly impossible to leave. The loss and questions consumed me for the better part of a year. Enjoyment for life eluded me. It limited my perspective on life and my trust in others. I had come face to face with a pain I had never known before and a view of my own internal world that was not comfortable or pretty. Issues that I had been able to anesthetize through the relationship were exposed and felt. My world as I had known it was forever changed. The “medication” that was needed and applied was Scripture, prayers (mine as well as friends’), and the willingness of an accountability partner to enter the cave and spend two years walking me to the exit.

I don’t know the exact moment that exit was found but recently I realized I was no longer in the cave of darkness and pain. I realized that battles being fought were separate from the loss. Joy and laughter were finding their way back into my life and I was actually finding more and more times free from the consuming thoughts that had been so much a part of me. God had brought about the emotional healing that others had assured me He would but I floundered to believe. This morning, praise and thanksgiving have definitely replaced sorrow and I am delighting in the things I see God doing in other areas of my life.

I share this for two reasons. First, it has been so long in coming that I cannot help but talk about it! He has done a marvelous thing in my life and I HAVE to share it. Second, I know that some who are reading this need a word of encouragement that God will eventually bring them out of the emotional cave of pain they find themselves in presently. For them, it is dark and cold. Life is at a stand still and they are not sure things will ever change. They will change, my friends. I have absolutely no doubt about that….but it will take time. Know that the prayers are being lifted on your behalf and welcome any who will enter the cave to help you.

Father, thank you for what You have done for me and what You will do for others! Amen!!!

Help Me - Kathy Troccoli (one of my "cave" songs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSSWHO8ueA

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

What Hinders the Delight?

Then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 58:14 (New American Standard Bible)

I know what it is to delight in someone. Delight entails a sense of joy, pleasure, happiness, joy, glee, gladness, enchantment, amusement, and satisfaction. To revel in ones presence and think dearly of them even in their absence. To want to spend time with them and take every opportunity to do so. Individuals readily come to mind in the writing of this paragraph. Today’s verse gives me a promise of all that and more being directed toward the Lord.

What is the prerequisites for taking delight in the Lord? They are listed in the previous verse (58:13). Doing that which pleases God rather than turning my own way, seeking my own pleasures, and speaking my own words. It is aligning myself with the truths of Scripture and living out of those truths. Separating from what needs to be separated from and embracing what needs to be embraced.

What are the hindrances to taking delight in the Lord? For me, it is having a divided heart. The bottom line comes down to who has my heart and attention? Who seems to be the one I cannot live without? Who stands in competition with God in my thinking? Who is prominent in my thoughts? Who is the idol I have placed on the pedestal of my internal world? As long as I feel I need another person’s attention, approval, acceptance, and affirmation it will hinder me from taking delight in the Lord.

At one time, this type of hindrance required the severing of a relationship. At present, it is not a severing that needs to take place but rather a letting go of certain aspects that represent security to me. I know the steps I must take in order to delight in God and this morning finds me pondering the steps as well as the difficulty associated with taking those steps. Past fears and failures come to mind and attempt to convince me that obedience in this area will lead to a sense of loneliness and isolation. Yet, God’s Word tells me obedience will lead to finding my delight in Him. My flesh tells me to not let go of what has felt so safe. My heart yearns for the freedom that will come in releasing my grip. My mind quickly lists the advantages to keeping things the same. My spirit tells me those advantages are really disadvantages when it comes to my walk with God.

The bottom line is will it be my way, my pleasures, and my words or God’s? I want it to be His and by His grace and continual work in me it will be.

Father, I am at a crossroads in my mind and life. May I walk by faith and not by feelings. By trust and not by emotions. By grace and not by greed. Amen.

I'm Letting Go - Francesca Battistelli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNEhKLrsUfo

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Taking it Personal

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me." "Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:14-16 (New American Standard Bible)

Approaching Scripture as simply a book of historical facts can have little effect on my life. If I cannot see the Bible as anything but stories about people from the past and their relationship to God then I will fail to see how it applies to me. For too many years, I couldn’t read God’s Word with the ability to make what was being said personal to me. If God was speaking to Israel it seemed like the words were meant for them rather than me….unless they were words of condemnation and judgment. Words of affirmation, encouragement, and love weren’t accepted or owned by me. I would not have slipped my own name into the assurances of today‘s passage. I would not have heard God saying He had not forgotten me or that He had inscribed me on the palms of His hands. To do so would have felt wrong, like I was pretending. I had been taught to ask certain questions when reading the Bible. Who is talking? Who is being talked to? What is being said? What I failed to ask was, what is being said to me? Leaving myself out of the picture was tragic! How much I failed to see and experience because of a faulty view of God and His Word.

Once I could begin putting my name into passages of Scripture, Bible reading and study took on a whole new dimension for me. Now I cannot read passages without doing that and it all stems back to a prayer I voiced to God one morning in my kitchen. I simply asked Him to show me His heart in Scripture. I had no idea how much that would change my life. It was the start of me being able to receive God’s personal messages to me. To see that what He was saying to individuals and nations centuries ago was being said to me today. Today’s passage now touches me deeply rather than appearing foreign to me. It gives me assurance that I am loved and thought of by the One who created me. It is what I can meditate upon when I feel forgotten or forsaken by others. It is what strengthens me in my moments of weakness. It is what helps me to see God’s Word as a letter written and meant for me. Anymore, I take His words personal….very personal!

Father, showing me Your heart in Scripture opened up my heart to receive what You were saying. I can now see the treasures of truth You intended for me all along. Thank you! Amen.

Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqMYHmoXMAQ&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Looking in the Right Direction

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18, 19 (New International Version)

Often times, the ability to see what God is doing in the present is hindered by a continual looking back and longing for what He was doing in the past. When we focus on the old we are unable to see the new. It’s right in front of us but we don’t perceive it. Lot’s wife looked back and the result was tragic. While I will not be turned into a pillar of salt if I look back, I can certainly attest to the inability to move forward.

When tragedy or loss comes our way, it is easy to long for things to be the way they use to be. We hinge our happiness on how we use to live and feel. If significant people played huge roles in our life, their absence can have a profound effect on the way life appears to be. We may find it hard to let go of the desire to have the relationship restored and back in place. When change takes place, our world can feel like a desert and wasteland. The pit of nothingness can suddenly feel like home.

God’s answer in the midst of my questions? Forget the former things. Stop dwelling on the past. Take notice of the new things being done. Acknowledge the truth that He is making a way in my desert and placing streams in my wasteland. With that knowledge I am free to move forward on the path He is clearing for me and to find refreshment at the streams He is providing for me. Everything I need to live the abundant Christian life is at my disposal and is made available to me by my loving, Heavenly Father.

His intent for me at present is to live my life differently than I have in the past. He has placed new people in my life. Am I appreciating them and taking part in the relationships they offer? He has given me truths to replace the lies I have believed. Am I thinking on the truth, acting on the truth, and allowing the truth the change me? He planted seeds of wisdom and knowledge within my heart and mind. Am I allowing those seeds to grow and bring forth fruit and affect the lives of others? None of those things are possible if I continue to look back at what use to be because looking back takes my focus off God and what He is doing.

It is time for me to look away from the former things and look to the present workings of God in and around me. It is a matter of my will and a choice which is up to me. I have spent too much time looking back. It is time to look forward.

Father, give me the grace to change my focus, desires, and dreams. Help me to see all that You are doing now. I thank You for the past as I look to the future. Amen.

Pictures of Egypt - Sara Groves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcIA4Cnj6j4

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Unchanging and Inexhaustible

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28 (New King James Version)

When life happens and people leave, if we are not careful, we can come to believe that everyone eventually will see the need to back away from us. We will live with a wavering trust of those who actually care and really do love us. Something in us keeps saying that when they know us well enough and discover the truth about us they will abandon us. Our weaknesses and failures will cause them to grow weary and tired of us. Their involvement in our life will end. Their opinion of us will change. Their love will stop. When those thoughts become our “truth” we stop living life as it is meant to be lived. We close ourselves off to receiving or giving love. We live in a shell of pain and loneliness that is not only unnecessary but ungodly as well. When we put those same perceptions on God we are in even bigger trouble and distress.

Today’s verse lets me know how far from the truth such thoughts are. The everlasting God does not grow faint or weary of me. The Creator of the universe does not grow tired of me. The LORD is not giving up on me. I do not understand His love, His ways, His persistence, or His unchangeableness. How could I? I do not even understand people who demonstrate His heart. How they can love me in spite of what they know about me? How they can love me even when my actions and attitudes disappoint, frustrate, or anger them?

Whether it is God or people, I must come to the point of realizing true love is not based on my performance. It is not something I can earn but rather it is something I must receive as a gift. Those who truly love me demonstrate what God’s love is like. They don’t excuse my sin, they don’t ignore my wrong choices, they don’t dance around the issues. They let me know when I am doing well and they let me know when I am doing wrong. Their words, body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice become teachers to me.

The longer I experience genuine love from God and others, the more I desire to walk in that same untiring, inexhaustible, unending love myself. I long for the day my own compassion leaves them confused in a good sense.

Father, please help me to no longer interpret my relationship with You and others through the grid of past hurts and disappointments. Help me to grasp the extent of Your love and theirs. Help me to trust with abandon and love with Your kind of love. Amen.

Love That Won't Walk Away - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZioqjmmtK3U

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Dealing With Fear

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid, for the LORD God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2 (New American Standard Bible)

There are many things that cannot co-exist or be done at the same time. For instance, light and darkness, kindness and cruelty, peace and war, friendship and enmity, water and oil, bitterness and forgiveness. Today's verse gives me one more: trusting and being afraid.

The Bible says, "Perfect love casts out fear." I see a picture in my mind of two people in a room and one is throwing out the other. It is an aggressive act done on purpose. When I really believe God is in control of my life and is able to handle anything I bring to Him, the fear no longer has a place in my life to take up residence. It is cast out ~ made to leave. And when it comes knocking at the door of my mind I can send Faith to answer the door for me and send Fear away.

There are times when fear wants to feed off present circumstances or future possibilities. Trust keeps my mind focused on God and on what He is able to do.

Some of us find it harder to trust than others. Maybe that is due in part to primary people in our life failing to come through for us, not being able to be counted upon, or just plain abandoning or rejecting us. God wants us to know He is not like that. He wants us to know He can be trusted even more than what our eyes see or our ears hear.

The next time you are fearful or anxious take a moment to see what lies you are believing about God or yourself. Most of the time those lies attack the character, capability, and compassion of God. So it is imperative that we renounce the lies and proclaim the truth out loud! Here is an example for you.

When you feel rejected you might tell yourself you are all alone and no one cares about you. Renounce it by saying, "That's not true! I am not alone for God has said He will never leave me. I choose to believe God over my feelings and emotions." God says in Isaiah that although our own parents might forsake us He never will.

Father, lies feed my fears but truth about You builds my trust. May I come to know You so well that fear does not gain access, entrance, or residence in my life. Amen.

Still - Hillsong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKb54tu4gG0&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Attractive Qualities

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:2b (New International Version)

What attracts us to people? What is it about certain people that causes us to take notice and say, “I want to get to know that person?” For me, it usually comes down to inward qualities. It may be their personality, wisdom, humor, or insight. More than anything they usually possess a quality I admire and would like to see in my own life. The interest is deepened as I sense acceptance from them. I love the point when we go from being strangers to friends.

A harder question for me to ask is what attracts people to me? What is it about me that would cause someone to decide they want to get to know me? Why would they want me for a friend? I would venture to say it is inward qualities as well. Qualities that God placed within me that people see and appreciate. I am reminded of the look and scent of flowers that attract insects and birds. Each of us have God given characteristics that attract us to each other.

It was no different with Jesus. Today’s verse reminds me that Jesus did not attract people via His outward appearance. It wasn’t His physical appearance that drew people to Himself. So what was it? Initially for some I am sure it was His miracles. But that would be an attraction for what He could DO. If it went no further it was merely a spectator sport. But oh the change when it was His love that attracted them. When they saw that He not only possessed power but wisdom and love as well.

I wonder what it was like for a person in Bible times to actually make eye contact with Jesus. To realize He knew and accepted them. What was it like to sit and talk with Jesus face to face? For each person who met Him and was attracted to Him there came a point when they went from being strangers to having a personal relationship with Him.

So I ask myself this morning, what is it about Jesus that attracts me to Him? Initially it was for the eternal life He offered. Now I would say it is for the abundant life He gives. At one point my spiritual eyes were opened so I could see Him. Now His Spirit works to open my heart to know Him.

Father, attract me to Yourself afresh today. Make me aware of the qualities in You that make me want to grow in my relationship with You. Amen.

Let My Words Be Few - Phillips, Craig, & Dean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12z4dvc2kjo

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

God's Longings

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you. And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him. Isaiah 30:18 (New American Standard Bible)

Each of us have things we long for and desire to receive. We not only want it but do whatever we can to get it. I find it interesting that God also has longings. His expectancies run high, just like ours.

Isaiah 30:18 tells me two things God longs for. He longs to be gracious to us AND He wants to have compassion on us. This certainly is not the picture of a stingy, angry God. When I look in His eyes I see them sparkle with love, joy, and laughter. He actually looks forward to the times when He can lavish His grace and compassion on us.

Since God wants more than anything to show these attributes to us, what hinders Him from doing so? I believe it comes down to our inability or refusal to receive the gifts from His hands. When I walk in disobedience, follow my own agenda, look to other sources to have my needs met, or fasten my eyes and attach my heart away from Him, I shut out His attempts to show me His graciousness and compassion.

Instead of opening my hands to Him, I close them tightly. Instead of running to Him, I back away. Instead of receiving from Him, I live deprived. So how do I reverse these tendencies? It too is found in my longings. This verse speaks of longing for Him. That longing is a deep heart desire to know Him, please Him, serve him, and totally embrace Him. Think of the person or people in your life that mean the most to you. That desire you have to spend time with them and to talk with them. They bring you joy and delight. You have a longing to be in relationship with them.

May God help us to cultivate that very desire for Himself. When spending time with Him and thoughts of Him become our greatest delight and priority we are then able to receive what He is longing to bestow upon us……His graciousness and compassion.

Father, may my longing for You become as strong as Your longing to be gracious and compassionate toward me. I was created in Your image ~ may I live in Your image. Amen.