And With My Song...

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. Psalm 28

Such a little phrase, "with my song I will praise Him," but oh the wealth that lies behind those seven words. Behind them is a God so full of Majesty that the expanse was created with a "Let there be" and there was. And yet, with our song we can praise Him.

Just think about that for a while. We can praise this King with our song? So simple. So full of wonder. So kind is this God. I am in awe that a God so big would accept praise from my song.

Some Insights on Prayer

As I set my heart towards prayer this morning, this is what the Lord showed me. No wonder there is so much to hinder us from prayer. If we really understood…

Prayer takes courage. He who prays engages a world unseen. For angels and demons alike come, listening to the praying saint. God encounters this one who prays. They engage in battles and wars; they experience victory, they experience some defeat—though never defeated. If one could hear this world there would be the sounding of clashing swords, breaking chains, fearful demons, opening of prison doors. There would be cheers and encouragement from those who have gone before. These saints on their knees—these champions of God—most likely will never be seen as heroes this side of eternity, but they are God’s champions nonetheless.

What's Next?

What's Next?

Is God silent?

I have often heard people counsel others that when God is silent, for whatever reason, to just go back and do the last thing they heard from Him. But, this may not, and probably is not, the best advice.

Think of road detours. Detours never take you back to where you began. Detours take you around something and then you re-enter the road at another point further up the road.

Numbers 13 and 14 is the account of the 12 Israelites spies going in to spy out the Land of Canaan. There are many angles of discussion that apply to these two chapters. The angle from which I will draw upon has to do with the Israelites’ response after they realize they have sinned against God. Instead of doing what God was currently saying, they went back to do what God had initially told them to do. The time, however, for that word had passed. It was no longer what God was saying.

Though this is a very sad part of Jewish history, it was still written so that “we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” God says through Paul in Romans 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” They were written to lead us into HOPE.

Another example from scriptures is in 1 Kings 17. Elijah had been told by God to go to the Brook Cherith; there ravens brought him food. After some time the brook dried up.

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Then the Lord again speaks to Elijah giving him direction. This time to go to a widow in Zarephath. There was a widow there who was to take care of Elijah.

What if Elijah had not gone to the brook when the Lord told him to? But then later, after the brook dried up, he went instead? Elijah would have ended up at a dried up brook. He would also have missed the timing of the widow; she would have been dead, actually. See, the widow was to provide for Elijah, but first a miracle through Elijah was to come to the widow. Had Elijah missed the timing with the brook, then acted upon it after the time had passed, he would also have missed the widow. But, let’s say he missed the brook, but obeyed what the Lord said about the widow from Zarephath—he would be right on track. I think it’s pretty much like that for us.

God wants relationship with us. He is not a formula or an algorithm where input = output. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word (rhema) that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” The Greek bears out “but by every currently proceeding word…” 

So, if God is being silent, either because you have been away from Him for awhile or for some unknown reason, take some time to just pray. Re-establish your relationship with Him. I don’t mean calluses on your knees type prayer. I mean get back into relationship with Him. Whatever that relationship means between you and God. Ask Him where His wind is blowing in your life. Ask Him for fresh direction. Then do the best you can to obey His leading.

Today my personal studying took me into Psalm 23. Verse 3 “He restores my soul,” melted me pretty thoroughly as I read it. I encountered God in those four little words. I looked up the Hebrew on “restores.” “Restores” means to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point). Barnes commentary says this phrase literally means, “He causes my life to return.”

So, God causes our life to return, but not necessarily to the starting point or the point of detour. It is comforting to know that God can get us back on His road to a place—as if we had never left to begin with. Yep, He is that Awesome.

The Procession

Yesterday at a prayer meeting the Lord gave me a revelation of Jesus walking in a procession with His people. As I was watching He said, “If you want Me then you must take My people too, for I am with My people.” He then spoke this scripture in 1 Peter, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love [philadelphia] for your brothers, love [agape] one another deeply, from the heart.”

 

I admit I was pretty floored. I was stunned. See, loving Jesus is easy. He is perfect and always acts in perfect love. He always has all our best interest at heart, even when He doesn’t act the way we think He should. But, His people—sometimes not so easy to love.

Don’t get me wrong. Affection for the people of God is pretty easy for me. The part that’s hard is believing they really have the best interests of Jesus in mind and heart, and therefore, my best interest, as well. Before you get too critical with me please understand that I have seen a lot of abuse in Jesus’ beloved church. Many times at the hand of those who maybe thought they were doing things Jesus’ way, but then again, maybe not.

So, when confronted by the Holy Spirit with this revelation, my response was, “Oh no!” because I knew what He was getting at. I know it is biblical to love the body of Christ, it's just the people that we sometimes have a hard time with, right? To have the appropriate doctrine is relatively easy, too. To live it out isn’t as easy. Jesus is looking for believers who will actually, through loving God with all their capacity, live in community with each other and love one another deeply from the heart. Even when that means overlooking an offense and believing the best. Part of Love's definition from 1 Corinthians 13. 

As I was relaying to my husband, George, the events of the prayer meeting, I shared with him the above revelation. As I did I added more detail that, to me, didn’t seem significant at the time. The procession was shaped like a “V” with Jesus at the vertex. Then His people were following behind Him. George reiterated what I had described asking if that was what I saw. I responded that it looked like geese flying in a “V.” George said, “Berta, you realize that means it’s aerodynamic.”

I had missed a huge meaning to what the Lord was saying. When we are in proper relationship with the Lord and with each other, then we are able to accomplish so much more, so much easier. It is as if He gives us wind under our wings, lifting us up higher to soar. Sure this is a metaphor, but there is a reason why geese, as they migrate, fly instead of walk.

None of us are perfect and yet, Jesus is delighted to hang out with us anyway. I want a community. I want a family of believers that I can do life with and do Kingdom with. I'm ready. I'm hoping. I'm believing. 

John 16:33

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Do you abide in Christ? One way to know is if you have peace in the midst of tribulation. Jesus’ promise here of tribulation in the world is countered with, “In Me you may have peace.” That is, “may have peace.” This peace Jesus provides is for those who are “in Him.” Not for all who have received Him, but for those who are abiding in Him. Jesus says, “In the world you will have tribulation,” but you are not of this world even as I am not of this world. If you will abide in Me then you too will walk in the peace that I Myself walked in and purchased for you.”

“This peace is not an absence of circumstances, whether fierce or foe. This peace is in Me. If you would have My peace, abide in Me. And what is the victory that has overcome the world? Yes, it is your faith. Your faith in what I have spoken. My words, which draw you into that place where I am. Where My victory has overcome on your behalf. Have faith in what I have said. That faith is a shield, quenching all the fiery darts of the evil one. It brings you into that secret place of the Most High where you abide under the shadow of My wing.”

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:5