{I'm
not saying we should ALWAYS have the idea that floating is best! No. We should
want to start swimming and moving. But there are times when floating is
necessary. It gives you a rest. Keeps you from going under - dare I say it...
drowning!}
Let us pray.
God, we come and meet with You now and just thank you for
this time to sit and be with You. I ask that, as we go through this study
together, You will guide us and help us to better understand Your Word. I know
You are with us through the highs and through the lows. Be with us now as we
study. Guide us as we go. Amen.
Wow! What a week!!! This was definitely one for the
books... or blog! :)
Here's a glimpse of what it looked like:
*We celebrated the 100th day of school. I dressed up as an old woman,
100 years of age obviously! My mom said I looked like my grandma, the late
Lillian Lourens. That felt like a privilege to have my grandma reflected in my
dress-up efforts. Might sound silly but I took it as a compliment. Maybe I put
a smile on my mom's face "seeing" her mom in her daughter.
*My Baby Boy lost another tooth with the help of Big
Brother. It was cute to see them "work together" but I can't be
around wiggly teeth. Makes me nauseas! But he has such a cute smile now and a
very proud brother!
*I had to prep for a dance at school. Oh my, what stress! My
chest even began to hurt throughout the chaos. I had to run errands and felt
like I was a chicken with my head cut off. I had to make sure the
electric/sound was working - and, at first, it wasn't!!!! AHHHH!
Then while picking up refreshments at Wal-Mart Big Brother got run over by a
cart driven by Baby Boy. The screams, the thrashing, the wailing that followed.
Sweet old ladies ran hurried
to his side. Oh, it was chaos! Then the day of the dance, Big Brother was sick
and mommy needed to stay home with him. I hate having sick sons but I love
being able to be there for them and comfort them. Because of this sickness,
however, I became a little more stressed about the dance. Things fell into
place, help flooded in, and it worked out in the end!
*I finished reading an amazing book by C.S. Lewis: "The
Screwtape Letters." WOW! What a read! There were times I
had to put the book down because it was so intense. Other times I had to put it
down because he used some really big words and my blonde simple
minded understanding was struggling to understand, even after I had exhausted
all of my reading comprehension skills!
I had been feeling attacked a lot lately. Not by a dog... or
a mean person... but by something deeper than that. On a spiritual level. Oh, I
want you to know this was challenging. This was hard. I felt I had been taking
one step closer to God, deepening my relationship, and then BOOM! POW! Two
smacks in the spiritual gut and I was knocked down and out of the path or
nudged backwards by the gusts of strong, angry winds. See it??? Let that be a
visual for the moment.
So one day I was listening to radio and the faceless voice
said, "...your burden may be heavy but you will not drown." I was
like "WHOA!" <<<mind blown>>> My mind started
flooding with visuals of Peter in the water. A hand outstretched. He had taken
steps of faith outside the boat to meet his Master on the waters. Then...
sinking! The radio host immediately began playing "Oceans Deep" and,
although I've heard it MANY times, I
just focused on these words.
"My faith will stand"
"I am Yours, You are mine"
"Wherever You would call me"
"My faith will be made stronger... in the
presence of my Savior"
"I will call upon Your name"
Take a minute to read Matthew 11:28-30. It is such a
beautiful verse, a wonderful promise! Jesus invites us in. And it's not a
dinner invitation we would want to think up a good excuse why not to go. He is
calling out to those who are weary and burdened. Oh, THAT was me!!!!!
It's all of us every know and then. It's when we are needing to just float! The
beautiful promise: "I will give you rest." That word - REST - is a
word any of us can relate to. Tired college kids, new moms, worn out
professionals! Of course the phsyical "rest" gets me geared up. I
LOVE to nap. Rest does a body good!! "I'm closing my eyes for a moment,
Big Jake. Just getting a little rest!" (I saw a little girl's onsie that
said "I NAP LIKE A BOSS". I need that in adult size!!) But this rest is the spiritual
kind. The rest that your soul drinks up. It needs!! And Jesus, JESUS, supplies
it to us. All we have to do is come! But WAIT!! There's more...! (those
all-too-famous "As Seen On TV" words on late-night infomercials...)
His yoke is easy, His burden is light. Those are refreshing words too.
Literally giving rest to my soul as I take them in even as I type this tonight.
Jesus spoke in terms so that simple-minded folk could understand Him (if it was
something they were to understand at the time). Instead of a heavy yoke on
their shoulders, His is easy to manage and the burden that falls on His
children is light. Oh, the weight that would be lifted off of us if we only let
ourselves drop our yokes at His feet daily and trust in His Word! It will help
our posture as we stand in our faith.
Now flip to Isaiah 26:3. Another promise, did you catch it?!
There's a PERFECT peace only
found in Immanuel. It is not extended to the wicked. It is extended to those of
us who are fixed on God. We
are in His peace so we should not be shocked by chaos – there should be a
steady about us knowing God has us in His eternal peace. We find it in Him and
receive from Him everlasting strength, those who trust. Do not lose confidence
or cast your trust elsewhere! Keep it in Him.
Now let's look at another set of verses. Those of you from
the original study group will remember our in-depth study on the book of James.
Such wisdom! Here's a great one to go with our theme of floating... James
1:2-4. Counting all things joy in suffering brings up that confidence again in
God! Remember, James is speaking to believers!! Trials faced by the early
Christians is on a whole other level than my life stresses. So this definitely
puts things in perspective. Remember the fact that if God has placed those
trials in our lives, then He is actively seeking to strengthen us and giving us
opportunities to grow and reflect. Like a good strength/sports coach!! They will
push you because they know you need that challenge. It will make you better in
the end. Oh, years of volleyball camps and practices are flooding my mind! So
now look at it spiritually: those tests of faith develop perseverance, leading
to a mature Christian character. I want to be that! I hope you do, too. It
takes work but, wow, is it going to be worth it! (see also Romans 5:3)
One final verse for me to study with you... Isaiah
41:10. This is the exact verse our Sunday School teacher quoted in class. God
likes to link things together if you've never noticed!! "I am your God."
He is staking claim in me. Yes! Please!! He is there
to strengthen and uphold us. This can’t be done in our absence from Him. I love
the part with "right hand" being a righty myself (I'm not downing
lefties... He still loves you too). It's comforting to know He has a hand in
the matter (no pun intended). He is not distant. And in His closeness, He is
playing a role in our lives. He is silencing fears, encouraging faith. He
prevents falls and then helps us up when we do fall. This isn’t just a feel-good
coffee mug verse. It’s a deep promise that tucks us in at night; strengthens us
to walk through trials of life; builds our trust in this sovereign and awesome
God that is willing to bend down and hold us, strengthen us, help us, and raise
us up. Amen!!!!!
Y'all know I could go on and on and on for way longer. I
know this has been a long one - and I even cut out half! The verses I cut out I
pasted down below with a little commentary of mine. Let me just end with some
final thoughts...
Whatever we may face, our God strengthens us. Our hope
is in You, Lord. And because that, no matter our circumstances, no true
evil will come upon us. Our soul rests in the Lord. We believe it, we have
faith in it. We KNOW it! “all you
who…” is not everyone! Not all folks hope in the Lord. But those of us that do
are called by David to be strong and take heart knowing that our God gives us
that strength (see Psalm 31:24). We have that security and confidence. And it
leads to results. We will persevere. We
will make it out, whenever that end may be. But rest assure that He has us!
We will stay above the waters!
Our Father in Heaven,
Oh this was amazing!! I can not thank You enough for
desiring a relationship with us so much so that You speak to us, You support
us, You guide us. Your promises are true, I know that!! I pray as we go about
our lives this day that we take a look at our stresses - we remember Your Words
of truth and promise and we cling to You. You grow us. You strengthen us. And
Lord I pray we remember that it is all for Your glory and we honor You for
that. Let us not get bogged down, but learn to seek You in trials. Let us
remember to be clay in Your hands. Mold us and make us. Thank You for Your
grace and mercy and unending love. Amen!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are a few verses to look at and study on your own time.
What do they say to you? Feel free to write me and let me know what pops out at
you. God speaks to us in different ways! I can't wait for Him to speak
intimately to you.
*Psalm 31:24 - an encouraging psalm. Get ready to sing and
dance!
*Philippians 4:6-7 - just putting this out there: verse 7 is
my favorite! Paul is emphasizing the importance of prayer... an antidote for
worry. So wonderful.
*Proverbs 4:25 - Another bit of wisdom from King Solomon.
*Psalm 16:8 - David likely wrote this during or after a
crisis of some sort. Here he is professing His confidence in the Lord. Awesome
sauce!!
*NOTE: this blog post was originally intended to be just one part! But as I studied and my notes grew and I began to type, I decided to drop some verses from the detailed piece and give them to you for further study. Also, I was stirred to study someone in particular who relates to our topic. So this subject will continue for another post or two. I don't want to be known as the blogger who puts readers to sleep with too long of entries! Instead, I want to be known as the blogger who spurs her readers to read, study, and search more... long after they've closed the browser. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment