May He Do It For You

In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.

Psalm 20:1-5

How Much Does a Nation Weigh?

What defines the weight or value of a nation? Is it its gross national product, population size, natural resources? Or perhaps it’s real value is found in its wealth or its military prowess.

On our humanistic scale each of these may be considered valid measures of a nation’s strength. However, God doesn’t see things in the same way. According to Isaiah 40:17, a nation equals nothing.

Compared to the Lord all nations are worth nothing; to him they are less than nothing. (NCV)

A whole body of people end up in the red on God’s scale. Which is good news to me. It lets me know that no matter what I’m looking up at that seems colossal in my eyes, God can handle the weight of it.

Selah.

What is that has you weighted down with worry, doubt, confusion, frustration? Have you taken the matter to God?

Linking up with Monday Manna, which is being hosted by Vonnie at My Back Door.

Full but Empty

The state of being full is in stark contrast to that of being empty. Funny how the two co-exist in our lives. Looking around we see fullness all around us.

Closets bulging,

pantries full of outdated products,

medicine cabinets cramped with meds to heal our every ache and pain,

calendars full of activities,

countertops cluttered with things.

With so much stuff to hold and find places for and so many things in which to busy ourselves, why does beneath the fullness lies the often unvoiced feeling of emptiness within? Perhaps its not the things or to do’s in which we should be relying on for fullness.

 

This is written as part of Five Minute Friday, where you just write without worrying if it’s just right.

But What About the Brook

Amongst all the disarrayed thoughts, the account of Elijah at the brook of Cherith has been lodged in my mind for several days now. Some how I keep having reoccurring encounters with this story. My sister brings it up during a conversation and then my devotional  book just happens to have a passage of scripture from this particular event in the Bible.  Seems as if someone has been flashing a neon light at me that I need not flippantly pass by.

After a while the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came to him: I kings 17:7-8 (AMP)

While I have heard of Elijah’s experience at the brook before, I had never considered how he must have felt as he sat and watch the brook come to a dry dust bowl. In my mind, I imagine him wondering how exactly did he get here. After all, he was following God’s command. But after a while that place no longer provided provision. I wonder if he might have become antsy and was tempted to get moving elsewhere when in noticed the continually dwindle water supply. Had he possible cooked up his own plan B? Did he wonder if he had some how “missed” God on this one?

To remain steadfast beside the brook until it dried up displayed Elijah’s trust in God’s ability and willingness to provide for his needs.  To stay when tempted to run out and do our own thing reveals our refusal to be lead by our own understanding.

One thing I noticed was that Elijah only received his next instruction after the brook dried up. Which brings to mind how I’m often trying to figure out the next steps along the path rather than just trusting that the Master will direct my footsteps.

Here’s an excerpt from Streams in the Desert:

Most of us would have become anxious and tired, and would have made other plans long before God spoke. Our singing would have stopped as soon as the stream flowed less musically over its rocky bed. We would have hung our harps on the willows nearby and begun pacing back and forth on the withering grass, worrying about our predicament. And probably, long before the brook actually dried up, we would have devised some plan, asked God to bless it, and headed elsewhere.

Have you found yourself sitting along you own brook of Cherith recently? Did you step out into something in which you felt was spirit-inspired only to see it dwindle away? Were you able to sit patiently as it dried up or did you find yourself gravitating to cooking up your own options?

Random Musing

Seems like forever since I have written anything of note. Lots of things cross my          mind yet my fingers can not seem to find their smooth rhythmic pattern these days.   However, it’s probably at those times that writing would prove to be most therapeutic. It seems my mind is divided in a thousand little pieces that lack congruency.

Am I slowly resolving to my own little plan B or am I really prepared to stay the course until my personal GPS, the Holy Spirit, directs me to my next turn? At times the silence between the designated turn points is deafening. It’s then that I question like my six-year old niece, has the man stop talking. Intellectually, I know that it’s only necessary for the GPS to speak when its time to make some change in course. But, it doesn’t stop me from longing to hear His voice in the in between spaces of life.