Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Butterflies and Psalm 46:10

      03:17. It’s dark out, I muse as I cocoon myself in the covers. Wait! I’m awake! ...thank You Father. You are so faithful. My only alarm clock since the nursing retreat has been a still, small voice calling me to commune with Him, but this black morning was no time to be late. My doubts of the previous evening take on their proper appearance. With 163 minutes till our first clinical, the first lesson is hitting home. God is faithful. There are no qualifiers, no footnotes, and no fine print in the matter. Even “if we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13.
      Scissors, keys, stethoscope, name tag... Butterflies. Oh the minutia of which to be mindful! How will I remember it all? Again, the calming balm of Gilead settles upon the restless waters of my heart. Trust Me. If I care enough to wake you up for extra time with Me on this particular morning, do you think I will care enough to see you through this particular day?
      He cares enough- enough for the sapling of faith in this heart to sink down her roots. He cares enough to tenderly stretch me far enough, but not to breaking. Surprisingly the butterflies seemed to get lost between Weimar and Westview. Perhaps it was too early for them, but I knew that I knew that our God would see me through.
      ...and He did too. 

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My mind saunters back through the scenes of the past year. A year ago, this was a thought- an impression. One to which I was not altogether open. Yet, the thought would not go away. At every roadblock the signpost read go forward. The more impossible things got, the stronger came the call. What started out looking like a "light thing" quickly changed shape into one of the loftiest, most challenging summits I have yet to meet. It became quite clear that if God wanted me in the program this fall, He would have to do something extraordinary. Or rather, some things extraordinary. 
      ...and He did too.

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      So I wonder if someone might be facing such a paradoxical situation. Maybe everything is piling up on the "no" column, except for that essential vote. Impossible situations are precious opportunities for God to make perfectly clear what is His will in the matter. That is what we want, is it not? To know that God is in this thing?
      Difficulties always come, but when you know that your power did not get you to those challenges, you can also rest that His power will get you through those challenges. It is then that we can be still and know.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Heaven's Antidote

Stars sprinkle themselves across the sky around the furry silhouette of our feline. My bedroom window has often been as a sanctuary to me- a Bethany, a Bethesda. At times it's sees the struggle of faith against an onslaught of fear, doubt, complacency, sleep. It is the place to go when the sun dawns, or sets; when hopes spring bright and fresh, or when disappointment drives me to my knees.

They recur, random and scheduled, these window-side interviews. What makes it come to life is often what seems like death itself to me... Death of plans, pursuits, purposes-- requiring, perhaps, death of self?

In those 'conclusion of the whole matter' kind of moments, this remains: God is trustworthy.

Well...duh. That's an understated, indisputable, undeniable, and unmistakable comment of the obvious. Is it not?

Corrie Ten-boom's father only gave her the train ticket when she got on the train. Before she needed it, she didn't have it, but when the need came, there was no lack.

They say, 'Trust is earned'. It's true. Trust is also learned. Before our Heavenly Father gives us the ticket of His supply for our needs, we have the opportunity to learn that trust.

Whoosh. From the windowsill above the cat jumps into my reverie. Two inches closer and it would have been a direct hit.

I know it again tonight: God is trustworthy. His word is sure. Even "if we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself." 2 Timothy 2:13. Case closed.

Heaven's antidote for stress seems to be there. ...yet He abideth faithful. It is the faithful individual that we can trust in this world. Yet, there is no one, no human upon whom we can place our trust. Here is our God, the epitome, the essence, the embodiment of perfect faithfulness; the answer to every question; the song for every night.

Yes, trust is earned, and it is learned, but praise God it is also given. God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3. Drinking in the night sky, it seems that I see only the smallest picture of His faithfulness, and of what he would do in my heart, but His heart is as an endless ocean of constancy, and commitment. His heart holds Heaven's antidote for the problems of life...the problems of my life...the problems of your life. 

Oh to see more, more of That heart!


Thursday, January 22, 2015

Every word

Do you have a burden you can't carry?
Do you have a sorrow you can't bare?
Look to Jesus, not your adversary,
Even sparrows do not lack His care

Do your problems rise up like the mountains?
Do your questions seem to never cease?
Rest your case beneath the living fountains
For they overflow with heaven's peace

When your daytime seems as black as midnight,
When you cannot see a way to go,
Turn to Him who's brighter than the sunlight
In His time your pathway He will show

::Refrain::
Trust in Him, whose goodness changes never
Take His word in calmness or in storm
Every promise given, stands forever
Every word He's able to perform