Claire's Prayer

It’s hard when your friends turn against you, harder still when it’s your family or own flesh and blood. Studies say that almost everyone will experience this kind of betrayal at some point in their life.

When we read Psalm 3 and the cry of David’s heart, we realize that even King David experienced this kind of bitter betrayal. Psalm 3 starts out by stating; “𝑨 𝒑𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒃𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒎.” I cannot imagine the pain that was in David’s heart – his own son! The son that he had loved, cared for, nurtured, and raised, turning on him, out to kill him! Absalom had carefully and with much calculation won over the hearts of Israel. And so, King David fled, over the brook Kedron with a meagre group of faithful men to the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, where he wept.

(2 Samuel 15:30) You can sense the pain welling up in David as you hear the cry of his heart; “𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒆𝒔! 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒆! 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆, “𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏.” I love how David just KNEW the LORD would be a shield to him, He would be the one who lifted his head and would answer him.

Do you remember another King weeping in the garden? Our King Jesus, a far greater King than David, followed that same path King David took. Betrayed by one of His best friends, one of the 12, He crossed the brook Kedron into the Garden of Gethsemane with a feeble group of followers, where he wept, drops of anguished blood dripping from His forehead. Israel had rejected Him, the ones He loved turned from Him. 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗚𝗢𝗗 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻, a plan for our Savior and a plan for David. A much greater plan.

David was restored to rule over Israel and Jesus conquered the grave and will rule and reign forevermore! Interestingly David’s son Absalom was found hanging from a tree, just like Judas, dying the very same death. Our glorious, gracious Father has a plan for you too. A much greater plan. A plan to restore you, to lift your head, to answer your cry. When the pain of betrayal hits, remember that your King Jesus knows your sorrow, and has felt your pain, He is working behind the scenes, working on your miracle, planning all things for your good! 🦋💕

“𝑴𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆.” James 1:2-3

Trials and patience?! When I first read these two verses my reaction was one of dislike. I’m not sure I like these verses; how can you possibly be joyful in your trials, and I don’t like having patience or the process that produces patience!

But then I realized that we need to see our trials through God’s eyes, to have a revelation of the potential and possibility they will bring. A knowledge that this burden will take us deeper, deeper into the things of God and His will for our lives. We do not need to be happy in our pain, but we need to have joy that the hard season we are in will ultimately bring growth to our spiritual lives and draw us closer to our Savior.

It is yet another renewal of our mind, a conscious decision, a choice, definitely not an emotional one! “𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒋𝒐𝒚!” Count meaning consider or have rule over. Taking authority over the thoughts that make the trial big in our own eyes, the ones that consider the worst that can happen in any given situation! Instead asking God for His view of our affliction, how can this bring growth and patience? Having the faith to see the potential that this particular trial may springboard you into the plans our good Father has for us! Taking those negative thoughts captive, seeing the things that are not as though they were.

How interesting it is that it is not a healing miracle or breakthrough that proves our faith but the trials we walk through! 1 Peter 5:7 puts it this way; “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅—𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅. 𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅.”

Your faith is worth more than gold!! Your faith brings praise and glory to the LORD. We do not sit passively in our pain but believe fervently for that miracle, for the release, for the breakthrough. We may not see the end product, the liquid gold that comes out of the refiner’s fire, no dirt left, pure, refined, filling our hearts with joy at the outcome of the test. But we have faith to know that 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿!

The sound of the early morning alarm often rings stridently in my ears, way too early for me! Sometimes I choose to turn over and press snooze, maybe more than once! First thing in the morning my beverage of choice is coffee, I’m sure that’s the same for many of you. Then begins a day of choices, decisions. What to have for breakfast, what to wear, will the office be cool? Should I take a sweater?

A study done by researchers at Cornell University concludes that we make 226 food related choices every day and other studies tell us that as adults we make up to 35,000 choices every single day! No wonder I feel so very exhausted at the end of the day! The Word of God has much to say about choices too – for instance, Joshua 24:15 says; “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆.”

Sometimes the choices we make are a one-time thing, but perhaps this is one of those 35,000 choices that we need to make every day. We need to wake up in the morning and say; “𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥.”

As Jesus sat with His disciples His words to them were, “𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒆.” (Luke 9:23) The choice here is not an easy one, it is one where you deny yourself and take up your cross, choosing death daily! The disciples knew this choice their Savior was offering them was one of absolute death to self!

Of course, choices have consequences – good and bad. Choosing healthy eating impacts our health, choosing to get out of bed when that alarm clock rings and spending time with Jesus impacts our spiritual health, choosing to be kind impacts the lives of others. Choosing 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 impacts not only your day but the day of those around you. I’m sure you can agree, choices matter! Let’s choose Jesus daily, to pick up our cross daily, I know it will be the most important of those 35,000 choices you make!

Goliath from Gath stood close to 9 feet tall and carried over 150 pounds of weapons and armour! For forty days, Goliath ridiculed the Israelite army and exposed them all as cowards. “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅.” (1 Sa 17:11)

This was exactly what Goliath wanted, the very reason he mocked and provoked Israel. He wanted them to be afraid! Goliath knew that if he instilled enough fear in their hearts, the battle was already won. 𝗧𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿. Teasing and taunting, he twists our thoughts until we too are dreadfully afraid.

After 40 days, a young shepherd boy walked into the camp of Israel, but this was no ordinary shepherd, this was David! David had done the lowliest of jobs, but the Great I Am had equipped David for this very time. He had killed lions and bears, being sure to never lose a lamb!

When David saw this Philistine mocking the armies of the Living God, he swore that he would go out and kill this enemy! I love this next part of the story! “𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆.” (1 Sa 17:48) Did you see that? D̲a̲v̲i̲d̲ ̲r̲a̲n̲ ̲t̲o̲w̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ ̲t̲h̲i̲s̲ ̲g̲i̲a̲n̲t̲, this monster that had terrorized the army of the Living God! We all know how it ended, one of those small stones embedded itself in Goliath of Gath’s forehead and he fell on his face to the earth. David took the Philistine’s sword and cut off his head! To quote William Blaikie, “𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁, “𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗶𝗴, 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺,” 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁, “𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗶𝗴, 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗺.”

We all have huge giants in our lives that are facing us, the enemy himself is whispering in our ear. Sometimes these giants look so big, insurmountable, overwhelming. Fear begins to set in, and we start to believe those lies. But know this, God has already equipped you for this battle, He has already set you up so that you can win! Look at your giant and know that it is so big that you cannot miss and take off running towards it with boldness, knowing that the God of Angel Armies runs right alongside you!

Running to face my giants!

𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆.So busy in fact that my mind races from one thing to the next and the ‘To Do’ list grows longer the more tasks I check off! Sometimes I find myself sitting down with the LORD, and my mind spins round and round in circles. It feels as though a hundred ping pong balls have been dropped from the ceiling and it’s hard to ‘𝑩𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝑮𝒐𝒅.’ (Ps 46:10)

Hebrews 12 tells us to run our race with endurance, “𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉.” The key here is focus – focusing on Jesus, that’s how we finish the race! Study of the Greek will tell you that it is more than fixing our eyes on our Savior, but it is taking our gaze off everything else that would distract us and steadfastly setting our mind on Christ. The idea is to put those things aside that would prevent you from going forward.

Back in 1954 the whole world was watching the Empire Games in Vancouver, two of the world’s fastest runners were racing to run a sub-four-minute mile. It was being called the ‘Miracle Mile.’ Landy took the lead right from the start, but then he made an error which cost him the victory. At the end of the race, he took a brief second to look over his left shoulder to see where Bannister was, he took his eyes off the prize! In that second Bannister raced past him and beat Landy winning that sub-four-minute mile.

Just one second, that was all it took. That single lapse of concentration cost everything. That single moment of distraction.

Perhaps if Landy had ‘𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀’ on that which was important he would have won that Miracle Mile! When we take our eyes off Jesus and begin to focus on the battle around us, we lose ground, we slow down, we are hindered.

My prayer for you is that you would be able to fix your eyes on Jesus, that He would fill your vision. Helen Lemmel put it best; “𝕋𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕖𝕪𝕖𝕤 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕁𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕤, 𝕃𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕖, 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕨 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕕𝕚𝕞, 𝕀𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕠𝕗 ℍ𝕚𝕤 𝕘𝕝𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖.”

In Zimbabwe we could smell the rain before it arrived and we would say to each other, “𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯!” Hope and excitement would arise, especially after a long, dry season. In Canada we lived near the train tracks, and we would always hear the train before it got there. As soon as the sound of that train horn was heard my little 4-year-old would run to the living room, jump on the couch, excited to catch a small glimpse of that train as it whistled by!

In Hebrews 11:1 we see a much-quoted verse, “𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏.” There is an absolute conviction that we will see the miracle we are hoping for. We may not yet see it or hear it, but we know it is coming! Why? Because our hope is in the LORD, in His Word, in the absolute reality that He keeps His promises.

Just as we could smell the rain before it came or hear that train before we saw it – so is faith the ‘𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲’ we use that enables us to believe for the unseen, the concrete confirmation of that which we pray for. Elijah declared to Ahab when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky; “𝑮𝒐 𝒖𝒑, 𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌; 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏.” 1Kings 18:41. The Great I Am had given Elijah a Word and by faith Elijah declared the end of the drought. Incredible faith! Faith allowed Elijah to see the rain long before it came.

I know that some of you have been in a long, hard season. You are believing for an end to the drought in your lives. I pray that the LORD would give you a word, that He would strengthen your faith. That you would find that word in the Bible, a promise that you can hold on to, knowing that you can trust the Promise Keeper, our glorious Savior – Jesus Christ.

I like clear directions, distinctive, and well-defined. A GPS versus a vague turn right by the blue house or go north at the end of the road. You could say I like to hear; loud and clear! There are times in the Word of God when God’s people hear that audible voice of the Great I Am, but more often it is that ‘still, small voice.” Take Elijah for example; “𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓.” (1 Kings 19:12)

As Elijah rested in a cave at the top of Mount Horeb an incredibly powerful wind tore through the mountain, ripping apart the rocks. Then a fierce earthquake shook the mountain and finally a burning fire, but the LORD was not in any of these significant events! Finally, a small, gentle whisper breathed into the air, in Hebrew, ‘𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲!’ A quiet voice, a powerful whisper!

You see, so often a loud shout or yell can frighten us or make us nervous, but a soft, gentle whisper is the sound of soothing calm and quiet serenity. Absolutely, a loud noise can certainly get your attention, but that whisper is the sound of closeness, of intimacy. If I would like my husband’s attention in the middle of a crowd, I may raise my voice, but at night, just before the lights are turned down low, in the closeness of our bed, I whisper – “I love you.” When our loving Father takes the time to whisper in a still small voice; it means He is near.

God’s desire is to be close to you and He wants you to draw near to Him and so He whispers! He speaks to you in that still small voice. In the secret place where it is simply the two of you our LORD leans in and whispers gently! Draw close, draw near, and listen carefully, our Abba Father is in that still, small voice!

Martin Luther once said; “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴, [𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩] 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘮𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘺 – ‘𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦’, ‘𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥,’ ‘𝘚𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦.’” It is the difference between a Savior and MY Savior, the distinction between the LORD is a deliverer and the LORD is MY deliverer!

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲! My LORD, my Rock, and my Redeemer. It is the difference between saying “Look at that beautiful house, and that is MY house!” Suddenly the relationship is personal and individual, you are taken from knowledge to knowing. Knowing that the God of the Universe is your personal God.

Psalm 91 is certainly the Psalm of pronouns; verse 2 says this; “𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫, “𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒎𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕.”

In these uncertain times and stormy days, we really do need to know that we have a God who is our refuge. One in whom we can trust with our lives, one that delivers us, rescues us, and takes all fear from us.

But how do we go from knowledge to knowing, learning to understanding? I believe that secret sits rights at the very beginning of Psalm 91; “𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚.” He who sits and remains in the presence of the LORD, will experience protection, refuge, God’s faithfulness, God’s power. When you call on Him – He will answer you, and He will be with you in trouble, and will deliver you! When you take the time to sit with your Savior you will get to know Him, you will experience His goodness, His kindness, His constant faithfulness, and He will become Your God, Your Savior, and Your King.

In the days when Jesus walked the earth grape vines were grown all over Israel and so when Jesus said; “𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕; 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑴𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈,” (John 15:5.) this was something the disciples could relate to. Today, not as many of us are familiar with the grape vine or the great level of care it takes to encourage them to bear fruit!

In the second verse of John 15 Jesus describes our wonderful Father’s care for us by telling us that “𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝑯𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚.” A good look at that Greek word for ‘take away’ tells us that it means, 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘂𝗽, 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝘂𝗽. Not remove altogether!

Sometimes we are battered, perhaps broken, or weighted down with the cares of the world, and we are not bearing fruit, and so our Loving Father comes along and lifts us up. As any good farmer would raise up the vine that was trailing on the ground, so our God does this for us. If the vine was left lying in the soil it would be eaten by bugs, mold and disease would form in its leaves, no delicate flowers or fruit would form. Our Father doesn’t leave us untended; He is the lifter of our heads. Psalm 3:3 tells us; “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑶 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆, 𝑴𝒚 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅.”

It’s interesting to note that Jesus repeated the phrase “𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 ,” this time telling us that if we abide in Him, we will bear fruit. If we take the time to read His Word, draw near to Him, abide in Him, we will be fruitful. Jesus wants us to be as close to Him as the branches are on a vine! His desire is intimacy with you, time spent with you.

It’s so very easy in our busy, hurried lives to slip into a state of ingratitude, one where we forget our countless blessings and comforts. Almost a place of autopilot where we go through the motions every day and lose sight of the goodness and greatness of our God. One where we miss the beauty, overlook the wonder of God’s creation, or take for granted the gifts of our children and family.

I remember how, as a child my mother would sing a song to me, a timeless song, one written in 1897, I’m sure you know it! “𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦!” Can you hear it echoing in your head? I went on to sing it to my children and perhaps it will continue to resound through the ages.

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀! In 1 Sam 7:12 we see Samuel doing exactly this, “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑴𝒊𝒛𝒑𝒂𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑬𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒛𝒆𝒓, 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈, “𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒔.” Samuel set up an Ebenezer stone, a place of remembrance, a place where God’s children could remember that He had parted the Red Sea, caused the walls of Jericho to crumble, stopped the sun in the sky, caused water to flow from a rock, provided for them night and day as they wandered through the wilderness, and the list goes on.

So many blessings! It was a stone to remind them that God had redeemed them, that they were victorious, that they served a God who is faithful, always responding to their cries for help, and a God who continuously provides. But it was more than a stone that reminded them of their Creators goodness, it was a stone that pointed to the future, bearing witness that they served a God who would be their help forever. An Ebenezer stone.

Samuel was right. Time and time again the Great I Am, stepped in and saved His children, over and over He delivered them, even when they were disobedient and didn’t remember His greatness. Through the years and the books of the Old Testament and through to the New, God helped them.

And now, centuries after Samuel raised that Ebenezer Stone, here we stand and if we take the time to remember, to count our blessings we will realize that God still helps us, that He has delivered us, saved us, set us free, healed us, done miracles for us, and will continue to all the way into eternity. Join me today and let’s remember, “𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆; 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅.” (Isaiah 12:4)