Claire's Prayer

Research fascinates me and I often come across the most interesting information. I know, I’m definitely a bit of a geek! Back in 2014 a research team went out to an isolated place in the Himalayas. There had never been an outsider there who had come to visit with the 200 families that lived there.

The researchers showed the villagers a variety of emotions and the families recognized each one of them until they came to contentment. The guide and translator who traveled with them told them this; “In our culture, this emotion is very special. It is the highest achievement of human well-being, and it is what the greatest enlightened masters have been writing about for thousands for years.” He went on to say, “It’s hard to translate it exactly, but the closest word is chokkshay, which is a very deep and spiritual word that means ‘the knowledge of enough. It basically means that right here, right now, everything is perfect as it is, regardless of what you are experiencing outside.”

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵! Wow, this remote tribe, not spoilt by culture and the outside world knew that this was the highest achievement of any human being. Contentment. For thousands of years, it had been written about and sought to be attained.

Our wise Abba Father also wrote down much about contentment, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says this, “𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚, “𝙈𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨.” 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨, 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨, 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨, 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜.”

For the sake of Christ, I am content with my weaknesses! Oh Father, how I need that kind of contentment. How I need to be like Paul and have the knowledge that you are enough, that your grace is sufficient! Today I pray that the LORD would bring you to ‘the knowledge of enough.’

Yesterday I learned something new. Something that totally surprised me because I had always believed the opposite to be true. It wasn’t anything major, but it did make me sit up and think. 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝘂𝗺𝗯! Now, that may not be a shock to you, but it seriously was to me. I had always believed that sheep were intrinsically stupid! In fact, the contrary is true. The comparison to Christians is what gets me, in so many sermons we hear of dumb sheep and then how we are like sheep. But that certainly isn’t true either, you are not dumb, and neither am I!

Let me tell you a few things about those sheep and how intelligent they actually are. Sheep are incredibly relational, they have a sharp cognitive capacity and will form close bonds with other sheep, fighting for them and grieving when they’re gone. Those bonds are extended to people, a sheep can recognize someone from a picture! In 2001 the University of Cambridge did a study on a group of sheep showing them pictures of celebrities, not only did the sheep repeatedly recognize these individuals but they could pick them out in a crowd of other pictures! These sheep would recognize and form bonds with those handling them, with their shepherd! Sheep are kind and loving, curious and courageous. Interestingly, sheep have those little rectangular eyes which allows them to see more, their field of vision is over 270 degrees compared to us humans with 155.

Isaiah said this about sheep; “𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥, 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙮, 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙮; 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡.” (Isaiah 53:6). Yes, sheep do go astray but it’s not because they are dumb, it’s because they are dependent. Sheep cannot protect themselves and so they are dependent on their Shepherd to do that for them. But isn’t that a good thing? Sometimes they wander off, looking for that next juicy patch of grass, unconcerned about which direction they are headed in because they trust the leadership of the shepherd. Their dependence on the Shepherd is a good and wonderful thing, they recognize him, they know his voice, they trust that he will take care of them even when they go astray.

And, of course, a good Shepherd does just that! In John 10:14-15 Jesus says this, “𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙙; 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙚— 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧—𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥.” Jesus is our Good Shepherd, He protects us, seeks us out when we go astray, provides for us and we as His wise sheep know His voice, we know the Shepherd, we are in relationship with Him and thus dependent on Him. No wonder the Savior chose the sheep, that smart, sweet intelligent sheep that knows how to surrender to the good leadership of his Shepherd!

It seems as though pursuing happiness is the creed of this age. We will do anything to be happy. Of course, media and culture tell you that if you have more, buy more, achieve more, then you will be happy. Your happiness is at stake if you don’t have the latest vacuum cleaner which will make your home so shiny and beautiful! And that beautiful new car that drives you in ecstatic happiness with the love of your life to your favorite destination! A bigger house. More clothes. Less wrinkles. More muscles! More money!!!

It alarmed me to find that on Amazon you can find over 20,000 self-help books with ‘happiness’ in the title. How to be happy. The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. 52 Lists for Happiness. The Happiness Recipe. Transformation to Happiness. The Happiness Advantage. How Happiness Happens. The list is endless! Those who have unlimited wealth have not found this elusive happiness, John D. Rockefeller said, “𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.”

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱? 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹?

1 Tim 6:6-10 says this; “𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡. 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮, 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛𝙨.”

Godliness with contentment is great gain! That’s the advantage, that’s the reward – contentment. My heart breaks to see those who are discontent, those who want to get rich, are plunged into ruin and destruction and some of them wander from their faith.

I remember so many years ago when I read how Paul had ‘learned’ to be content, I decided that if Paul could learn it then I could learn it too! Here’s how the Amplified Bible puts Philippians 4:11, “𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 [𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡] 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 [𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩, 𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮] 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨.” This didn’t mean that Paul was pacified with the status quo or didn’t want to change the world, but he was never disturbed or uneasy, self-sufficient through Christ!

And so today I have a challenge, one for me as much as for you! 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿, 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀. Let’s set aside ‘happiness’ for contentment and ask the LORD to teach us how to do this. Let’s stop looking at what others have and hungering after anything but our God. This I know, our Father wants us to be content, satisfied with who we are, trusting in who He is, and He will show us the way.

Have you ever heard of Mephibosheth? Now that’s quite the name to be starting out in life with! I can’t imagine having to write that on the top of my page at school! Not only was Mephibosheth more than a mouthful but the name itself meant “𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦!” Maybe Mephibosheth had a nickname, I know I did, perhaps it was Mep, let’s call this little boy that.

Mep was a King’s kid, the grandson of King Saul himself, and so for the first five years of his life, he lived in the lap of luxury. But as so often happens, calamity came, not only was Mep’s Dad killed but his grandfather too. In the ensuing panic, his nurse picked him up and began to flee but dropped him causing his feet to become twisted, making him lame for the rest of his life. Mep was moved to an unpleasant slum called ‘𝘕𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨,’ and there he expected to live out his days. Not a happy ending.

We pick up this story in 2 Samuel 9:1, about 20 years later, King David is on the throne. A mighty, fierce warrior, a great leader of Israel, and a man who keeps his word! “𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙, “𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙢 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙅𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙚?” You see, David had made a covenant with Jonathan, Mep’s father, a promise of protection and loyalty that stretched beyond a lifetime.

And so, Mephibosheth, perhaps about 25 with a son of his own, was summoned to the royal palace.

Can you imagine how nervous he may have been, was this an ‘𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱’ moment? I love David’s very first words; “𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙,” 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢, “𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙅𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣. 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.” Don’t be afraid, I want to show you kindness for your father’s sake. I will restore you and you will forever dine with me!

What glorious parallels there are in this story. What a shadow of the fulfilment of a much more meaningful covenant! Here we are broken, crippled, dead in our sins, deserving nothing. But God, in His incredible mercy, shines His loving-kindness upon us, He seeks us out, pursues us because of his everlasting covenant towards us. With great tenderness, He restores us, sets a banqueting table before us, and invites us to dine with Him for all eternity! Like Mep, we will always eat at our Abba Father’s table, always dwell in His house.

That wasn’t the end of this miraculous story, remember Mephibosheth had a son called Mika, well Mika had 4 sons, and those sons had sons who had sons. God not only keeps His covenant promise with us but with our children and their children too!

Have you ever taken a pen and written on your hand, perhaps something important that you needed to remember? This was a practice I once used quite often, perhaps I still should as I seem to forget more as I get older. When I was a teenager, it may have been a phone number, or something needed from the grocery store, maybe even a boy’s name! When I was even younger it was my 7 times table. I have always struggled with that one! How frustrating it was when the last two digits of that phone number washed off and I couldn’t remember them! I’ve even written bible verses on my hand to memorise them, that worked quite well.

In 2016 there was a Talking Hands Campaign where thousands of people wrote I Can or We Can on the palm of their hands to raise awareness on World Cancer Day, and then there was the Black Dot Campaign where those struggling with domestic abuse drew a small black dot on their palm.

Why the palm of the hand? 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻. Every time you lift your hand you recall what it is you need to do, who you need to pray for, or you memorise that verse a little more. It is always in front of your face.

One of the most exquisite verses can be found in Isaiah 49:16 “𝑺𝒆𝒆, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔; 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆.” Our Gracious God has engraved your name upon His hand. It is not written in pen that it may fade or wash off, no, this engraved means cut out, carved like the laws being cut into stone!

Your name is forever before the eyes of the LORD and will be there for all eternity.

Sometimes it’s easy for us to think that God has forgotten about us, to feel as though we can’t hear His voice or see His hand at work in our lives. But the fact remains, your name is carved into the Creator’s hand, you are never forgotten, never forsaken, never left alone.

There are times in my life where I feel worn down, burned out. I can feel more easily irritated with people and oh so frustrated! Is that you today? Do you feel as though your soul is downcast, a touch of depression has slipped in, and those tears are being only just held back? Almost as though your life is quite simply upside down. These are time to cry out to the LORD, “𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹!”

God is indeed our Good Shepherd, and I am certainly a sheep. I go astray, I wonder off, I like to do things on my own, in my own haphazard way. How thankful I am that our wonderful Father is that shepherd who will always come after me, showing His patience in so many ways.

Here’s something interesting I didn’t know before. Have you ever heard of a ‘cast sheep?’ Many sheep have a tendancy to roll onto their backs and as their feet loose contact with the ground they find themselves unable to turn back over. Sometimes it’s because their wooly coat is overgrown, or they are out of shape and overweight. But try as they might, they cannot right themselves or turn themselves over. They are upside down. They have to wait for the Shepherd to come and turn them over again, to set them on their feet once again.

How like me in my own life – the stress and weight of the world causing me to feel as though everything is mixed up, upside down, difficult, tiring. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲. 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 ‘𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘀.”

The Hebrew word for restore means ‘𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯.’ God will return us to a place where there is life, energy, vision for the future, but we cannot do that ourselves. Only God can restore our soul. Only our loving Father can make things right again. We cannot do this on our own and cannot carry on in life as though we are the Energizer Bunny! Even he runs out of power eventually.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘀? Through His Word, His Word that brings life, renews our mind, gives us the strength to run and not grow weary. Psalm 19:7 tells us: “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡; 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚.” My desire is to be restored, wise, full of vision, energized, right side up!

Today if you feel spiritually beaten down, exhausted, if you’re weighed down by the burdens of the world. Perhaps on the receiving end of something unfair, so weary that you feel that you cannot overcome. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘀𝗼𝗮𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹.

For the longest time I have loved C. S. Lewis’ books The Chronicles of Narnia. From the land inside the wardrobe, to the Lamp Post that would burn continuously without fuel. From the icy demeanor of Jadis the White Witch to the kindness and selflessness of Mr. Tumnus, the faun who would do anything for little Lucy.

My favorite scene in the movie, The Chronicles of Narnia; Prince Caspian, is at the Bridge. The vast enemies of Aslan were about to cross when a young Lucy appears on the other side, a tiny dagger in her hand. She looks confident, a slight smile appears on her lips as if she knows something they don’t. The army stops for a moment on the other side, a little bewildered, and then the sign to advance is given.

At that moment Aslan, the great Lion King, steps out behind Lucy. He looks at her and then gives this mighty, incredible, roar. A roar unlike any other. At the sound of Aslan’s voice the river is stirred up, the waters foaming and angry. The god of the river rises up and crashes upon the bridge and the enemy captain, drowning him in a raging torrent! 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁, 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲.

Oh, what imagery this stirs up. “𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨? 𝙄𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙨?” Romans 8:31. Do you remember the story of Elisha when he was surrounded by a vast army? “𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮. “𝙊𝙝 𝙣𝙤, 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙙! 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤?” 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙. “𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙,” 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙. “𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.” 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙀𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙, “𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚.” 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩’𝙨 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙀𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙖.” 2 Kings 6:15-17

The reality of every situation is that the LORD, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, has your back. He is protecting you and He is fighting your battle for you. The reality is that even when you feel as if you are surrounded, under attack, perhaps even losing the battle, there is a vast army of angels protecting you, ready to fight for you. “𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙.” 1 John 4:4. You have the victory because of Jesus, you have the victory because the God of the Universe fights for you, you have the victory because the Spirit of God lives within you. As Elisha the prophet declared, “𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.”

𝗜𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱. Knowing the character of God. Knowing that He is a God who gives liberally, openly, and with sincerity. A God who never for a moment thinks to remind you of how unworthy you are. The Father weaves wisdom into your life until it is just an unexplainable part of who you are. He braids in the knowledge of both things human and supernatural, gives the gift of interpreting dreams and always having a word in season. The Great I AM pours out intelligence upon you and teaches you how to impart truth, He lavishes you with the knowledge of how to live a Godly life.

This is wisdom, given liberally! “𝑰𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” (James 1:5.) Not simply a ‘help me make the right choice,’ but so much more! The ability to walk in what can only be the supernatural, for who, by themselves and in their own strength can interpret dreams like Joseph? Can have the sagest of advice to encourage and strengthen that believer who is struggling? Have the right words to pierce the heart of the one who doesn’t know Jesus? For this, we need the wisdom of God.

𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵! Not wavering between the hope that He will give it and the fear that He won’t! We need faith, simple faith in The One who gave us life, salvation, redemption. Faith that Jesus Christ is who He says He is and that we can trust Him. Faith that God will do what He says He will do. Faith in the character of God, in His goodness, in His kindness, in His love for us.

We don’t need mountains of faith, just faith in God. I was once told, “It is not the quantity of your faith that matters, only the object of your faith.” Who is the object of your faith? Who do you put your faith in? Let’s trust, believe, and rest in who God is. Let’s not be like the double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺, 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁!

Have you ever had news that seems simply too good to be true? In fact, the news is so good that joy explodes inside you, and you can hardly comprehend it! I remember when my husband and I were trying to have a baby, time after time we were disappointed. And then that day came, I’ll never forget it, when the nurse told me I was pregnant! I wanted to jump over the counter and kiss her, I couldn’t believe it. I walked home floating on a cloud, so incredibly overjoyed. 𝗜𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲.

In 1965, Navy Commander Porter Halyburton was shot down over Vietnam along with his co-pilot. His wife Marty Halyburton was informed of his death and the news was absolutely devastating. A young widow at 24 with a newborn baby to raise by herself. Coming to grips with her husband’s death was truly hard and I cannot imagine the river of tears she must have shed. 18 months later it was discovered that Porter was a Prisoner of War in the Hanoi Hilton and not dead at all! Military representatives came to Marty’s home with the dramatic news that her husband was alive – what a roller coaster. She was then told not to tell anyone at this point. How do you hide a new spring in your step, a smile that radiates from your lips, and eyes that brim with excitement? As soon as Marty was permitted, she called everyone she could think of with the news; “𝗛𝗲’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲!”

After Jesus rose again He appeared to the eleven disciples, at first, they were frightened thinking that they were seeing a ghost and then Jesus showed them the brutal scars in His hands, the nail marks in His feet. In Luke 24:41 it says this; “𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, “𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙩?” They were so amazed, and joy bubbled up within them, they almost couldn’t believe it. Jesus was alive!! They bought Him some fish and he ate, definitely not a ghost. Can you just imagine their excitement?!

Joy and Amazement, Delight and Wonder. Elation that Jesus was alive, that He rose again, defeated Satan, sin and death on our behalf! Good news indeed. Very good news. Should this not be our reaction every time we sit with Him, each morning when we breath the name “Jesus,” at the beginning of our prayers. Joy and Amazement that we are meeting with the One who made the stars to shine, took on the enemy and won, knows every hair on our heads. Delight and Wonder that the Savior of the World sits down and communes with us! Oh, Precious Jesus, how wonderful.

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗷𝗼𝘆, 𝗷𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗱.

𝔻𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕁𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕤? The sun shined brighter, everything seemed fresh and new! You couldn’t wait to spend time with Him and you wanted to learn everything you could about Him. I remember that time, Jesus was on my mind every single minute of the day, there was joy in my step, and a smile on my face!

A few days ago, I was asked an interesting question, “Think of a person who really loves the LORD?” My mind flew straight away to dear Maggie, a lover of Jesus, who faithfully came every Wednesday afternoon to our Prayer Group. Rain or snow, Maggie was there, praying for those she loved, until her Abba Father called her home at 101 years old! I still remember her beautiful face as we sang an old hymn, her eyes would close, her delicate hands would turn upward, and a smile would appear at the corners of her mouth. She was carried right into the loving arms of her glorious Savior! Maggie was in love!

John Piper asks us this thought provoking question, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘸, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?”

That’s a question that stops you in your tracks and makes you think!

Does your “𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿?” Does your “𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧?” Do you “𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙃𝙞𝙢 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙃𝙞𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧?”

Let’s ask the LORD to return us to our first love, to remind us how it felt to be in love with Him, let’s take the time to seek Him out and fall in love again with the lover of our soul.