Author: Claire's Prayer

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆?

Well, that’s a good question isn’t it!  Sometimes we throw about words with no frame of reference, without ever taking a deep look at what they mean.  Why would I want to be a Shulamite – sounds kind of sketchy or dangerous?

Just the very title of this book says it all – the Song of Songs.  Written by a King – King Solomon, a man who was wise, a man of great stature, wealthy, and loved by all Israel.  1 Kings 4:32 tells us that “𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆.”  But this, the Song of Songs, was the greatest of all those songs, the song above any other song, the greatest of all love stories.  A tale that sings of love, desire, adoration, and affection.  It’s a story of romance, brimming with intimacy – the kind of intimacy where trust and respect abound and expectation peeks around every corner!

Our beautiful young heroine, the Shulamite.  Young, expectant, forthright, and assertive, knowing what she wants and not afraid to grasp hold of love with both hands.  A woman deeply enamored and taken with her betrothed, whose only desire is to be with her bridegroom, wrapped in his embrace.  She longs for his touch, longs for her Beloved to whisper words of adoration in her ear, wants to be so close to him that they are touching all the time.  All she needs to do is reach out and he is there.  He is that close.

That’s what I want, I want to hear the whispers of my Savior, to feel Him cup my chin in His hand and lift my head. (Psalm 3:3) To get lost in His eyes, His gaze, His love.  To be able to close my eyes and reach out knowing that He is right there.  All the time.  I want to draw close to Him and be able to trust that He will draw even closer to me. (James 4:8) I want to sit on a bench in the park right next to my Jesus and for there to be no space at all between us!  Is that what you want too?

All the very best fairy tales start with 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗨𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲, as soon as you read those first few words you know that this is going to be a book you won’t want to put down.  When I was a child I loved fairy tales, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and oh, Rapunzel – that was my absolute favorite with her long blond silken hair!  Even now there is nothing quite like curling up on a couch with a hot chocolate and a good book.    Of course, there is a familiar, comforting, theme that weaves in and out of each fairytale:  A kind, beautiful girl finds herself in an overwhelming situation, sometimes with an unkind stepmother, abusive stepsisters, perhaps kidnapped by an evil witch.  Take Beautiful Belle, taken captive in the castle of a hideous beast, or Snow White who ran from an evil queen determined to kill her, living with seven dwarfs – one called Grumpy!  But of course, there is always the prince.  The handsome prince who falls in love with our beautiful girl, saves her from unimaginable horrors and true love wins out – together they live 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿.

Of course, fairy tales are fairy tales, and we know that just isn’t real life – or is it?  One thing I do know is that with Jesus, the last sentence in each of our stories is the same one in that fairy tale – 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿!  Perhaps our lives are a little more like those fairy tales than we think.  I don’t know each of your stories, but I know this, that every one of you reading this book is beautiful, made in the image of your Creator, fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) I know too that there have been many dark times in your life, times when you have been treated badly, when the words spoken against you have caused you pain.  Times of extreme hardship, anxiety, and brokenness.  The desire within you is to be saved by that handsome prince and to live a life of intimacy and happiness with the love of your life. 

The love of your life is Jesus, it is in Him that we can have that 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿, only with Him.  His Word promises us an eternity with our Savior, it tells us the story of how we are the bride and He, Jesus, is our bridegroom.  In fact, woven through every single book of the bible, like golden thread, is a love story.  The deep longing from the very heart of God cries out, “𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕.” (Matt 11:28) “𝑨𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” (John 15:4) “𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏.” (Ps 46:1-3)

For the next few days, we are going to take a look at the Shulamite woman in the Song of Solomon, how we can run into the secret place with the love of our lives and hear His heartbeat, His thoughts – take a journey with me!

When I am weary, heavy-laden, broken-hearted, or just plain sad the last thing I feel like doing is rejoicing in the LORD! You want me to do what God? 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀? (𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹 𝟰:𝟰) 𝗧𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀? (𝟭 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝟱:𝟭𝟲-𝟭𝟴) 𝗧𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘆? (𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝟯𝟮:𝟭𝟭)

But over and over and over again, throughout God’s Word, we are called upon to rejoice. 𝟭𝟴𝟳 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁! (KJV). Our Abba Father knows that even if we don’t feel like it, once we begin to rejoice in Him, praise Him, and dance before Him everything will change. We will have a new perspective!

Psalm 89: 15 and 16 says: “𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈; 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.” They rejoice all day long!

How do we rejoice? Rejoice in Hebrew in this particular verse means to jump for joy, to spin around, dance, exalt, and be excited! Honestly, I’m smiling as I read this imagining the dance party that could change your life! If you are feeling down, sad, or broken today I invite you to put on that praise music and begin to dance, to jump, to leap for joy! Be undignified like David!

In Zephaniah 3:17 God’s Word tells us, “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒕, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝑶𝒏𝒆, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆; 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈.” Did you see that!!! Oh, that’s so exciting. God rejoices over you and it’s that same word, “gil.”

Your Father God rejoices over you, He dances over you, He spins around joyfully over you. Over you! Because of you! That’s how extreme and lavish His love is for you. And so I ask – how extreme is your love for your LORD? Enough that in your pain and your sadness you can get up and dance before Him? I’m not saying it’s not hard, because it is, but I’m saying it’s worth a try. It’s totally worth doing what God’s Word says as we know it to be true!

Today I pray that you will sense the LORD dancing over you, singing over you and that joy would rise up within you and you would begin to ‘𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲’ 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝗺!

An unlit candle by itself in a dark room is unseen, simply a jar of wax in the thick darkness. But when a flame is touched to the wick that candle begins to shine! The darkness has to flee, light shines all around, and the room is filled with a beautiful scent.

You see, 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 – that is what it was created for. And so are you, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲! When the glory of the LORD touches your life there is no place for darkness, it has to go, as your light shines the shadows disappear, and oh, what a sweet-smelling fragrance fills the room and rises as incense to the LORD.

So today, I say to you, ARISE and SHINE, it’s time, because indeed the glory of the LORD has risen upon you!

“𝑨𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆, 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆; 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆! 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” Isaiah 60:1

𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗱?!

Even when you’ve read a scripture a hundred times God still has something new to share. When I read that first verse of Psalm 23 and looked up the Hebrew I was overwhelmed and brought to tears. The word for Shepherd in the Hebrew is “ra’ah” and besides meaning what we think it does, someone who takes care of the sheep, it also means 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻.

The LORD is my friend, my constant companion, I shall not want. What a concept! Truly it is something I almost cannot grasp, the LORD is my friend – just as he was a friend to Moses. In fact, Exodus 33:11 tells us that “𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅.”

The same root word is used. Just as the LORD was a friend to Moses, so is Yahweh, our Savior, a friend to you! Your constant companion!

It’s all very well to accept that invitation to the table but what happens after Jesus draws back your seat and tenderly places a napkin in your lap? Are you a little like me with thoughts that spin in your head at an alarming rate, distractions that seem like a thousand ping-pong balls dropped from the ceiling?

As I sat with the LORD trying to still my mind I heard him say the word “𝔽𝕠𝕔𝕦𝕤 – 𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕠𝕔𝕦𝕤. 𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖. 𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪, ‘Be still and know that I Am God.” (Ps 46:10)

Hebrews 3:1 says this – “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” That ‘heavenly calling’ in the Greek indicates an invitation to a feast. The table He has prepared for you! ‘*Fix your thoughts on Jesus!’ *Focus on the Saviour! Don’t let your eye be distracted by the battle going on before you, no matter the intensity or ferocity, the enemy is just trying to divert your attention.

Focus on His Words, His smile, His love, kindness, and faithfulness. Stay present in the moment. Allow Holy Spirit to wash over you and settle your mind. Be still. Consider Jesus.

ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʟᴘʜᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴍᴇɢᴀ, ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇɢɪɴɴɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇɴᴅ, ᴏᴜʀ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴏʀ, ᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴅᴇᴇᴍᴇʀ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴇᴀʀᴛʜ ꜱᴏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪᴍ ꜰᴏʀ ᴇᴛᴇʀɴɪᴛʏ. ꜱᴏ ʙʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴏ ʜᴏʟʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ ʜᴀꜱ ɴᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴ. ʜɪꜱ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ ʙʀɪɴɢꜱ ʟɪꜰᴇ, ʜɪꜱ ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ, ᴄʀᴀꜱʜɪɴɢ ᴡᴀᴠᴇꜱ, ꜱᴘᴀʀᴋʟɪɴɢ ꜱɴᴏᴡ, ʜɪꜱ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴜɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇʟᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴡᴀx. ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴏᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɪɴᴠɪᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ꜱɪᴛ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴀʙʟᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ! ꜰɪx ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇʏᴇꜱ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴍ, ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴏʜ, ꜱᴏ ᴡᴏʀᴛʜ ɪᴛ!

ℝ𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟.

I love this word.

Let’s take a moment to just breathe it in.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – our beautiful Savior will restore your soul! He will rebuild you and return you to that place where peace reigned. Not only will He restore you but He will then lead you in paths of righteousness.

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁?

𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂!

He will take you by the hand and lead you along your life’s pathway, a righteous path. Our LORD doesn’t just put you on the road and say ‘off you go’ to do it by yourself, He leads you. It is yet another reminder that He is our constant companion, our friend.

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴!”

(This picture is one I took on a visit to Israel of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee. Truly still waters!)💕🦋

Peace. We all long for it and yet at times it seems that as soon as we have it, it slips away once more.

God’s Word tells us that we can indeed have the peace that we fervently desire. “𝑩𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔.” (Phil 4:6-7)

We all know this scripture, in fact, Amazon released data stating this is the most highlighted passage of scripture in the Kindle Bible!

I don’t need to point out the obvious, that we need to pray about everything, raising our voices in thanksgiving to the God of the Universe, to the One who deserves all our thanks, I know you know that. But there is something in this scripture that speaks loudly to me. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈.” As we pray and seek the LORD with thanksgiving, w̲e̲ ̲m̲u̲s̲t̲ ̲r̲e̲l̲i̲n̲q̲u̲i̲s̲h̲ ̲o̲u̲r̲ ̲r̲i̲g̲h̲t̲ ̲t̲o̲ ̲u̲n̲d̲e̲r̲s̲t̲a̲n̲d̲, release our questions to Him and give up our need to understand it all, acknowledging that we don’t need to understand, just trust.

Then peace will rise above and surpass our need to understand and guard our hearts and minds! Herein lies the secret to peace, praying, seeking God, thanksgiving, and giving up the right to understand.

My prayer for you today is that you would be able to trust and find God’s peace, and with that peace would come joy, overwhelming thanksgiving, that you would indeed be like the trees of the field clapping their hand in praise to our beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ! 💕💕👏👏👏.

𝗘𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗶. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝘀. The God who sees us in every moment, whose eye is always upon us, watching over us. The God who sees us when tears slip down our cheeks, when the weight of the world threatens to crush us. The God who sees us when we sit alone, when anxiety overwhelms, and we can’t seem to cast off those fearful thoughts. The God who sees us in the good and the bad. 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗘𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗶.

The story of Hagar is a beautiful one, the only time our Father is referred to as El Roi. It’s a story of redemption and hope. In Genesis 16:13 Hagar says this to the LORD; “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆,” 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆.” You saw me. The Creator, the Holy One, the Great I Am saw me and didn’t ignore me! But even more than this, Hagar says, “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆.” Hagar saw God! In that desolate place, crushed, and expecting to die, Hagar saw God.

In moments of great anguish, God not only sees us, but He also reveals himself to us. Do you remember Elijah? After being chased by Jezebel he fell into a great depression and cried out to God saying, “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.” (1 Kings 19:4b). Strengthened supernaturally by the LORD he traveled for 40 days to a cave at Mount Horeb where God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper. A voice of intimacy, one where you have to lean in and come close to hear the words.

Hagar wouldn’t have seen God if it wasn’t for her brokenness and trials. When all seems lost, remember God sees You! Ask Him to reveal Himself to you, to comfort and encourage. Your loving Father sees you in all your wonderful potential. Washed clean and beautiful by the blood of Jesus. He sees you in your good moments and in your bad. You are never invisible or too small and insignificant – the ever-watchful eyes of your Savior are upon you! 𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

One evening, very recently, while sitting chatting to my children, there was a sound.  Or perhaps it wasn’t a sound but a sudden sound of nothing.  And then the lights went out!  There we were, sitting on the couch, plunged into sudden darkness!  We waited a while but nothing happened and so I turned on the flashlight on my phone.  How thankful I was in that moment for the incredible mind that put a flashlight on a phone – who’d have thought!  Certainly not me.  My little flashlight didn’t light up the whole house, but it was enough for me to search for candles and other sources of light, to which I discovered I was miserably prepared!

My mind went to the scripture, “𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉.”  Psalm 119:150.  There were no lights on cell phones back in Israel 2,000 years ago.  If you were taking a journey at night, you carried a small lamp with a flax wick and a little olive oil and that was enough light to reveal one step at a time.  Enough to keep you from stumbling or tripping over a rock.  Not enough to reveal the destination or even the end of the road. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽.

When you find yourself in need of direction, the Word of God will guide you.  When you feel as though you are plunged into darkness, God’s Word will illuminate you.  In a world that is dark, with little direction, it is God’s Word, the Word of Truth that will show you the path you should take. 

Elizabeth Elliot, a missionary, and author whose husband was martyred in Ecuador, would always quote a line from an old poem; “𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.”  It helped her through her grief and was advice she often gave to others helping them through anxiety, depression, and loss.  “𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.”  It was a phrase that helped me when I was overwhelmed.  It suddenly simplified my life, and I could go to the LORD and ask, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰?”  And step by step, with God’s Word of Truth and prayer, I could do the next thing and the next.

Today if you are feeling overwhelmed, worried, depressed, or anxious, feel as though your life is flipped upside down and you are in darkness, or even if you need wisdom when facing a tricky situation.  𝗚𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.  The Bible will bring light to your situation, showing you what to do, God will encourage you and Holy Spirit will guide you every step of the way.  𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.

(By the way, that power cut we had, was caused by a snake getting into a transformer and caused 11,000 people to lose power!  How crazy is that!!)