Author: Claire's Prayer

𝕀𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕣𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕐𝕆𝕌 (even though it’s about me too!).

Did you know that there is a whisper going on in heaven, a rustling among the angels? The word is out on the golden streets and rumours are being circulated from angel to angel. There is a definite buzz in the heavens today and the news is spreading like wildfire! Where did the word begin I wonder? Who is it that all the angels are whispering about??

Oh my! They’re talking about me. They say the King of kings told them, Jesus. They say they saw Him rejoicing, He was dancing with joy, He couldn’t stop talking about ME!!

“𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝗮𝘀𝗸?“

“Jesus said that you are beautiful, totally perfect for Him, you are lovely. Oh, and He said that when you sing to Him, His heart starts to beat faster with an overwhelming love for you. He told us that He cannot stop thinking about you, day and night, night and day YOU are on His mind!”

I couldn’t believe it, Jesus said that…… about me?! Are you sure it was me that He was talking about? After all, this is Jesus we’re talking about. The Beautiful Saviour, the Glorious Lord.

“That’s not all He said,” the angels whispered, “Listen to this! Jesus told us that you are the one He wants to be with forever, you are His bride and He is your bridegroom. He says He has so much He wants to tell you, things He has never told anyone else, deep secrets, the secrets of His heart and He won’t tell anyone else, only you because He loves you! He told us that He has so much for you, so much for you to do together, places to go to, exciting plans. He told us that He has blessings for you, gifts. Surprises around every corner! Flowers, sunny days, rainbows, colours, perfume, everything He can think of just to enchant you. He tells us He loves it when you laugh and clap your hands with delight when He blesses you. Then He told us that He simply loves to watch you, He is enthralled by you, He said you have the most beautiful smile, contagious laugh, you are just lovely. It’s funny,” the angels said, “𝗛𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂…… 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗛𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲!” 💕🦋

“𝑨𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” Isaiah 62:5.

The detail that the LORD put into His Word is astounding. The way we are loved by our God is so overwhelming. Let’s take a look at God’s glorious promise to us in the Jewish wedding ceremony.

The groom would go with his father to the bridegroom’s family, a contract would be drawn up and the father would give his son a glass of wine, he would drink and then pass the cup to the one he had chosen, with the words, “this cup I offer to you.” The essence of what he was saying was, “I’m offering you my life, will you marry me!” If she accepted his offer, she would take the cup and drink, offering her love and life in return.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕕.

ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇᴛʀᴏᴛʜᴇᴅ.

𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱.

Only a divorce could separate them now.

The groom would then leave to prepare a place for his beloved bride, often taking a year or more to do this. The groom would not drink of the fruit of the vine until the day of their glorious reunion, a great wedding feast, and much rejoicing.

Now let’s look at Passover, the LORD’s supper. During Passover, 4 cups of wine are offered. Jesus offered the 3rd cup, The Cup of Redemption or the Cup of Salvation. As He offered the cup to His disciples He said, “𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕.”

“I am giving you my life, will you take it, will you marry me?”

Then the words, “𝑰 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎.”(Matt 26:29)

The promise that He has gone to prepare a place for us, the promise that He will return for us bringing us to that final banquet, that wedding feast in His Father’s kingdom! Every time we take communion, we drink of that cup, it is the one offered by Jesus, our bridegroom. Each time we drink we are saying Yes! Yes, LORD, I will marry you, I will wait for you, I give you my life in return!

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕕.

ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ʙᴇᴛʀᴏᴛʜᴇᴅ.

𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱!

I cannot imagine being swallowed by a great big fish! The smell alone must have been ghastly 🤢. The very worst of places. Alone and in a dark place with no hope of escape, I’m pretty sure that I would have had an epic meltdown! Perhaps Jonah did too. But after 3 days and nights, 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗! Astonishing. As Jonah began to shout out his thanksgiving, God spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

What was Jonah saying as he shouted those grateful praises?𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗔𝗺, 𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗳𝘂𝗹. He was convinced that Almighty God would save him and rescue him from this horrible situation. And so he began to shout, he began to praise God and give Him thanks!

No matter how dark or hopeless your situation may be, God is still worthy of shouts of grateful praise! I encourage you, wherever you are and whatever you are going through to summon up those shouts, those praises, that thanksgiving. Perhaps take a moment to jump up and down and declare His goodness over your situation, knowing that your God will move. 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸! 🙏💕🐳

Nehemiah.  One of the real ‘greats’ in the Old Testament.  So often pointed to as a great leader who did incredible things in the face of incredible opposition, but Nehemiah was also a man who prayed.  Nehemiah was a man who relied on the strength of God and was humble enough to realise he could not do this alone.  He was a man who continually acknowledged the Great and Mighty God and had a relationship with God based on prayer.

Nehemiah 2:4 says, “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆, ‘𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕?’ 𝑺𝒐 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.”  Nehemiah had just spent 4 months in prayer over the wretched state of Jerusalem and its people.  He had beseeched the LORD, he had fasted and even begged the LORD to remember His promise to His chosen ones.

Now, here Nehemiah was, in front of the King, prepared by his 4 months in prayer before the LORD, when the God of Heaven moved on his behalf and opened a door of opportunity.  “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵?”  At that moment, Nehemiah knew that he needed his Father’s help, so he shot out a quick and silent prayer.  He knew that his prayer would reach the attentive ear of the Lord in the same second he breathed it.  

Psalm 66:9 says this, “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅; 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.”  God listens attentively when we pray, but not only that, he attends to our prayers.  I love what the dictionary says about ‘𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦’; all ears, enrapt, hanging on every word, heedful, interested, watchful.  God is interested in what you have to say to Him, even enrapt.  The thought that our Great and Mighty God might hang on to every word I say is a knowledge too wonderful for words.  The LORD God of Heaven attentively listens to what you say, even to what you silently speak in your mind.

Nehemiah knew that God was listening at all times, never slumbering or sleeping, he knew He would not let his foot slip, that the God of Heaven was watching over him, ready to help him at this pivotal time of need.  We don’t know exactly what Nehemiah prayed at this moment, just that he did.  Perhaps it was simply, “𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘦!”  After all, he had but a second to pray.  But from this brief entry, we can see the heart of Nehemiah, we can see his humility – “𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋.”  We can see his faith – “𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”  We can see that Nehemiah was a man who put prayer first.

Nehemiah knew God would listen attentively to his prayer and act on his behalf.  And He did!

“𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒢𝑜𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝐿𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒥𝑒𝓈𝓊𝓈 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝑔𝓁𝑜𝓇𝓎, 𝓂𝒶𝓎 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒹𝑜𝓂 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝓁𝑒𝒹𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝐻𝒾𝓂, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓎𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑒𝓃𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹; 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝒶𝓎 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓁𝑜𝓇𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝒽𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓉𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓍𝒸𝑒𝑒𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑔𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝓅𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝑜𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓊𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒, 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝒻 𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓎 𝓅𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇.”– Ephesians 1:17-19

What an amazing prayer!  You can feel Paul’s love and care for the Ephesians dripping off his pen as he writes to them.  That you would know Him more, that you would know the hope of your calling, that you would understand the riches of your inheritance and the exceeding greatness of His power!

Paul wasn’t praying that the Ephesians would have new things, or more things, he was praying that the eyes of their understanding would be opened, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱!  That by wisdom and revelation they would come to know the Father of glory even more.  

In the Guinness Book of Records, Hetty Green, holds the dubious honour of being the “World’s Greatest Miser”!  In the late 1800’s her stinginess was legendary, she would not turn on the heat or use hot water, seldom washed her clothes, did not wash her hands, and would eat cold oatmeal as it cost too much to heat it up!  Her son had his leg amputated as she tried to have him admitted to a free clinic instead of getting him good medical attention.  Hetty may have been extremely mean, but she wasn’t poor.  When Hetty Green died she left behind an estate valued at more than $100 million dollars.  She had incredible resources available to her but did not use them! 

Paul’s prayer is that “the eyes of your understanding be enlightened”, that we wouldn’t stumble around in the dark but that we would know Him more, that we would understand what we already have!

Did you know that if you look directly at the sun, an incredible 93 million miles away, the penetrating light will cause damage to your eyes in as little as a few seconds?  Right at its core that same sun burns at 27 million degrees Fahrenheit.  Pretty extreme.  The sun is inaccessible, unreachable. 

Paul saw a light that was even brighter than the sun, a light that struck him blind for 3 days!  “𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏, 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”   (Acts 26:13) Timothy says this when describing the Great I Am.  “𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝑹𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆. 𝑻𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒏.”   (1 Timothy 6:15b-16). Unapproachable light.  Inaccessible. A God way more dangerous than staring into the sun!

And yet our Unapproachable God tells us to ‘𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖!’   How is that even possible for me, a sinner, to approach such a pure and holy God? Surely, if I even dared to come close, I would be nothing but dust in a second.  A few wisps of smoke and ash blown away in a hot searing wind. 

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀.  𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.   “𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔, 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒊𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔, 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒉.”   (Heb 10:19-20).  The God who told Moses, “𝑵𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆!”  made a way for us to draw near.  Incredible. 

Often, I think we forget the mystery of God, how powerful, how dangerous.  We don’t take the time to consider His infinite glory and majesty.  To gaze upon His greatness.  How we, as His children, have this inconceivable access to our Father.  I believe when we take the time to meditate on these things, we will once again remember the astonishing power of God, how we serve a God who is greater, a God who can make impossible things possible!

Approaching an unapproachable God with you,

Uzziah was a great King, a King that had caused Israel to prosper greatly during his 52-year reign.  Scripture tells us that he “𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫,” and that “𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒈𝒚𝒑𝒕.”  The year King Uzziah died there must have been great mourning and sorrow, the much-loved King was dead and who knew what would come next.  Would Israel continue to prosper?  Uncertain times for sure.

I wonder how Isaiah felt, he certainly had reason to be downcast and disheartened – perhaps he wondered, “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?” Isaiah 6:1-4 tells us “𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑼𝒛𝒛𝒊𝒂𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅, 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒆; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆.  𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒊𝒙 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓: “𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝑨𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚.”

Where was God in all of this?  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲! The Great I AM was seated in heavenly places, He was high and exalted.  So holy is the LORD that the angels could not even look at Him and they covered their faces!  Cries of “𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝑨𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚,” echoed throughout the throne room.  Isn’t it interesting that the LORD did not come down to Isaiah and reassure Him that everything would be OK, instead He gave him a vision of heaven, of Almighty God still on His throne!

Isaiah needed a new perspective, one which I know that I so often need and perhaps you do too.  When things are not going as planned, when difficult times are on our doorstep, when the world seems to be in chaos – we need a new perspective.  We need to see the sight of our Mighty King on His throne, surrounded by elders worshiping, flashes of lightning and thunder coming from the throne.  His holiness.  His glory.  To catch a glimpse of His splendor! I really do think that Isaiah’s life must have radically changed after seeing his God on the throne.  Our LORD Almighty still rules, He still reigns, He is still powerful, and still King.  It doesn’t matter what you see out there in the world, God is still victorious and always will be.  𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲.

“𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝑱𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒎. 𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎,  “𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝑱𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒘. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅. 𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆!” – Matthew 20:18-19

The very beginning of a life-changing journey, a difficult journey, one that was no surprise to Jesus or even His disciples. The 14-mile journey from Jericho to Jerusalem was not long but it was the beginning of a walk that would change the world. As they hiked south to Jerusalem, I would imagine that Passover was on the minds of the disciples, feasts, and visits with old friends. I wonder what was on Jesus’ mind. Was it the betrayal of a friend, the savage beating of a whip laced with iron, or the cruelest death upon that cross?

Sometimes staring at a future painful event for too long can be more distressing than the event itself. When my little girl, Hannah, told me she wanted to move back to Canada, I was devastated. The time leading up to her leaving caused me huge anxiety. An ocean of tears was cried, this was something I never imagined happening. To live apart from my baby girl was not something I had ever considered. My eyes still well up at the reality today. A trivial example in the light of the journey set before my Saviour.

I am more than sure that this final journey to Jerusalem was at the forefront of our Saviour’s mind, and I’m sure caused him much anguish. He was fully human just as He was fully God.

But look at that last line; “𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑯𝒆 𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑳 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.” Like the thrust of a spear into the enemy’s heart. Jesus began His journey with God’s promise upon His lips! ‘𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯!’ This was not something Jesus had control of, He trusted His Father, He trusted the promise. As Jesus turned to Jerusalem, He declared the promise of God over His life!

God’s Word tells us, “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕! 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅!” (John 16:33) But take heart, I have overcome the world! We can all agree with ‘in this world, you will have trouble.’ That is a given. But Jesus has overcome the world!

I know that many of you are on a hard journey, your future may seem uncertain, and anxiety over coming events may threaten to overwhelm you. Life’s journeys are uncertain. Jesus knows. He understands. He’s been there. He sees you. Accepts you. Loves you.

When I look backwards at my own tough journeys, how much easier would they have been if I had stepped into them with God’s promises on my lips instead of my own tangled words? If I had drawn the sword of God’s Word and declared His truth, let His peace settle in my heart, would anxiety and anguish be held at bay?

Jesus’ declaration, His trust in His Heavenly Father carried our precious Saviour through His hardest days, to His appointed time and through the other side. God’s Word took Him to that place of rejoicing, of overcoming, to that glorious place where the angels announced, “𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆; 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒔 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.” (Matt 28:6) Exactly as Jesus declared, I will rise again. Just as our Father had promised.

Today if this is you. If your road is hard and the journey forbidding, if your future seems uncertain and anxiety overwhelms – 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?  Open God’s Word, His Holy Bible filled with holy promises and find the ones that you can cling to.  The ones that you can take as a sword and thrust into the very heart of the enemy. The ones that you can declare with eyes of faith – 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀!

We’ve all heard of a bucket list and many of us may have one or two big dreams in that bucket! 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁?  A bucket list with an eternal perspective? How would our lives change if we began to write down the dreams that could be in that bucket? When thinking about my spiritual bucket list I thought of several ideas that could go in that bucket.

Memorize an entire chapter of the bible.

Plan a visit to Israel.

Visit a mission field and do something there for the LORD.

Make space to pray and talk with the Father.

Practice forgiveness.

𝗗𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀.

It’s the last one I love the most, the last one that tugs at my heartstrings. It reminds me so much of Mary and her extravagance when pouring perfume over her Saviour’s feet. What is it I could do that shows Jesus my love for Him in an overstated way? One that He wouldn’t miss?

What do you have on your spiritual bucket list, or what dream would you put in that bucket as you begin to plan one? I’m definitely taking time this week to make mine!

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.