Claire's Prayer

One thing is certain – 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘆! I am thankful that His mercies are new every single day.

In Psalm 90:12 we read the verse; “𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔.” A seemingly impossible request, how many of us know the number of our days? Only our Abba Father who has appointed every one of them for us.

Hidden in this verse is a sparkling treasure, a truth that will change us if we let it! In the Hebrew, this verse says; “Teach us to ‘𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗵’ our days,” to not just number our days but to prepare and appoint them. Our instructions are to look upon every day as important, to plan for that day ahead of time. To prepare for the things we need to do, even to appoint moments in your day.

Make an appointment with a friend for coffee and name the day. Elect a time when you will meet with your Savior and keep the date. Set aside time for your children, your spouse, your parents. Appoint a day to write a blog or journal, study a book or meditate on The Word. Plan and prepare your days instead of watching them fly by in what seems like a flash and a blur. If we ‘𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗵’ our days then, “𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔.” That wisdom that we all want, desire and need. We will be like the five wise virgins who had oil in their lamps, they knew there was an appointed time for the bridegroom to come. In this same way, we are asked to appoint, prepare and number all the days of our lives.

Numbering my days with you!

I’m always surprised at what one small scripture can teach you. I love digging into the details and seeing what treasures I can unearth. Nehemiah 1:5 says, “𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝑶 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.” If you read this scripture in the New King James version, you will see that Nehemiah prayed to the “𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅.” To make it more relevant to this era, the wording has since been changed to “great and awesome God.” Sometimes I feel we use the word awesome far too much and, so, it has lost much of its meaning. We say, “That’s awesome, dude,” or “What an awesome movie!” Awesome has lost its power.

Nehemiah, on the other hand, prayed to a “𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅.” The Hebrew word for awesome is ‘yaré,’ meaning terrible, to fear, revere, stand in awe of, and respect. Jesus is not our ‘dude,’ or our ‘buddy.’ No, He is a great and terrible God, an awe-inspiring God, a God with immense power and might! He created everything out of nothing with just one word! If God is simply our buddy, we reduce Him to our level and minimize His incredible and miraculous power.

We need a God that is all powerful, all knowing, and always present—a God whose very existence commands our respect, a God whom we esteem and honor. God is indeed our friend; He is good, His love and grace towards us is bountiful. But He is also commanding, forceful, formidable and mighty. Like Nehemiah, we should always approach our God with a good dose of awe and respect. An element of worship should be the first thing on our lips. We should be in awe that a mighty and terrible God like ours would listen when we pray, would love us where we’re at, and act upon the prayers that we pray.

Revelations 1:14-16 gives us a picture of our Great and Terrible God: “𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒍, 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆; 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔; 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 𝒕𝒘𝒐-𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉.”

Eyes like a flame of fire, a voice like crashing waves, and a face that shone with the strength of the sun. That doesn’t sound like a dude or buddy to me! In fact, when John saw Jesus face to face, he fell at His feet as though dead. 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁! 💕🦋

In Matthew 11:29 Jesus commands us to; “𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.” I must confess; I have read this so many times over the years, and always had questions as to why I would want to take one heavy yoke off and put another on. Don’t you think it would make so much more sense for the Lord to say; “Take off your yoke and you will find rest, take off that burden and run and be free?”

To understand Jesus’ intentions, we must look back at that yoke placed on the neck of the working oxen. A collar linked two working oxen together which was then hitched to a plow. When a young ox was broken in, he would be tethered to a bigger, experienced ox. During this time of training the new ox would learn how to walk in step with the older ox, how to work as a team, and here’s the kicker, this brand new, young ox carried no burden at all! His ‘𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝗸𝗲’ was fashioned in such a way that the big, experienced ox would carry the whole load, the young ox was there to simply learn!

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗛𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻! We are there to simply learn from the Master, to go in the direction He takes, to walk in step with the Savior. “𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆.” It is a place where we ‘cast our burdens upon Him,’ take His training yoke and learn from Him. What a beautiful picture of Jesus’ desire for intimacy with us, our wonderful Savior wants to walk so closely with us until we are at the point where we can sense if He will turn left or right, walk up into the mountain or down into the valley! A time of learning the mysteries and secrets of His ways!

Today if your yoke is heavy, feels hard or is a burden, cast your cares upon Him, take His easy yoke and surrender to the leading of your precious Redeemer. 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝗺! 💕🦋

In John 7:37-38 Jesus said;“𝑰𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓.” Jesus promised not only to fill those who are thirsty, but promised that rivers of life would flow out from their innermost being. 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻, 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁.

In Israel, there are two seas that are fed from the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee, teaming with life, home to a myriad of fish, the soil is so fertile that almost any plant will flourish. The rabbis wrote, “𝙰𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜, 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝙷𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.”

The other sea fed by the Jordan is the Dead Sea. During the Crusades, this sea was sometimes referred to as the “𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹’𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗮!” Sitting at 1,300 feet below sea level, this lake is the lowest place on earth. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. Nothing.

These two seas are in the same area of Israel, fed by the same river but one of them is full of life and the other quite dead! The difference is that the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out again, but the Jordan only flows into the Dead Sea, there is no outlet. The Dead Sea takes the river in and keeps it to itself. The result–no life at all!

If we become like the Dead Sea, wanting only to be poured into, the results will be catastrophic. We need to be like the Sea of Galilee, thirsty, drinking of the Living Water but letting that river flow from us. 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺. It’s only when we do this that we will begin to see abundant, rich fruit in our lives.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. Taken into slavery as a young boy, by the Irish, Patrick spent 6 hard years tending sheep on Stemish Mountain. It was here, upon this heather laden mountain, that Patrick found God.

At the age of 22, St Patrick escaped and returned to England, but his heart was drawn back to the Irish people. Legend tells us that Patrick started over 300 churches and baptized over 100,000 Irish, turning a pagan nation into a Christian one. Central to Patrick’s incredible ministry was a prayer, a prayer for God’s presence and protection every, single, day. Today we call this St Patrick’s Breastplate.

“𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝑒𝒻𝓉, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝐼 𝓁𝒾𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝐼 𝓈𝒾𝓉, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝐼 𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓉𝒽 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓀𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝑒𝓎𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝑒, 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝓂𝑒. 𝒮𝒶𝓁𝓋𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝓇𝒹. 𝒮𝒶𝓁𝓋𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓎 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝒶𝓁𝓋𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝐿𝑜𝓇𝒹, 𝒷𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓊𝓈.”

This beautiful prayer is so reminiscent of David’s cry in Psalm 139; “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒈𝒐 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕? 𝑶𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆? 𝑰𝒇 𝑰 𝒂𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆; 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅, 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.”

The Father’s presence is always with you, His hand is upon your shoulder, leading and guiding you, He is right there with you, wherever you may go. My prayer is that you will see the Living God at work in every corner of your life. I pray that St Patrick’s Breastplate echoes down the corridors of your days – Christ with you, Christ before you…

My son is a mountain climber. Not the type that hikes up a mountain and follows a path that will eventually take him to those magnificent views at the summit but the kind that uses a rope and climbs straight up the sheer granite wall! My heart fills with panic at the thought. It really doesn’t take much for him to scale that cliff, a tiny crack in the rock will suffice for a finger or toe hold and then up he goes! Amazingly he can climb glaciers, mountain walls, and sheer rock faces using just tiny cracks and toeholds.

Paul talks about toeholds or footholds in Ephesians 4:27 as he gives advice on how to walk a Godly path, “𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙.” You see Satan does not need a pathway or a wide-open door into your life to destroy you, all he needs is a tiny crack. Like a snake or a mouse, the tiniest opening will suffice, he will squeeze his way in and make residence in your life! When we study the word foothold in Greek, we realize it literally means 𝘁𝗼𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 – those same little spaces my son uses to climb the cliffs.

When that little bit of doubt seeps into your mind, doubt that the Word of God is true, that it is living or active, the enemy sees a foothold. He will use that to begin to destroy your faith. When skepticism or cynicism take root in your heart the enemy will start a campaign to obliterate your conviction. It doesn’t have to be the big things, your recognition that Jesus is the Son of God or even that your Abba Father loves you with an unending love, just the little ones, doubt, fear, unbelief. Even social media can be that toehold giving the enemy opportunity to take over your time!

Peter tells us to “𝙆𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚! 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙃𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣. 𝙃𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙩.”(1 Peter 5:8) He knew that the enemy is not about to give you a break, he’s not about to go on vacation, we need to be aware that he is working against us looking for footholds and opportunity.

Today let’s open the door to the Holy Spirit, allow him to fill every space, take every available crack and seal them closed. Give him your doubt and unbelief, your fear, and your anxiety. 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞! 💕🦋

We all know the well-loved scripture in Acts 1:8; “𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙮 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪; 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙈𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙅𝙚𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙅𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝.” Can you imagine the lively discussion that broke out among the disciples at Jesus’ final words? “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞?!”

Jerusalem was the city where an angry mob crucified Jesus, where animosity towards the King of the Jews was alarmingly high. Even saying the name of Jesus could bring some level of persecution. Judea outright rejected the ministry of Jesus, and Samaria was a barren wilderness of unclean heathens! The ends of the earth? Why that was full of Gentiles! I would imagine the disciples had a million different reasons, for not taking the gospel to any of these places.

Perhaps the baptism of the Holy Spirit was to supernaturally give the disciples the power to love, the power to be obedient, and the power to trust. Trust that the Father sees the bigger picture, and all we need is blind obedience! But what if the disciples didn’t act on those final, very important words of Jesus? What if they kept the gospel within the walls of the Upper Room?

Thankfully they didn’t keep it to themselves, and history was changed! Through the power of the Holy Spirit, millions heard about salvation through Jesus Christ. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺! Through radical obedience, the whole world was turned upside down upon hearing the gospel! God could see the bigger picture. He could see the ripple effect that would happen when a few everyday people, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, went to places they didn’t want to go to, and loved those they didn’t want to love!

Is God asking you to do something hard? Something you would rather not do? 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫, 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 💕

I have wonderful children who have done and accomplished many amazing things, and sometimes, not so noteworthy things. Whenever they do something which I am proud of, I say to my husband, “𝑴𝒚 daughter did this,” but when it is something not so good, I’ll tell my husband, “𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 daughter did this!” Do you do that too? My children can go from being mine, to being his, in just a day!

In Deuteronomy 9:12 it is interesting to see the Great I Am doing the same thing! “𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚, ‘𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚, 𝙜𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙜𝙮𝙥𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙡𝙮.’” Because of their great sin the Israelites were M̲o̲s̲e̲s̲’̲ ̲p̲e̲o̲p̲l̲e̲ – not God’s chosen people.

I have to say I read this with a smile, sometimes I do the same thing as the God of the Universe! I smiled even more when I realized that just like God I never give up on my children. They may fail or fall but like our Loving Father I’ll pick them up, dust them off, and set them back on their journey. In the same way your Heavenly Father will never give up on you! How do I know that? Take a look a few chapters on in Deuteronomy 26:18, “𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙃𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨.”

The very same people who had wallowed in their sin, just a few chapters back, were proclaimed God’s special people. They belonged to God, just as you do. Mercy extended, forgiveness given, and grace abounding. There are also another 34 chapters in the Old Testament alone telling the story of God’s chosen ones!

The story of your journey with God will also extend for many, many chapters. The story of the incredible God who never, ever gives up on His child and who always extends grace, mercy, and forgiveness to you!💕

Have you ever spent time in the wilderness? Have you been in a desolate and isolated place where everything seems to be dry and barren—a place where there is no life? The wilderness is a hard, solitary place. But it is a place where we can always find God.

In Hosea 2:14, we see that the LORD is with Israel in the wilderness: “𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧.” What I find fascinating is that the LORD Himself brought Israel into the wilderness so He could speak comfort to her. Perhaps the LORD knew that such a stubborn nation would only listen to Him in isolation!

The Hebrew word for comfort comes from the root word ‘𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗯,’ which means “𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵!” This is not a consoling pat on the back with a couple of encouraging words. It is so much more! Our Father wants to speak right into your inner man, into your heart, and equip you for adventures to come.

‘𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗯’ also means “𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.” Your LORD and King desires to enchant and delight your heart because of His overwhelming love for you. He has drawn you away into the wilderness, to a secret place where no one can disturb you, and is speaking right into your innermost being.

If you are in the wilderness, seek the LORD with all your heart and you will find Him. Allow Him to speak to your heart and encourage you with His magnificent love.

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.