Claire's Prayer

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!

“𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔.” (Rom 5:19)

This scripture blows me away for two reasons – I thought about Adam and Eve, if they had not eaten that apple this world would be full of righteous people. No sinners at all! Wow! Think about that for a moment!

As I thought about Eve and her disobedience, I thought; “I’m sure that someone further down the line would have been disobedient and eaten of the fruit, if not Eve then her great-great-granddaughter!” And the LORD said to me; “𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧!” Ouch! I am the first one to boast about breaking a rule. Especially if it doesn’t make sense to me. I would have broken that command. The Father told Adam that he would die if he ate the fruit in the middle of the garden but Satan, in all his manipulative power, told Eve that the fruit would make her wiser, smarter, more intelligent. That certainly sounds like a good thing! Surely God’s command wasn’t logical?

Well, it wasn’t to Eve and so she ate, as did Adam, and as a result we are all sinners. Were they smarter and wiser? Perhaps, they knew the difference between good and evil but from that very moment they began to die!

More mind blowing than this is the statement; “𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔!” Because of Jesus’ total obedience in the face of so much pain and heartbreak, we are made righteous!

The very thought that being totally obedient, absolutely surrendered, can change the face of history. Amazing!

Are there areas in your life where the LORD is calling you to step out in obedience? Even when it doesn’t seem logical. Step out! It could change the course of history.

At the beginning of chapter 2 in Nehemiah, great care was taken to record the specific date that certain events took place. Often, I skip over these small facts and move quickly on to the next verse, but this time I took a closer look. “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒏, 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒙𝒆𝒓𝒙𝒆𝒔…”

The month of Nisan, or ‘the month of flowers’, or the first month of the Jewish year in which Passover occurred. Today the Assyrians call it ‘the month of happiness.’ It was the day when all creation began, the day when the Great I Am spoke heaven and earth into existence. It was the month when the Israelites crossed the river Jordan and when God split the sea so that His chosen ones could escape. It was also the month in which Jerusalem would be rebuilt.

100 years before King Artaxerxes gave the command to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, a prophet named Daniel gave this decree; “𝑲𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑱𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒚-𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔.”  (Daniel 1:25) Daniel proclaimed that in 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟯,𝟴𝟴𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 from that very date, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Christ, would be presented to all of Israel! Quite a bold prophesy to give, right down to the very day!

Fast forward 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟯,𝟴𝟴𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 to another Passover, another beautiful spring day in the month of Nisan. We see Jesus, riding a colt into Jerusalem. It was a day unlike any other, a day when multitudes laid branches on the road before the Messiah and shouted, “𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥.”  𝟭𝟳𝟯,𝟴𝟴𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆! The triumphal entry of Christ!

What a mystery – this tiny little verse that contained so much meaning, how intricate the plan of God! Sometimes I stand amazed at those little details, everything thought out so beautifully, that marvelous plan for our complete redemption. Certainly a – “𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕠 𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕫𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕤𝕠 𝕕𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕖, 𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕞𝕪 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝, 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖, 𝕞𝕪 𝕒𝕝𝕝.”

The incredible selflessness of our Savior is completely overwhelming, drawing us to a place where we contemplate His remarkable character, His kindness, His goodness, His faithfulness! My thoughts have been on John 17, that extraordinary moment where Jesus prayed for His disciples. Verses 11-13 say this; “𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.”

At a time when you would most expect Jesus to be thinking of himself. He wasn’t. When our Redeemer’s darkest hour was upon Him, facing a brutal death on a cross, you really would think His cries to the Father would, understandably, be selfish. They weren’t. His thoughts and prayers were for His friends, His disciples, for you and me! Astounding. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀!

What was it that Jesus prayed for those He loved so much? He prayed that the Holy Father would protect them by the mighty and awesome power of His name – just as Jesus had protected them. He prayed that they would be one just as the Father and Son are one with the Holy Spirit. And He prayed that they would have the full measure of Jesus’ joy within them! The full measure of Jesus’ joy!

Our Savior, our Glorious LORD, wants joy fulfilled in your life, his desire is to multiply your joy – not subtract it. He wants you to have joy, and joy abundantly, so much so that this He prayed for you! My prayer is that you would have that full measure of Jesus joy, that calm delight, and abundant rejoicing that characterizes our Savior! 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀!

From the very beginning of our lives, we are taught to be proud! Be a go-getter, achieve perfection, climb the ladder, or be an assertive self-starter. Hustle goes with the bustle and busyness, and we become performance driven in all aspects of our life! When told to be humble, we say, “𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁!” Almost as if it is another achievement or notch on our belt of success!

Frederick Meyer gave this thought-provoking quote; “𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴; 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 – 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘬 … 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴; 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.”

 I must confess that many a time I have been gratified by my own independence, self-determination, and self-reliance – not seeing their root in pride!

In 1 Peter 5 we are told; “𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 “𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆.”  Clothe yourself! Dress yourself in a garment of humility much like Jesus, the King of Kings and LORD of Lords did. As Jesus prepared to wash the feet of those He taught He; “𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒍, 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒕.” (John 13:4) That towel our Savior wrapped around Himself was the white scarf or apron of a bondservant! Jesus was more than prepared to be identified with those who selflessly serve, to be associated with a bondservant who would quietly merge into the background at any King’s feast!  Did you notice that He didn’t tell everyone that He was dressing in the clothing of a servant, He just did it.  True humility!

Who was this message to? All of us! “𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.” If we will submit to one another, take on the garment of a bondservant, be prepared to merge into the background, and carry out the lowest of tasks, our Wonderful Father will lift us up in due time, at that appointed season, and in His timing!

Isn’t it wonderful that the Word of God does not change during times of crisis? Our LORD and Savior is faithful, He never changes, He is constant, and we can have the assurance that He is the solid rock on which we stand. John 10:10 tells us; “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚; 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚.” Jesus came to give you life and life abundantly! This abundant life is certainly not about more stuff, attention, power, or money – Jesus wants to give you so much more!

Abundant life in Christ is the surety of our salvation, freedom from death, freedom from fear, freedom from prejudice, freedom from the one who would whisper in your ear and steal your joy. It is beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, it is love, joy, and peace – oodles of it! Patience. Kindness and gentleness in profusion. All the time. Not only when things are going well. In abundance.

The Greek word for abundance is ‘perrissos,’ meaning exceeding, over and above, more than is necessary, extraordinary, surpassing, more remarkable and more excellent. Our Mighty God wants you to live a remarkable and excellent life! He wants to give you an extraordinary life that surpasses all your expectations! Doesn’t His Word say; “𝑵𝒐 𝒆𝒚𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏, 𝒏𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝑯𝒊𝒎.”

For a moment take a deeper look at that word for abundance; what you find will astound you! The root word for abundance is ‘piero’, meaning to pierce. Jesus, the Son of God, was pierced, repeatedly. Pierced as the whip bit into his flesh, pierced as nails were hammered into his beautiful feet and loving hands. Pierced as they stabbed that sword into His side. Jesus surpassed what was necessary, so that you could have life! 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲! 𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 stands out amongst the 187 times rejoice appears in the Bible: “𝑹𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔.”  Two words. That’s it! Two words that could potentially change your life. Two words that can cause hopelessness to flee and despair to dissipate. “𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚.”  Two more words with the ability to stand alone! “𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒎𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔; 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔.” This is God’s will for us: to rejoice, pray and give thanks. When? Always, continually, and in all circumstances!

When we begin to rejoice, pray, and give thanks, a snowball effect happens, and we find more and more to give thanks for. In fact, rejoicing will bubble up in your heart and begin to overflow! Trouble and mourning will flee! Everlasting joy will crown your head. Gladness and joy will literally overtake you!

The One we love the most, the One we long to be like, our Redeemer and King, rejoices too! Zephaniah 3:17 says, “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!” 

The Lord, your God, rejoices over you! Over you! Digging into the treasure of the Hebrew words reveals something amazing: our Mighty God will exult over you; He will spin around with joy because of you!

I know that I want to be more like Jesus, and I know you do, too! Each day, let’s wake up and say, “𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆; 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕!”

Rejoicing with you,

The LORD showed me a picture of a wounded warrior on the frontlines. This soldier was wounded, one arm hung down useless, broken. She was battered and weary, blood stains on her cheek. The LORD said to me, “𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦?”

I gulped when the LORD showed me this picture as I had never thought about it this way before. For me it has always been fight, fight, fight, and go, go, go. I needed a season of rest. My answer was, “Of course, LORD, bring her back to a safe place where she can be healed!”

I had a sense that the LORD was saying, “𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

For some of us, this is a season of saying ‘𝗡𝗼,’of strategic retreat, of allowing ourselves to stop and let our Abba Father minister to us. Time for an encounter with Him that will strengthen us, encourage us, heal us, and get us ready to go out into battle stronger than ever! 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺!

Have you heard of the British saying, “𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗳 𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗽?”   In other words – don’t show any emotion whatsoever, no matter what you may face, remain stoic and endure your circumstances in a circumspect manner!  Not an easy task, especially when you’re seven!  My Mum and Dad are both British and maintaining a stiff upper lip was important, in fact my Dad would go to church on a Sunday as it was good self-discipline! Looking back, I can see it was their way of handling living through the hard war days in which I grew up without totally falling apart.

In 1982 British Airways flight 009 was on its way to Jakarta when all four of its engines failed.  In true British fashion the Captain didn’t panic but made a short announcement while navigating the flight during life threatening circumstances.  This announcement was described as a ‘masterpiece of understatement!’  “𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴.”

I chuckled as I tried to read this in my best english accent and imagined the stiff upper lip of Captain Eric Moody.  How very British!  The stoic and calm nature of the captain enabled him to land this compromised flight successfully with no loss of life.

Growing up this way caused me to believe that our Abba Father was the same, stoic, intellectual with that stiff upper lip.  Does God really feel a wide range of emotions?  I love this passage in Judges 10:16; “𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒔𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒍.”  God could no longer endure the misery, he couldn’t bear it, grew tired, and was impatient.  His very soul was grieved.  No stiff upper lip here.  𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗱.

As I meditated on this scripture I realized just how much my sins, even the little ones, grieve the heart of God.  How my bad reactions to circumstances, and lack of obedience cause my Savior’s heart to ache.  𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧-𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚!  𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨. 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚.  𝙇𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙙.

The fact that my Abba Father is a God of emotions causes the little child within me to dance and rejoice, I pray that it does that for you too!

Sometimes I am so very clumsy, I can trip over my two left feet!  Recently as I was traveling through an airport, I literally stumbled about 20 times catching the toe of my trainer on the floor and tripping forward.  To say I was irritated with myself is an understatement.  How can one possibly trip over nothing!  Well, I certainly can!!  I didn’t fall on my face, but it was close.  𝗔 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹.

It reminded me of the story of the Mountain Pine Beetle, a teeny tiny beetle about the size of a grain of rice, that began to eat away at the beautiful pine trees in Colorado.  This tiny little black beetle could kill a massive pine tree in just a year which in turn would increase the incidences of wildfires.  𝗔 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲!

Song of Solomon 2:15 says; “𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒙𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔— 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒙𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔, 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒎!”  Little foxes.  They look so cute with their fluffy white tails but will destroy the vineyard digging up the roots and causing the vine to die.  When the writer tells us to ‘catch the foxes’ he means, Don’t delay! Do this now! Do this effectively!  Whatever is destroying your relationship with Jesus or with others, take a firm hold of it and stop it.

Little foxes like teeny beetles can look harmless but can-do great damage.  Those foxes of mistrust, pride, jealousy, unforgiveness, complaining, inattention to God’s Word or prayer will quickly devastate and eat away at the root of our lives.  Let’s be on our guard and catch those little foxes quickly and effectively before any damage is done!