“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34 NLT
I pray you have a beautiful day today. I pray that you find joy and contentment in little things; that your eyes and ears are open to the hidden delights and glimpses of His presence that He’s scattered about your path today. You may have to pause, breathe, and take a moment to look around, but those glimmers and treasures are there waiting for you. He loves you. You are precious. Peace be with you.
I’ve been thinking about blessings lately and the different forms it can take. This excerpt from Divine Appointments… talks about blessings and the different ways it might show up in our lives.
“Some blessings come after the hurt and wounds. The Divine often shows up in miraculous ways, turning devastation into glory, failure into victory, wounding into strength, and the impossible into something to be remembered in awe and reverence because there seemed to be no good ending, yet there was.
To live blessed, we need to be alert and seek it out. It won’t always show up immediately. Blessings may not be dressed up in blissful happiness and a cute outfit. Blessings may come dirty, scuffed up, straggling, and a bit off-kilter, but they will come. I have seen them come in both forms—equally holy, sacred, and consecrated. Blessed.
I want to live with an extravagant hope expecting blessing. I want to bloom where I am planted and thrive, no matter what it looks like. Holy, divine, sacred, and blissful happiness is all around, waiting with open arms for us to slow down and seek it. What is sought will be found.”
Psalm 62:1 NLT “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.”
I don’t know what’s weighing heavily on you tonight. But I do know what it’s like to wait on the Lord for answers, for victory, for healing. I know the weight of fear, uncertainty, and soul deep exhaustion.
And…
I know that He is the God of healing, hope, and victory. God of the impossible!
I want to remind you tonight that you are seen. He knows every detail of what happened, what is happening, what is coming, and He is right there in the midst of all of it, working things out for your good. So calm your mind and breathe. Rest your eyes on Him, talk to Him, and wait quietly for Him to redeem, heal, save, and overcome. He has healing in His wings and a plan to prosper you, not to harm you. Be still….
“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20 NLT
‘Tis the season for gratitude and being thankful. I admit that sometimes it is hard to count my blessings and be thankful in all things. Sometimes, it takes slowing myself down, breathing deeply, and just being for a bit.
Some things are so easy to be thankful and grateful for like, shelter, food, warmth, answered prayers, good friends, deep conversations, and beautiful nature.
Other things…not so much…like waiting for that prayer to be answered, waiting on a test result, the resolution of an argument, or losing a friendship.
In the moment, I can’t always find it in myself to be thankful and grateful, but I have found that some things I am able to be thankful for after the fact – for the lessons learned, the hindsight that allows that thing/situation to make sense, the wisdom to recognize that the friendship wasn’t healthy, and the understanding that God’s “no” was His divine wisdom and protection.
May we choose to take a few minutes each day to remind ourselves of His goodness and power, to see how He is working all things out for our good, and to bless us. He is the God of the impossible and He does hear our prayers. We can’t always understand His timing and that’s hard. But we know His character. He will never fail us. You are loved. Peace be with you.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 NIV
There are many competing voices clamoring for our attention. Trying to listen to them all is exhausting, confusing, and frustrating. It is easy to be caught up in trying to decipher truth, people-pleasing, and following the “correct” church or political leaders.
There are worldly voices that shout and demand but there are also Christian voices that confuse, lead astray, and exhaust the spirit, insisting you must “Do this!” “Do that!” “Pray this way!” “Follow this Bible reading formula!”
If we really listen to what Jesus is saying in this scripture, it isn’t condemning. His words aren’t angry, accusatory, or dividing. There isn’t a rote way of how things must be done and how we must act. He doesn’t endorse one Christian leader over another or one political party over another. He simply says to listen to HIS voice and follow HIM. Imitate Him.
In order to do this, we have to KNOW His voice. His. Not the loudest voice, the condemning voice, the voice that divides, the voice that appears to be strongest, or the voice that wounds others.
An easy way to know His voice is to ask Him to speak to you. Ask Him to drown out every other voice that seeks to confuse, disorient, and cause chaos. That isn’t His way. If a voice doesn’t align with God’s character and fruits of the Spirit, it likely isn’t His voice we are hearing.
This verse was comforting to me this morning. Jesus is giving us permission to simply be sheep that follow the voice of the Good Shepherd. The One who leads with kindness, compassion, and authority into green pastures, and along paths of righteousness where we rest and heal in His presence and invite others in to do the same. You are so loved. Peace be with you.
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10 NIV
May you seek Him today and rest in His gifts and blessings. All who seek Him will find Him. He’s right there, just waiting for you. You are loved. Peace be with you.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
As we head into the weekend, I pray that our lives reflect some of these good fruits, as we allow God to mold us, heal us, love us, and guide us. What a lovely way to be Jesus’ hands and feet to a world that is really hurting right now. I hope that we are the recipients of some of this fruit, too! You are deeply loved by God. Peace be with you!
Extravagant Hope 