More than two years ago God called me out of a personal desert. It was a desert that had grown progressively darker during the five plus years I wandered its wilderness. It was filled with many snares and pits and occasional deceptive oases. By the time God called me out, I had descended into the most dismal pit of my life. I had often tried to scale its slippery slopes and found myself only sinking deeper and deeper into the mud and mire at its bottom.
It was there that my Faithful loving Father literally reached in and lifted me out. David described it perfectly in Psalm 40.
I waited patiently for the LORD:
he turned to me and heard my cry. (v.1)
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand. (v.2)
When He lifted me out, my spirit was dry - dehydrated from the desert. There was an extended period of simply resting in my Savior's arms. He washed me with the water of His Word. It soothed my wounds and healed my hurts. He fed me the Bread of Life. He let me drink deeply from His living water and it quenched the thirst that had been a constant for so many months. As a result of His tender care, my withered soul began to sprout fresh life and growth.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God. (v.3a)
My natural tendency is toward compulsiveness. I know this. And so - as God's restoration work progressed and I began to feel alive and vibrant once again my heart cry became Galatians 5:25. With all my heart I wanted to simply "keep in step" with His Spirit. I did not want my compulsive nature to lead me to run ahead of Him. Nor did I want my willfulness to lead me in a direction He was not leading. I wanted (and still DAILY want) to be in tandem yoke with the Spirit of God. Walking WHERE He leads - at His pace - in His cadence. He has heard the cry of my heart!
Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare. (v.5)
I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart. (v.8)
Last month when I was teaching on Zachariah and Elizabeth in Sunday School I was intrigued by the fact that Luke 1:6 referred to them as being UPRIGHT in the sight of God. When I researched the meaning of the Greek word translated "upright," I found that the definition meant "wholly committed to the will of God in their THINKING, FEELING, and ACTING." I later found scriptural references to Mary and to Joseph and to Simeon and to Anna that used the same (or a form of the same) Greek word to describe them.
My emphasis in Sunday School was to look at people in the nativity story and see how God prepared them for the coming of His Son into the world and relate that to how He wants us prepared for the coming of His Son into the daily "world" in which we live and function.
So, I repeat David's affirmation in v.8 and say:
I desire to do your will, O my God.
I want to be WHOLLY committed to it
in my THINKING
in my FEELING
and in my ACTING.
Your law is within my heart.
I have committed to paste more and more of it across the walls of my mind this year as I join with more than 2,000 other women from across this globe (on the LPM blog) to memorize the passages You quicken in my spirit and walk them out in my daily life.
I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD. (v.9)
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly. (v.10)
God called me out of the desert and into a life of purpose and freedom. When He called to Moses from a burning bush and told him he was being sent to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, Moses was hesitant and said to God, "Who am I that I should . . ."
God quickened "POSSESSION" in my heart when He spoke Deut. 11:11 as rhema for my first scripture memory this year. It's easy to hesitate like Moses did and say, "But, Lord, who am I that I should possess . . ." It's easy to look at the massive work that will be involved in scaling the mountains ahead in the land He wants me to possess. It's easy to see the vulnerability that will be experienced in the valleys ahead in the land He wants me to possess. It's easy to fear how wet my feet may get in that first step of faith into my Jordan. I'm finding myself questioning if I will cling to the security of my comfort zone - my little routine life. Or will I heed the deeper call to my spirit and step out to possess what He has for me?
Knowing He is with me to scale the mountains and wade through the valleys makes the difference. He has something for me to possess and I want it! I want anything He has for me! His Spirit has set me free and I want to walk in that freedom - with HIM!
1 comment:
Great post! What is God going to do in our lives in 2009? I wait in expectation as you do.
Love,
Kay
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