Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls ….Psalm 42:7
A friend recently thanked me for sharing Psalm 42 with him during a particularly difficult time in his life. He told me that, although he wasn’t sure of the exact theological meaning of the psalm’s seventh verse, he had come to believe that no matter how deep his personal abyss of pain or need that God’s presence could and would entirely fill it. That sounded pretty profound, and it got me thinking about how shallow my grasp of God really is. How many areas of my life have I closed off to His influence and to a deeper filling of His Holy Spirit? How much, or how little, room have I made for God in my life?
In Jeremiah 23:24, the Lord declares, “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” and in Ephesians 1:23, Paul writes about “the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.” It is the picture of total satisfaction. No matter the size, shape, or depth of the container, God fills it in every way. Feeling lonely? Our God will...
[Read more]From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. Romans 1:20a
God has gifted us with five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Miraculous avenues through which the Spirit enters the physical world of our lives and brings brief glimpses of what we are unable to ascertain in our present tents of flesh.
Rolling mountains poking their heads out of foggy valleys. Haunting mandolin melodies that pull on the strings of our souls. Steamy, moist scents of afternoon rains. Sweet, ripe blueberries warmed by the sun and popped into eager mouths. Gentle caresses from rough, calloused hands at the end of a long weary day. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches that cause us to remember what we have not ever truly known yet in our hearts are homesick for.
Even the sour sensations of life make us long for the sweet and point to the day when we will finally have the veil lifted...
[Read more]How can we sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil? Psalm 137:4
When the psalmist wrote these words, he was with the exiled Israelites in a strange and hostile culture. In his grief, he had hung up his harp, sat down, and was weeping along the banks of the “rivers of Babylon.” In painful honesty, he cried out, “How can I sing, Lord?” Do you ever feel the same? Beaten down, oppressed, discouraged? I do, and let me tell you, the last thing I feel like doing is singing. But (and I bet you knew this was coming) when I do sing, I am amazed by what God can do with my broken heart. As I lift my voice, He lifts my head and gives me a new song to sing to Him (Ps. 33:3), one that isn’t dependent on my circumstances but rather comes from deep within.
An awesome example of choosing to sing despite the circumstances is found in Acts 16. Paul and Silas had been severely flogged and thrown into prison. Their jailor “put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks” to make certain they would...
[Read more]Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Psalm 42:5
Christians should always be happy people, right? Purpose driven. Content in all situations. Fulfilled. Filled to overflowing, in fact. After all, we have been redeemed. Bought at a precious price. And that should be enough—it is enough, right? Yes. But today it just doesn’t feel that way.
Forgive me, Lord! I know that You are enough. You are more than enough, in fact. You are the One who fills all things (Eph. 4:10). But I am starving here, Lord. Deep in my heart there is a longing that will not be satisfied. And because that hole is there, there is often doubt and depression. I must not be living right. Search me, God. Like tiny brown worm holes on the shiny polished skin of an apple, pinpricks of discontent give way to the longing deep in the core of my heart. Show me if there is any wicked way in me (Ps. 139:24). Common wisdom, often like that of Job’s well-meaning friends, holds that there must be sin causing this...
[Read more]The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation. Psalm 33:11
For four days we walked the same path to the beach, crossed over the gray, wooden bridge that spanned the berm, and trudged through the sand to place our chairs in the least crowded spot to enjoy the surf and the wonderful sea breeze. Four days walking past the same sign at the edge of the beach without ever taking the time to read its warning. But for some reason, on Day 4, I paused, probably to adjust my load or to get a sandspur out of my flip flop, but I stopped and read: “Extreme currents and shifting sands. Swim at your own risk.”
“Oh boy! I couldn’t agree more,” I thought as I huffed and puffed through the sandy mounds to where my family had already staked our claim for the day. But, once settled in my chair with a good book, I couldn’t shake the double message of that sign and the way it perfectly expressed my recent feelings toward life. So much change—so little stability. And so much...
[Read more]But the land you are entering to possess is a land of mountains and valleys, watered by rain from the sky. It is a land the Lord your God cares for.” Deut 11:11-12
Bet the Israelites were none too happy to get this news! After 40 years in the wilderness, they were probably looking forward to the ease and stability of a tame, irrigated vegetable garden like they had had in Egypt. Sure, there had been that whole slavery thing, but they had always had plenty of good food to eat, and whenever the ground got a little dry, they could open up the old irrigation system and set things right.
The Promised Land that God was leading them to was nothing like the tame, predictable gardens on the flat land along the Nile. This land was full of mountains and valleys. There were tough uphill battles to fight, and the low shadowy valleys, although fertile and rich, looked dark and uncertain. And there would be no irrigation system to depend upon. This land drank “rain from the sky.” They would be totally...
[Read more]A man’s steps are determined by the Lord,so how can anyone understand his own way? Prov. 20:24
I just returned from a week at a Christian writers conference. Writers, publishers, and editors from all across the country gathered in a mountain retreat to learn, to teach, and to enjoy each others’ company. Some brought completed manuscripts and book proposals to “pitch.” Some came looking for their next projects. And some came simply to discover if they were even writers at all.
For an introvert like me, the process was overwhelming. Everywhere I turned, people were talking about their dreams and ideas and asking me about mine. Even when I sat at the most isolated table in the farthest corner of the cafeteria, someone would feel compelled to join me and ask, “What do you write?” I met novelists, journalists, poets, and essayists, Bible study writers, writers of children’s books, and several who have not yet written anything outside of their own private journals. Each one had a dream to write something...
[Read more]“Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:12
It starts when we are very young. Someone, probably a mother or father, hears a young child plink plinking on the keys of a piano and decides it is time for him to take piano lessons. Before he knows what’s hit him, his newfound delight in music becomes homework. His passion is smothered in scales and thirty minutes of practice each day. His joy morphs into a world of rules and theory and hard work, and he nearly forgets what made him want to touch the keys in the first place. But, every now and then, he hears a new song that pulls at his heart … or his parents insist that he keep practicing … or his teacher stamps a star on his music book … and he keeps plodding on. Some children get their own way and quit altogether. Some gain a rudimentary knowledge and become able to plunk through their assignments with emotionless resolve. But, some, those who find the music worth the effort, develop the ability to make a...
[Read more]“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling man.” Hebrews 12:16
Crash! In one blinding instant, lightening struck a tree about 50 feet from our house. Peeling bark as it went, the bolt leapt from the tree to the fence post, splitting it into pieces, and then ran along the barbed wire at the bottom sending metal flying like shrapnel. At the gate post, the current dove into the ground finding the wire to our old, long-forgotten, electric dog fence. It followed that wire straight into the house, exploding the control box and frying the outlet, the security system, my laptop and printer, our garage door opener, and the light bulbs in the eaves. Naturally, at that moment, we didn’t know what had hit us. However, after careful inspection, we were able to recreate the scenario I just recounted and realized with dismay that if we had just gotten rid of that old, unused dog fence, we may have escaped with no more damage...
[Read more]“King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David. … Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.” 2 Samuel 5:11-12
If you were asked to describe yourself to someone who knows nothing about you, where would you begin? You may decide to use words that detail your relationships with others such as daughter, brother, husband, friend, or Christian, or you may choose words that tell what you do: artist, engineer, student, writer, or athlete. Both are good choices as they provide your new acquaintance with two aspects of what makes you you. But, how would you choose which titles to use? Obviously, you would try to pick those which are most accurate and would be easily recognized as true by those who know you best. For instance, if you never sing anywhere except in your shower, you probably would not choose to introduce yourself as a singer. However, if you serve on your church’s praise team or are the lead singer in a band,...
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