If there is anything that sustains a believer in the spiritual war that begins at birth and ends when we walk into the arms of Jesus it is the certain knowledge that God sees and knows us individually.
Today, as I drove to an office supply store to return a calculator, locked in traffic on a busy commercial road, a local pastor's voice cut into my consciousness. He was talking about getting the joy of the Lord. It is our strength, he reminded listeners. He suggested prayer and being in the Word as the conduit. He said God wants to show himself to those who seek Him. He quoted Ezra 8:22, "the hand of God is upon all them for good that seek him.(King James Version)" This is a verse I didn't remember hearing before. He also quoted my favorite verse: "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." (2 Chron. 16:9, NIV). This is when I burst into happy tears. I have been, for the last few days, seeking to turn over to the Lord a list of disappointments and worries that I have no control over. I have also been seeking to reclaim the sense that God is FOR me. That his favor goes before me, smoothing the rough places and flattening my foes. That His power is always at work in my behalf because I am His beloved. That He has a perfect plan for my life that Satan has no control over. That He sees and He cares. I knew he was using this man to place a slice of the divine into my car on a deadly dull errand in a monotonous daily location. In that moment, He diffused the boring with the supernatural and I could only cry in his presence. He was reminding me that He is the same personal God who has always walked before me and His glory is still, as it was for the Israelites fleeing Egypt, my everlasting rear guard.
On the way home from my errands, I pulled up to a light behind a compact car bearing the tag "Be Happe." I knew my Lord was, once again, hugging me to him tightly. He cares about whether or not we are happy. I don't care how many religious people tell you he doesn't. He loves us more tenderly than we love our own children. He is for every single one of us who will fervently seek Him, the same God that he was to Hagar in the desert. "Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink." (Genesis 21:19) He will open our eyes to the solutions we need, giving us divine wisdom as to which paths to take and providing for us in our own private "deserts."
All of these things mean the world to me. However, today I just feasted on the fact that He loved me enough to see past the millions and millions of people on earth and in heaven to a middle-aged lady wearing a polka-dot blouse she bought on ebay who was locked in traffic on Kingston Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee, and show her that He loves her and wants a relationship with her. He feels the same way about you! Ask Him to refresh your spirit with some reminder of His personal interest in you.
Today, as I drove to an office supply store to return a calculator, locked in traffic on a busy commercial road, a local pastor's voice cut into my consciousness. He was talking about getting the joy of the Lord. It is our strength, he reminded listeners. He suggested prayer and being in the Word as the conduit. He said God wants to show himself to those who seek Him. He quoted Ezra 8:22, "the hand of God is upon all them for good that seek him.(King James Version)" This is a verse I didn't remember hearing before. He also quoted my favorite verse: "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." (2 Chron. 16:9, NIV). This is when I burst into happy tears. I have been, for the last few days, seeking to turn over to the Lord a list of disappointments and worries that I have no control over. I have also been seeking to reclaim the sense that God is FOR me. That his favor goes before me, smoothing the rough places and flattening my foes. That His power is always at work in my behalf because I am His beloved. That He has a perfect plan for my life that Satan has no control over. That He sees and He cares. I knew he was using this man to place a slice of the divine into my car on a deadly dull errand in a monotonous daily location. In that moment, He diffused the boring with the supernatural and I could only cry in his presence. He was reminding me that He is the same personal God who has always walked before me and His glory is still, as it was for the Israelites fleeing Egypt, my everlasting rear guard.
On the way home from my errands, I pulled up to a light behind a compact car bearing the tag "Be Happe." I knew my Lord was, once again, hugging me to him tightly. He cares about whether or not we are happy. I don't care how many religious people tell you he doesn't. He loves us more tenderly than we love our own children. He is for every single one of us who will fervently seek Him, the same God that he was to Hagar in the desert. "Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink." (Genesis 21:19) He will open our eyes to the solutions we need, giving us divine wisdom as to which paths to take and providing for us in our own private "deserts."
All of these things mean the world to me. However, today I just feasted on the fact that He loved me enough to see past the millions and millions of people on earth and in heaven to a middle-aged lady wearing a polka-dot blouse she bought on ebay who was locked in traffic on Kingston Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee, and show her that He loves her and wants a relationship with her. He feels the same way about you! Ask Him to refresh your spirit with some reminder of His personal interest in you.
No comments:
Post a Comment