We run full tilt from sun up to sun down, always pushing to accomplish more and more within each 24 hour period of time. We fill our days with appointments and projects, finding ourselves spent and worn. We often come to the end of the day only to find our to-do list longer for tomorrow than where we started today and often, at the start of the new day we wake feeling far less than our best. If only we paused long enough to remember the source of true rest that has been promised when we come to Him with our never ending list of tasks and allow Him to give us rest.

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. ” Matthew 11:28

In His rest we find strength, renewal of spirit and a fresh outlook to guide us as we seek to accomplish the tasks of each new day.

In the quiet of the morning, just before the dawn. I sit and hear you whisper words my soul longs to hear. The day is barely waking, as your words I gently hear, giving peace in the moment with new strength for the day. Outside the sounds of life are stirring as the birds greet the day, another day is dawning with a sense of new wonder, yet to be revealed. The anticipation of the new day, all fresh in what might be; another chance to write the story as it was meant to be.

“Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning: for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk: for I lift up my soul into thee.”

Psalm 143:8

“They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. ” Lamentations 3:23

The way ahead can be unclear, the moments all a blur. The days become weeks in time, as months unfold to years. I often feel as if I’m standing still, as tomorrow becomes a fleeting memory of yesterday. Who I am becomes who I was, till I no longer recognize the me I am today. Each person I have met, each moment I have shared, becomes a part of who I will become as tomorrow is revealed. The dreams I held so close, the goals I tried to reach; they seem to become a reality when I found myself the avenue by which others achieve the vision that they seek!!

We often find ourselves experiencing moments that leave us unable to see a way beyond our current circumstances. The heaviness of it all causes us to stumble beneath the weight.

As Jesus faced the cross He fell upon His knees in utter agony, knowing what He was about to endure. He knew the suffering that He would face and He bowed beneath the weight of fear that beset His fleshly body. He cried out to the Father seeking release from what lay ahead, yet He did not find what He sought. “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” Matthew 26:42

As He faced the cross before Him, we see the example of accepting God’s plan even when we do not see the way.

“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;” Hebrews 5:8

Christ took upon Himself our sin, knowing what that meant for Him. He saw the agony ahead and still He remained faithful to what God had called Him to do. We do not possess the knowledge of the future, but we do possess the knowledge of who holds our future. By the things Christ suffered we have assurance in tomorrow. In this knowledge we are to remain faithful as He calls us to follow paths we do not understand.

“And I will bring the blind by the way that he knew not, I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them and not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16

With each new year we often pause to reflect on our accomplishments from the previous year, sometimes we feel a sense of pride for having reached a set of goals we established for ourselves. Possibly our sense of pride comes in knowing that we had the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those we met along the way; however, we often look back with feelings of inadequacy as we ponder days that became weeks and weeks that became months without any real monumental moment that held true eternal value.

The wonderful thing about starting a new year is not that we get to look back with mournful regret, but that within the scope of internally examining our heart within the lens of the new year we have the opportunity to look forward with a clearer understanding of purpose. We have the opportunity to live the new year before us “for His purpose“, so that when this new year becomes a closed chapter we can look back knowing our lives held meaning, the days that became weeks were filled with moments that made an eternal difference. “For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.” Romans 9:17 Just as God had a purpose for Moses’s life, He has a purpose for our lives.  He will raise us up and fill us with His power so that we can declare His name to those we meet along the way, in this way we can live our lives “for His purpose“.

God has placed us in this moment in time to fulfill that for which He has called us to do. Even within the life of Saul who we know as Paul, God brought him to the end of one chapter so that he might fulfill the purpose God had planned for his life all along. “But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;” Acts 26:16. We do not come to be who we are, living where we live as a surprise element within God’s universe. He has a planned purpose for each of us knowing exactly where we will be at any given moment in time, but it’s up to us to trust in Him so that we might live “for His purpose“. It becomes our choice to chose His purpose for our lives. “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. Ephesians 1:11-12

I want to purpose in my heart to live “for His purpose” in 2019, I want to trust Him to fulfill that for which He hath purposed within me.

“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto him.” Psalms 95:2

I stand amazed in wonder at the thought of spending “moments in His presence”. I pause in the stillness of the morning’s light and breathe in the essence of my Creator in the splendid colors, smells and sounds of His creation. Yet, I simply can not grasp how or more importantly why, the Master of the Universe allows me to come into His presence.

“Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his presence.” I Chronicles 16:27

“Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

As I ponder my ability to come into His presence while on Earth, I can not help but wonder how it will be in that moment when I come before His presence with my last breath.

I stand in awe of what the will be like, not having words or bounds of imagination to even comprehend the magnitude of that moment!!

So for today, I humbly come into His presence with reverent stillness of heart and soul, breathing in the sacredness that can only be found in His presence.

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that yes might be filled with all the fullness of God" Ephesians 3:27-19

In a world filled with so much hate it becomes even more difficult to truly comprehend the love of Christ, as the ever increasing need of this understanding grows exponentially the problem exists within the heart, the writer tells us in this Ephesians passage, "to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" . . . The love of Christ is beyond the realm of knowledge, it's not something you can study in a book or learn from the wealth of knowledge that exists in libraries and universities. The love of Christ is a matter of the heart !!!! Until we see Christ as He truly is with our heart, until we spend time in His presence pouring out our heart before Him, seeking to understand His heart. . . Until then we will never understand the breadth, length, depth nor height of Christ's love for us and the world around us; and until that moment, we will not be filled with the fullness of God in our lives.

We look at the world around us in puzzled bewilderment wondering what has happened to create this insane movement of hate and destruction . . . It's a matter of the heart . . . They do not know the love of Christ!!!!!! Until we show them who Christ really us, until they experience that life changing moment in time when He gives them a new heart, hate will continue to grow !!!! They need a new heart . . .

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and he shall keep my judgements, and do them. Ezekiel 36:26-27

To Know the Love of Christ . . . Starts in the heart !!!!! We have a mission and it starts in our hearts !!!

We live in a world filled with so much, yet there is the continual search for meaning.  So many continually striving to accomplish more, achieve more, acquire more . . . still at the end of the day they find themselves empty. Just like Naomi who said,”I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty” (Ruth 1:21a), we find ourselves in pursuit of so many things only to find them meaningless. The devil goes about trying to fill our lives with so many things, so many diversions that rob us of what is real; yet the only true meaning in life can be found in the one who gives life. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

To have life more abundantly we need to focus on what we are seeking after  . . .In the stillness of the night when we come to the end of our day and we feel that overwhelming sense of emptiness, the Lord is ever present  . . . longing for us to reach out to him . . . longing for us to seek his face among the chaos of life  . . . “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face: my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord will I seek.“ Psalm 27:8

Aa we we turn to seek him, he has promised that we will find him. “But if from thense thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” Deuteronomy 4;29 He has also promised that he will never forsake us if we seek to find him. “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Psalm 9:10

So in the moments when we come to the end of who we are and all the failures of what we had hoped to accomplish, we will find him and the strength that comes from him alone.  “Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.” Psalm 105:4

In reflection, I smile as I am reminded that not only will he be there, not only will he never forsake me, not only will he give me strength . . . .  but when I seek him waiting for him, he will be “good” unto me. “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. ” Lamentations 3:25 Even though I deserve nothing but his condemnation, he has promised so much to me . . . “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men.” Psalm 31:19  . . . . and so I will glory in his name, I will rejoice in him as I seek his face . . . “Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.” I Chronicles 16: 10-11

Thy face Lord will I seek . . .

When I feel small and when I feel the day ahead is just too big for me to handle. When I feel week . . . Jesus speaks to my heart.

” And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. ” 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

When I am weak, He is my strength. When the way is unclear He is my clarity. When I’m not sure how to move forward, He is my guide. When I am alone, He is with me. When the way ahead is overwhelming, He is there to give me peace. When I am weak, He is my strength. 

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea , and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. “…I Corinthians 1: 27-31

Though I am not mighty, though I am weak, He is mighty . . . He is my strength 🙂