Great is the Lord! Mighty in battle! the one who redeems, vindicates, loves, protects, upholds and fights for us! We can stand and He will bring about the impossible for His people! Glory to God on high, truly, there is no other God.
I can barely articulate anything except the intense gratitude to my God for bringing me through the wilderness, for breaking me, for watering the tares in my spirit so that they would grow up from the wheat and I could see them and cut them down. The work is by no means done, that would be an indicator of perfection, but I praise God that in His great mercy He would break me and bruise me, allure me into a place of wilderness, so that I may truly know His voice alone once more, the breath on His lips caressing my cheek, the touch of His hand, quietening my nervous busy-ness. To know the name that He whispers to me in the cool of the night, the dreams and desires unfulfilled and yet not unpromised. The hope of the truth of His word and the fruition once more of fruit and promise as He takes HIs precious time to re-instill within me the truth of abiding in the vine. Oh what a gracious God! Discipline is certainly not wasted on those unloved, for it takes time, patience, grace and mercy...but oh, to know how loved a daughter I am that God would take the time to stand with me in the furnace of circumstance, to hold me in the wilderness of depression and to walk with me as we both come out...me...leaning on my beloved.
To the Israelites, camping by a sea when their enemies were on the horizon seemed hopeless, terrifying, pointless, it made no sense and soon they cried out for their lives of slavery once more. Surely there was nothing else here for them? Surely this was the end of the road? The promises of God hollow and empty, God apparently silent and castrated of their power, sadistic and human natured after all. Dissapointed and scared they cry out for mercy and not only does God do the imposible and lead them in the one direction it is naturally impossible to go...through the very seas itself, but BEFORE then...
....before then, the cloud that directed them went behind them. God had their backs, was their rearguard. Protected and shielded them whilst He made the way clear. There is so much more in this that I leave the story in Exodus to speak to you directly but this I do know...
Whichever wilderness, whether the wilderness of apparent broken promise and hopelessness that traps and surrounds, or the wilderness of a broken life, stripped bare of everything and everyone, all vineyards stripped away, sitting naked, humbled and vulnerable....Whether you leave dramatically by a route that doesnt exist or barely standing, leaning with your full weight on your reinstated beloved who is strong enough...
You do come out of the wilderness....trust Him.
I can barely articulate anything except the intense gratitude to my God for bringing me through the wilderness, for breaking me, for watering the tares in my spirit so that they would grow up from the wheat and I could see them and cut them down. The work is by no means done, that would be an indicator of perfection, but I praise God that in His great mercy He would break me and bruise me, allure me into a place of wilderness, so that I may truly know His voice alone once more, the breath on His lips caressing my cheek, the touch of His hand, quietening my nervous busy-ness. To know the name that He whispers to me in the cool of the night, the dreams and desires unfulfilled and yet not unpromised. The hope of the truth of His word and the fruition once more of fruit and promise as He takes HIs precious time to re-instill within me the truth of abiding in the vine. Oh what a gracious God! Discipline is certainly not wasted on those unloved, for it takes time, patience, grace and mercy...but oh, to know how loved a daughter I am that God would take the time to stand with me in the furnace of circumstance, to hold me in the wilderness of depression and to walk with me as we both come out...me...leaning on my beloved.
To the Israelites, camping by a sea when their enemies were on the horizon seemed hopeless, terrifying, pointless, it made no sense and soon they cried out for their lives of slavery once more. Surely there was nothing else here for them? Surely this was the end of the road? The promises of God hollow and empty, God apparently silent and castrated of their power, sadistic and human natured after all. Dissapointed and scared they cry out for mercy and not only does God do the imposible and lead them in the one direction it is naturally impossible to go...through the very seas itself, but BEFORE then...
....before then, the cloud that directed them went behind them. God had their backs, was their rearguard. Protected and shielded them whilst He made the way clear. There is so much more in this that I leave the story in Exodus to speak to you directly but this I do know...
Whichever wilderness, whether the wilderness of apparent broken promise and hopelessness that traps and surrounds, or the wilderness of a broken life, stripped bare of everything and everyone, all vineyards stripped away, sitting naked, humbled and vulnerable....Whether you leave dramatically by a route that doesnt exist or barely standing, leaning with your full weight on your reinstated beloved who is strong enough...
You do come out of the wilderness....trust Him.
posted by Claire at 10:01 AM
1 Comments:
Hi. I'm a dork. No, not really. But I friended you on live journal and I am adding your blogspot to my link list on MY blogspot. So, I just wanted you to know.
I look forward to chatting with you. God bless you!
And hey, my mother is from Ispwich! My aunt and uncle just came over to visit us here in the states a week ago. So excited! So Hi! I'm Lori.
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