Moments of Quiet Truth

"I waited patiently for the Lord, (Psalm 40:1)      I t seems as though we are always waiting for something. And while we wait we are tempted to believe that life will be better on the other side of the fence, when we arrive at the point for which we are waiting.         But that's a lie . Life is always green right here and right now. As Ann Voskamp simply and yet, poignantly states, "God is always good, and we are always loved." The still waters and green pastures are here and now, because God is here and now. " As the deer pants for flowing streams,     so pants my soul for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.     when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night,    while they say to me all the day long,       "Where is your God?" These things I remember ,    as I pour out my soul:       how I w...

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases." Ps. 115:3       The Lord is growing me in my understanding of His sovereignty. He is God and I am not. Being God, He has the right to order the events of my life in accordance with His plan, not mine. I am to submit. He is powerful enough to order the events of my life for my good, He is good enough to want my good, and He is wise enough to know what that good is. My good, however, is never divorced from His glory because His glory is my good. "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Ps. 37:4 (If you delight yourself in the Lord, doesn't He become your desire?)      I recently ran up against a situation that I believed was for my good, but God steered me away from it. I wanted (still sometimes do) to cling to what I thought was good, partly because I feared the Lord could not do better for me. I was h...

     I started a study on the book of Job. The Lord has brought me through some pretty deep and scary waters of late and I needed to find hope in the midst of them. He gave me that word - hope - and has encouraged me with it since I passed through the torrent and came out on the other side.      Hope. It's not something one would expect to find very much of in a book like Job, but as I traced its footsteps though the Old Testament I was amazed at how often it showed up in that book.      I'm planning on placing my bare feet into each foot print and explore the topography surrounding the marks it made in the dirt of the book. I want to understand the context of this theme in one of the hardest books in the Old Testament to get a grasp of.      In conjunction with my reading of the book itself, I'm also working my way through "Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job" by Layton Talbert. It's been quite enlightening...

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!   Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,        who forgives all your iniquity,        who heals all your diseases,           who redeems your life from the pit,             who crowns your life with good, so that your strength is renewed like the eagle's. . . . The LORD is merciful and gracious,   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. . . . . He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth,   so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;        as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion on his children,   so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. ...

"If I call, will you come?    When I cry, do you hear?      I believe ev'ry tear is caught up by a faithful God.        So, I will cry until You come, cast my cares into Your arms.          I can't see past this storm, but I'm counting on a faithful God. Faithful God, You hold my life secure and all my days are Yours. I believe my God is like a fire defending me, faithfully. I believe You still heal, and demons still bow.   I'm convinced there is power in trusting in a faithful God.     So, I will praise 'til You appear, and set Your foot upon this shore,       And I declare that ev'ry foe is subject to my faithful God. Faithful God, You hold my life secure and all my days are Yours. I believe my God is like a fire defending me, faithfully. I'm Yours and You are mine, and I am Yours, I am Yours! And I know Your faithfulness, it will endure, it will endure! Faithful God,...

"f ear not, for I am with you;       be not dismayed, for I am your God;     I will strengthen you, I will help you,       I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."                                                  Is. 41:10      How do you respond when God hands you the unexpected, the complete surprise, the out-of-nowhere blessing? What do you do when God hands you something out of the ordinary and tells you to enjoy it? Where do you step when there is no clearly laid out road map? "Give us this day our daily bread." Matt. 6:11 Seek His daily sufficient grace (2 Cor. 12:9). Be content with hardship (2 Cor. 12:10), because nothing separates you from His all-powerful love (Rom. 8:37-39). Be still, rest and trust in Him (Ps. 46:10). Take God at His Word, believe Him and live for eternity as ...

S omething new has happened over the past few days.      For the first time, there is a settled sense of contentment being where I am right now with no strong desire to not be here. I am loving my church and putting down roots without the apprehension that they might have to be pulled up when I leave someday. I've been scared for a long while of becoming too attached to people here in Greenville. I told myself it was because I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life here and would most likely be leaving shortly (where to, I don't know). I told myself it would be easier to leave if I didn't get too close. I'm not afraid anymore.      The anxiety that accompanied the attempt to keep people at arm's length is gone (for the most part). The anxiety about what I'm supposed to be doing right now is gone.      The Lord has given me two part-time jobs, one of which starts next week and the other I've had for a few months. I'm supposed to be ...