Deserts

You are the One; there's no one else
Who lifts me up
And gives me water from the well
But there's a hole
That seems to drain it all away
And once again I'm left in fear and doubt
When all my strength is crying out

So here I am again
Willing to be opened up and broken like a flower in the rain
Tell me what have I to do
To die and then be raised
To reach beyond the pain
Like a flower in the rain

The evil wind, it blows a storm
To rock my world
Just when I think I'm safe and warm
I'm led astray far too easily
It's always hard for me to say I'm wrong
Until I know I can't go on

Lord, You have searched me
And know when I sleep and when I rise
You're familiar with all my ways
Even the darkness will shine
Like the day
When you look into my heart
Flower in the Rain - Jaci Velasquez


So, I'm up later than I usually am. For some reason I can't sleep. I've been thinking about wildernesses and deserts that God leads us thru. I've discovered He takes us thru for different purposes, two of which are: He wants to bring us to a place we could never have gotten to on our own, and He wants to teach us things about ourself and Himself we could never have learned apart from going thru the desert. When we are in the middle of desert, very rarely can we see what the purpose is. It is only after we have reached the other side that we discover what God wanted to show us about Himself. God never wastes a desert experience. Our job is to learn what He wants to teach us.

Turn your eyes

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace. - Helen Lemmel

This is by far my favorite chorus. Ever since I was about 8 years old I have loved it. 
And everytime I sing it at church or any other place I get a warm feeling and it makes 
me happy.  

Fear

Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!" Matthew 14:28-33

Overcoming fear is like walking a tightrope or walking on water. If Jesus asks you to face a fear He is going to be there for you...He will be in front of you asking you to focus on Him and to not look down. Looking down and thinking about what we are doing instead of who Jesus is and what HE is doing only causes problems.

Jesus called Peter out of the boat while the wind was blowing hard and the waves were rocking the boat. And yet when Peter and Jesus got into the boat everything became calm. Jesus often calls us to face our fears when things seem the hardest, but He always will lead us to a place of peace. And He does it in a way that He gets the greatest amount of glory.

Is it time for you to get out of the boat? :)

Future Grace

"It is enough to know that I will receive grace. I will know the presence of the Spirit and I will die, or be rescued, in a way that pleases the Lord." - Ed Welch, Running Scared

One of the most transformational quotes of all time to my life. :) May I always live this way.

It was the joy of Jesus...

"Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

"What was that which made Jesus speak like this?—"For the joy that was set before him." Beloved, what was the joy? Oh, 'tis a thought must melt a rock, and make a heart of iron move; that the joy which was set before Jesus, was principally joy of saving you and me. I know it was the joy of fulfilling his Father's will—of sitting down on his Father's throne—of being made perfect through suffering; but still I know that this is the grand, great motive of the Saviour's suffering, the joy of saving us." - C.H. Spurgeon

I never really understood what brought Jesus joy in going to the cross, but this quote from Spurgeon makes it clear. Jesus died for us because it gave Him joy to save us. I don't know about you, but joy is the LAST thing I would be thinking about if I were asked to die for someone. My mind would be on the suffering and the pain. And yet, Jesus bore our sin because saving us made him happy. To know that Jesus saved me while I was still in sin is wonderful, but to know that it brought Him JOY to save me while I was still in sin is almost incomprehensible. We offend Him and He happily draws us to Himself. Wow. And this is MY God! :)

God is...

I just came across this blog. It is the story of the birth and short life of the daughter of one of the members of Selah. The entire blog is so good...but especially the April 6th post I have linked below. God really is Who He says He is...if only we will let Him be God. :)

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/2008/04/he.html

Do you ever...

wonder why you were made the way you were, blemishes and all? I was just thinking about that, and I believe that it is those blemishes that lead us closer to God. If life was wonderful all the time how would we ever grow? Why would we ever need God? He puts things in our lives that cause us to draw nearer to Him, and because the only way thru something is by God's grace it is He who gets the glory. Isn't that cool? I'm so glad life is not about me. :) I hate being the star of the show anyway, so it's good all around. :)

I was deceived...spring will never come. I guess I'm left to embrace winter. *sigh*