5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
7 My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
8 O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge.9 Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind,
and the powerful are not what they appear to be.
If you weigh them on the scales,
together they are lighter than a breath of air.
10 Don’t make your living by extortion
or put your hope in stealing.
And if your wealth increases,
don’t make it the center of your life.11 God has spoken plainly,
and I have heard it many times:
Power, O God, belongs to you;
12 unfailing love, O Lord, is yours.
Surely you repay all people
according to what they have done. ~ Psalm 62:5-12 (NIV)
The Holy Spirit spoke this to me and to share with you, God’s people~
I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Before time, I was,
and so were you with me;
All of you in my mind,
springing forth from my very heart
to choose you,
to create you,
for myself and out of love you were made.
And now, you sit here wondering what I require of you,
wanting to know the things for which I made you to do, to be, to see;
And it becomes about you;
a very slight turn in your thinking and suddenly, it’s about you!
No. Not for this, I say, but for better than this I made you!
To glorify my name in Heaven, and on Earth.
I made you to sing about me and to me, to dance with me,
to tell others how wonderful I am to you,
and how they can be as free as you, if they can only believe it!
So be free in me or no one will wonder why you are so free!
Be overjoyed in me or no one will question your mad love for me!
See me with your child eyes and dance your wild child dance to me,
especially when it doesn’t make sense!
That way, when you speak of me and say why you are so happy,
others will say, ” I want this too! Let me know Him and be this way!”
Whirling and twirling, laughing loud and hard, and embracing the world with an uncommon love!
This way, others will know you must belong to one greater than their problems;
the one who can save them from the fear and worry that consume them and cause them not to dance.
Hear this! I say, Go to others and talk about The Good Life!
Live in such a way that others will be drawn to my message and to me.
So be this.
Notice for us, there is no ‘doing’ in any of this, only ‘being’. Be free! Be overjoyed! God Himself is the one who is ‘doing’! In this way, He is glorified.
We humans are always wanting to DO something, aren’t we? (Refer to an earlier post, ‘Tempted to Fix It’ for more on that.) There is a dangerous cycle that takes over as we fall into a pattern of doing.
We are often tempted also to point to the ‘doing’ or ‘being’ of others, rather than pointing to the works of God. Looking too closely at others in this way causes us to be tempted to evaluate them, to critique and assess. Perhaps comparing the obvious weaknesses of others with our own shortcomings makes us feel better about ourselves temporarily. Careful here though. Suddenly, we are carried to the next step of critically judging others when they fall. Hey! Wait a minute! I’ve never done anything that bad! And as we lick our own wounds, we find it feels better to shift our gaze to the wounds of others.
We cry out for justice! We look around, even to our own brothers and sisters, those who are hurting, and we cry out in our flesh, “Justice!” Give them what they deserve! They have hurt someone! Worst of all, they have hurt a child! They have stolen! They have destroyed lives of innocent ones, even by accident, it does not matter; destruction cries out for destruction! Look what he did! How could she?
We cry with a loud voice, “They had it coming!” “She knew what she was doing!” “Too bad! That’s what you get!” “Look what he did to us! Surely he has to pay!”
Our cries for justice are met with answers from the Holy One.
He alone is worthy and He alone has provided the perfect justice that lasts.
His justice is perfect love; provided at the cross with the blood of the perfect sacrifice;
God’s only son, Jesus Christ, who did nothing to deserve what He endured.
His mercy and His grace answer for everything deserved and undeserved.
Mercy for what we deserve. Grace for what we do not.
Did Jesus look at his wounds and point to those who cried out for justice against him?
Well, yes. He did. And he said, Forgive them, Father. They don’t know what they are doing.
So, how can it be? God’s justice is love. What a relief. How good it is to receive this unconditional love! How much harder than we want to admit, so very hard it is, to give love this way. Without critique, without ulterior motive and with all compassion; No strings attached, but simply to be.
So our ‘To Do’ List is ‘To Be’~
Be kind. Be humble.
“The Lord has told you, human, what is good;
He has told you what He wants from you:
to do what is right to other people,
love being kind to others,
and live humbly, obeying your God.” ~Micah 6:8 (NCV)Just go be.
Love you and love this!
God knows how I love you too, my forever friend!
So thankful for that mercy and grace He has for me! Praise His Holy Name !
Yes! Grateful hearts bow down before Him. God bless you, Sister!
“This way, others will know you must belong to one greater than their problem.” Jill- We talked about this very thing with the young ladies yesterday 🙂 If we are the closest a friend ever comes to reading the Bible, would our friends know God a little better through our being? When asked how she shows love to others, a young one said “I STAY with them when they fall.” I loved this. If God stays with us through our “falls”, shouldn’t we, for each other?
Flower! I can never get over how amazing He really is! You are such a blessing to these young ones, Sara. I’m excited to see God growing this ministry and using you!
I definitely see all of this in you Jill, as I am sure everyone who meets you does too!
A miracle, for sure! Anything good is from Him! Thanks, Nicki.
Dearest Friend, I am reading this wanting to sob and jump up and down with joy at the same time. To sob for all the lost time of not understanding this. To sob for all the pain endured by multitudes unnecessarily because they didn’t understand this. But stronger than that, to jump and shout for JOY for the truth of it! The eyes and ears of our hearts are being opened in these days, and we are so blessed to be a part of it. And everyone who comes within your sphere of influence comes away as a person who has been touched by the love of God. The love of God flows through you Jill, and I am so honored to call you friend. Thank you as always for your generosity of sharing these remarkable and beautiful words. Love you!
Your heart for others has always blessed me. Thank you! Love being forever family with you!
Love being your sister! 🙂
Well, at least ever since I stopped trying to put my feet right into where you were stepping. 🙂