There Is None Like You

In many areas of understanding, none so much as in our understanding of God, we bump up against a simplicity so profound that we must assign complexities to it to comprehend it at all. It is mindful of how we paste decals to a sliding glass door to keep from bumping our nose against it. ~Robert Brault

God is difficult to explain because no words are adequate. Yet in everything I see and do, He’s there. Maybe Mr. Brault’s explanation is the best. We try too hard to explain someone who, though complex, is easily understood—if we’d just open our hearts and minds.

Every night, as the sun begins to set and a cool breeze rustles through the trees, my husband, my son, and I take a walk around our property with our Australian shepherd in tow. God is everywhere we look, in every nuance, sound, and scent we experience. Yellow-and-white honeysuckles trailing on vines, baby birds in their nests crying for food, spring rabbits playing leapfrog with each other—all bear God’s handprint. A supernatural quality transcends our minds and envelopes our senses when we become submerged in nature.

“Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.  You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” Job 42:3b-5

On last week’s post, a comment was posted by Monica. The song by Casting Crowns, Praise You In This Storm, was a song she played repeatedly when her daughter passed away. I visited her blog and read her story, "Where is He in the Storm?" God’s grace and mercy shines through this young mother. Please take a moment to read her story and be blessed.

This was how she described her low point:

We were literally in debt, losing our home, our daughter passed away, our marriage was being hit, my relationship with my children was not what it used to be. I was in the midst of a STORM and I DID NOT KNOW WHEN IT WOULD END!! I went to GOD but did not hear Him nor see Him.

Monica lists four things God did to teach her and bring her out of the storm. I hope you’re as blessed by her story as I was.

My prayer for each of you today is that you pause to experience God in His creation and find peace often elusive elsewhere.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. ~C.S. Lewis

Prayer requests from previous weeks include:

·       Unemployment (Several people have requested prayer in this area.)

·       Home foreclosure

·       Health issues – Please pray specifically for healing, comfort, strength, and wisdom in treatment.

            Karen – leukemia
            Courtney – cancerous brain tumor (repeat MRI this month)

·       Difficult family situations including children

·       People seeking God’s will in particular decisions

Please leave your prayer requests in the comment section or email me with confidential requests. I love hearing from you!

Our song this week is "In the Garden (There is None Like You)," by Watermark.

Chasing Dreams

Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

Many times I’ve felt the Lord’s presence in my life, guiding me, and speaking to my heart about my decisions. Specific prayers have received specific answers. Usually, when I pray, wrestle with a problem, and then come to the end of myself and say, “What now, Lord?” He answers me the mightiest.

A friend commented this week, she believed it was the devil’s tool to crowd our mind. I couldn’t agree more. Recently I’ve begun to see the craziness in busyness. I’ve never been one to while away my time without guilt. The more productive I am, the better.  The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say my father wrote the verse that appears in Proverbs 6:10-11 and 24:33-34, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” When my father enjoys leisure time, he’s still doing something. He rests after he has exhausted himself with work or fun. He’s the only person I know who can accidentally take a 20-mile bike ride. But that’s a story for another day.

Each day is a gift—not to be wasted in worry, regrets, grudges, past grievances, or score-settling. You can do nothing to change the past and tomorrow isn’t promised. The time you’re in right now—the present—is the only thing truly tangible.

Apple founder, Steve Jobs, died yesterday. He will go down in history as a giant in the technological  age of the 20^th and 21^st century. Among his many quotes was one from a speech he gave six years ago during his battle with pancreatic cancer. That death would come sooner rather than later was an understatement. He lasted longer than most with this diagnosis.

“Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”

Jobs’ statement strips away the pretenses we all live under. While the proverb above cautions against laziness, there is also the extreme of overwork while chasing dreams, fulfilling goals, and trying to please everyone around you. Somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, you’ll find yourself—the one God envisioned when He created you.

And in the quest to find the point of balance, take inventory. When was the last time you listened for a response from God when you prayed? Or sought God’s plan for your life? Or willingly laid your own plans aside for His?

“Here am I, send me,” Isaiah boldly proclaimed.

Prayer: God of the universe, grant me grace when I stumble, contentment when I desire more, clarity amidst chaos, hope during despair, and wisdom to seek the path You have designed for me.