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Nard

IMG_1801By Judy Villanueva

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could.”

I love words that make me smile and have some definite favorites!  “Nard”, for example.  Say it and see if you don’t smile!  Now I admit that it was this word that caught my attention today as I read Mark Chapter 14 but, as I slowed down my reading and drew near to the text, much more than an amusing word spoke to my heart.  “She has done a beautiful thing to me,”  I heard Jesus say as he chastised her critics and cherished the beautiful gift she gave him. “She did what she could.”  I tend to regard God as someone who doesn’t need my puny offerings but that notion is quickly corrected when I observe Jesus receiving and relishing the blessings of love —  like from the woman who gave one coin, the Centurion who offered great faith, or the woman who poured out a jar of nard to love Jesus.

Is it on your mind to love Jesus? 

This is the question that the woman with nard seems to ask me today.  The woman mentioned in this story planned to love her Lord.  She brought to Jesus the best that she had and poured it out over him.  Love filled her heart and she gave lavishly and extravagantly. “She did what she could.” 

Love does what it can!  It is active and thoughtful.

That Jesus finds our gifts of love beautiful is a wonder to me.  It makes me want to love God better and more and with all that I have.  How do you love Jesus?   I want to love God but sometimes find it difficult to locate my nard!  What is my best, most lavish gift?

I suspect that, like this woman,  I need my heart touched and filled up with Jesus. I need to hear His voice and receive His love.  I need to spend time in His presence, sit at His feet and look at His face.  I need to let him fill my heart until it bursts.

Then and only then can I love with my best because the love of Christ in us —IS the miracle — that makes us beautiful and fragrant offerings.  Nard!  (Did you just smile?)

“Father, help me to love you better and more and with all that I have. Thank you for your beautiful love.  Amen.”  

How about you?

Is it on your heart to love Jesus today?  

How do you love Jesus?  

Are you thoughtful and active in your love for God and others?

Have you received God’s love for you?  If so, dance in it!  If not, pray and open your arms to receive it.

Worship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lnUk074PiE

Jesus Wept

sunwheat

By Judy Villanueva

“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35)

I love that Jesus wept. Initially, I didn’t understand why Jesus wept for Lazarus when He must have known that He could raise Him from the dead!  Even if the Father had said “No” to that plan, Jesus, more than anyone, knew that Lazarus was in a better place. So, why did He weep? I mean, He didn’t just shed a tear and give Mary a hug…Jesus wept!

But, I love that Jesus wept because it tells me that our God is with us. Our – God – is – with – us! Jesus could have skimmed over that moment where death had stolen a dear friend’s life, but He didn’t. Yes, He was omniscient and yes, He was all-powerful!  But, knowing all and being ALL didn’t prevent Him from living that important moment with Mary and Martha in the fullest way.

He did not shy away from suffering a deep sorrow. He didn’t minimize it. He didn’t move ahead of it. He lived it with them and wept.

I love that Jesus wept because it reassures me that I am not alone in my suffering. My Savior, who knows what is working together for good, doesn’t ignore what is at present hurting, nor would He ever dream of having me endure it alone! He stays  with me and because of His amazing love, chooses again and again to weep when I weep.

“Thank you, Jesus, for being with me all the time and in everything. Thank you that I am never alone in my joys or sorrows. Thank you that, even though I forget you regularly, You cannot and would never  forget me. I love that you wept for Lazarus and I love that you laugh and weep with me. Amen.”

What about You?

Do you know that Jesus is with you all the time and in everything?

Is there a place of sorrow where you need to remember that you are not alone?

Whether you are experiencing joy or sorrow, share it with Jesus. He is with you and cares deeply for you.

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Take A Minute…

IMG_4517By Judy Villanueva

Psalm 18

“In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” (verse 6)

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. (verses 16-17) 

He brought me out into a spacious place;  he rescued me because he delighted in me.” (verse 19)

…you stoop down to make me great.  You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. (verses 35-36)

When I look out the big picture window in our home my eyes are immediately drawn to the peak that seems to stand watch over us. It’s irresistible!  I can’t help but look at it every day, several times a day because its face changes with the light and I don’t want to miss even one of its beautiful declarations!

“Look!” it beckons, morning, noon and night always inviting awe into the narrowed places of my heart and mind —the places that get small when I neglect to look at God.

Today, for the first time, I noticed a ridge I’d never seen before, a sheer rock wall that stands over a hundred feet high supporting an entire family of aspen trees.  The light, the time of year, and a moment that had my full attention gave way to an experience of God setting me in a spacious place where I could see more of His majesty!

Reading Psalm 18 today felt like standing before a spectacular mountain peak.  My inclination was to ascend up and over the 50 verses lickety-split but, I’ve learned that to hear God speak I must stand unhurried before His Word and listen as I read.  So, I took a deep breath and told myself to wake up and pay attention!

Pointing our attention at God, reading with patient expectation and noticing where we are drawn invites us to see things in Scripture we’ve never seen before.

Reading in this way becomes an experience of God speaking into our lives and, in that spacious place, we are known and loved and taught.

God hears my voice and my cries are before Him!  That my words are in God’s ears astounds me and offers me the great consolation that I am known.  He takes hold of me and draws me out of deep waters.  He sets me in a spacious place and delights in me.  The relief and gratitude that God rescues me is overwhelming but the notion that He delights in me practically knocks me out unconscious!  It’s news that is too good to be true and while I can’t quite touch it, it touches me deeply!

Most shocking is coming upon the words, “God stoops down to make me great”.

I’m not sure I can even put words to what exactly this speaks into my narrowed places but it undoes me!  It broadens the path beneath my feet, puts me in the arms of God and loves me to the core.

“Thank you, Father, for who you are always and for helping me see you a little better today. I see your great kindness in these verses and I am so grateful. There is none like you!  Amen.”

What about you?

How do you pause and point at God?  What helps you tune in to His voice?

Are you aware of the narrowed places of your soul?  Where you lack faith or a big enough vision of God?

How does it make you feel that God hears your voice?  That He delights in you?

I hope you’ll take time to pause and point your mind and heart at Psalm 18.  I pray you’ll see things about God that you’ve never seen before.

Worship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfvvEKMPGhA

In All Circumstances

IMG_1064By Judy Villanueva

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

What is God’s will for me?  This is likely a familiar question for many of us who read this verse.  In my work as a spiritual companion, I’ve sat with many people from age 9 to 90 who earnestly and sometimes, desperately, want to know God’s will — “Which, what and where, Lord?  Help me to find and follow You.”  It is an admirable thing to seek God’s will but in the absence of clarity, it can become an awkward burden that we are not meant to carry.  

We can’t always know God’s will but we can trust that there is power in living gratefully, a practice that places us in the middle of God’s will!

Two things come to mind as I consider Paul’s charge to give thanks in all circumstances.  First is the reality that some circumstances are painful, scary or sad.  How do we offer thanks for things that hurt?  Secondly, how is a grateful heart cultivated?  When life gets challenging how do I invite my soul to gratitude?  I’m learning that both require a broader and more beautiful vision of our “here and nows” and, ultimately, a more magnificent vision of God!

God wants to be our treasure!  As He becomes more and more that priceless pearl — hidden in our circumstances — and, as we stumble our way into His love each day, our vision of life and God expands!  Paul had come to understand that embedded in all of life is the potential to discover God as our treasure.

 Life is about life but it’s also, profoundly, about God becoming irresistible to us!  

Giving thanks in all circumstances affirms that God is good.  It is an act of obedience and a posture of bowing before His will.  It is a declaration that King Jesus rules — in ALL our “here and nows”!  It is a way that we offer our worship and demonstrate our love.  It is God’s will for us.

“Thank you, Father, for who you are, all the time. Thank you, yes, even for the suffering seasons that have helped me to find you, a priceless pearl and treasure.  Thank you for all the gifts of this life and for walking with me through all my circumstances.  Thank you for being faithful, trustworthy and full of love!  Amen.” 

What about you?

Do you struggle to know God’s will for you?

For what do you feel grateful today?

What do you do when it’s hard to give thanks in all circumstances?

Is God becoming your treasure?

Worship

I Can’t Know That!

evie copyBy Judy Villanueva

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?   Tell me, if you understand.  Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!  On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone?  Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place?  Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?  Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?  Tell me, if you know all this.” (Job 38:4-7, 12,15)

“How come you have five toes?  Why are your eyes blue?  Where do caterpillars come from?My 4 year old granddaughter and I were sitting crossed legged on the floor playing when I asked her these silly questions.  I suppose I was really teasing her but, without skipping a beat, she looked up at me and said, “Nana, I can’t know that.”    PAUSE     Do you ever have those times when God’s voice breaks into a moment?  This was one of those times, simple and unspectacular, but all of a sudden, HOLY.  Her words made me smile and invited me to a sweet peek at a child’s humility.  I could feel God pointing to her and saying,   “Judy, you can’t know what you can’t know, but you CAN rest because I know everything— all the time— perfectly!”

Questioning God, wondering if He’s watching, and even shaking a fist when life gets hard are all deeply human reactions to suffering.  It can feel contrary to the believer who wants to believe.  It can feel disloyal but if we’re honest, it’s just — part of being human.  Our perspective as finite creatures only allows us to see and understand from ground level.  When we are unable to make sense of pain or when  harsh realities slam into our lives it’s easy to become disoriented and disappointed with God.  We want to know why but we can’t know.  God described Job as blameless and upright so apparently Job wasn’t reaping what he had sown when he lost all that was good in his life.  What then?  WHY? 

After days of devastation, speculation, and accusation God answered Job with —  REVELATION!  

He didn’t explain the why of things to Job but instead summoned Job into His presence and, into the the sobering and awesome reality of the great I AM.   Where do we find the answers we crave when we have lost the ability to make sense of our lives?  Like Job,  we find them in the face of God— not in the WHY but in the WHO! 

God’s questions were REORIENTING to Job and each one declared a TRUTH bigger than  WHY.  

They revealed a cornerstone-laying, dawn-commanding, depth-of-the-sea walking God, whose very presence straightens us out and covers all our places of not-knowing with MIGHT AND MAJESTY — not to mention, a peace that passes all understanding. We cannot know what we cannot know, but we CAN trust God and fully lean on Who He is  —all the time.

“Thank you, Father, that WHO you are is a place of rest.  Help me find Your face when I’m lost or troubled.  Wrap me up in Your might and majesty.  I need Your peace that passes all understanding.  Amen.”

How about you?

Is your heart troubled?  Are you facing some harsh realities?

Have you ever felt disappointed with God?

How do you experience the face of God?  Have you bumped into His might and majesty lately?

Take time to know God.  Listen for His questions.  Watch for the ways He reveals Himself.   Rest in His love, might, and majesty.  “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me” !   (Psalm 139)

Worship

Dwelling

fullsizeoutput_331cBy Judy Villanueva                                                                                    Photo by Nicole Villanueva

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

Tax prep-check, load dishwasher-check, shop for dinner-check, doctor appointment-check. Wait.  The man in the hospital elevator wants to talk?  He’s rambling about politics and then mentions that he is worried about a blood clot in his leg. What?  I become aware that I’m trying to maneuver away from him and suddenly feel compelled to look at his face.  I finally see him!  He says he has multiple auto-immune diseases and talks casually as he lifts his pant leg to show me the area on his calf that is causing concern.  Something holy sweeps over my heart and I finally set aside my “to do” list and hear the Lord say to me, “Dwell, daughter.  Stop.  Linger.  Make a place for Me.”

My favorite definition of the word, dwell, is “to linger over”.  It implies an interested pause whereby we allow ourselves to be still and ponder.  The challenge of the daylight hours is that they are filled with enticements to occupy and preoccupy our minds, hearts, and hands.  Then, of course, there is the voice of our 21st century culture that isn’t bashful about imposing the notion that we are what we do so, DO…and then, do some more!

If we are not careful and prayerful, we will forget how to linger over life…how to pause at God’s urgings, join Him in loving and discover the Divine presence that lingers over us…all the time.

How do we make our lives a place for Jesus?  Where might we dwell to cultivate a Psalm 27:4 heart that yearns for only One thing?

My best guess is that any place can become holy if we’ll linger there and give God our attention.  What if we slowed down as we read the Word and let it become a place of gazing at God’s beauty rather than simply reading a text?  What if, instead of rushing through days, we endeavored to set a sane pace so that we’d notice God’s movements around us?

What if God really was our One desire?

I wish I could say that I knew just how to minister to the man I met in the elevator.  To be honest, by the time I realized I was on holy ground, we had reached the parking lot and the moment was slipping away.  But, in dwelling there for just those few minutes I could feel the weight of God’s love for him and the beauty of it splashed all over me!  It made me tearful and grateful and eager to tarry with Jesus so that next time —  I might see the man and  become a place for him to find Jesus.

“Thank you, Father, for inviting me to dwell with you in my life.  Help me to make my life a place for you.   Shape in me a heart that wants only One thing.  Amen.”

What about you?

How do you do at dwelling?  in a moment?  a passage of scripture?  at a sunset?  with a stranger or friend?

Can you feel God’s invitations to be still and ponder?

How is the pace of your life?  Does it allow you time to stop, linger and make a place for Jesus?

God has made a place for you.  Take a moment and dwell with Him.

Worship

God In Our Midst

DSC00479.JPGBy Judy Villanueva

Zephaniah 3:17                                                                                                                                                   The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

Psalm 73:26                                                                                                                                                            My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Sitting on the deck overlooking a vista that stretches out for miles, I found myself a witness to declarations of emerald green, sage and hints of autumn yellow.  In those spacious moments, with only the wind and a sweet black lab to keep me company, I felt the reality of God surround me.  He’s always there, I know, but I tend to get lost in the here and now of my life and, too often, lose hold of the Divine Presence that offers me its consolations of love every minute of every day.  With beauty His backdrop, the Eternal, Immortal, Invisible God interrupted my temporal reality and offered me a gift of peace.    Himself!

Have you ever noticed that life is always a blend of the temporal and eternal?  Our present, physical circumstances and the Kingdom of God in our midst! In other words, we live in two realities all the time.  One that we can see and touch, and the other —  Invisible.

Loved, watched over, purposed and protected  — always the Beautiful Reality next to us — even when we cannot see or feel it.

Stressors and joys, wins and losses, births and deaths happen in the context of God’s sovereignty.  That’s HUGE because the Reality that God holds all of life all the time wants to ignite faith, refresh hope and become a place of peace in our midst.

When trials come, it is easy to live disintegrated (pulled apart) and narrowed to experiencing life in the temporal.  Worry likes to pound its fist and insist we define reality strictly by what we can see and know.  But any perspective void of the God in our midst will confine the soul and cut off hope.

I want the Truth of God, wise and powerful, kind and good, “over, above, in and through,” to infuse my days with drips of eternity!

I want God to break in and declare that He is always with me and that my life isn’t just about my life.  It is about a victorious warrior who is building a Kingdom right in the middle of my “here and nows.”  God is in our midst.  He rejoices over us and surrounds our temporal realities with declarations of His presence, shouts of joy, and a gift of peace.

Himself!

“Thank you, Father, that you are the God in our midst!  Awaken me to this reality, and help me enter into your good company today.  For your exultations of joy and quiet love, that you rejoice and shout joy over me, thank you!  Amen.”

How about you?

How do you pull the reality of God into your day-to-day life?

Do you need to remember that God is with you?

Does “busy” keep you from noticing God in your midst?

When was the last time you felt the reality of God surround you?

Knowing God and spending time in His Word renews our minds, refreshes our faith and helps us experience His Heart.

Worship

 

Face To Face

poolspicBy Judy Villanueva

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

“Crinkle, crinkle yittle star, how I wonder what you are…” I sang gently alongside my little grand-daughter as I rocked her to sleep. Her head rested on my shoulder and before long, I could feel her go limp in my arms.  I placed her in the crib, prayed a quiet prayer and stood a minute watching her surrender to sleep. In those sweet moments, I felt God tap me on the shoulder and draw me into awareness that, much like this

He watches over me wherever I am in my life.  He sees me as I come and as I go.  He sings alongside my songs and delights in knowing and loving me.

He may feel distant at times, but I only need look up to find His face!  He is always there, His eyes awaiting my notice.

Seeking the face of God as we walk through our day invites us to notice where He is speaking, correcting, or guiding.  It may seem vague, but it really is as simple as  returning to awareness that God is here.   It is easy to live immersed in activities, mentally disconnected from God, but anytime we agree to slow down soul-space opens up, and the potential for face-time!  How do we look at Jesus?  There are many ways including prayer, spiritual reading, listening to worship music, meditating on the Word and learning how to experience God’s presence in the life around us.

We live fully known by God, but if we want to see His face and desire to have His heart  formed in us, we must engage with Him.

I am always intrigued by the moments in Scripture that mention eye-to-eye encounters with Jesus. Like Jairus, who upon receiving word of his daughter’s death, looks up to find Jesus’ eyes on him with a command, “Do not be afraid. Just believe.”   Can you imagine what Jairus was thinking, “What shall I believe?  My daughter has just died!”

Whatever it was that Jairus saw as he stood facing Jesus grabbed him from the midst of his despair, set him on his feet, and led him to a resurrection!

“Talitha Koum! Little girl, wake up!” And, she did! Is this what happens when we face Jesus?  Do we notice Him looking at us over what crowds our lives and into our broken hearts?  Are we helped to hear His voice that shouts hope to our despair?  Are we emboldened to follow Him to places where our lives are restored and where we feel His gentle tap that reminds us He is with us?

“Lord, I want to see Your face. I want to remember You and live in Your presence more today than yesterday. Help me to engage with you, to slow down enough to hear you calling to me over, what is sometimes, a crowded life.  Thank You for the taps on my shoulder and the reassurance that you are with me. Amen.”

What about you?

What would be like to live a day looking at Jesus? How might it affect your thoughts? Your choices?

Have you experienced the face of God?  The sense of Him seeing and knowing you?

Does the pace of your life allow for slowing down?  Can you see Jesus over what crowds around you each day?

What habits help you connect to God?

God loves you and knows you.  He is with you always.  Look up!

Worship

Poking Around

fullsizeoutput_32f8By Judy Villanueva

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. (Mark 7: 31-35)

My husband and I got stuck recently.  It reminded me of the definition of insanity,  when you try the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome.  In this case, we each tried again to explain our points of view and once again we ended up at a stalemate.  “Maybe if I say it this way or louder or, if I wave my arms and jump up and down?”  Nope.  It didn’t work.  We could not hear each other and were both left kind of sad and stuck with the unresolved matter between us.  Now what?  As I read the story of the deaf and mute man, I begged Jesus to place his hand on me and my dear husband, to open our ears and fill our mouths with grace.  

I’ve read this story many times over the years and am always amused at the way in which Jesus heals this man.  I smile every time I picture Jesus putting his fingers into the man’s ears and, get a little grossed out at the part when He spits and touches the man’s tongue!  As I meditate on this passage today and curiously ponder Jesus’ methods of healing, it occurs to me that this kind of touching is very intimate!  It’s NOT a hand on a shoulder or even an embrace. 

It’s a couple of fingers in a couple of ears!  It’s NOT holy water, but holy SPIT on a tongue!  It’s invasive and it startles me. 

This was not a “Go, your faith has healed you” moment but rather, an “I’m going to move in uncomfortably close and touch the places that are hurting you, that are closed  — or dead!”

Do I want my hearing restored enough to allow Jesus to invade my personal space?  Will I permit my Savior to poke around my soul  sufficiently to purify my heart and mind?   I desperately need to hear Jesus say, “Be opened!” to the closed and wounded places within me. 

Only He can help me hear with a freed soul and only He can loosen my tongue to speak with words of grace. 

No sooner had I begged Jesus for help than my husband walked over to where I was sitting and offered me his presence and a willingness to try again.  We did and, this time, we heard one another and felt the power of God’s deep sigh command us to be opened, “Ephaphatha!” Yes, the love of Christ is invasive and startling, confronting and healing,  patient and powerful — and always aimed at our freedom!

“Lord, I need your fingers in my ears and spit on my tongue!  Thank you for knowing me intimately and hearing my pleas for freedom.  Thank you for helping me to see, hear and speak.  Amen.”

What about you?

Do you need God to sigh and say over your life “Be opened”?  Do you have a sense of your need?

Are you aware of how or where your hearing might be blocked?

Can you hear God say “I love you”?   Can you hear his corrections, confrontations, or words of encouragement?

Are you willing to let Jesus move in uncomfortably close in order to touch the places in you that need healing?

Worship

 

Until It’s The Next Thing, It’s This Thing

DSC_0606By Judy Villanueva

I waited patiently for the Lord,
and He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
He brought me up from a desolate pit,
out of the muddy clay,
and set my feet on a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.  (Psalm 40:1-3)

“Are we almost there?  How much longer?”  Car rides to vacation destinations are fun until they become torturously long!  The stretch of highway with nothing around for miles and miles can feel unbearable and seems to capture what it feels like to not know what’s ahead or when we will  reach our destination.  Prolonged periods of waiting can be excruciating.  Worry may hover as we wait for a trial to end, a new job to be offered or a damaged relationship to heal.  It might be a pause that shakes us to the core as we wait for test results or, the sacred limbo that we experience as we wait for a birth or a death.  It seems we’ve been created with a longing for peaceful pastures.  We stretch and strain to get through our lives to the next place of settled peace.   Life can feel “on hold” until the next thing emerges and how we need God’s help to find Him in what feels like “in-between” spaces.

Like the elder son in the story of the prodigal, I approach God with my pleas and grievances when I am feeling desperate and tired or, when life doesn’t seem fair.  He says to me what he said to the elder son, “My son (daughter), you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”  What?  It almost feels like He’s doesn’t understand until I realize with searing awareness that even after all these years as a child of God, I’m still seeking what the Father might do for me rather than the treasure He always IS to me? Ouch!  In the clarity of the moment I confess that I want the peaceful pasture more than the good Shepherd. Lord, have mercy…

Present trials tend to unravel our peace and pull our vision away from the gift that is always in front of us, God himself.  Sadly, I usually exhaust myself with worry over unsettled places and live waiting for resolution and the next thing to arrive.  I’m slowly  learning to submit to the reality that until it’s the next thing, it’s this thing and that’s ok

Because, until it’s the next thing God is with me and is WHO I need in all my places.  He is my before, after and in-between!

So, it turns out that it is exactly in the space of straining toward the next thing that the ONE thing, the TRUE thing, the ONLY thing — The  FATHER — waits to satisfy the deepest longing of my soul.

And, it is in the waiting and the welcome of present things that I consent to being shaped and helped to want the One who wants me.

God wants to be our green pastures, our place of settled peace, our present and most precious Father, Friend and Lord — all the time and forever.

“Lord, I am so aware of my strong inclination to squirm out of present pain and waiting.  I don’t want to “get through” life — I want to find and feel You with me in all of it.  Amen.”

What about you?

Are you in a time of waiting or  suffering?

Do you find yourself resisting “this present thing” and straining toward the “next thing”?

Do you need help, like me, to trust God with present things?

 

Jesus is here.  Peace.  God is with you.

 

Worship