I am broken.  Sometimes I’m more aware of it than at other times, but I am broken nonetheless.  There was the time I broke my foot, the time I broke my wrist and was in a cast for what seemed such a long time.  Those injuries along with lots of others have healed over time although there is always the possibility of new injuries taking their place.  But living with broken bones is a piece of cake compared to living with a broken heart.

I wish I could protect my heart but I haven’t figured out how yet.  Even hard hearts shatter, breaking into a million pieces.  Only a loving Heavenly Father can restore such a heart.  But living in this broken, sinful world, it seems a broken heart is unavoidable.  So I am living my life with a broken heart.  Broken dreams, broken relationships, brokenness over my own sin and broken by the sin of others, I am walking wounded in this world.  Broken over love lost, broken by injustice, cruelty and the suffering that surrounds, broken by careless words and by my own inability to heal another’s pain; these  all ensure a constant state of brokenness from which I must live this life.

Jesus said it is the sick who need a doctor, sinners who need a Savior and that’s why He came (Mark 2:17).  Jesus came to enter into our brokenness and restore us, not so much physically, although He often did that, but to restore us spiritually. When I realize again just how broken I am, I don’t feel very beautiful or very valuable or very useful.  Then I have to learn all over again that it is precisely my brokenness that allows me to be used by Jesus for His purposes.

Our culture doesn’t value brokenness, but Jesus does.  “But He (the Lord) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ ” (2 Corinthians 12:9)  This means He can use me in my broken state, which is a good thing because that seems to be the only state I know and live in.

2 Corinthians 4:7 reminds me that ” . . . we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not  from us.”  (me)  This “treasure” of God’s Holy Spirit living in me (I am the jar of clay or the earthen vessel) is both light and life to me.  If I am broken His light can shine out through all my cracks and holes to reveal His love to others.

It’s like the battle Gideon and his men fought with only trumpets and clay jars with torches in them.  When the jars were broken, the light contained and hidden in each jar was suddenly revealed and God’s purposes for that battle were accomplished.  The usefulness of the jars was in their brokenness, not in their strength or in their wholeness.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.  . . . apart from Me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5)  But Jesus says if we remain in Him, He can use us, we will bear much fruit.  He also says, “On that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.”  (John 14:20)  Connection – that’s the key. Even as a broken branch, as long as I remain attached to the Vine, His light and life will flow through me, no matter how battered, how bruised or how broken I am.   That’s the beauty of a broken branch – Christ in me, my hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

If my heart holds God’s Holy Spirit, then my broken heart is necessary to let His light shine out through all the broken pieces that my Redeemer will one day put back together for good.  But for now broken is better.  Broken is beautiful.  Broken is what lets the light out instead of holding it in where no one can see it and benefit from it.  The beauty of a broken branch is that it can be used by God.

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why , for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

sincerely,          Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

I continue to be reminded that God leaves no doubt.  He left no doubt in His dealings with mankind in the past and He continues to leave no doubt today.  Two such instances I recently recounted in past posts, “while the world watched” (about the boys’ soccer team rescue from the cave) and “full circle-a glimpse beyond the glass” (which tells the story of a jacket’s travels orchestrated by God).

The common denominator in all the stories is God.  God eliminates all other possible explanations, leaving no doubt that it is His will prevailing and His power bringing the events to pass necessary to the accomplishing of His perfect will. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  (Proverbs 19:21)

God left no doubt that it was He who gave Abraham and Sarah their son, Isaac. What was remarkable about Isaac’s birth?  Pretty much everything!  Abraham and his wife, Sarah, though married for years, had no children.  Very unusual for that time and in that culture.  But Sarah was barren, unable to conceive and bear a child, a cause for shame and sorrow that she had lived with all her married years.  But now God was telling Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation, with descendants too numerous to count?  This couldn’t have made any sense to the childless Abraham.

But — “Abram (name hadn’t been changed yet) believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”  (Genesis 15:6)  Abraham believed God when God said to him, ” . . . a son coming from your own body will be your heir.   . . . Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.  . . . So shall your offspring be.”  (Genesis 15:4-5)  Now Genesis 18:11 tells us, “Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.”

In order for this promise to come true, Sarah, both barren and beyond her childbearing years, would have to conceive and bear a son.   It would require a miracle of God.  There was no other possible way this could happen.  Sure enough, Genesis 21:1-2 tells us, ” . . . and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.”  Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac was born and Sarah was ninety.  God left no doubt that Isaac, was the child of His promise to Abraham, the fulfillment of His covenant.

No less miraculous is the story of what happened to Daniel’s three friends when they were tried for treason by the king of Babylon and found guilty.  Their act of treason was refusing to bow down to and to worship an image of gold that the king had made.  Their punishment?  “But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.  Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”  (Daniel 3:15)  Well, the king was about to find out.

“He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual . . . The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers  who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.”  (Daniel 3:19-23)  But when the king saw the three of them walking around in the fire unbound and unharmed, and a fourth figure like a son of the gods walking with them, he ordered them to come out.

“So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and . . .  They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.”  (Daniel 3:26-27) I smell like wood smoke if I just roast marshmallows around a campfire and my clothes smell like smoke as well.  And I am just near the fire, not in it!  But these three men didn’t just barely escape with their lives — no they emerged from the furnace better off than they were when they entered into it.  They entered in firmly bound and they emerged fully free.  God does, “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,”  (Ephesians 3:20)

Yes, God left no doubt who delivered these three faithful men.  (a furnace seven times hotter than normal and the king’s own soldiers killed by its’ flames) And the king got the message.  “Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent His angel and rescued His servants!  . . .  for no other god can save in this way.’ ”  (Daniel 3:28-29)

David killing Goliath did not seem likely to happen given the circumstances; and yet it did happen.  Goliath was a Philistine champion over nine feet tall.  “He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels, (about 125 pounds) on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back.”  (1 Samuel 17:5-6)  There’s more, but you get the idea — this guy was one invincible, bad dude.

David on the other hand, was a young shepherd boy.  He was the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons, not old enough to join his brothers in Israel’s army and fight against the Philistines.  One day he was delivering grain, bread and cheese to his brothers at the battle front.  He heard how Goliath defied the armies of the living God and how they all were afraid to fight him.  So David determined to fight him. David declined to wear King Saul’s armor but “he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.”  (1 Samuel 17:40)

A small, unarmed shepherd boy against a large, fully outfitted for battle, trained fighting man?  We know what outcome we should reasonably expect.  BUT GOD . . . had other plans.  “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  . . . So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”  (1 Samuel 17:45,50)  God left no doubt.

God left no doubt that the battle was His and it was His purpose that prevailed. God was at work in the world then just as He is at work in the world today.  But, ” ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’  declares the Lord.”  (Isaiah 55:8)  God does things in His own way and in His perfect timing. As we have seen from these stories, God often uses the unlikely, the least likely, the unliked or the overlooked to accomplish His purposes. And His purposes are always good.

When we face overwhelming situations and circumstances, dear readers, we need not lose heart.  “Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’ ” (Luke 18:27)  We need to remember that.  With God, babies get born to barren women, battles are won against impossible odds, walls tumble down, waters part, hungry people get fed, fire doesn’t burn (the bush or the people), sick people get well, the lame walk, the blind see, the prisoners are set free, sins are forgiven, the temple curtain is torn in two and the dead are brought back to life!   Our God is the God of the impossible and He leaves no doubt!

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ‘I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.  Is anything too hard for Me?’ ”  (Jeremiah 32:26-27)

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men.”  (Psalm 107:21)

sincerely,        Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

my mountain turned into a molehill today

all because . . .

a friend showed up and walked my way

mercy was the miracle that shrunk my mountain’s size

when all I had was a mustard seed — a miracle before my eyes

I turn molehills into mountains but faith moves mountains into the sea

yes, my mustard seed of faith moves both mountain and mulberry tree!

“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”  (Luke 17:6)

” . . . if you have faith and do not doubt, . . .  you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.”  (Matthew 21:21)

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  (Galatians 6:2)

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”  (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”  (Proverbs 17:17)

a quote from Sirach says, “a faithful friend is a sturdy shelter, whoever finds one finds a treasure.”

friends are one of God’s good gifts, one of His best gifts to us ever

sincerely,  Grace Day

in a previous post I stated that “kind words are duct tape for the soul.”   well, there is no shortage of holey souls in need of binding up, (they are better known as the “walking wounded”,  whom I wrote about in a previous post by that title) but there does seem to be a shortage of “duct tape” perhaps due to the abundance of heated, harsh, hurtful, careless rhetoric in today’s culture.  Our words are our weapons and we don’t care who we wound.

so go out there and patch some holes in some souls today.  be the duct tape as it were. this world needs more duct tape.  may this be my own personal mission of mercy to those hurting (and holey) people in my world, those that are walking wounded through this life, in desperate need of some duct tape.  let me dispense it freely, heeding not my own holes; for in healing another’s hurt, my own is quite forgotten

this, then, is my mission of mercy — kind words for souls with holes.

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”  (Proverbs 16:24)

“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”  (Proverbs 12:18)

“The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”  (Proverbs 15:4)

“The tongue has the power of life and death,”  (Proverbs 18:21)

“The lips of the righteous nourish many, . . . ”  (Proverbs 10:21)

“A man finds joy in giving an apt reply– and how good is a timely word!”

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”  (Ephesians 4:29)

sincerely,    Grace Day

 

it all started the day my car’s tire light came on  . . . so

I gave my car a tire, a brand new tire (didn’t really have a choice as flat ones don’t roll well)

then my car wanted another new tire to match the first one

then she wanted and got a tire rotation

next she asked for and got an alignment

then my car’s oil light came on, so I gave her an oil change,  . . . but

while her oil light was still on, her gas light came on, so I filled her up  (she wanted the super silver premium, “gourmet gas” — she got regular; I have my limits)

then she wanted a wash to look her best (don’t know who she was trying to impress?)

then she asked for a “works wash” with tire shine added (must be wanting to show off her new tires?)

and all because I gave my car a new tire . . .

my car is most definitely “high maintenance”

moral?  never, ever, ever dear readers, give your car a new tire —  unless of course you have no choice –but then be prepared for what will follow . . .

“give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

“Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;  His love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1)

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men.”  (Psalm 107:21)

Lord, thank You that I have transportation and thank You that my tire didn’t blow, but let her air out real, real slow and got me where I needed to go.

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

Walk with me

the grass withers and the flowers fade, my time with you I would not trade.   to hear your voice and see your smile, please walk with me just one more mile.

I know you’re going to a wonderful place, filled with light and joy and grace — but I want once more your warm embrace, to look upon your familiar face.

My journey is long with many a trial, please walk with me just one more mile.

I guess I knew one day you’d rest and I’d be left to face life’s test — without my mother by my side, to cheer me on, to praise, to chide.

But before you go, for just a while — please walk with me just one more mile.

I know you must go to the place He’s preparing, still my heart will not cease caring; you will soar above the rank and file–but walk with me just one more mile

the path that once held bend after bend, has without warning shown its end; still, there’s much on the path that would beguile — please walk with me just one more mile

before you leave to take your place, walking with Jesus face to face;  then I’ll with hope filled sorrow watch you go into the arms of Him who loves you so —

to walk the painfree path above, prepared for you with Jesus’ love.  someday I’ll join you on your journey — walk with you in God’s eternity;

though now I pray that for awhile, you would walk with me just one more mile.

“In My Father’s house are many rooms;  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”  (John 14:2-3)

“For now we see through a glass darkly; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1Cor. 13:12)

Happy Birthday,  mom

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

In the movie, “Remember the Titans”, the football coach tells his players to “leave no doubt” as he sends them out onto the field to face their opponent.  I’ve always liked that sentiment, maybe because I love a God who leaves no doubt.  Let me explain.

I’m studying Gideon right now.  Gideon is one of those Old Testament bible people with a really interesting story.  God asks Gideon to fight the Midianites.  They were an enemy of Israel who had been oppressing them for seven years.   But then, in preparation for his upcoming battle, God asks Gideon to do something that makes no sense whatsoever.  At least no sense humanly speaking.  God asks Gideon to send home all but three hundred of his thirty-two thousand fighting men.  The reason?  ” . . . In order that Israel may not boast against Me (God) that her own strength has saved her,”  (Judges 7:2)

Yes, you read that right.  God desired to leave no doubt that He would be the One responsible for giving Israel the victory over her enemies.  God was going to deliver Gideon and his soldiers and all Israel from Midian.  But it would be God’s strength, not Israel’s, which would save them and give them the victory over their enemies.

God desired to leave no doubt.  And with the odds now 450:1 against Israel, their victory against the much larger Midianite army would truly be a miracle of God. Gideon and his men could not reasonably take credit for any victory.  This is not an isolated incident however.  Time and again God leaves no doubt that He is the One who is sovereignly watching over the affairs of men.  “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  (Proverbs 19:21)

This has been so from the beginning.  God leaves no doubt.  “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”  (Romans 1:20)  Yet still we find reasons to doubt God.

There are myriad instances in which God leaves no doubt throughout history. Consider what happened when Elijah, God’s only prophet left at the time, went up against four-hundred and fifty of Baal’s prophets.  Already outnumbered, what happened next truly would not have been predicted using human reasoning. They each prepared a bull to sacrifice to their respective gods, each sacrifice on an altar with wood, but they were not to light a fire.  That would be the job of the deity that was prayed to, to accept the sacrifice by sending fire to burn it up.

This took place with all of Israel assembled as witnesses.  The prophets of Baal went first, calling on the name of Baal all day long, shouting, dancing around the altar they had made, even cutting themselves; but all to no avail.  There was no response from their god, their sacrifice remained untouched and it was now evening.

Then Elijah took his turn.  First he asked the people to pour four large jars of water on his offering, the wood and the altar.  He then had water poured on everything two more times, resulting in water running down and filling the trench he had ordered dug around the altar.  Elijah prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command.”

I Kings 18:38-39 tells us what happened next; “Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.  When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord — He is God!  The Lord — He is God!’ ”  God left no doubt.  His holy fire consumed Elijah’s water soaked sacrifice in seconds, as He revealed Himself yet again to Israel, giving them a glimpse of His power and presence.

God left no doubt when He raised Lazarus from the dead as well.  The story is a familiar one but the details are often overlooked.  John 11:17 tells us “On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.”  No room for doubt there — Lazarus was not only dead but had been buried.  Many people had come there to comfort his sisters, so there were plenty of witnesses to what happened next.  Jesus ordered the stone moved away from the tomb’s entrance, prayed and then commanded, “Lazarus, come out!”  Lazarus walked out of his tomb, still wrapped in his grave clothes.

Why did Jesus wait two days after hearing of Lazarus’ illness, before beginning His journey to Bethany?   To leave no doubt.  By the time Jesus arrived, there was no doubt that Lazarus was dead and after Jesus called him out of his tomb, there was no doubt that Lazarus was now alive again.  All those who had come to mourn his death could now celebrate his return to life.  God leaves no doubt.

God left no doubt when He parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, He left no doubt when He provided manna every morning and water in the desert.  God left no doubt when He demolished Jericho’s walls.  He told the Israelites to march around those walls and blow trumpets.  Doesn’t seem like the best plan for knocking down high, thick walls; but God leaves no doubt as to who is doing the heavy lifting!

God specializes in the impossible so as to leave no doubt.  When Jesus and His disciples needed to feed a multitude of five thousand plus people with just five small barley loaves and two small fish, it was clear that the need far exceeded the available resources.  There was no humanly possible way to feed all those people. Not even close!  BUT  “Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.'” (Luke 18:27)

So Jesus blessed the loaves and the fish and had the food distributed to all the hungry people there.  And just to be sure to leave no doubt, John 6:12-13 tells us, “When they had all had enough to eat, He (Jesus) said to His disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left’ . . . So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces  . . . left over by those who had eaten.”  Did you catch that?  “they had all had enough to eat.”  Not just a snack or a little something to tide them all over until they could have a proper meal and eat their fill.  No, the large crowd of people ate until they were satisfied and still there was food left over.   From an impossible lack of food to an overabundance of provision; God once again leaves no doubt.

So why do we continue to doubt the God who leaves no doubt?  The God who does “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,”  (Ephesians 3:20)  The God who reveals Himself from sunrise to sunset, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”  (Psalm 19:1)

Do we doubt God’s love for us?  “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  (John 15:13)  “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all — how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?”  (Romans 8:32)

God left no doubt of His love for you and for me at the cross.  God leaves no doubt of His plan for you and for me at Jesus’ empty tomb.  The Creator of the universe is a God who leaves no doubt.

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”  (Mark 9:24)

sincerely,           Grace Day

 

 

 

 

or maybe the clueless assisting the clueless –  at any rate, such was the situation I found myself in today; me being the blind, clueless one attempting to assist the one in need.  Now I’m sure there is someone better qualified out there somewhere; but I was the one available at the time, no one else was around.

It was the confused look on his face that first got my attention as I exited my car, intending to run a quick errand in the store and be on my way.  He seemed to be wandering the parking lot, as I watched, searching for something.  That something, I assumed was his car.  How often have I forgotten where I parked? Still, he was moving slowly, looking discouraged and I wondered how long he had been hunting for his car.  It was midday and the sun was hot on the asphalt parking lot.

I struck up a conversation with this elderly gentleman saying that I too could often not find my car in these big, busy parking lots.  I asked him what kind of a car he was looking for.  Little did he know that coming from me, this is really a ridiculous question.  Why?  Because to me, a car is basically four tires and a color.  My categories of recognition are; truck, van, jeep, SUV and car, color being the differentiating factor in any category.  Make and model mean nothing to me visually.  They all look alike.  (now you understand the title of this post)

He informed me we were looking for a metallic blue Pontiac.  OK  Blue, I can do.  I know blue.  It’s surprising how many blue cars there can be in a parking lot on any given day.  Who knew?  Noticing that his cart was full of groceries, I suspected that he had wandered farther than I first realized, because the grocery entrance to the store was aways over from where we were currently.  I, being the anomaly, always park in the section of the parking lot I come to first, use that store entrance, walk through the store to the groceries, then walk back through the store to exit where I first entered. (trying to get my ten thousand steps I guess, even though I don’t wear a fit bit)  But most grocery shoppers park closer to the grocery entrance.

So much for my deductive reasoning skills.  As we headed back toward the cars closer to the grocery entrance, I enlisted the help of a young man who was rounding up the carts from the parking lot to return them to inside the store. Young guys know cars, right?  He could probably help us.  Sure enough, first thing he asked was for the gentleman to use the “clicker” or whatever you call that thing attached to the car keys that locks and unlocks the car and makes that beep with the lights flickering when it does so.

Now in quiet darkness this would have been a surefire plan.  But at high noon on a sunny, July day in a noisy, crowded parking lot we were not going to see or hear anything, even though we tried.  And so the search continued.  We split up, (I could move faster and cover more ground) with me running up to any vehicle that I thought looked to be metallic blue and trying to read any names written on it, in order to discover what kind of a car it actually was.  Hoping each time that it would read, “Pontiac”, I continued my search.

This poor, unfortunate man.  His frozen foods were defrosting fast.  I was sure if he knew the truth about me, his would be rescuer, he would realize that his helper needed help.  Half the time I don’t even recognize my own car in any given parking lot.  I approach a car of the same color and approximate size as mine and start clicking away on my clicker, all the while wondering while my car is not responding.    My first clue is usually when I look through the window of said car and don’t recognize the things inside the car as my belongings.  Then I quickly slink away, fervently hoping no one is watching.

I was clearly the wrong person for this job.  At least that nice young store employee was helping us search now.  Sooner rather than later, we did find the gentleman’s car, helped him transfer his groceries and sent him on his way.  I was relieved and grateful as I returned to my errand, thanking God for His mercy and His care while pointing out that I was the least likely, least able person to help this nice gentleman.  Still, I thank You , Heavenly Father, for allowing me the privilege of showing Your kindness to a stranger.  (well, a stranger to me, not to You)

“But He (the Lord) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

sincerely,           Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

make me a doorkeeper, what more could I seek?  make me a doorkeeper, Your company to keep

make me a doorkeeper – it’s who I want to be; make me a doorkeeper – everyday Your face to see

make me a doorkeeper – it’s what I want to do;  make me a doorkeeper – so I can be near You

make me a doorkeeper –  though my life won’t be my own; even King David thought to be Your doorkeeper better than his earthly throne

let me sit at Your threshold, let me stand at Your door;  bestow on me this favor – I couldn’t ask for more

better to be a servant in Your house, than to be ruler in my own;  I long to live in Your house – this world is not my home

better to stand at Your door for a day, learning to love You – following in Your way

than to lie in the palaces of the wicked forever, pursuing their pleasures while missing the treasures

of abiding under the shelter of Your wings;  receiving Your protection along with all good things

yes, make me a doorkeeper in the house where You are;  so from Your Holy Spirit I will never be far

in Your house are peace and joy, comfort, healing and forgiveness abound –   death and despair are banished forever, as Your praises continually sound

yes, make me a doorkeeper and that’s what I’ll be;  serving in Your presence for eternity

“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”  (Psalm 84:10)

“Blessed is the man who listens to Me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.  For whoever finds Me finds life and receives favor from the Lord.”  (Proverbs 8:34-35)

“He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”  (Psalm 91:4)

” . . . but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”  (Psalm 34:10)

sincerely,    Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

roundabouts, detours and other disturbing distractions; if this isn’t a metaphor for life, I don’t know what is.  It seems lately every where I go I encounter a road block and am rerouted on a detour; a detour that takes me where I have never been before, where I never intended to go, where I do not want to go and where I inevitably end up lost and late for whatever it is that brought me out in the first place.

Now, although this is an all too fitting metaphor for my life, I am speaking of a literal reality in my life at this present time.  This reality is shared by all who live in my city because a short section of one of our major highways has been closed in both directions so that road repairs can be done.  It may be a small section of interstate, but it is one that everyone uses to get to, through or around our city. This particular well traveled road seems to connect many people to many places. So now we are all faced with the challenge of finding new ways to get to our old places.

I have not found this to be an easy task.  I am comfortable with my familiar routes. Now I have to venture into the unknown (along with everyone else although I’m thinking they have the advantage of GPS systems, which I don’t) Nevertheless, these closed roads stand between me and my desired destinations.

You would think by now I’d be a pro at dealing with closed roads and life’s detours, I’ve faced enough of them over the years, as most of us have.  We all encounter roadblocks from time to time.  (or in some cases, life seems to be one roadblock after another)  It’s how we deal with the detours those roadblocks demand of us that makes all the difference.

I usually get lost when a closed road forces me to detour.  I end up in unfamiliar territory.  The plan I started out with now no longer works.  I often end up asking for directions. (sometimes more than once)  I also discover people and places that I never would have otherwise, except for the detested detour. Sometimes I discover a better way than what I had chosen for myself and been denied access to.  (yes, the literal and the metaphorical merge at every intersection of experience here!)

When I am lost I remember “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”  (Job 23:10)

When I am discouraged by all the detours I must travel, I recall:

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”(Proverbs 19:21)

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  (Proverbs 16:9)

I am not off course after all, but right where God has planned for me to be.  (not where I planned but where God purposed for me)

When it is too dark for me to see clearly:

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  (Psalm 119:105)

When the detour seems never ending:

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.  I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.”  (Psalm 27:14 & Psalm 40:1-3)

When the detour terrifies me:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  (Psalm 23:4)

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

When the detour is too difficult:

” I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:13)

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:19)

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  (Romans 8:35 & 37)

The detours in my physical and my spiritual life are frequent rather than few and far between.  But I can rest in the sure knowledge that my Heavenly Father is with me in my detours (which aren’t detours at all to Him)  and He will deliver me from or see me safely through to the other side of each one.  I am not lost, I am not off His path, I am not alone!  It is God’s purposes that are prevailing as He orders my steps through each and every detour.

“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your love, O Lord, endures forever — do not abandon the works of Your hands.”  (Psalm 138:8)

“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 1:6)

sincerely,     Grace Day