Praying… that He will passionately pursue you, break you, soften you to His love, make you ready to fully experience Him in all his glory!
Tag Archive: love
I have been praying a lot lately about people, situations, various developments in my life. And my prayers are being answered, only I don’t know specifically in what ways. I know that things are happening, and God is moving, and it is exciting to see.
It’s also scary. I trust God, of course, but He is asking me to let go of people (physically). Still, spiritually, I have never felt more close to Him (Which I know you can FEEL not close to God, but the truth is that you are ALWAYS close to Him–because Jesus is in you, you are in Christ, and Christ is in the Father) and to the people for whom I am praying.
A lot of my days are filled with wondering and expectation. Is there pain and brokenness? Or is there joy? Both? Those are the questions to which I wish I knew the answers.
Despite not knowing the answers, I will wait. I won’t let go (unless God asks me to). I have faith. I am trusting. I know that He is working, and I am SO stoked for Heaven–to see all the amazing work that He has done. I am also excited to see exactly why and how my prayers are working. While it’s frustrating to not see right now, the parts that He is revealing are thrilling! I feel like those parts are gifts from Him. He is showing me a part of the picture, not all of it. I think if I could see all of it, it might scare me.
Still… I sometimes feel like telling Him that my prayers would be much more effective if I knew EXACTLY for what I am praying. But that would take the fun away out of NOT knowing and still having my prayers answered.
God is good. All the time. Really.
Sidewalk Prophets
Three in the morning,
And I’m still awake,
So I picked up a pen and a page,
And I started writing,
Just what I’d say,
If we were face to face,
I’d tell you just what you mean to me,
I’d tell you these simple truths,
Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You’re going to do great things,
I already know,
God’s got His hand on you so,
Don’t live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don’t forget why you’re here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,
Last time we spoke,
You said you were hurting,
And I felt your pain in my heart,
I want to tell you,
That I keep on praying,
Love will find you where you are,
I know cause I’ve already been there,
So please hear these simple truths,
Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You’re going to do great things,
I already know,
God’s got His hand on you so,
Don’t live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don’t forget why you’re here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,
From one simple life to another,
I will say,
Come find peace in the Father!
You should know… that I am praying for you, that God will touch your heart. That He will break you. But that He won’t leave you there. That you will be His.
Oh. And I’m believing.
***
You said these mountains were Your invention, and so was this heart of mine.
… and I am loved by the Father, and I am loved by the Son…
Oh well…
“How do you know I’m not going to murder you?”
“How do you know I’m not going to murder you?”
***
“…you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I’ve bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. And now I give you back to God.”
You should read this book:
I love this song because it reminds me of discussions I have had. Only, it wasn’t in November. It wasn’t raining. And he wasn’t 3.
by Building 429
I was standing in the pour raining
One dark November night
Fighting off the bitter cold
When she caught my eye
Her face was torn and her eyes were filled
And then to my surprise
She pulled out a photograph
And my heart just stopped inside
She said He would have been three today
I miss his smile, I miss his face
What was I supposed to say
But I believe always always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and His promise remains
He will be with you always
I don’t understand why so many of my friends and family have had to endure a miscarriage. This past week another couple whom I knew in college lost their baby at 14 weeks. While it never gets any easier in regards to hearing the news or being available to talk/cry through the devastating experience, I think I have learned a few valuable lessons:
1. No matter how early the parents loose the baby, they are still parents. Of course, I see this as a Biblical truth. God speaks of knowing babies in the womb–he knows them before they are born. So, if God is the ultimate parent (Daddy) and humans are a reflection of that parentage, then they are parents upon conception. Loss of one’s title as Mom or Dad isn’t accurate, and I think there can be comfort in that. What little it may be.
2. Upon death (again, thinking Biblically here), babies immediately have a new body. Well, this would be for everyone, but I think that when parents loose a child at such a young age, it is difficult for them to think of their child with a body. But, scripturally, this is inaccurate. The Bible says that when we are absent from the body (earthly), we are present with the Lord (spiritual). So, babies aren’t just floating around naked or under the ground. Rather, they are with Jesus–actually where are spirits are too, if we believe in Jesus (I can chapter and verse this for you if you are interested, but I don’t have my Bible on me right now). Hopefully, parents can find comfort in knowing that their child has a body that is much perfect than ours and that they are fully experiencing Jesus. There is peace in that somewhere.
3. I will never have the words to fully comfort, and that’s okay. I don’t have to. And, I will never use Scripture as a condemnation for grief. I had this happen to me when Michael died, and it was awful. Jesus is a God of comfort, especially in grief. And that is what I strive to be, too.
4. I don’t understand the why’s, and I don’t want that to be okay, but I think sometimes it has to be.
5. I have a heart for prayer, often in the middle of the night, often without knowing the words. And that’s okay.
Pray for my friends Matt and Amanda and their baby. Pray that love and comfort surrounds them during this time of grief. Pray that I am able to comfort and love even from a distance.
One of my students recently asked me, “What is a Christian writer?”
And I stared blankly in response.
No, seriously. I. had. no. idea. what. to. say. I have been preparing my whole life for this question and when I got it, I didn’t have an answer. It was almost (but not quite) as humiliating as when my master’s thesis committee asked me what theologians I read. Duh, Sarah, you only went to Christian schools for half your life. I think, in both cases, they were “out of context questions”. In other words, during my thesis defense I knew the answer, but I was confused by the context in which it was given. If my pastor had asked the questions, I could have engaged in an hour long conversation. In the instance of my student asking “What is a Christian writer?” it was out of context because currently it is something I am working to define–within authors I intentionally choose to read and within my own writing.
And, here is the answer I have (to shamelessly plagiarize Augustine): Love God.
That’s it. The answer really has nothing to do with writing. It’s all in the loving. Lewis and MacDonald would say the same thing, I think. Love God (and, hopefully, Jesus). But that’s it. That’s what it takes to be a Christian–faith, love, Jesus. And beyond that, everything we do is spiritual.
EVERYTHING. I. DO. IS. SPIRITUAL.
End scene.
I Heart YA 