Invade my space
If I had not found joy in your teachings, my suffering would have destroyed me. I will never forget your commands, because through them you gave me new life. I am yours, so save me! I have done my best to know your instructions. The wicked tried to destroy me, but your rules made me wise. Everything has its limits, except your commands. (Psalm 119:92-96)
The remedy for life's challenges is to lean hard into God's promises and commands - to find direction, solace, and strength within the instruction laid out there. Find joy in God's teachings and you will find the "remedy" which sustains you even when there seems to be no deliverance or end. It is more than memory of scripture (although there is merit to hiding God's Word within our minds). It is more than frequent time in the Word (although we cannot learn from God's Word without the sacrifice of time). It is more than a Bible-reading plan for the year (although it might focus us a little). It is the deep, intimate, act of drawing close to God's heart that gets God's Word into us in such a way it will keep us when life's challenges head our way.
As a mother, I used to enjoy those times when I would sit and read a story to my kids, them drawing up to me close and listening intently. They'd run their toes up and down my back, twist their hair around their fingers, nuzzle their teddy, and run the tiny truck back and forth across the bed. Something happened in those moments of just "connecting" with each other. We found closeness and bonds which cannot be broken because of this connection which occurred often and with regularity. Now I continue this with my grandsons - although we may not read as much anymore, we can talk about the latest welding or leather creation, the other creative ideas they have, and the observance of things they saw that day. In those moments, connection is made - connection which cannot be broken despite the pressures, pulls, and prevailing winds of time.
We don't recognize the importance of just sitting to enjoy God's presence until we haven't had it for a while. We don't miss what we have not realized is missing until we finally "miss it". The adage, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder", is indeed true. To "miss" something, one has to have drawn close and experienced it in the first place! Too many times we have a cursory appreciation of God's grace - but when we experience the depth and breadth of his grace fully - we don't want to ever be separated from the way that makes us feel. God's plan is for us to experience him - so that his words get deep into our being - affecting the depths and crags of our inner man within those places the world has tried so hard to affect with the pressures it brings. The world adds rocks, sand, and even immovable objects in our path - but even with those present, there is room for grace to invade the spaces those things cannot! Grace has no limits - there is no space his grace cannot invade! Just sayin!
The remedy for life's challenges is to lean hard into God's promises and commands - to find direction, solace, and strength within the instruction laid out there. Find joy in God's teachings and you will find the "remedy" which sustains you even when there seems to be no deliverance or end. It is more than memory of scripture (although there is merit to hiding God's Word within our minds). It is more than frequent time in the Word (although we cannot learn from God's Word without the sacrifice of time). It is more than a Bible-reading plan for the year (although it might focus us a little). It is the deep, intimate, act of drawing close to God's heart that gets God's Word into us in such a way it will keep us when life's challenges head our way.
As a mother, I used to enjoy those times when I would sit and read a story to my kids, them drawing up to me close and listening intently. They'd run their toes up and down my back, twist their hair around their fingers, nuzzle their teddy, and run the tiny truck back and forth across the bed. Something happened in those moments of just "connecting" with each other. We found closeness and bonds which cannot be broken because of this connection which occurred often and with regularity. Now I continue this with my grandsons - although we may not read as much anymore, we can talk about the latest welding or leather creation, the other creative ideas they have, and the observance of things they saw that day. In those moments, connection is made - connection which cannot be broken despite the pressures, pulls, and prevailing winds of time.
We don't recognize the importance of just sitting to enjoy God's presence until we haven't had it for a while. We don't miss what we have not realized is missing until we finally "miss it". The adage, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder", is indeed true. To "miss" something, one has to have drawn close and experienced it in the first place! Too many times we have a cursory appreciation of God's grace - but when we experience the depth and breadth of his grace fully - we don't want to ever be separated from the way that makes us feel. God's plan is for us to experience him - so that his words get deep into our being - affecting the depths and crags of our inner man within those places the world has tried so hard to affect with the pressures it brings. The world adds rocks, sand, and even immovable objects in our path - but even with those present, there is room for grace to invade the spaces those things cannot! Grace has no limits - there is no space his grace cannot invade! Just sayin!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for leaving a comment if this message has spoken to your heart.