a child of god
this is the way, run in it
"How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts!" cries out the writer of Psalm 84. This was one of my mother's favorite psalms, and it is one of mine, as well. Every phrase rolls around on my tongue delightfully, like a fancy chocolate dessert, to be savored, to be enjoyed, to want more of. And God Himself is like that! The psalmist also says, "taste and see that the LORD is good!" (Psalm 34:8). And once we have had that taste of God's love for us and the magnitude of His blessings on us, His hand over our lives, we want more. There is nothing and no one else like God. He is beautiful and awesome and powerful and compassionate and true . . . and so much more. Psalm 84 talks about how even birds find their place to build their nests for their chicks on the Lord's altar - that is how safe it is in the Lord's presence. For me, right now, grieving about not having my Mom with me, with my family, right now, until we all are in heaven together again, in the glory of the Lord's fully revealed presence (can't wait! that's going to be awesome!), verses 5-7 are special. They speak to me about this time period I'm going through. They say this: How blessed is the man or woman whose strength is in You; in whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring. The early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion." Even when we are going through a time of grief, people - even when we are in a desperate place of grief, or just an overwhelming time of sadness - even when we feel like we are in a dry and dusty place, slogging it out across an all encompassing and endless desert - there God uses our tears to bring blessing! His word says that He keeps each and every tear we have shed in a bottle (Psalm 139) - God sees, He knows, and He cares. When we go through this kind of time period trusting in God, even in times of tears, God makes us strong. Isn't that amazing! The more we lean on Him, the more we are dependent on Him to get us through this time period, the stronger He makes us. It doesn't mean the tears go away, but He uses those tears to bring blessing. It is possible to cry and to laugh for joy at the same time. This is truly possible with God. When our hearts cry out to God - I need You! - I just wanna be where You are - then we will find that kind of refuge that we need, deep down within us we will find God's presence is our anchor. Psalm 84 goes on to say, For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, how blessed is the man or woman who trusts in Thee! We can trust God - with everything, our loved ones, this time period, the next, the outcome of a particular time period, or God task. He is the LORD God. He is in control and when we belong to Him, live in Him, make our nest on His altar, entrust our young to Him, He always comes through. Praise Him!
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Franci Ballwatching and working for the kingdom of God in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham - UK Archives
January 2019
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