We all have a sense of longing for more. Even in the best of times we know there lingers, a sense of dissatisfaction deep within our soul. Deuteronomy 4:29 says, But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for HIm with all your heart and with and all your soul.

In Acts 17, Paul says, From one man He made every nation of men, that they would inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.

So we seek God and learn He indeed is the One who truly satisfies. Isaiah 58 says, The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your need in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring who's waters never fail.

This blog is made up of reflections, that are to me, like dew drops in the garden. Things that spring from the pages of scripture and refresh my heart. Whispers, ideas, hope, inklings, inspiration, glimmers, breadcrumbs...all pointing me in the direction of my heart's true home which is the Lord.

Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His Presence] shall be my dwelling place. Psalm 23:6


Monday, June 25, 2012

Step by Step

Jesus says....Follow Me 
This is not a stagnant invitation.  It implies movement.  Life marches on and there is always movement, change.  So how do we follow Him?  What does that look like?  I think it is one step at a time.  And we do it with our eyes on Him, like Moses from Hebrews 11, "he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible."  That is a trick for sure.  But as we seek to know Him more, it is a trick we can learn. Not perfectly but we can sure learn to see Who He is, how He lived (from the scriptures) and begin to notice His Presence in our lives.  We also move with an ear to hear His Voice.  His Voice within us.  As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit in us.  Do I fathom that?  God in me, whispering to me, His interests, His desire for my life.  My life consists of moments.  And each moment is important to Him.  I can listen for His direction with each step I take, each word I speak. I in no way, do it all the time but I hope I am learning.  Learning to listen, to be more aware of His Presence with me all and to obey, for obedience to God is always in my best interest. Do I always live like I believe that? No.  But it is true.  The more I believe that the better off I am.  And I will say that I believe it more and more as I get older, as I walk with Him and see His incredible grace in my life.  Are there things I don't get?  Hard things?  Yes....but that is where faith comes in.  We walk by faith not sight.  That is what He calls us to. But that is an entirely different subject.

Galatians 5:25 [amp] "If we live by the Holy Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]" That is Paul talk....."walk by the Spirit".....we move forward with our conduct under the guidance of God's Holy Spirit in us.  No one, nothing can take that from us.  He is within.

The deal is, we have choices, day by day and moment by moment.  So there's the rub.  Often (most often) it is hard, doing it God's way.  His way is the way of love.  Perfect love as described in 1 Corinthians. My own perfect way is the way of ease (for me), of self service, of pride, of shortsightedness (only seeing it my way).  Living to serve myself comes ever so easily.  In this difficult world it seems like someone has to look out for number one (me-me-me)!  We are bent with self preservation in mind. And that can destroy us, our own idea of how to self preserve! Only God knows what is best for us.  

God has a bigger picture in mind. Always.  We must learn to believe that He desires good for us and learn (it is a learning process with a steep learning curve) to trust Him. That is when doing things His way begins to get easier and our desire really is to follow Him. We begin to want to align our steps with His!  Yes! We can walk with God, the One who loves us beyond our wildest imagination, the One who came and lived among us and Who died for us.  He is with us, never to leave or forsake us.  Faithful even when we aren't.  That God. The One Who IS Love.

Psalm 119:133 Direct my footsteps according to your Word; let no sin rule over me.

Psalm 37:23-24 The Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his step firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Lord help me.  Day by day...to walk with You.  To listen. To follow. To be patient and to trust.  Your ways are higher than mine.  Forgive me for following my own silly, selfish, self serving ways.  I want to go Your's, hidden in You.
I feel so far from it.  Thank you for your patience with me.
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