Wherefore doth the Lord make your cup run over, but that other men’s lips might taste the liquor? The showers that fall upon the highest mountains, should glide into the lowest valleys. “Give, and it shall be given you”, is a maxim little believed.
– William Secker
Thank God because he’s good,
because his love never quits.
Tell the world, Israel,
“His love never quits.”
And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world,
“His love never quits.”
And you who fear God, join in,
“His love never quits.”
Pushed to the wall, I called to God;
from the wide open spaces, he answered.
God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid;
who would dare lay a hand on me?
God’s my strong champion.
(from Psalm 118 The Message)
Change comes slowly with me. I need time to consider, to examine, to go deep. It’s like my mind is like a big ole truck with a wide turning radius. Fast sports car people wonder why it takes me so long to move in another direction.
Some of the hardest times in my life have occurred when people I trusted said they were tired of trying to fix me. (And I do need some fixing.) They had no more grace for someone who ruminated and pondered and repeated themselves and hesitated at every new direction – over and over.
They quit.
But in the midst of my sorrow and frustration with myself God gently reminds me: His love doesn’t quit.
God is love and love is patient. Love is kind. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. God is therefore patient and kind. God bears, believes, hopes and endures all things. God never quits.
Sure, I should be further along in maturity than I am. But I’m further along than I was. My steps, though slow and plodding, are moving on down the road with more confidence than before. I am learning to respond more quickly, less fearfully. Every year I can speak of His love with more assurance and say, “My God, You are relentless. You never quit.”
Thank You.
This is my Father’s world:
he shines in all that’s fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.
(from This is My Father’s World -lyrics by Maltbie D. Babcock)
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
(Isaiah 54:13, 14 ESV)
On this day, three years ago,
-I didn’t know where my elderly father was and if he had been evacuated from the senior’s home beside the river,
-my sister-in-law had to wade through water to get to her patients at the hospital,
-my brother, cut off by wash-outs, refused helicopter rescue and stayed to help neighbours whose property was crumbling into the raging Cougar Creek,
-my son’s family’s home and vehicle was under eight feet of water and sewage after the Highwood River changed course and the berms meant to protect the town center redirected water into his neighbourhood 3 kilometers away,
-I was in Edmonton on the other side of the mountains from my husband with washed out bridges and roads between us,
-our daughter’s family couldn’t get back to their home in Alberta for the same reason,
-the familiar landmarks of my childhood in downtown Calgary were submerged,
-and soldiers drove tanks down the Queen E II highway on rescue operations.
That day this verse meant a lot to me: When you face stormy seas I will be there with you with endurance and calm; you will not be engulfed in raging rivers. If it seems like you’re walking through fire with flames licking at your limbs, keep going; you won’t be burned. (Isaiah 43:2 The Voice)
On this day, three years later, I can say God has been with us with endurance and calm. We were not engulfed. I have hope and an even stronger sense that God is good.
Thank you, Lord, that when we are on a difficult or lonely road you have already placed provisions we will need there in advance. We just need to look to you to see the bigger picture.
He did not say: You will not be assailed,
you will not be belabored,
you will not be disquieted,
but he did said:
You will not be overcome.
-Julian of Norwich
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
(1 John 5:4,5 ESV)
Fall on your knees and grow there. There is no burden of the spirit but is lighter by kneeling under it. Prayer means not always talking to Him, but waiting before Him till the dust settles and the stream runs clear.
– F.B. Meyer
Charis: Subject to Change 