Desert Declaration

“But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me."--Psalm 13:5-6

Life is full of Philippians 3:1 moments: "It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." Here's one now:

Some days, it takes everything within you to unseal your lips and lift up the arms that droop. But when we do, something unspeakable and unexplainable happens. Problems and trials may not instantly disappear, but as we choose to fight through the stuff that’s yelling bad and scary things in our brain and choose instead to speak, to sing, to remind our souls of what and Who alone is True, the unfailing love of God begins to move within...

Hope is stirred.

Faith arises once more.

A spring of refreshing emerges in the midst of the desert.

Peace begins to enthrone itself again on our hearts (maybe just a flicker of a flame at first, but at least no longer a wick).

This isn’t hypocrisy or manipulation. We’ve got the psalmists as our defense on this one. Their determination to fix their eyes heavenward in praise was often not due to happy-happy-joy-joy circumstances but while surrounded by tons of chaos and life pressing in on all sides. Against all odds, they trusted.

And down through the ages, they remind us: "Resolute praise wins. Every time. Because God's Truth wins. Every time."

“Dost thou not know that thy God loves thee in the midst of all this? Thou shalt yet, amidst the splendors of eternity, forget the trials of time, or only remember them to bless the God who led thee through them, and wrought thy last good by them. Come, sing in the midst of tribulation. Rejoice even while passing through the furnace. Make the wilderness to blossom like the rose! Cause the desert to ring with thine exulting joys, for these light afflictions will soon be over and then 'forever with the Lord,' thy bliss shall never wane.” –Charles Spurgeon

Prayer for the Open Door

"Jesus answered, 'If a person really loves Me, he will keep My word, obey My teaching; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home—abode, special dwelling place—with him.'"—John 14:23 Amplified

Lord, this has got to be one of Your best, most jaw-dropping promises ever.
I mean, conditional promises.
Not really sure what this would all look like,
All I know is something burns inside when I read this
And I want in.
For starters, help me to begin each day by wanting what You want
To be honest, it's not usually the first thing that comes to mind
Oh, You knew that?  
And then help me remember that though I may have a lot on my plate
And wind up accomplishing much of it (thanks to You),
The only stuff that really needs to get done on any given day
Is living out what You say.
So maybe the heart-burn is this:
Realizing that there's no better, more joy-filled, more satisfying sound in this life
Than the sound of Your heart-knock...
And then to be able to say
"Come on in, the door is open."

'Ites', Yikes!

“After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord…”—2 Chronicles 20:1-3

With Jehoshaphat as our standard bearer, it’s good to know that the worry cookie on either side of the stuffing that is “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:31-34) is not about whether a Christ-one should get alarmed or stressed out over whatever “ites” are in our life at the moment. Because, being human, we probably will to some extent. Rather, it's about not staying there when they do invade, to be resolved to look Up first before plotting and scheming....and then to remember that for our own good, “today” is God’s favorite day of the week to work.

This is straight out of the Book of Der: a no-brainer that’s so no-brainery, it’s mind-boggling that we keep forgetting it.  Such is the lifelong journey of ever-increasing Trust. Even so, no matter how many more times in the future we have to hit that reset button when the "ites" invade, we know we can stand with Jehoshaphat in awe of the One whose love endures forever: “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

And be at rest that it's exactly where He wants us.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
 O for grace to trust Him more.

Even Today

 PHOTO: MATTHEW PAULSON

The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. — Psalm 93:1

The Lord reigns! The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity." — Psalm 96:10

The Lord reigns! Let the earth be glad, let the distant shores rejoice. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. — Psalm 97:1-2

The Lord reigns! Let the nations tremble...let them praise Your great and awesome Name, for You are holy. — Psalm 99:1, 3

Whether in their joy, in their moments of questioning and frustration, or in their weariness and sorrow, we can be both relieved and thrilled that the totally-relevant psalmists all reached the same resounding declaration to the timeless question: "Who's in charge here, anyway?!"

"The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance." — C.S. Lewis