feeling empty...

Feeling empty... at the end of the day...
needing Him to fill me up...

For he satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Psalm 107:9 ESV

Lord... fill... my... soul...

poor and needy...

Approaching today... as a day to catch up...

Nearing its end...
goals unmet...
messes abound...
things undone...

So much still to do...
Something urgent remembered earlier...?
has slipped my mind... therefore gone undone...

So today I embrace... that I am poor and needy...
Incapable of doing all my own loftiness would love to accomplish...

Recognition of the truth...
I am not able...
I am not organized...
I am not good at making decisions...

With joy... I embrace my neediness... my poverty...
because in Him... I find my help...
in Him alone... I find my worth...

He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

he seats them with princes

and has them inherit a throne of honor.

1 Samuel 2:8

Today I come to Him... poor... and... needy...

Lord... apart from You I got nothin'...

hoping desperately... for more of You...

and less of me... in all I do...

digging ditches...

"And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches.

For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall

ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water,

that ye may drink, both ye and your cattle, and your beasts."

2 Kings 3:16-17 KJV

This was God's word to three kings gone out to fight the enemy... yet after seven days of marching... found themselves in a wasteland with no water...

They had a need... they could not meet for themselves...

God said... Make this valley full of ditches... or as another translates... Dig ditch after ditch...

His people had a need... 

a need He wanted to provide for supernaturally...

but the people had to prepare for His provision...

by digging ditches...

I have a need...

the study with sisters at my table...

the one I've felt called to write...

I've dug a ditch just by setting aside the time...

making the invitation...

At the start... I had about half done...

now... halfway... I face blank pages...

pages He needs to fill...

with limited time... I wonder...

Are there more ditches to dig...? 

in order to prepare to receive...?

I ask the question... the thought comes quickly...

Set the alarm for 5am each morning...

OK... a carving out of time...

a place for Him to show up...

and faithfully provide...

So I'm digging ditches...

to receive what I... by faith...

believe He's called me to do...

What need do you have...?

one you can't meet with your power... your flesh...?

Make your valley full of ditches...

Ask Him... How...?

Prepare... by faith... for Him to provide...

Ask, and and it will be given to you...

Matthew 7:7 ESV

returning home... to reminders...

The return trip from yesterday... ended today...

Returning home...
to trees uprooted...
power lines down...
no electricity...
no water...

A powerful storm... perhaps a tornado... leaving in its wake... a big mess... in just a few minutes... less than an hour...

The cleanup will take days... if not weeks...

Such storms remind us... how little control we have... how little power...

The entirety of the whole human race couldn't stop it... change it... or slow it down...

All we can do is wait storms out...
then clean up...
repair as best we can...

It reminds me of mankind's need...
for a Strong Tower...
a Shelter in the Storm...
a Rock on which to build...

He alone controls the powers of the universe...
they are in His hand...
a word from Him can calm a storm...

How grateful I am to know Him...
and for these moments to be reminded...
how much we need Him...

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of the sea were hushed.

They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided them to their desired haven.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men.

Psalm 107:28-31

needing to be less...

Thinking of His sacrifice...

Him choosing to become nothing...

in order to restore... redeem... renew...

I see where there's too much of me...

Several moments over the last few weeks come to mind...

where my attitude... words... actions...

revealed a desire to save... and promote... self...

I still have so far to go...

sometimes I feel as if I've barely left the starting gate...

Today... seeing... my need... to be less...

in order to be... new...

He must become greater;

I must become less.

John 3:30

Where do you need to be less...? and Him greater...? in your life...?

making room for His grace...

The current treadmill read... challenges me in the area of grace...

Revealing places...
where I am grace-less with loved ones...
where He is grace-full towards me...

Challenged... to make room for His grace... to work in those I love...

Seeing where I need to let the full affect of His grace... work in me...

Father God... grow me in grace... and knowledge of You...

Your love... Your Way... Your work

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out

on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace

that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son

and forgave our sins.

Ephesians 1:6-7 NLT

why i need Jesus... (and you do too...)

Why do I need Jesus...?

My obedience is not trustworthy...

It came like an epiphany this morning...

Reading more... on His work... and ours...

How do you beat sin? We beat sin only by pressing into Jesus, knowing Him, and chasing Him. There is grace upon grace to be had in Him. So much grace, you can't use it all up. If we broken people will come to Christ in faith, we will receive an infinite supply of grace. This is why we pursue Christ above all --- because He is more than enough. He will always be enough.

---Mark Chandler, To Live is Christ to Die is Gain

Our work... pursue Him in relationship... not in obedience...

I see that... and know that... 

My obedience comes from a place that longs to please...

But I've put too much stock in it... depended on it as a barometer... of my love for Him... His for me... how I'm doing with Him in relationship...

This morning... it's just so clear...

My obedience is not trustworthy...

His is...

He puts no stock in my obedience...

Only His...

His obedience alone... the basis of our relationship...

His obedience born out of love... 

Love for His Father... 

Love for His creation...

The call to obedience is purely about entering into relationship with Him... coming to know Him... in and through His Word... coming to know Him... through His continued work in the world... coming to know His ways...

There's freedom... in this epiphany... 

I'm a sinner... 

He knows it...

My obedience will continue to fall short... continue to fail...

He took care of that...

His acceptance of me... my salvation... His love for me... is not dependent on me...

It's all Him...

A simple message given Saturday... at worship... focused on communion...

He took the bread...

He blessed the bread...

He broke the bread...

He gave the bread...

The bread... Himself... 

He took the mission willingly...

He blessed His Father with obedience...

He allowed Himself to be broken... 

So He could be given... to a broken world...

He took... He blessed... He broke... He gave...

And I see how He took me... and you...

He blessed us in the choosing... even though we were already broken... 

He broke our bondage to sin...

So we might give Him our lives... for His use...

Not because we are great at obedience... not because we are trustworthy... not because He needs us... but because He is great at obedience... He is trustworthy... and we need Him...

Hallelujah...!

It is not about me... only Him...

Obedience... I'm going to stop counting on mine... no longer let failure put a veil between me and Him... no longer allow the enemy to accuse...

Because now I KNOW... my obedience is not trustworthy...

He's not counting on it... and neither am I...!

I obey... because I want to know Him...

Amen...

Christ has set us free to live a free life.

So take your stand! Never again let anyone

put a harness of slavery on you.

Galatians 5:1 Msg

we need Him...

The reading through... brings me to Job... and his lament... reveals our need...

To him who is about to faint and despair, kindness is due from his friend, lest he forsake the fear of the Almighty. [You] brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel of brooks that pass away, Which are black and turbid by reason of the ice, and in which the snows hides itself; When they get warm, they shrink and disappear; when it is hot, they vanish out of their place. The caravans which travel by way of them turn aside; they go into the waste places and perish. [Such is my disappointment in you, the friends I fully trusted.]

Job 6:14-18 Amp

Job... in the midst of despair... finds his friends lacking in kindness... they seem like brooks fed only by the melting snows in Spring... deceitful brooks running dry... providing no refreshment... when days grow hot... when water is needed...

Jesus... He is the only Friend... who faithfully stands by us... the only One... who will never disappoint... run dry... when it comes to compassion... mercy... kindness...

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of this water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 4:13-14 ESV

Job's complaint continues... his suffering leaves him feeling vulnerable... at a loss... before God... 

For [God] is not a mere man, as I am, that I should answer Him, that we should come together in court. There is no umpire between us, who might lay his hand upon us both, [would that there were!]...

Job 9:32-33 Amp

Job sees the need for an umpire... an arbiter in other translations... to be able to stand before God... someone to give him a chance to be proved righteous... before Him...

God the Father... in His mercy and love... provided just such a Mediator...

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all...

1Timothy 2:5-6 ESV

All mankind... represented by Job... all need a Friend... who understands... all need a Mediator... before the Almighty...

Before the Israelites became a nation... through captivity... before the Exodus... and the Law... Job's heart... cried out for a Savior... an innate need... of everyone born... in this broken world...

This week's readings for The Journey...
Monday                       Job 12-13
Tuesday                       Job 14
Wednesday                  Job 15-16
Thursday                      Job 17-18
Friday                          Job 19-20

needing Him...

I find myself... needing Him... more today...
than I did... yesterday...

Each step of faith... leads to another...

The Whisper...
continues to challenge...
stretch...
pull me... out of my comfort zone...

Offer to pray...

Go ahead and ask...

Ask if she wants to hear...

Just today... He speaks...
I listen...
lean into Him...
and obey...

Yes...
I need Him...
more... today...
than I did... yesterday...

I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you."

Psalm 16:2 ESV