The canopy - God's protection for your heart

Earlier this week I was walking in our local park, making my way to the beautiful bush walk we are blessed to live near. As I walked from the open space with the heat of the summer sun beating down on my head, into the bush with the canopy providing shade and protection, I was struck by the sudden change of circumstances. With only one step I went from the open, unprotected area into the covered, protected place. And wasn't I glad I'd taken that step!

That sudden physical change in the atmosphere made me think about God's covering and protection, and how different life is when we choose to walk under it.

But let them all be glad, those who turn aside to hide themselves in you. May they keep shouting for joy forever! Overshadow them in your presence as they sing and rejoice. Then every lover of your name will burst forth with endless joy. Lord, how wonderfully you bless the righteous. Your favour wraps around each one and covers them under your canopy of kindness and joy. Psalm 5:11-12 TPT

How reassuring the Psalms are .... Your favour wraps around each one and covers them under your canopy of kindness and joy.....
There was a time when I didn't read anything in The Bible except the Psalms. The deep pain in my heart so often resonated with the words of the Psalmist.

Please, God, show me mercy! Open your grace-fountain for me, for you are my soul's true shelter. I will hide beneath the shadow of your embrace, under the wings of your cheribum, until this terrible trouble has past. Psalm 57:1 TPT

Please, God, show us mercy! And He has.
Open your grace-fountain for me. And He did.
For you are my soul's true shelter. And He is.
I will hide beneath the shadow of your embrace. And I do.
Until this terrible trouble has past. And it has.

If the season you are in now is a difficult one for you, I really encourage you to immerse yourself in the truth of the Psalms. God is listening to the cries of your heart and He is on your side.

You've kept track of all my wandering and my weeping. You've stored my many tears in your bottle - not one will be lost. For they are all recorded in your book of remembrance. The very moment I call to you for a father's help the tide of battle turns and my enemies flee. This one thing I know: God is on my side! Psalm 56:8-9 TPT

The end of this season will come. There will be a time when you can declare this, as the Psalmist does in Psalm 57 ...

My heart, O God, is quiet and confident. Now I can sing with passion your wonderful praises! Awake, O my soul, with the music of his splendor-song! Arise, my soul, and sing his praises! My worship will awaken the dawn, greeting the daybreak with my songs of light! Wherever I go I will thank you, my God. Among all the nations they will hear my praise songs to you. Your love is so extravagant it reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness so astonishing it stretches to the sky! Lord God, be exalted as you soar throughout the heavens. May your shining glory be shown in the skies! Let it be seen high above all the earth! Psalm 57:7-11 TPT

Be encouraged, protect your heart and choose to stay under the canopy of His kindness and joy.

Acknowledging God before starting the To do List.

Have you ever woken up thinking how am I going to get all these things done today? Where do I start? Well that was me one morning this week. 

I had a specific time that I had to leave home for an appointment and I had a list of jobs that needed to do be done before leaving. I could estimate the time required for some of the jobs, but for the remainder it was unknown.

Despite the list of jobs, I knew my number one priority was to commune with God. But how difficult it was to focus on Him when that list of jobs was running around in my head! The temptation to just get started on the jobs was so great.

But I knew that if I didn't stop and have time with God before commencing the day, things would not go as smoothly as they could do.

So I turned up the worship song that was playing , O come to the Altar by Elevation Worship, took off my glasses (so if I was tempted to open my eyes I couldn't read my list!!!), and simply said, "Speak to me God, show me how to do this day well."

My heart was ready to receive truth from God. I knew God was there and He wanted to talk to me. Just like He wants to talk to you today. And just like He wanted to speak to Samuel all those years ago ...

Then GOD came and stood before im, exactly as before, calling out, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Samuel answered, 'Speak. I am your servant, ready to listen.' 1 Samuel 3:10 The Message

And then our ever practical God said this to me,

"Wendy, just put one foot in front of the other and do what I’ve asked you to do."

Yes, that was exactly what I needed to hear. There is such truth in His words. They cut through that jobs list every time.

Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do; everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Proverbs 3:6 The Message

Acknowledge Him. I need you God today, and every day, all day.

And you guessed it, I got all those jobs done with ease, in fact with 10 minutes to spare!!!! 

Oh God, why don't I live every moment like this with You guiding every area in my life? Why do I still wrestle in my own strength? Why do I still think that in some situations I know best? Why is there the continual need to learn to yield - the continual dying to self?

"My old identity has been co-crucified with the Messiah and no longer lives; for the nails of his cross crucified me with him. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his live through me - we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, and dispenses his life into mine!" Galatians 2:20 TPT

Thank you Jesus that I have a new life that is empowered by your faith. Please help me to really live as one with you. Please help me to work out my salvation well.

"My beloved ones, just like you've always listened to everything I've taught you in the past, I'm asking you now to keep following my instructions as though I were right there with you. Now you must continue to make this new life fully manifested as you live in the holy awe of God - which brings you trembling into His presence." Philippians 2:12 TPT

Your presence God, what a beautiful place to be. Peace, love and joy are all there, ready to be embraced. Speak. I am your servant, ready to listen.

When we stop, take time to acknowledge God and listen and obey His ways, the result is always magnificent. How can it not be? He is magnificent.

GOD is magnificent; he can never be praised enough. There are no boundaries to his greatness. Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts. Psalm 145:3-4 The Message

Are you listening to me?

"Mum, are you listening to me?"

"Well, I do know you were talking about ......, but I might have missed some of what you said."

To be honest, I probably missed quite a bit of what they said because when they came to speak to me I continued on with whatever I was doing and only half-listened to what they were saying to me! Too task focused.

I apologise for my inattentiveness, but our child still has that sense that Mum doesn't always listen to me.

Thankfully our Heavenly Father is not like that. He, in His majestically mysterious way, is available 24/7 for each one of us. In Jeremiah, the Lord says,

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:12 NKJV

God listening to us does not necessarily translate into Him doing what we ask. Just like as a parent we listen to our children's requests, but we don't always fulfill them as we often have a bigger picture in mind. Our Heavenly Father is the same. Our job is to stick with Him, wait and trust. 

But me, I'm not giving up.

I'm sticking around to see what God will do.

I'm waiting for God to make things right.

I'm counting on God to listen to me.

Micah 7:7 The Message

Trust. Trust that His promises are true, despite what we see. How difficult that can be sometimes. We need to remind ourselves of the good things our God has done - starting with our salvation.

This I recall to my mind,

Therefore I have hope.

Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness,

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,

"Therefore I hope in Him!"

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,

To the soul who seeks Him,

It is good that one should hope and wait quietly

For the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:21-26 NKJV

Wait patiently upon the LORD - Not always an easy thing to do. But as we go through trial after trial, hopefully we start to hone that skill of waiting patiently. As in each of those trials we see more and more of our God's faithfulness so our trust levels increase. We come to a place of knowing without a doubt that He listens to us because He loves us, and He has a plan for us.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

Podcast 41 - I will be exalted through the whole earth

I will be exalted through the whole earth

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10 NKJV

Being a very task focused person, this is one of the scriptures the Holy Spirit often reminds me of.  It is one of my go-to scriptures when I feel myself getting overwhelmed with life's circumstances. 

A couple of worship songs based on this scripture can often help me get to that place of 'Being still', Be Still by Kari Jobe and Be Still on the Hillsong album, There is more. They are on my 'Be still' playlist!

When I was seeking God on scriptures He wanted me to keep focused on this year, 2019, Psalm 46:10 was one of them. I looked it up in The Passion Translation to help me get a fresh revelation on it ..

Surrender your anxiety!
Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God.
I am God above all the nations, and I will be exalted through the whole earth. Psalm 46:10 TPT

Over the years, my main focus when reading this scripture has been the 'Be still, and know that I am God,' with me speaking to my mind, telling it to settle. 

But last week when I read this scripture from The Passion Translation I felt that God was directly speaking to me from the last part of the verse ....  'Wendy don't fear the future for I am God above all the nations, and I will be exalted through the whole earth.' 

I am... I will 

I had this overwhelming sense of God's power and authority on this earth. That despite what people say and do, He is and always will be the God above all nations, and He will be exalted through the whole earth - as unlikely as that seems today.   Romans 14:11 came to mind ...

Just as it is written:

"As surely as I am the Living God, I tell you:
'Every knee will bow before me and every tongue will confess the truth and glorify me!" 
Romans 14:11 TPT

Which is then followed by ...

Therefore, each one must answer for himself and give a personal account of his own life before God. So stop being critical and condemning of other believers, but instead determine to never deliberately cause a brother or sister to stumble and fall because of your actions. Romans 14:12-13 TPT

Plenty to meditate on there!

But back to Psalm 46:10, where God is declaring Who He is and that He will be exalted. Here is the Amplified version,

Let be and be still, and know (recognise and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 AMP

Exalt - to elevate by praise; related to 'glorify'  - to give glory (as in worship) (from Mirriam-Webster)

So what does exalting God look like in our lives? What does it look like in my life? What does it look like in your life? Perhaps a better question is what does God want it to look like in our lives?

Let's pray, 

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for the blessing of having your written word so freely available to us. Thank you for the revelation your Holy Spirit provides when we read it with the expectation that You will speak to us. 

I acknowledge that you are God. Thank you for sending your son Jesus to be my Lord and Saviour. Thank you for giving the Holy Spirit to be my counsellor and guide every minute of every day.  

Please help me to exalt you in the way You want to be exalted. Thank you that your grace is always sufficient and your mercies are new every morning. I love  you.

In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

Podcast 40 - Life gets messy when we don't trust God

Life gets messy when we don't trust God

A little story .... this week I have been reminded once again of what it means to do life 'in your own strength.'  Those times when you are pushing through, but doing it the hard way, often with a really bad attitude - resentment being a key factor. 

Over the past couple of years I have become more involved in our business, which has been great for me, Ken and the business. But not always great for our children especially when school holidays come around. 

During the school holidays resentment can creep in as I have a strong desire to complete the day's work jobs well, but also have a strong desire to actually have some fun with our children as they are out of the normal school routine. One moment I am resenting the work, but then God reminds me this is the means by which we have a warm, dry home and food to eat. The next moment I am resenting the children being at home, but then God reminds me that they are a blessing from Him and how different my life would be without them!

This morning I realised that the source of that resentment is actually a lack of trust in God.  That is, I'm not trusting that God will give me enough time in my day to do the things that He wants me to do (not the things I think I need to do).  But rather I am trying to work out myself how to fit it all in (ie doing it in my own strength), and getting very impatient and frustrated with everyone around me. 

The funny thing is, yesterday morning I expected that I would have to work all day to get various tasks done before we closed for the Christmas holiday period. The stress levels had risen by 8am when the children started waking up and my time of non-interrupted work suddenly became 10 minutes slots of concentration in among children's requests.  

Then I went to a 10am appointment, only to find that the appointment was for today! So there was 45 minutes wasted. 

Home again to work on some financial reporting, which turned out to be a lot simpler than I thought it was going to be. Finished! I looked at the clock on my computer - midday. Not the 6pm that I thought it was going to be. I felt pretty stupid. I had caused angst to myself and my children for nothing - other than for me to be reminded that it is always better to walk with God through the day, rather than try to run my own race and cause havoc in the process. 

A simple matter of getting up in the morning, taking a deep breath, giving all the tasks I think I need to do to God, and saying, 'Please show me which ones I need to do, and how and when to do them.'  And then waiting to hear what He says, and be guided by Him. Not charging off on my own agenda - doing it in my own strength.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways." says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV

Thankfully God is gracious and merciful, and there was a time of restoration with the children in the afternoon as I switched off from work and we watched some Christmas movies together.

My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness.  2 Corinthians 12:9 TPT 

Hopefully when we re-open the business in January I will remember this lesson and trust that God has it all sorted!  

Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions, with all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Proverbs 3:5 TPT