A Series of Echoes

 

And in your offspring

all the nations of the earth

shall be blessed,

because Abraham 

  obeyed My voice

  and kept My charge......

        Genesis 26. 4-5

And in our own

     circles of influence

in which we dwell,

obeying the LORD,

responding to Him,

and being faithful in

whatever He has placed

before us 

   --no matter how big

                  or small --

   always reverberates.

Faithfulness resounds, 

   resonates,

   and echoes over and over.

for generations

    in unexpected ways. 

It is not just what we do,

but what God is forming

   in us and through us,

far beyond what we can

  imagine or pray for.

Lives in this generation

and a thousand years hence

          hang in the balance.

O LORD,

Abraham had no idea

how his faithfulness

      still reverberates.

Neither do we.

Dear Father, guide us

  into Your way

  and into this day

to stay faithful 

             even in this.

May You be blessed,

even as we seek

   to bless those around us.

Help us to listen to You

and go forth differently

  into the known

  and the yet unknown.

Because it is

      not unknown to You.

Go Forth and Go With

 

The LORD,

before Whom I have walked,

will send His angel with you

        and prosper your way.

                Genesis 24. 40

The actual structure

of the verse in Hebrew says,

"who I have walked before."

Abraham had walked 

  many miles with God,

not the first time of responding

to God to go along,

to go through, to follow,

to pursue, to go one's way,

to go on, 

not just to go forth,

  but to go forward in anything.

Abraham knew

to follow the LORD

even when he didn't understand,

   which was a lot of times.

To prosper may not initially appear

         as a grand success,

but beyond surviving

  to thriving in the unexpected,

to flourish and fulfill

      in the most unlikely ways.

God goes before us.

God goes with us.

We each have a chronicle

       of His faithfulness,

not yet finished.

O LORD,

Help us to trust You in this.

May we be assured 

   that You are with us,

guiding us 

      in the way we should go

  in the familiar

      and the dark unknown.

Not just to go forth,

   but to go with.

I can't do this.

    And you respond,

      But I am with you.

Empower us

     to follow You into it.   

 

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Never Gonna Let Us Go

 

The LORD is a stronghold

          for the oppressed,

a stronghold 

       in times of trouble.

And those who know Your name

     put their trust in You,

for You, O LORD,

have not forsaken those

     who seek You.

            Psalm 9. 9-10

Stronghold is both a noun

       and a verb.

The LORD is a stronghold,

   a refuge and a fortress,

in order to protect, nurture,

          and strengthen.

But God also

    has a strong hold on us.

Never gonna let us go.

We seek God

  and then realize that 

  He is the one pursuing us

                    all along.

He covers us 

    in times of trouble

which we rarely see coming.

May we live in His stronghold

and experience His strong hold

       in our everydays

so that we are already dwelling there

   when difficulties arise.

His strong hold transmits

      His strength to us.

O LORD,

Hold us tight.

Bind us to You.

Surround us with

     shouts of deliverance.

Sing over us

     Your steadfast love.

Help us to know

   and feel and recognize

             Your Presence.

You are a stronghold.

You are our stronghold,

    even in this situation today.

 

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Trust What I Am Doing Here

 

Then God opened her eyes,

and she saw a well of water.

               Genesis 21. 19

Seek God.

Pay attention.

And get ready for the unexpected

    in the ordinary 

              and the extraordinary.

We overlook the most incredible

  moments of God's provision

  and goodness

because we have not looked to Him,

nor waited

and watched with softened hearts.

Don't miss this, God whispers to us.

Trust what I am doing here.

O LORD,

Please help us 

to see our struggles,

   difficult situations,

or even this unknown place

        differently

because we have asked You

                to guide us.

And You reply,

       Follow Me into this.

Empower us 

    to recognize Your hand

and not dismiss 

   the well of water You reveal.

Align our eyes and our hearts

     with Yours 

in whatever we face today.

Prepare us to say Wow!

  I never saw that before.

 

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

What We Miss When We Don't

 

Therefore, I tell you,

do not be anxious

        about your life,

what you will eat 

or what you will drink,

nor about your body,

   what you will put on.

          Matthew 6. 25

These are the very words of Jesus.

What is He trying to 

           get across to us?

Do not be anxious

  is repeated six times

          in nine verses.

What part of that truth

    do we not understand?

There is a reason for it.

Being anxious 

     jams all the phone lines,

blinds us to God's provision,

     protection and Presence,

locks the doors

   and cuts off the power.

But most of all,

    being anxious keeps us

    from trusting God Almighty.

And oh, what we miss

          when we don't.

Anxiety promises the world

  and drops us over a cliff.

Seek Me instead.

Have we even thought of

      trusting Him about it?

God provides a way through

      -- all the way through.

O LORD,

You are in control.

Help us to know we aren't,

 nor do you intend us to be.

You watch over us.

You care for us.

You provide a way through

  that we cannot see

             on our own.

May we not be dominated

     by impending doom,

  but by Your Presence.

Walk with us.

Go before us.

Guide our steps.

The unknown

   is not unknown to You.

We don't know what to do,

    but we know 

    we can trust You.

 

Not Often Enough

 

....and I will sing praise

      to the name of the

      LORD Most High.

             Psalm 7. 17

When do we sing praises

           to our God?

     Not often enough.

Because when we praise God,

  we see our circumstances

  and even our struggles

    with a new heart,

              fresh eyes,

       and a strength that

                is not our own.

God's goodness

  extends way out there

  in the most unexpected places.

Sing His name

               over this situation.

Recognize His signature

     over what we face.

Praise Him 

    not for what He does.

But for who He is.

And go forth into the day

differently as a result.

O LORD,

We don't praise You

           as we should.

And then we wonder

  why we struggle.

We praise You not just for

   Your goodness

         or blessings upon us,

     but because You are God.

Praise does not change You,

   but strengthens us

not by circumstances, 

        but by acknowledging You.

Not just praising You for good stuff,

but praising You in 

           what is so hard.

We can go forth differently

because praising You

                   changes us. 

May we write Your name

     all over this day.

Knowing Redemption Is In This Somehow

 

Is anything too hard

       for the LORD?

At the appointed time....

         Genesis 18. 14

We stand right in the midst

   of God's divine appointments,

although we rarely see,

  realize or recognize them as such.

This struggle? This ongoing problem?

          This tangled mess?

But we are called to be faithful

  even when we don't see the endgame,

or understand this chaos,

or what appears as mundane

              random or unfruitful.

We have no idea what God

       will bring from it.

Nothing is too hard for Him.

     And thereby we can

     go forth differently into it.

And know that there is redemption

          in this somehow. 

O LORD,

Your Holy Word is full of stories

  with the most unexpected journeys.

Help us to trust You 

    in our own walk with You.

Nothing is beyond Your power

     or the fulfilling of Your purposes,

        even if we can't see it yet.

Grant us the strength

     to stake our lives

     on Your appointed times.

You redeem all things

         in one way or a million.