Our Creator

Have you ever felt less-than-worthy to walk with God? When reflecting on the events of our day at times they seem to brand us with uncertainty about having thought, spoken and acted like a Christian.  Last night I was having one of those “less-than-worthy” moments . . . feeling as if I hadn’t met the requirements of fully loving those around me.  The Lord surprised me with the following conversation;

“I am everywhere, all the time. I don’t disappear when you walk in the flesh.  How can your opinion of yourself influence Me, and make Me walk away from you? Is your opinion what I should base My love on?”

When the Lord spoke of being everywhere all the time, I thought about God’s ominousness.  And when He said that He didn’t base His love on my opinion of myself, I sensed that He is our Creator and knows us better than we know ourselves.  We read about both these concepts in Ps 139:1-12;

You have searched me, Lord,

and you know me.

2You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4Before a word is on my tongue

you, Lord, know it completely.

5You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

7Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

12even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

As our Creator God not only knows and loves us, but He bears with our failures.  He does not assess our behaviors in the manner we do, for He has a truer measuring rod than we do.  That allows Him to value us, even when we see only failure in our days.  Today, let us remember that God is with us, and has invested His efforts in our lives so that we might be in His, now and forever.  Amen.

Stillness and Quiet

Stillness and quiet . . . not necessarily what we think are the works of the Spirit.  In fact, since faith is the evidence of the unseen, we take great comfort in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.  His works validate our faith by giving us a peek into what God is saying and doing.

But stillness is what is prophesied in Revelation 7;

“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea of on any tree.” (Rev 7:1).

The church Age began when the Holy Spirit came like a wind from heaven (Acts 2:2), baptizing believers with the fire of the Spirit. One wonders what must it be like when the Lord stills the wind . . . and why He would still the wind? 

We read in Revelation 7 that the angels are sealing the servants of God in their foreheads, or minds (7:3).  Since judgment would be coming to the earth, God’s people are sealed beforehand.  It is a sober time, a time of marking those who believe in God and treasure His salvation (7:10). And it is a time of personal relationship with God as the Lamb becomes the Shepherd, protecting them from harm and wiping all tears from His people’s eyes.

The stilling of God’s wind is followed by silence.  “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Rev 8:1).  What follows is a time of powerful prayer as incense is mixed with the prayers of the saints.  God’s people seek the intimacy of prayer with the He who has sealed them, Who cares for them, and God partners with the people whose hearts He hears from.

I sense a time of stillness and quiet in the Spirit.  God has not changed, neither has Jesus stepped down from His throne.  Rather, it is a time for setting the foundation of intimacy in the hearts and minds of those who call on the name of Jesus.  Relationship with Him, and treasuring our salvation are the works God’s Spirit is doing in us during this season of stillness and quiet.

Some will be tempted to prophesy what they wish God would say.  Some will pray hasty prayers of proclamation.  Let us be those who enjoy the stillness and quiet for the short season, listening, praying, and become a Bride for the One Who loves us.  This relationship will keep us through all else that follows.  Amen.