The Longing of the Father’s Heart for Ours

Today I read about a longing in God’s heart for our hearts. It feels like a father’s plea because I think maybe it is?

He speaks His desire in such simple terms:

“Oh, that they would always have hearts like this…”

Hearts like what?

Moses remimds the Israelites of the time they finally understand their humble position before God-the moment God speaks the 10 commandments from the mountain blazing with fire. In fear & trembling, the leaders begged Moses to become an intermediary, speaking to & hearing from God on their behalf.

If there were ever a phrase that captures the primary longing in my heart on behalf of my sons, it would be the same:

Oh, that they would always have hearts like this…hearts that humbly know their need of the Father & their inability to come before Him without the intermediary blood of the Lamb.

Sometimes I think that God is perceived as this angry deity Who can only be pleased by strict obedience, but that’s SO not the case! He loves us SO MUCH that He gives us a choice to follow His lead.

Of the 10 commandments, the 5th has a promise attached to it…I think it’s an indicator of His heart for our hearts. It promises a long, full life in the land for children IF they honor their father and mother.

As a parent, there is no greater joy than to hear that your children are walking in Truth, and there’s no greater pain when they’re not.

The Father longs for us to follow Him because it brings Him joy to see us walking in Truth!

I can almost see Him bend down & whisper to His beloved, “Do what is right & good in My sight, so ALL will go well with you. THEN you will enter & occupy the good land…”

A command with a promise is worth following in any economy!💯

In the same way that we long for our children to simply heed our wisdom, so does Father God! He knew we wouldn’t be able to keep His commands in our own strength. They set the stage for us to realize that none of us is good enough to strive our way to heaven.The only way we can walk in Truth is through the salvation of His Son, Jesus!

Father, oh, that we would have hearts to follow Your lead. As our Commander & Chief, You always lead us victoriously to enter & occupy the good land.

#OneYearBible

March 26th One Year Bible Readings

DEUTERONOMY 5:1-6:25

LUKE 7:11-35

PSALM 68:19-35

PROVERBS 11:29-31

A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skilled Sailor

A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor...at least that’s what Franklin D. Roosevelt once said. That quote ministered to my heart yesterday & it surfaced in my thoughts as I read psalm 94 this morning.

Navigating tumultuous seas can be exhilarating & terrifying all at once, & yet I wonder if a sailor leans into the scary storm because it becomes his proving ground? He wont know the depth of his sailing skills until he’s met an angry sea.

The stormy sea not only proves what he knows (or doesn’t know), but also provides perfect opportunity to grow! The things he learns under duress & the need for discerning, quick decisions can only be learned through the discipline of a stormy gale.

In the same way that a sailor leans into a storm, gleaning all he can & allowing it to sharpen his skills, so does the psalmist in Psalm 94.

He writes, “JOYFUL are those you discipline, Lord; those you teach with your instructions. You give them relief from troubled times… The Lord WILL NOT reject his people; He WILL NOT abandon his special possession.”

The seas of my heart feel a bit tumultuous as of late & last night I let myself feel sad. I didn’t quite feel joyful in the storm of emotions that followed a hard-ish phone call…& yet as I read the Word, I am comforted by The One Who has rule & reign over the storms we face. Y’all I don’t know what I’d do without The Word of God as my simultaneous rudder and ballast in life!

When doubt fills our mind, His Word gives us renewed hope & cheer! He is our fortress in the storm, the place we can hide when we need a moment to regroup.

Father, we thank you for the stormy seasons we face. They provide a proving ground for our faith to grow & a training ground to hear Your voice.They strip us of self sufficiency by reminding us of our great need for our all-sufficient God!

Guard us from the fattened complacency that grows during smooth sea times & Holy Spirit, lead our mind, will, emotions & body when traversing stormy seas, because when You do, we can discover inexplicable joy amidst the winds of the Father’s discipline & instruction.

#OneYearBible

March 25th One Year Bible Readings

DEUTERONOMY 4:1-49

LUKE 6:39-7:10

PSALM 68:1-18

PROVERBS 11:28

Hope Alone Won’t Improve Your Health. Habits Will.

The other day, the trainer on my workout video said something that I immediately texted to myself:

You can’t hope yourself to better health!

Hope won’t improve health. Habits will!

She was referring to physical health, but the principle can be applied to ALL forms of health: relational, emotional, financial, spiritual. If I hope to see a change, I have to do the work! Hope & habits go hand in hand!

Today I read Moses’s words, “Then AT LAST the Lord said to me…” The caps are mine, but even in that half sentence can’t you hear his hope for change?

After many years of woeful wandering, the Lord says, “You have been wandering around this hill long enough; turn to the north.”

As soon as I read that, the quote from my workout gal surfaced! I invite you to consider this your signpost moment to stop wandering & ask God what’s your due north?

Isn’t that good? I’m weepy as I type because it’s SO easy to get caught in a cycle of complacency, hoping for change only to have those hopes dashed as my health suffers, my marriage wains & my emotions rule the roost of my life!

We need ask the Lord to help define our hope & determine what habits will help us move in that direction!

Habits are not about denial, but about discipline. The no’s of today support the yeses of yesterday! Discipline isn’t about pulling up the bootstraps & determining to do something on our own accord. That’s why we have the Holy Spirit, our Counselor, to guide us!

Self control is a fruit OF the Spirit. No striving needed - in fact, if you ARE striving, knock it off as it only leads to pride! (Speaking from experience😳)

Holy Spirit, we call on you to reveal areas where we’ve been wandering!

Show us YOUR due north for a healthy life. Give us a hope for health hat aligns with Yours!

👉🏽Physical (eating food like its medicine, drinking water, getting rest, working out)

👉🏽Relational (forgiving first, loving long, anger-ing short😉, responding instead of reacting) 

👉🏽Emotional (taking negative thoughts captive, choosing praise over complaint, speaking words of life & removing never & always)

👉🏽Spiritual (Seek Him first in everything, making the Word, prayer & time w His people a priority)

👉🏽Financial (Lord, what’s YOUR budget for the finances YOU provide for our family? Where can I become a better steward?)

We place our hope in You & are willing to do the hard work of creating habits that lead us in Your will & way!

#OneYearBible

March 24th One Year Bible Readings

DEUTERONOMY 2:1-3:29

LUKE 6:12-38

PSALM 67:1-7

PROVERBS 11:27