As the rain and snow

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:9-21

“Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother... So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding… May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 14:13,19; 15:5-6

Let it. Let it. Let love be genuine. That’s what love is: genuine, strong, self-giving, generous. Love welcomes, beckons out of the cold, says come sit awhile. Love puts on no airs, breathes and sings in natural voice. Love embraces, sees inside and values each person, feels and applies compassion. Let love be what it is. Stop getting in the way. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

But when I raise my ugly haughty head, it muddies love’s very nature with my sin nature, and genuine becomes stilted, true becomes distorted, lavish becomes limited. Love tainted with selfishness says, ‘what’s in it for me?’

We must abhor all that is evil and pollutes genuine love. Stop keeping an account of offenses, preferring self, allowing laxness to creep into any part of love’s vitality. Are we even aware how self pokes into our desires, disorders emotions, and ruins genuine caring and compassion? How our ideas preempt listening, our plans push away another’s time-consuming sorrow or need? How our sense of rights, and smack of superiority in being right, dismiss the ‘inferior’ and diminish others’ sacredly-held beliefs?

For love to be genuine, it must first have its way in us. We cannot love apart from knowing and accepting Christ’s love for us, His selfless, all-encompassing, unconditional love spilled out and washing us in His heart’s red blood. Once grounded in His love, we begin to grasp the infinite measure of it, and learn by daily practice to work it out with open hands and warm heart toward others. (Ephesians 3:17-19; 1 John 4:19)

Lord, may I fulfill Your law by loving with purity, generosity, and grace. Remind me daily I have died to sin and self, and live to You, for the love and upbuilding of Your people. (Romans 6:4,6-8; 13:8-11,14; 14:7-8; 15:1-2; Galatians 2:20)

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
    yet I will not forget you.
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” Isaiah 49:15-16a

“Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,’
even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.” Psalm 139:7-12

The siblings challenged each other to plunge from the cliff into the winter water. Shouts and splashes turned to stun that the necklace had been torn off, the ashes of a son who did not survive, at the bottom, on a chain. Dive after dive in the frigid water, finally a sighting… and after nearly too many long shivering minutes, the brother emerged, treasure in hand. Tears, relief, joy at the retrieval of something so valuable almost lost. O, the depths to which a father and brother go for one so loved.

Our heavenly Father sees, and loves, the dead at the bottom. Jesus gave His life to pursue and redeem the helpless, the lifeless. He plunged the depths of the grave, our names engraved with the nails of Calvary on His hands. What wondrous, what boundless, love is this? (Romans 5:6-10; Ephesians 2:4-7)

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?.. No… For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35,37-39

Rent with brokenness and imperfections, we may doubt His love. Surrounded with trouble, or saturated with emotional or physical pain, we may not feel the blessed balm. Knowing our own fickleness and weak will, we may question His fidelity. Yet His promise is true and steadfast: He will never forsake His own. (Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 94:14; 2 Corinthians 1:20; 4:7-9)

Held fast in the arms of Jesus and His salvific love, how do we love in return? How fully are we surrendered to this Lover of our souls? How willingly are we reaching out in selfless love to our fellow image-bearers? How intentionally, and clearly, and broadly, do we communicate Christ’s love that will not let go?

“Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Wellspring of the joy of living,
Ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
All who live in love are thine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.” ~Henry Van Dyke (1907)

Lord, let me never forget the depths to which You have gone for my sake, and that You will never forsake. May I love You and others so selflessly and well.

“Joseph, being seventeen years old,.. was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. [He] brought a bad report of them to their father… But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him...

“[His brothers] saw him from afar, and… conspired against him… Let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams…’ Reuben said, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness…’—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe of many colors.., took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty…

“Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan coming from Gilead… on their way to Egypt. Judah said, ‘What profit is it if we kill our brother? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites…’ His brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt…” Genesis 37:1-2,4,18,20,22-28

“Joseph said to them,.. ‘If you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me…’ Then they said to one another, ‘In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.’” Genesis 42:18-21

The initial account of Joseph’s mistreatment is factual, and we catch the contagious hatred and bitterness, and the frenzy of cruelty and greed involved in his capture and ‘sale’ by his siblings. But years later in the story those brothers fess up. So taken with their wicked opportunity at the time, every impulse went to fleshing out their evil inclination, to revenge against this favorite of their father. We sense not a thought triggered as to how Joseph suffered, what he endured. But time brings back memories, and mental images emblazoned on their hearts unveiled Joseph’s “distress of soul” they’d fiendishly and selfishly ignored. His pleading still echoed, and stung, in their ears, and time only turned up the volume.

In our day to day, do we get caught up in emotion, quick decisions, crowd-think and mob-do that prevent us from recognizing the gravity of our actions? Do we let a sense of urgency, a need to be accepted, or an impulse to be busy, push us ahead of or beyond thoughtfulness? Doing so leaves us with mismatched socks, feet that run into selfish muddles and ruin. (Proverbs 6:16-18; Isaiah 59:7)

Would we early and carefully order our mind in God’s word, set right our heart, and be saturated with the Spirit before setting out? Would we untie our tendency to haste, discard thoughtlessness, and put on the readiness of the gospel? (Ephesians 5:18; 6:15)

Father, teach me to take time to consider my ways and connect Your truth as my filter. May I never run swiftly after anything, or anyone, but Thee.

“Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’” Mark 7:31-37

Imagine being a watcher and follower of Jesus, and bringing someone you love to Him for healing. You strain your head to watch His expression of mercy and His hands touching. You tune your ears to hear His words: a prayer?.. a demand… and suddenly your friend who could not hear or speak can do both! Your heart jumps, you gasp, astonished. How can it be?

Yet it can, and is! Jesus individually deals with each one for whom we pray, whom we bring before His throne, and He transforms lives. Yes! He does all things well! Not always in our time, or our prescribed or thought-best way, but divinely well!

“Look, you scoffers,
    be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
    a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.” Acts 13:41

Oh, would we stop our unbelief, and marvel at His work! Would we stop our scoffing, complaining, whining, criticizing, demeaning of others, growling at those who disagree, and being disagreeable ourselves! Look to Him! Be astounded at the marvelous and intricate and infinite ways He orchestrates time and history, our communities and nations and world! Be quiet, and still. Watch the unfolding, trace His love and majesty, and let us allow our marveling to swell!

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Romans 11:33

And when we cannot understand, or bear to wait longer, let us dive into Him. Let us dig into His character and explore His ways. Let us press on to discover the marvels of His grace, and wisdom, and goodness, and love. In all our deficiencies, our hustling to do and our fretting for things we cannot control, come to Jesus, be astonished, and worship.

“O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace!

His love my heart has captive made,
His captive would I be,
For He was bound, and scourged and died,
My captive soul to free.

Hear him, ye deaf, his praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.

My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim,
to spread through all the earth abroad
the honors of thy name.” ~Charles Wesley (1739)

Lord, keep me astonished at Your well doing of all things, and marveling at Your infinite greatness.

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
    you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” Psalm 16:5-6,9,11

“Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:23-26

“‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul,
    ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” Lamentations 3:24

A portion is: 1: an individual’s part or share of something: such as a: a share received by gift or inheritance; b: dowry; c: enough food, especially of one kind to serve one person at one meal; 2: an individual’s lot, fate, or fortune; one’s share

Choosing God as our portion is the best decision, ever. Jesus our Portion, Jesus our Only. David knew it. Asaph knew it. Jeremiah knew it. In Christ we own every spiritual blessing, guaranteed and without fail. In Him ours is an eternal inheritance, bounty, abundant life, satisfaction, and treasure. (John 4:14; 6:35; 10:10; Ephesians 1:3; )

So why do we toil for what does not last, and partake of so much that does not satisfy? What influences our reason to invest in what deteriorates or fades away? How are our hearts so easily inclined to wayward affection? Is it the media’s voice that convinces us what we need, or deserve, or should think, and might we do better to take a hiatus from the incessant feed? Does the company we keep steer us to godly or worldly thinking? Would we take enough time alone and quiet to assess the influence of our companions? Do we investigate and search until we find those who will feed us what our itching ears want to hear, or will we honestly pour over God’s word to hear His truth? (Ecclesiastes 2:11; Isaiah 55:2; 2 Timothy 4:3-4)

What circumstances are showing up the gaps in our worldview, our knowledge, our purity, our health, our desires? Will we look for God there? He is the One who abides, guides, and satisfies. What change of direction, or affection, or determination, will it take for us to root our strength and hope in God alone? What will it look like in our priorities, workplaces, ministries, and expenditures, to absolutely trust Him, and nothing else, as our Portion?

Thy Way is Perfect

“Long is the way, and very steep the slope,

Strengthen me once again, O God of Hope.

Far, very far, the summit doth appear;

But Thou art near my God, Thou art near.

And Thou wilt give me with my daily food,

Powers of endurance, courage, fortitude.

Thy way is perfect, only let that way

Be clear before my feet from day to day.

Thou art my Portion, saith my soul to Thee,

O what a Portion is my God to me.”  ~Amy Carmichael (1867-1951)

Lord, keep me choosing You as my highest and best, my only Portion, day by day, and forever.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9

Jesus, His gift of faith embraced and applied, is all it takes for open access to freedom and its delights. We walk through the open door of justification He accomplished at the cross on our behalf. We step into salvation’s pasture, we stand in grace, and there is no going back. No more enmity with God, no legitimate fear of wrath or judgment. No uncertainty, no hopelessness, no condemnation, no shame. (Romans 8:1)

It is a natural tendency to linger near the entrance, to spend effort getting ready, to wear ourselves out preparing, trying hard, and making ourselves worthy or sufficient. And we never arrive. We’ve missed the point, that Jesus has made the way for us. He has borne our guilt, He has paid the price, He has flown wide the door. Open access is exactly that, opened by the precious blood of Christ so that we only need enter by faith, also His free gift. (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19)

Jesus beckons us from toil and effort, confusion and discord, to the wide and glorious and infinite and secure place of grace. He says to leave our striving, our self-justification and self-righteousness, and come into His broad place. Here we find reconciliation, rejoicing, and certain hope of glory. Here we find rest for our souls. Here we can rejoice no matter the hardship, because Jesus has gone before us. He produces much in us through suffering and endurance. He transforms our character, we are filled like a wellspring with His Spirit’s love. Have we entered? If not, would we? (Psalm 18:19; 31:8; Matthew 11:29; Romans 5:8-11; Hebrews 6:19-20)

“Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

“Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.” ~Charlotte Elliot (1789-1871)

If we are in Christ, are we living in the fullness of our freedom, and relishing our spiritual abundance? To what extent are our daily outlook informed, and plans motivated, by our salvation, and gratitude for it? Are we driven by guilt, a constant ‘must-do,’ the need to earn favor? Or by divine compulsion to honor and give back to the One who gave Himself for us? How does freedom in Christ fuel efforts for peace, mutual edification, and good will in our relationships? Are they bathed with mercy, forbearance, patient and selfless love, and generosity? (Romans 14:19; Titus 2:14)

Lord Jesus, may I enter Your presence daily and be so enthralled, and so filled, that You spill over in my life.

“And he called the people to him again and said to them, ‘Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.’ And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, ‘Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’” Mark 7:14-23

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!” Psalm 139:23-24

We can become masters at playing hide. We let evil thoughts run rampage in our minds. We coddle wickedness in our hearts, and put on tidy clothes and a pleasant or compassionate face. We mentally excuse curt and bitter reactions because we think we are the judge. But the Lord sees through it all. Jesus’s condemnation of the Pharisees cut right to the quick of their best practices. They were experts at putting on airs, donning cloaks of righteousness, and sauntering with legalistic swag. They honored Him with their lips but their hearts were distant and vain. (Mark 7:6-7)

What we need to become masters at is seek. Before we turn our noses upward at another’s hypocrisy, we need to turn eyes toward our own. What are we condoning on the inside under the guise of self-control-on-the-outside? What wayward proclivities do we relish concealing? The enemy is an expert at deceit, and delights when we fall to these destructive habits and think them benign. What will it take for us to search our own hearts?

We can go to God’s word, and allow its truth to spotlight and penetrate our sin. We can go to God’s throne of grace, humbly naming that sin, and asking for mercy, forgiveness, and help. We can invite accountability with a sister or brother in Christ, willingly, honestly, and lovingly confessing our sins and receiving admonishment. (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 27:17; Ephesians 4:15-16; Hebrews 4:16)

Hide and seek is no child’s game. It is played too often and well by those who claim to be mature in Christ, and our heavenly Umpire says, ‘Tag, you’re it! Come to base and get cleaned up.’ When we open ourselves to His merciful discovery, we can be ‘all in free,’ washed by His grace and cleared to live out what He has purified and redeemed inside. No more camouflage in the world, no more hiding among those whose behavior makes ours look better, or us feel superior. Will we determine to correct our game today?

Gracious Lord, please purify me from the inside out of any defilement. May all I think and say and do bring Your holy name honor and praise.

“And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.” Genesis 13:10-13 (14:11-12; 18:20-22; 19:15-22,29)

“And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

“Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.” Genesis 33:18-34:2,(6-10,13-31)

There was something in both Lot and Jacob that was drawn toward cities, bastions of worldliness from which the Lord had called their family. Their heritage was heathen and polytheistic, and He called them out to form a people that would know and serve and honor the One True God. Where He purported to build them as a nation apart, they thought they could mix and mingle with no consequences, but that proved foolish. Once near and toward, the will softens into, in, and among. It’s impossible to separate a blended affection. (Genesis 11:31-12:4; Joshua 24:14)

City lights are alluring. The draw of anonymity and indulgence of the flesh make noise and sparkle attractive, and once we settle on the fringes, sneak becomes saunter. Whether it is a temptation of mental, sensual, or geographic wandering, resistance softens when our juices start flowing. We take a peek, we dip the toe, we taste the sweet, we handle the jeweled trinket, and it’s hard to stop once the spigot of giving in opens. (Proverbs 5:3-6; 23:31-32)

More prudent is the one who avoids the sin place altogether than the one who thinks he can flirt at the edge and not be affected. God gives discernment and spiritual strength to know how and where to be in and not of the world. He is mighty to hem us in, and prays for our faithfulness as we spread salt and light, yet frowns on our foolishness. (Matthew 5:13-14; John 17:15-18; 1 Corinthians 10:13)

What “cities” tempt us? A step toward laxness in fellowship leads to isolation from edification and encouragement, leads to flabby faith? Sloth in the spiritual disciplines leads to first-thing-in-the-morning tuning in to a screen of world-speak, leads to warped thinking and a humanistic mindset? Over-indulgence in comfort and luxury leads to hoarding rights and entitlements, leads to greed-clenched fists and condescension toward others? Self-gratifying is never soul satisfying. (Romans 12:11; Hebrews 10:23-25)

Father, guard me from skirting or indulging those places of mind and flesh that would pull me from you. Sanctify me in Your truth, that I live fruitfully and honorably in, and not of, the world.

“The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.  

“Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ But he answered them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ And they said to him, ‘Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go and see.’ And when they had found out, they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.  And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

“Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.” Mark 6:30-46

Jesus was never scattered. His time was filled, but his schedule was flexible. He was pressed on every side, but never in a hurry. He spent himself for others, but always drew away to his Father for refilling. Because he prioritized time alone in prayer, he was able to recognize and fulfill every opportunity put before him.

Opportunities abound in the days of a believer to give out to others, and so give out of strength. There are people and situations that are hard, unyielding. There are urgencies that clamor for our attention, where we need patiently to “begin to teach.” Many are hungry, lost, confused, and when we look to Jesus, He makes a way for us to minister His life, nourishment, solace, and love.

Are we so scheduled, with so little margin, that we have no heart room for compassion, no time at day’s end to feed the famished? Do we dismiss crowds because we have a crowded house, or hours, already? And when our days are full, do we make it a priority to get alone with Jesus? He is life-giving, always sufficient.

Lord, connect the synapses of my mind and the sinews of my hands to the needs of your people. Keep my eyes open to see, and my feet willing to seize, every opportunity You put before me to be Jesus to others.

“I cry aloud to God,
    aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
    my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
    when I meditate, my spirit faints.

You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
    the years long ago.
I said, ‘Let me remember my song in the night;
    let me meditate in my heart.’
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
‘Will the Lord spurn forever,
    and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?’ 

Then I said, ‘I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.’

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
    What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
    you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph.” Psalm 77:1-15

The sky is so heavy this morning it is hard to see eternity. It all looks close, thick, a barrier between the heavens and me. My vision is limited, and so seems my ability to connect with the One who is seated above heaven and earth. The crow flying overhead, and cawing, is in my room. I’m pressed into the here and now, nearly suffocating on temporal concerns and sorrows. Yet, beyond the clouds, my limitless Lord reigns, and making them visible, light still shines, and leaves its smudge of hope. Redemption stands and rings its melody of grace, and wonder.

In the deepest of trouble, with faint spirit and longing so desperate he felt abandoned, the psalmist made search of his Lord. Turning his eyes from forlorn despair to the holy Most High, he found his balm. There is no circumstance so grim, no situation so disconcerting, that Jesus has not touched it, nor cannot redeem it.

When darkness closes in, and cruelty, sorrows, and deception storm our souls, God embraces us into His limitless love. Lingering illness, financial destitution, relationships in ruin- situations with dimmest hope meet God’s infinite goodness and glorious grace in His arms of mercy. He, the wonder-worker, gives songs in the night. (Job 35:10; Psalm 42:8)

What personal limits can I bring to God’s unlimited? What impossible to His possible? What uncertainty to His “yes and amen,” regret to His redemption, shame to His forgiveness, weakness to His strength, despair to His hope? Where can I trust Him to meet my dirge with His melody, my burdens with His yoke, my lack with His supply? Will I do so now? (2 Corinthians 1:20; Hebrews 4:16)

“Come, you disconsolate, where’er you languish; 
come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel. 
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish; 
earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal.” ~Thomas Moore (1816)

Infinite Lord, in every temporal distress, cause me to appeal to Your wide mercy, remember Your infinite goodness, ponder Your limitless grace, and exalt Your holy, matchless name.