As the rain and snow

“Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you?..  The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. The north and the south, you have created them.” Psalm 89:5-8,11-12

The thought of heaven itself praising God the Mighty Maker, Master Designer, stirs me to wonder and delight. The twinkle of a star a smile, the curve of the moon a bow, or lifted hand, the woosh of the wind a song of praise, the boom of thunder a bass beneath timbrel rain, all are owned by Him, rejoice in Him, and serve Him with gladness and praise. (Psalm 98:7-8; 148:4)

Looking up at the sky makes us small. Taking in its vastness, its boundless reach to infinity, beholding the exquisite beauty of cloud shape and movement, color, suspended heavenly lights, causes my soul to soar and at the same time bow to this indescribable One Who would so craft such a universe. He is indeed greatly to be praised and feared, delighted in and revered. I who have eyes to see and a mind to understand cannot help but respond to the splendor of His handiwork by joining in with all creation in extolling the uncreated One. Face to heaven, hands high, heart swelling full with the melody of joy, this is what I was created for. (Isaiah 43:7)

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Revelation 4:11

“Thou rushing wind that art so strong,
Ye clouds that sail in heav’n along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

“Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!”  ~St. Francis of Assisi (1225)

Will I watch the heavens praise God and join in their song? Lord, open my eyes and heart, and loosen my tongue!

“Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.

All fairest beauty, Heavenly and earthly,
Wondrously, Jesus, is found in Thee;
None can be nearer, Fairer, or dearer,
Than Thou my Savior art to me.                                                                                       

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine.”  ~ Anonymous, German, 17th century

Amen and amen.

“They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt. Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them. Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord… They provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them… Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed… Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.” Psalm 106:19-21,23-26,29-30,43-45

We deserve judgment. In reviewing Israel’s history, the psalmist recounts their wanton rebellion, their blatant rejection of God’s commands, and surely God was righteous and just to return to them what they had sown. But he is also merciful, and used both Moses and Phinehas to intervene on their people’s behalf. According to God’s covenant love, appealing to His mercy, they stood in the breach and interceded on their behalf, imploring God to withhold judgment and be seen as glorious and merciful.

Of course, the greatest Breach-Stander is the One Who became the Passover Lamb, our Savior Who willingly gave His life on the cross to bridge the gap between sinful man and holy God. He opened wide His arms when He died for His people to give them life and hope and meaning. He lives to uphold His own, giving strength and understanding and energy to handle all we face. He is sufficient, the only mediator. It is His love that ultimately fills the breach in every intercession. (Psalm 107:1-2; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Timothy 2:5).

We are called to care about and for those entrenched in hopelessness, those struggling with the challenge of confused and ailing parents, or watching a loved one’s life slip away, or overwhelmed with circumstances and responsibilities and unmet needs. To be a Moses or Phinehas, we stand in the gap for them by interceding on their behalf, by pleading for the Spirit’s intervention in their souls, and by reminding them that they are loved. This takes compassion, desire, time, concentration, effort, all supplied by God to the willing, trusting heart. (Philippians 2:13; 4:19; James 5:16)

For whom will I stand in the gap this day, will I kneel in intercession? Whom will my open arms embrace? Whose way of sorrow or desperation or unbelief will I carry to the cross? It is our privilege, as those saved from slavery and experiencing God’s fullness, to stand in the breach for those still shackled, for the Lord’s sake.

Lord and Redeemer, thank you for standing, arms spread wide, in the breach for me. In compassion and divine love, may I be deliberate to stand there too, at the foot of your cross and throne, for others.

“The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear… The Lord God helps me… Behold, the Lord God helps me. Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” “He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” Isaiah 50:4-5,7,9,10; John 10:2-4

The very early morning is silent, almost. The birds seem to awaken first, and I like to think “awaken the dawn” with their praise of another day, even one not yet visible. Cheery triplets in perfect pitch, coos from doves, chirps and tweets in harmony, their music awakens the senses and introduces a symphony of glad anticipation for more. The ear must be open to take it all in, the soul ready to absorb the beauty and respond. (Psalm 108:2)

What is my need today? When first I awake, there are choices, challenges, decisions before me that are unique to this moment and known by my God. I can prepare for both known and unknown by opening His word and my heart, and attuning my ear. It takes quiet to hear as those who are taught. It takes ears, too, that are open, (mouths closed), to receive, to hear the Shepherd call by name and instruct how to proceed, where to go, what to say. He knows not only my need, but the needs of others to whom He will send me, and He promises to be my help.

How often do I hear a parent speak for a child, or a sibling for a sibling, and wish the primary person would speak? Am I guilty of seeking the secondary voice, or being the first one? When void of direction, is there temptation to search out another, perhaps one I know would agree with me, or trust in my own smarts? Do I prefer someone else to speak for Him, or will I go directly to the Lord and His true word? Would I first ask my omniscient all-good God, my perfect Counselor? (John 14:26)

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8

Father, awaken all of me every new day that dawns. Open my ear, teach me, help me, guide me. Be my first voice. Relying on You, may I speak words that upbuild and sustain, and spread blessing and light wherever You lead. (Matthew 5:14; Romans 2:19; Philippians 2:14-16)

“The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’ He… formed me from the womb to be his servant;.. I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength. Thus says the Lord:
‘In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you… 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 49:1-3,5,8,15-16

Can we read this beautiful passage and not be overwhelmed at the magnificent love and generous providence of Mighty God in our individual lives? His intimate knowledge of us, affection for us, and specific involvement in our every minute? In the womb He forms every precious life with shape and substance and mouth and senses to know and serve Him and His purposes in this world, to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Each new life is a masterpiece, God’s handiwork in His image for His sovereign plan in time and history. He Who carved us in His hands on Calvary named us in eternity past, crafts us according to His perfect knowledge and will, and bears us up to keep us in those loving hands all our days.

As students we want to know what to study, as parents or teachers how to plan, how to train and advise our children. As adults we wrangle to know what are next steps, what our talents are and how to exercise them, where to work, where to live. And all the while, our Maker has designed us uniquely, planted in us a will to live, and called us by name with a high, divine calling that transcends these earthly concerns, and that He enables us to live out in His strength, with His help, for His honor.

“You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:13-16

Father Almighty, You Who have known me from before I was conceived are intricately involved in every breath I take. May I breathe You, in and out, for the blessing of other lives, for Your glorious and eternal purposes, and always for Your praise.

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.” “I bow my knees before the Father, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Isaiah 35:1-2; Ephesians 3:14,16-19

The royal poinciana tree spends most of the year looking bare and lifeless, like a wind-whipped umbrella. But then comes June, when earthlings leave for holiday, and the spectacular profusion of blooms moves in, taking up residence on every limb and twig, dressing the graceful canopies in the most magnificent vermillion. The regal array of red finery arrests even the most distracted passerby with its splendor. I have seen trees that only half-bloom, probably because of limited sun-exposure, and while nicely-shaped and still eye-catching, they are nothing like the full-blooming royals.

In our lives we go through seasons that appear fruitless, but God is working in our roots and grounding even during those desert times to produce rich, abundant blossoms. There are wildernesses of the heart, where heaviness or arid communion with our Lord seem to outweigh hope, but even here, the Lord is present and brings His flourishing through desperate dependence and deeper trust. Continual exposure to His light nourishes every part of us, bringing fruit not only from the healthy limbs of energy, tenacity, eager willingness, but also from weakness, fatigue, discouraging uncertainty. It is His Spirit in our inner being Who strengthens, Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith Who fills us with His fullness, God Himself Who produces fruit for His glory. (Philippians 2:13)

Am I choosing to thrive where it is easiest or where I am most comfortable, at the neglect of other areas where God wants me to place some attention? Is He calling me to expose my weaknesses that I tend to keep in the shade to His empowering light, so He can bring about strength in new and different places? Do I limit the full flourishing He intends because I’m staid in my ways and unwilling to allow Him to stretch me? Can I implicitly trust Him when I’m in the dry land to work invisibly to bring about gladness in His time, in a way that exalts Him?

Good Father, Your love and power are measureless to reach every part of me. Swallow my timidity and discouragement and fear in Your all-encompassing grace. Soak me completely in Your life-giving light. Please infuse me with Your Spirit from the deepest root to the farthest tip, that I may bloom fully, in thought, word, and deed, for Thee. (Colossians 2:6-7)

“From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known.” “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own… One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let those of us who are mature think this way.” “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ These words are trustworthy and true.” Isaiah 48:6; Philippians 3:12-15; 2 Peter 3:18; Revelation 21:5

Seeing new growth on an established plant is invigorating for my soul. I have lived and learned for decades of life, and have a certain measure of confidence in what I know to be true in both knowledge and experience, but I can never stop growing. There are always new facets of my infinite God with which I can become acquainted, aspects of life in Him I can appropriate. Just last evening I heard someone speak about rest, and the Spirit opened up in my mind a whole new understanding of Jesus’s finished work and intention for me that I had never considered before. Our time here on earth is given that we might know Him better and be made more like Him every day. As deep our roots, as sturdy our years, there is always new growth that can sprout.

Watching Paul grow from a fiery opponent of Jesus to a zealous teacher and defender of the gospel convinces me he is quite mature, yet I marvel at his honest view of himself in his letter to the Philippians as one who has much still to learn. What an example are his urgency and zeal to leave behind where he has been, and his determination to keep straining forward in discovery and Christ-likeness! When we compare ourselves to others, we enter dangerous territory of either hopelessness that we can never know as much or be as deep, or platitudes of feeling superior which can slip us into complacent spiritual smugness and lethargy. What strikes me about Paul is he is always looking to Jesus, pressing on to know Him, laser-focused on the only One to whom he should compare himself and Who he wants to imitate.

The better we know Jesus, the greater grasp we have on areas where we need to mature. Drawing strength and nourishment from our roots in Him, we can, by His grace, put out new leaves from the fruit of His Spirit, stretch wider in our compassion and love, grow higher in our discernment, deeper in faith. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Lord, may I never stop wanting to grow. Give me perseverance to press on. Cause to sprout in me, day by day, new knowledge, discernment, righteousness, insight, and love of You, for my maturing and Your glory. (Philippians 1:9-11)

“Behold,.. new things I now declare. I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 42:9,16; 43:18-19

I watched the think ink sky begin to streak this morning, swept with the faintest grey, lit from underneath by radiance barely reaching, a brilliant sun not yet appeared. Over long minutes the wide swath changed, lined, then blotted, with more and more light, inverting from dark night to the earliest of day. Each morning, the show is different, yet the same delivery of new. Every dawn is a magnificent display of gravity and heavenly sphere orbiting the sun and the faithfulness of the God Who alone knows all that will transpire. We greet the gift with limited vision, but every new thing He does is to be watched, and His promise that it can be embraced and trusted is indeed clear.

I sense His stirring a new thing in me, and find myself watching the morning with wonder and expectation. The faint streaks of light He has sent through letters, conversations, small comments, inklings from His Spirit, biblical inspiration, are welling up to color my sky, and I want to listen keenly, to discern perceptively, to be prepared, to gauge the times. It may be a small reset, maybe a redirected priority; I need to watch, and hear His word.

“My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.” Psalm‬ ‭130:6‬ ‭

With the cacophony of life, it is easy not to be tuned in to small things, to faint voices, to dismiss short but distinct messages because other noise is louder, more urgent, more demanding. When God wants to do a new thing, He will, and He calls us to “behold,” to look, see, consider, and cast our lot in with Him.

Is there a specific aspect of me God wants to stretch, or put more emphasis? Are there former mindsets and habits to which I cling, and need to shake off so I can move ahead? Has there been a newly discovered or understood teaching that can make a significant difference in how I think, work, go about my living, plan my weeks, see and love others, honor the Sabbath, communicate?

Lord, may I begin every day looking to You, trusting what You know will come and submitting to Your design for me. Keep me open to every new thing You plan- for my interior mindset, focus, understanding, and for my external occupations. Beholding You is my high aim and chief delight.

“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus: ‘I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of… Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.'” Isaiah 45:1-7

With Assyria and their threat of takeover and destruction looming, Isaiah spoke into Israel’s bleak darkness of sure deliverance. Their imminent future was foreboding, but as God’s beloved chosen, they could count on His unique, divine power to equip a king they had never heard of with power to break their chains and open their doors to freedom. He would show Himself mighty, He was in control. There was none like Him.

Soon after defeating Babylon, the Persian King Cyrus sent exiled Israelites back to Jerusalem. Isaiah had prophesied this, and him by name, about 200 years earlier, an exquisite example himself of the ways Sovereign God works and uses people as His instruments to perform His bidding. The specific details in this prophesy, the personal way in which God would undertake for this heathen king, are promises that fed the Israel for decades with hope in their longing. Every word came true for Cyrus, for Israel, and foretells His wondrous work on our behalf today. (Ezra 1:1-4)

I know many people in very dark paces right now, in exile from loved family members, behind bronze doors of a waiting room where it seems injustice will prevail or cancer has returned, held as by iron bars in grief over the death of a child, a husband of half a century. In those very places, the LORD on high is present and not silent. He works even through those who know Him not, through the impossible horribles, in calamity and darkness, to bring about His perfect plans, reveal His treasures in the darkness, to shine light and bring bounty into the secret places we would never choose on our own to go. He is trustworthy, He is Ruler of all. (Psalm 50:3)

Tragedies, afflictions, adversities are measured in the hands of our Father. No matter the evil we face, the ugly combat or piercing pain, all things and people are situated by His hands of providence for our sake. We may not understand, but we can believe.

Lord, break the bronze of unbelief in me to trust You alone, and You wholly. Raise up Cyruses, and use me as You will, to “do all Your things,” for I know You do them well.

 

““I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? Does not he see my ways and number all my steps? If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit,.. If my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands,.. If my heart has been enticed toward a woman… If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or the needy without covering,.. and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,.. If I have made gold my trust or called fine gold my confidence, if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant or because my hand had found much, if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor, and my heart has been secretly enticed,… I would have been false to God above. If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him,… If I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart, because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors— Oh, that I had one to hear me! I would give him an account of all my steps.” Job 31:1,4-5,7,9,19-20,24-29,33-35,37

A friend recently challenged me anew to take time to allow God to search my heart. I find it can become rote to ask a quick blanket forgiveness, to, upon a twinge of guilty conviction, make immediate confession and move on, and realize mine is often a superficial ‘cleanse,’ lip-service to the One Who is worthy of my full concentration, and repentance. Job, in response to his accusing ‘friends,’ was thorough in his introspection, allowing the all-encompassing searchlight of God to invade his recesses of resolve, motivations, deceit, enticements, greed, misplaced affections, idolatry, malice, cowardice,  and attempts to hide all of the above. He was honest in reviewing these matters of his heart, appealing to One Who would hear rightly and reconcile.

Sin that initially teases can cover our senses with just enough film to dull our awareness and preclude clear thinking. Like rock smeared with moss that is at first glance deceptively stable, it is slippery under foot and can cause catastrophic harm. Do I take time to assess my heart, my life practices and habits, to account for my old and abiding sin before my merciful Lord? Will I, like Job, review these varied aspects of my intentions, attitudes, behavior toward others, deceptive or loose tongue, and allow God to extricate the root causes? Am I bold enough to own my irritation, jealousy, hoarding of time and control, fear of man, and submit to God’s scrubbing? Only then can I be clean and dry, a firm foundation on which He can build my next steps.

Thank You, Savior, that You do hear my confession, and know all my steps. Apply Your grace, the “faithful and just” of Your forgiveness won at Calvary, and cleanse me for Your use and glory. (1 John 1:9)

“But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations… Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord: that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die, that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord, and in Jerusalem his praise, when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord… Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.” Psalm 102:12,18-22,25-28

The subtitle for this psalm is “A prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD.” In all his distress, he finds hope and strength in “but You..,” the eternal reign of almighty God, His sameness throughout all generations, millennia past and future. In the midst of strife within and without, there is solid comfort knowing that the LORD’s throne is established and cannot be shaken, and that what He has fixed will be certain forever.

There is nothing like a newborn to remind us that God is faithful from one generation to the next, that His gift of life spans beyond our comprehension. A precious new life is a piece of offspring that will be told the story of God’s deliverances and wonders, and will carry it on. God is remembered through His recorded truth, and through His supernatural, delightful ways within families and nations and history that are told and retold. When we welcome a little child, we are stewards of this responsibility to record and recount the greatness, the transcendence, the affectionate and personal involvement of God the Creator with His creatures.

From generation to generation we are the people He loves, hears, watches, frees unto eternal life. We declare His praises by living His nature, promoting His example, telling His story, and those praises take on a life of their own, themselves a living generational cord that is held fast and passed along in fellowship and worship. The God Who laid the earth’s foundations and upholds it by His power is the God Who by grace establishes, secures, and continues generations among His people. This limitless and infinite LORD, Who is from everlasting to everlasting, has chosen us, delighted in us, and places His Spirit in us that we might bear His light and message of freedom to family, people, and nations. (Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 42:1,5-7; John 10:10; Colossians 3:16-17; Hebrews 1:3)

How devoted am I to passing along His story? What evidence is there in how I serve and love and speak that my God is a LORD of generations?

Father, forever enthroned in my heart, may Your reign be evident to those You have entrusted to me. May I faithfully praise You to the next generation, that they will also.