Your gracious love, LORD, reaches to the heavens; Your truth extends to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your justice is like the great depths of the sea. You deliver both people and animals. How precious is your gracious love, God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They are refreshed from the abundance of Your house; You cause them to drink from Your refreshing stream. For with You is a fountain of life; and in Your light, we will see light.
God is on the move. For the first time in a while, I feel like He is hearing the prayers of His people who are calling out for justice on a macroscopic level….and forgiveness on an individual level. He is putting a strong team of Godly men and women in place to lead His People out of the wilderness of this sinful nation into something new, something to restore our Republic to restore One Nation Under God.
This passage is celebratory for me. We can rejoice in His righteousness and stand on His Word, where in so many places He says, one way or another, “Divine Justice will win”...and “Divine Justice is Mine”, and “My Justice is like the great depths of the sea.”
We have taken refuge in His arms; we have practiced “leaning in” to feel His warm love and strong protection through these difficult times. By continuing to walk with Him, and believing in His outcome, we are beginning to see glimpses of light.
This battle is far from over; in many ways, we’ve just begun. If God’s faithful servants stay close to Him and trust Him with all things, His guiding light will lead us through the darkness. When it is pitch black outside, we only need enough light to see a few feet ahead. That’s what really trusting Him is all about. We don’t see the end of the road, we see our next footstep. And, that’s really all we need to know. The Lord will take care of the rest.
I spent the last two weeks on a quiet personal retreat in Arizona. The weather was not been cooperative, but the venue was grand. I was able to take Teegan for a walk nearly every day and one day, we went for an unusually long walk.
As I looked out across the desert, the cacti, the blue sky with billowing white clouds, and the mountains in the distance, I had a particular sense of calm. I thought about the pristine beauty around me and the number of spectacularly beautiful places I have been blessed to see around the world…and I thought about how many never travel much outside their neighborhood. I thought about the many blessings I’ve been gifted in my life, and my heart was overflowing with gratitude.
Then I considered the projects that are about to begin and I felt the love of the Lord wrap me in His armor, getting me battle-ready for what is soon to begin. The song, Jesus Take The Wheel, started running through my head:
The last few months, I’ve been studying the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, which will be the topics of a few future substacks. But thinking about what is to come brought these verses to mind:
In Exodus 14:13-14, the night before the Israelites were preparing to leave Egypt, Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.”
What can you be grateful for today?
What can you find to rejoice over?
What’s coming up for you this month, this year that you need strength for (the armor of God)?
Where can you be quiet and let the Lord take the wheel, or take the battle for you?
Today’s Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, we are so incredibly grateful that You chose us before we were even born. Your gift of Free Will allows us to actively CHOOSE You to be our Lord and Savior, the mighty One who can take control of our situations if we just ‘toss you the keys’ and ask you to take over. That alone is worth celebrating!
Father, we thank You for those who are standing up and stepping out, in Your name, answering the calling You placed on their hearts. Lord, we know we are not perfect, and we slip and fall every day. But by Your Grace, You pick us up, brush off our knees, and pat on the backside, positioning us to charge forward ahead.
We love You. Celebrating You makes us smile. Take over our lives completely. With you driving, we’ll end up exactly where You want us to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Thank you for sharing your faith and love for God, Doctor. In the past few years I've been closer to God than ever, and He is sustaining and guiding me. When praying anxiously about the future, He tells me "do not be afraid", and to "expect the unexpected". He knows what's going to happen and is Lord over ALL of it, so depend on Him to do what He has prepared us for in advance. We are each here for a purpose and all of us have a role to play in this fight for freedom, but we must rely on Him!
God please help us all. I am at my breaking point. You are the only one that can deliver us from this evil. Please get us through this time safely. Please open peoples eyes to this evil and let us band together instead of this division. Please let our children be happy, healthy and well. Let them have time to live and prosper. God I beg you for this.
Thank you for sharing your faith and love for God, Doctor. In the past few years I've been closer to God than ever, and He is sustaining and guiding me. When praying anxiously about the future, He tells me "do not be afraid", and to "expect the unexpected". He knows what's going to happen and is Lord over ALL of it, so depend on Him to do what He has prepared us for in advance. We are each here for a purpose and all of us have a role to play in this fight for freedom, but we must rely on Him!
God please help us all. I am at my breaking point. You are the only one that can deliver us from this evil. Please get us through this time safely. Please open peoples eyes to this evil and let us band together instead of this division. Please let our children be happy, healthy and well. Let them have time to live and prosper. God I beg you for this.