Isaiah 61:11

Isaiah 61:11 “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”

We’ve had rain recently in California, torrents and buckets like we haven’t seen in quite a while. In front of my house is a strip of dirt that’s been waiting a long time for me to decide what to plant there.

Then it rained. The soil has now made the sprouts to come up, and they didn’t stay as mere sprouts for long. I now have clumps of grass, dandelions, milkweed, and one other plant whose leaves remind me of nasturtiums but it isn’t one.

I didn’t do a thing to make that happen. Those seeds were already in the soil waiting for conditions to be right. And when the rains came, the seeds took off like…weeds. Isaiah tells us it’s going to be just like that with the Sovereign Lord. The seeds of righteousness are already in Him, and He will make righteousness and praise spring up before all the nations.

I’m not sure how Bible scholars view this passage, but it may point to a time that’s still future to us at the end times, when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord.
It could also refer to the time when Jesus walked the earth, He who is Righteousness itself and whose death and resurrection brought the praise of God to all nations.

But whether either of those views is correct, at the personal level, it is the Sovereign Lord who brings righteousness and praise to each Christian life through His Son Jesus. And we are to shine that Light to all nations.

May the glory of the Lord be praised forever and ever. Amen.

Brenda

II Thessalonians 3:13

“Lord, what do you want me to learn from this?”

“Am I glorifying you?”

It’s only Wednesday, but I feel as though my time at work this week has been endless. I haven’t gone home before 7PM at all this week, even though 4 - 4:30 is my normal time to leave. One of my projects had a problem, and it’s taken time away from all my other projects, which still have to get finished on time. So I’ve left work each day unable to think anymore and weary to my bones.

Today–my longest day this week–as I walked out to my car, I asked those two questions, above. I’m not sure I know the answers.

The second question is easier to answer: Some times. When I devote myself to doing my job well, or when I encourage others, it may be glorifying Him. But when I let myself get distracted or vent my frustrations, that’s not glorifying at all.

What does the Lord want me to learn? What comes to mind is II Thessalonians 3:13, “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.” I do grow weary, but the Lord is there to calm my spirit and refresh me, if I ask. He is the One who placed me in this job and keeps me there–when other people I’ve worked with before are out on the market looking for work. Ultimately, the Lord is in control.

How do you answer these questions when your life becomes difficult? How do you answer them when life is smooth? Whether you’re filled with weariness or filled with joy, let your heart keep seeking His.

Brenda

Isaiah 30:15

Isaiah 30:15 “The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, ‘Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.’”

Isaiah 28:16 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem. It is firm, a tested and precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never run away again.’”

Ephesians 2:20-22 “We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”

In Isaiah 30:15, the Lord has Isaiah scold Israel for their refusal to come to Him for salvation. Their strength is in quietness and confidence–not confidence in themselves, but confidence that comes from returning to the Lord.

But even before He tells them this, He has already prepared the solution. He is placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, and the apostle Paul declares exactly Who that cornerstone is: Christ Jesus himself. Jesus is firm, tested by the cross, precious to the Father and to all who believe. Above all, He is safe to build our faith on.

And as we build our faith on the cornerstone of Christ and the foundation of the apostles and prophets, together we become a holy temple for the Lord. But we aren’t thrown haphazardly together. Instead, we who believe are carefully joined together, Jews and Gentiles alike. God has chosen each one of us and has planned the exact place where we belong, so that we may be the acceptable dwelling place for God by his Spirit.

May each one of us treasure in our hearts the knowledge of the glorious honor the Lord has given us by choosing us as stones fit for including in his holy temple.

Brenda

Matthew 11:28

Matthew 11:28 “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’”

It’s been about a month since I cleared my schedule of all my ministries. I took a mini-retreat to a friend’s cabin in the mountains over Christmas weekend, just to pray and wrestle with the Lord over what He wants me to do. I didn’t get any definite answers, but He filled me with peace. It’s enough for me to know that He will make Himself clear when the time is right.

The hardest part of resting is that I’m not sure I know how–there’s always something that needs doing. But I can feel a difference already. I went to the grocery store for major shopping and got home in the early evening, with a couple hours left before I had to go to bed. And I started crocheting again, something I haven’t had time for in quite a while.

A friend of mine noticed a change in my voice over just a couple weeks. I laugh more, and I get excited about things, something that’s been missing for a long time.

But one thing has weighed on me, and that’s our GriefShare group. These women had bonded and begun to heal, and they wanted to come for another 13-week session. I knew my giving it up was the right decision, but my friend, who would have taken over the group later, hasn’t healed enough to do that yet. I hated for our church’s GriefShare to stop.

Then last week at church, Sharon, a nurse who works at Camp Pendleton helping with some of the Marine widows, offered to take over GriefShare. She and I had talked a couple months ago about her widows joining our group, but the 13 weeks were almost over. Now, through Sharon, the Lord has given so many people a beautiful gift. He has lifted the last burden from me about my decision. He has given a place for Christian healing that the Marine widows didn’t have, and for the women I had come to love He has provided a way to continue their healing from grief. He is so good!

What burdens do you carry? How heavy is the load? Come to Jesus, lay your weariness on Him, and He will give you rest.

Brenda

Ecclesiastes 3:1-19

Ecclesiastes 3:1-19 “There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.”

Toward the end of last year, I was feeling overwhelmed. My weeknights were booked almost solid. Mondays I led a GriefShare support group. Tuesdays I co-led a Sexual Healing Bible study class. Wednesdays I usually worked late to make up any time I needed to on my projects. Thursdays I had Praise Team practice. And Fridays I met every other week with a couple friends over coffee for much needed “therapy", plus once a month I attended a Christian singles group meeting.

It started to catch up with me. I couldn’t manage to get to the grocery store except on an emergency basis on the way home from one of my activities. I was starting to be late paying my bills, and my house was growing chaos. It seemed as though I never got to talk to my daughter anymore.

By mid-December, I finally figured out what was wrong. I was burned out. I felt sucked dry with nothing left to give. I couldn’t handle the tiniest amount of stress without wanting to run away. At work, I even told my coworkers that I’d volunteer in a heartbeat if the department needed to do any more layoffs.

I prayed and cried and prayed some more and tried to imagine the unthinkable: giving something up. But what? Each one of my ministries has been God-directed, and I had felt His call to take it on. After more prayer, I finally allowed the unthinkable to become real. I gave up every one of my ministries except once-a-month nursery duty at church and writing The Bread.
The responses I’ve received have been humbling. My parents said it was an answer to their prayers. My friend, who helped me bring GriefShare to our church after her husband died while we were all on vacation together, said, “Good. You need it.” How could I not have seen what everyone else saw?

The stones of my life had been scattered, and now is the time to gather them back together. Time to rebuild, to mend, to heal. And most of all, it’s time to look to the Lord for strength and to listen for His direction.

Are you overwhelmed? Are you juggling more things than you can handle? Turn to the Lord and ask Him what “time” He wants this to be in your life. Maybe even check with godly family members or friends about what they see that you don’t. Act if it’s time to act. Rest if it’s time to rest. Let your heart seek out His will and not your own.

Brenda