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Embrace the Within

Focusing inward to create the abundant life God wants.

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  • Dec 22, 2022
  • 4 min read

“Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted].”

Matthew 5:4 AMP

Wait for and confidently expect the Lord;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.

Psalms 27:14 AMP

I should feel bad about not following God. I should feel bad about the life I left behind in order to become a new creation. I should not want to go back into that corpse. All too often though, I want to go back to death. Going back to that comfortability and routine that doesn’t take a lot of work is an easy out. BUT I need to be strong and take courage with confident expectation in what God has for me. I will find true comfort in the life that comes from turning away from the path to death and toward the Way of the Lord.

“What delight comes to you when you wait upon the Lord! For you will find what you long for.”

Matthew 5:4 TPT

'Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up ; don’t be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope. Yes, keep on waiting— for he will never disappoint you !'

Psalms 27:14 TPT

God promises that if I trust in Him, if I wait in obedience to what He wants, I will find what I want. That means I need to be patient because my timeline is not God’s timeline. My ways are not His Ways. He only calls me to be obedient. He calls me to do things His Way and not my way. And He promises no disappointment because He is a God that keeps His word.

'Blessed are they that mourne: for they shall be comforted. '

Matthew 5:4 GNV

Hope in the Lord: be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart, and trust in the Lord.

Psalms 27:14 GNV

I am sad BUT that gives God the opportunity to bring me comfort. There are a lot of things in this life I cannot control. And I have to get over that false sense of external control that I want to impose on my surroundings and even on God at times. I need to stop trying to trust in my own will and rest in His Will.

So often we want to take control and we want to wrestle with God when we should be letting Him run the show because He already does. We just need to acknowledge that and trust in Him.

“Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”.

Matthew 5:4 NMV

Wait on the Lord-Yehōvah [Messiah Pre-Incarnate]: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen youri heart: wait, I say, on the Lord-Yehōvah [Messiah Pre-Incarnate].

Psalms 27:14 NMV

Life will have its sad parts because it is finite. Things end and change inevitably comes. And I am not always going to be prepared for the changes that happen. BUT if I put my faith in Him, then He will provide the strength that I need and that which I do not have on my own.

“How blessed are those who mourn!

for they will be comforted.”

Mattiyahu 5:4 CJB

Put your hope in Adonai, be strong,

and let your heart take courage!

Yes, put your hope in Adonai!

Tehillim 27:14 CJB

I have to make the decision that God is in control and not me. And that takes a lot for someone that wants to be in control. That can take a lot for those of us that have a mind and a will to do and accomplish things. BUT God gave me that mind and will and He is not going to let those gifts be wasted. He just wants to show me a better way to use them. And I have to let Him in charge to see those gifts mature in His Will. God saw David through many obstacles and many trials. God guided David through many wins and many losses. God rewards faithfulness. And that is what Psalms 27 is all about:

Fearless Faith

David’s poetic praise to God before he was anointed king

Yahweh is my revelation-light

and the source of my salvation.

I fear no one!

I’ll never turn back and run, for you, Yahweh,

surround and protect me.

When evil ones come to destroy me,

they will be the ones who turn back.

My heart will not fear even if an army rises to attack.

I will not be shaken, even if war is imminent.

Here’s the one thing I crave from Yahweh,

the one thing I seek above all else:

I want to live with him every moment in his house,

beholding the marvelous beauty of Yahweh,

filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace.

I want to contemplate in his temple.

In the day of trouble, he will treasure me in his shelter,

under the cover of his tent.

He will lift me high upon a rock,

out of reach from all my enemies who surround me.

Triumphant now, I’ll bring him my offerings of praise,

singing and shouting with ecstatic joy!

Yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh!

Hear my cry. Show me mercy, and send the help I need!

I heard your voice in my heart say, “Come, seek my face;”

my inner being responded,

“Yahweh, I’m seeking your face with all my heart.”

So don’t turn your face away from me.

You’re the God of my salvation;

how can you reject your servant in anger?

You’ve been my only hope,

so don’t forsake me now when I need you!

My father and mother abandoned me.

But you, Yahweh, took me in and made me yours.

Now teach me, Yahweh, all about your ways and tell me what to do.

Make it clear for me to understand,

for I am surrounded by waiting enemies.

Don’t let them defeat me, Lord.

You can’t let me fall into their clutches!

They keep accusing me of things I’ve never done,

breathing out violence against me.

Yet I believe with all my heart

that I will see again your goodness, Yahweh, in the land of life eternal!

Here’s what I’ve learned through it all:

Don’t give up; don’t be impatient;

be entwined as one with the Lord.

Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope.

Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you!

Psalms 27 TPT

Grace and Shalom this week. Shalom to your home. Bless your being. The reign of the Lord is now. Be a blessing to the Lord and others.

 
  • Dec 22, 2022
  • 2 min read

"If we live a life of prayer, God is present everywhere."

Oliver Holden

God wants us to be better, however, all too often we choose to be the same. And that is why prayer is important. I need to keep God near and dear to me throughout my days and nights. I need to know His voice in a world full of distractions and destructions. And it is far too easy to start making my own covenants and my own concessions and my own path rather than trusting in His Word and His Way.

And we can see it all around us. So many folks have wrong or no doctrine. So many heathens are out there digging up dead rituals and worshipping dead idols. So many folks are doctrinally wrong because of a spiritual illiteracy that leads them to read the Bible for justification rather than instruction. BUT studying His Word and listening to His voice are the only cures for our own ego getting in the way of His Way.

And He answered, My presence shall go with thee, and I will giue thee rest.

Exodus 33:14 GNV

The great promise of God is that I do follow His Way, then He will be with me. I can rest in His peace. If I am struggling against God, there will be no lasting peace.

My pride will always cause me to believe that I have better answers than God when that is never the case. I need to know God well. And that only comes from spending time with Him and building a relationship with Him. I can’t get there on my own. I need to do as He wills and not as I will. And that means a lot more time learning about Him and a lot less time doing what the world wants.

But the Scripture offereth more grace, and therefore sayth, God resisteth the proude, and giueth grace to the humble. Submit your selues to God: resist the deuill, and he will flee from you. Drawe neere to God, and he will drawe neere to you. Clense your handes, ye sinners, and purge your hearts, ye double minded. Suffer afflictions, and sorrowe ye, and weepe: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your ioy into heauinesse. Cast downe your selues before the Lord, and he will lift you vp.

James 4:6-10 GNV

If we seek the Lord, we will find Him. And even if we don’t seek Him, we will still see Him there. We only need to start taking the steps to live in His Way to truly enjoy all the grace and abundance He has to offer. I need to want Him as much as He wants me.

“Throughout the history of humanity, there have been great discoveries. I am not sure which one we could point to and say, ‘That is the greatest discovery in the world.’ But for the hungry heart, there is but one discovery that satisfies it: the discovery of the manifest, conscious presence of God.”

James L. Snyder

Grace and Shalom this week. Shalom to your home. Bless your being. The reign of the Lord is now. Be a blessing to the Lord and others.

 

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