Streams of Living Water

My heart is so full.

My soul is completely satisfied.  As with the richest of foods.

My heart rejoices in Your salvation, my God. 

In Your presence there is fullness of joy. 

My heart is saying again and again, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.” Psalm 28:7

Today, I can rejoice, with a soft heart, a refreshed and renewed spirit within me.  Because of His great love for me, I am not consumed.  God worked through no less than 6 families to bring me safely to Kansas City.  I had no way to get here on my own, but I knew with all of my heart that I had to come to the prayer room.  As always, He has spoken His Word and His truth over my heart, confirming that which He had already placed in my heart, but renewing my spirit within me.  Giving me peace that passes any understanding.  Bestowing upon me grace upon grace to stand and say that I am His.  I will walk whatever way He desires, no matter what the cost because He is so worthy! 

He is worthy.  Oh, beloved, I beg you to press into Him.  Come to know this man Jesus who loved you to the point of death.  He gave it all up because He is crazy about you.  He came down from Heaven - the most glorious place - because we needed Him.  You must come to know Him.  Don’t settle for hearing about Him.  Don’t settle for thinking you know Him on Sundays.  Press in to really know Him - read His Word of Life, the Bible.  Give Him your time and your affections.  He will not mishandle them.  He is faithful.  He is good.  He is able to be trusted.  He is deserving of all praise!  Psalm 54:4, “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the One who sustains me.”

I am so thankful for my friends who helped me come here and be refreshed.  I thank you for your prayers, for your gifts of gas money, the beautiful place to stay, the prayer covering as I have been here, and your gift of a vehicle with exceptional gas mileage!!  May God bless you with blessings upon blessings for being the very heart of Christ towards me during this time of great need!  Truly, I say to you my heart can now say, “You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.” Psalm 68:9.
 
I am stunned each day I am here as He has made it so personal to me during this time of worship and rest.  My mom told me many years ago that my life verse is Psalm 63:8 , “My soul clings to you, your right hand upholds me.”  It is set in the midst of one of my very favorite Psalms.  Yesterday and today in the morning the “worship in the Word” was through Psalm 63.  I am telling you He is reminding me that I am His beloved.  I am His favorite.  :)  And, Beloved friends, you are too.  Oh how I wish I could make that a reality in your mind.  He is crazy about you.  He delights in you.  He still thinks you were worth the cross!! 

He is revealing to me over and over that He is jealous for me and He wants to destroy everything in my heart that hinders love.  He will go to any lengths to make me fully His and He will do the same for you. 

I will leave you with these things that are foremost in my mind and some beautiful words of Truth:

To everyone who will hear,  Jesus says this, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” 

I have been so thirsty, that I forgot the streams of living water were already flowing from within me.  But, He has been gracious and reminded me that He has been with me, and helping me all along.  What a sweet God.  What a merciful Savior.

Psalm 57:1-3 “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge.  I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.  I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.  He sends from Heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends His love and His faithfulness.”

Psalm 59:16-17, “But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.  O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.”

Psalm 63:3 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you, and I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.”

Psalm 86:8-10 “Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.  All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.  For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.”

Indeed, there is but One God, and indeed there is but One who saves.  And, He stands ready to rescue you from all of your troubles, if you should only declare in your heart and with your mouth that you need Him.  He will hear you, and He will receive you, and He will help you.

When what you thought you knew as right... is wrong.

What do you do when you look around, and everything you thought you knew was really not quite right?

I guess you can deny it for a while. 

You can decide to hold fast and hold tight hoping not to let it slip through your hands- claiming infallibility (which is certainly a farce).

Or you can open wide your hands and let loose your grip on the things that you thought... And ask God to reveal to you Truth.  It is interesting how far He will go to remind us He loves us and He sees us.  I am constantly reminded and surprised at the lengths He will go to remind me who He is.  Thing is, He has always been doing that.  I just chose not to see for a while.  Many years ago I was offended often at the things He allowed into my life.  I didn’t blame Him necessarily, I just chose to believe He was holding out on me because of my sin and my choices.  I believed that I was getting what I deserved.  But, that is just it...   He doesn’t want for any of us to get what we deserve.  He calls it mercy - and He desires that we follow after Him in that. 

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice...”  And again  “Walk humbly, do justly, love mercy...” 

He loves to love us well.  He loves to go to crazy lengths to remind us that we are His, and that He wants to give us good things.  So often we just have to take a different view of things.  We just have to have eyes that are willing to see His goodness - even through the brokenness that surrounds us.  The sin.  The pain.  The death.  The circumstances that seem overwhelming and insurmountable.  I want eyes to see it for what it is.  I want eyes to see that there is HOPE.  There is BEAUTY.  There is ETERNITY - where there will be PERFECTION.  No more sin.  No more death.  No more pain.  No more overwhelming circumstances (except that we will be overwhelmed by the Glory of God). 

Whew. 
I needed that reminder today. 

I needed the reminder that all of my brokenness will one day be HEALED - and healed COMPLETELY. 

I needed the reminder again that this life is not all there is.  There is much more.  There is life abundant.

To love is so complicated some times.  I love to love.  But, sometimes you have to set boundaries so that love remains loving - and not enabling.  Sometimes you have to love in Truth and know it’s gonna hurt.  Sometimes you have to lean into the character of God when you know your character isn’t strong enough to do it right.  Sometimes you have to say enough is enough - knowing that it will bring more glory to God to speak Truth in love than it will to turn silently and walk away.

I am confident that I’m not gonna get this right the first time.  I am praying for grace and mercy.  I am praying that God will hem me in before and behind and that I will listen and do His will.  But, alas, I am still in this fleshy flesh.  I am still in a sinners body full of selfishness and pride.  And, I am confident I will screw it up.  But, that is why I need Him so desperately.  He will mend the things I break - because my heart is for Him - and my desire is to not bring pain, but bring healing through my new loving actions.  It is kind of like when Jesus says He is giving a new command... To love.  He is teaching me a new command in love.  And, it is shaking me up.  I am begging for wisdom - and I know He will give it to me because He promises to do so - without judging me for it. 

Oh I am crazy about this God I serve.  I am crazy in love with Him... And so very thankful that He is rich in love and full of mercy.  I cannot throw anything at Him that He can’t handle.  That brings me to a place of rest and peace in my Spirit that I cannot explain.   It is a sweet sweet place indeed.  I hope in the midst of your chaotic day or week, or summer you have a sweet place of rest.  I pray that you will take the time to enter into a restful few minutes with Him and recognize that no matter what is flying all around you - He is for you, and He sees you, and He loves you. 

Thanks for stopping by.  May Grace go before you today.