Soaring on Wings Like Eagles

Isaiah 40:28-31 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.

My absolute favorite above many favorite scriptures in the Bible.  I love that we will SOAR on wings like eagles; that we will run and not grow weary and that we will walk and not be faint; IF we will HOPE in the LORD our strength will be renewed.  PRAISE God!!!

I love Chris Tomlin's song, I Will Rise.  The first time I heard it was last year at the Easter service at Old Brashiers Chapel.  I cried like a baby.  I loved it so much that I downloaded it immediately upon getting home and listened to it over and over.  Yesterday in church, our choir sang the entire service, and what a blessing it was.  However, I just kept thinking and talking to God about how I would love to hear that song.  GUESS WHAT!  Mike Nelson, a wonderful voice in our choir, steps up and begins to sing.  I grinned so big when I saw the lyrics come up on the screen.  WHAT a treat and blessing.  I felt so loved by my Father at that moment.  And guess what else!  I cried like a baby again!!  Yes, I am the tears ducts of the body of Christ.  You know how each of us plays a part of the body, well I have determined that I am truly the tear ducts.  Hallelujah, I know my place. 

Only on our knees can we truly rise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Isn't that ironic?

Folks, yes, we are broken, and yes, we are a mess, BUT Jesus came to change all that.  Let's not stay broken. Allow Him to HEAL YOU.  Allow Him to clean you up and purify you.  It is not our job to do it, but it is our job to place ourselves in the hands of a perfect potter.  All clay pots that are broken will be made whole again.    It is our job to walk in the obedience HE calls us to individually.  Then we become a reflection of Jesus.  Not by our doing but by HIS   Folks, we were designed to soar!!!!!!!   Hallelujah!  AMEN!!!!!!

Talk about feeling loved. My heart was overwhelmed!!!!!!!!  Sure do love my Jesus!

Want to hear it, this is the link: I Will Rise, by Chris Tomlin

Feeling a bit under the weather today.  I went for my LAST physical therapy appt. today which I have been doing following my spinal surgery and wrist surgery.  We have started renovation on our kitchen.  It is an OLD house and in need of some work.  Well they tore out a wall and the flooring down to the subfloor.  The junk that was in the air is now in MY LUNGS.  So I sounds yucky and feel even yuckier.

All this demolition remindes me of the work that God does in each of us as we age.   As a product of the fall, we come to Christ with all of our CLOGGED pipes from years and years of neglect and inferior behaviors and beliefs.  As we allow Christ access to our STUFF, He begins to pull out our "pipes" and replaces them with His.  He reveals our PAINS and the LIES we believe about Him, ourselves and others.  The only way this happens though, is if WE will cooperate with Him.  They call it OBEDIENCE.  He does it not to condemn us but to transform us into His image. 

You would not believe the LAYERS of wallpaper that was on the walls.  There is this one wall paper that is SO OLD, it has pictures of a pot-belly stove, and various other "General Store" items for the kitchen.  It was actually a walk back in time.  The smell was unimaginable.  However, before you pass too much judgment on the poor kitchen walls, we do the same thing.  Instead of taking our HURTS, FEARS and PAINS to God for His healing, we cover it up with new fancier wall paper in hopes that NO ONE will ever know what is underneath.  Unfortunately, if we cover up these feelings while they are unresolved, it would be like wall papering over mold or fungus.  Can't cover or bury anything alive.  It just shows up somewhere else until it is resolved.

So it is for our good and God's glory that we allow Him to heal us.  It is for our fellow believers and those in our lives that we allow Jesus to get rid of those rusty pipes and tear down our old wall paper.   This way we will not contaminate all those that we love. 

We are the beloved of Christ.  Let walk like it.

Learning to trust God with all things

God is so good. 

I have to say that God uses EVERY opportunity in my life to reveal Himself to me.  I went thru a surgery recently that I had postpone for 10 years.  I was told following an automobile accident, I would need a spinal fusion.  Sounded very scary.  I was told the surgery could cause paralysis.  At that point, I had pain, but I was very active and able to fully function.  So I sought alternative options.  I was able to manage the pain for a decade and finally was to a point it couldn't be delayed any longer.   I returned to the doctor, and again told the chances of being pain free and the chances of paralysis.  So I was faced with lots of fear entering the surgery. 

I came across scripture that told me to trust only in the Lord and not in man.  I was not trusting the doctors.  I was not trusting what they could do.  However, the fear revealed that I was NOT trusting the Lord.  I came to the reality that I was to trust in Him no matter the outcome. 

I have not had a single surgery where I was free of anxiety.  Anyone who knows my history, knows I have had several incidents that led me to be cautious where surgeons are concerned.  So for about 3 weeks God began to build my faith.  I began to accept whatever fate laid before me.  The more I submitted to His will the more able I was to walk the path before me.  I have never had such peace.  I was beginning to lay down my control, my concern and even my agenda and plan for my life.  I finally said "OK Lord, Your will be done in my life."  It was hard and I did cry thru it. 

However, when I awakened from the surgery and the nurse asked me if I could wiggle my fingers and toes, I did and that was an immediate cry of praise and thanksgiving to God.  I can not tell you exactly the emotions that ran thru me at that moment, but it was yet another way for God to teach me what trusting in Him really looks like. 

This was a situation I hope I never have to repeat, but the lesson God taught me thur it will be ingrained in me for the rest of my life.  I pray that I never forget it.