Wednesday, April 27, 2011

God has it all...

This morning, as I sat in the sanctuary, I had a bible in my hands and it fell open to Psalm 18.  (No, it wasn't my bible, so I can't say that my love of that Psalm helped it there....)  and this is what I read:
 
"He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me."  vs. 19
 
A spacious place... an open area, or a place of safety as one translation renders it....
 
And I felt that there this morning.  I knew that God has it all.  
 
I mean, we are selling our house so we can move to the farm. But first we have to paint, clean, empty out and do some repairs.  At the same time, still live there with 2 kids and 2 cats.  How in the world are we supposed to keep this little house clean enough to show it?
Yet.

God can see it.  He knows what we will do.  He knows our choices.  He knows the buyer.  He knows how He is going to use this house. He knows how He is going to use us in the lives of the buyers, in the lives of Dave's family.  He knows how it is all going to turn out....
 
... and suddenly I could breathe again...
 
He brought me out to a spacious place - (into a place of safety)

Why? 

Be cause He delights in me.

Period.
 
He delights in me.  In you. In everyone He created.  He rejoices over us with singing.

All these thoughts flooded me as I sat there in His presence in the sanctuary, my safe place.

I had peace.
 
 
It's so amazing, that peace that passes understanding.
I just look at where God has taken me, and though I am overwhelmed with the thought of prepping my house for painting with my dad, much less anything else, I know that God has taken me through so much worse.  
 
There was no way I could have persevered through what I did without Him pushing me all the way.  He was the one who placed that little bit of grit and determination in me to keep me going, even when the rest of me wanted to die, stop and forget, and give up.  
 
As Psalm 18 says in the New Living Translation:
 
"Lord, You have brought light to my life; my God, you light up my darkness.  In Your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall." vs. 28-29
 
The impossible things that we are up against, that seem like such a high wall to climb, they aren't impossible with God.

God has taken me into my promised land.  Once the Israelites were in their promised land, they had to fight for every square foot of it, even though it was theirs.  They had to take it from their enemies, even though it was theirs.

I have to take my promised land too. Its different, but the same.  I have to take the land that is mine, but not in my strength but God's.  Its with HIS strength that I can crush an army.  It is WITH my God I can scale any wall.

My wall and army is my house and the mountain of work there for me to do.  But my God's strength is more than enough.  
 
Without Him, I will not be able to scale the walls of my Jericho, but with Him, I won't have to even touch those walls. 
 
They'll just come tumbling down!

2 comments:

Clay Feet said...

The sad part about the Israelites fighting for their land is that originally God promised to do all that fighting for them. But because of their distrust of Him and their small view of His power He ended up having to accommodate them by having them fight themselves instead of Him driving out the enemies ahead of them.

stephseef said...

you're moving in with your inlaws?? big change. hope all goes well!!