I love the image of the Israelites pulling this man from his hiding place out into the open - dragging him out to stand among the people who then shout, “Long live the king!”

Fast forward to David’s call in 1 Samuel 16:6-13. Where was David when Samuel was looking over his brothers for a future king to anoint? Was he hiding? David was not tall in stature. He wouldn’t have had far to go to hide. But David stood tall in spirit, working, tending, caring for his flock. He was being a servant - a royal attribute in God’s eyes.

So David is out in the field, and Samuel is thinking his brother Eliab is looking pretty kingly. But God tells Samuel that he’s looking at the wrong thing. Samuel is looking at outward appearance, while God looks only at the heart. And when God looked at the heart of that bright-eyed, ruddy young man tending his sheep in the field that day, God saw a king.

When you look in the mirror, do you see royalty? God does. Do you think of your small gifts in big ways? God does. When He calls your name, where are you? Are you hiding behind your baggage? Are you crouched there amongst past hurts and failures, a lack of confidence - curled up behind a small limited view of yourself? Are you hiding from God, the One who wondrously created you and alone knows what He is capable of accomplishing through you, His glorious you?

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

 …The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7

..

I laughed the other day when my husband, in an attempt to give me a little break, was busying himself at the toaster. He announced, “Okay kids, this is Cinnamon Toast What Mama Makes, made by Daddy!” I’m not sure they were convinced.

Just as there is power in every name of God, there is power in the recognition of God’s gifts. Just as my children please me, it pleases my heavenly Father when I give Him the glory for the gifts He makes a special way, just for me.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Today and everyday, I want to name His good gifts what they truly are -
“_______ What God Makes”. Fill in the blank - My Family What God Makes, My Friends What God Makes, This Gorgeous Day What God Makes, My Home What God Makes, This Food What God Makes, This Blessing What God Makes” The list goes on and on and on.

What are you grateful for today? Name it. It’s “What God Makes”!

 I will give You thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise You. Psalm 35:18

Have you ever heard the words, “I love you”, and thought to yourself, How can he love me? He doesn’t even really know me, or She doesn’t truly love me. She only loves being in love.

Have you ever heard the words, “I love you” and thought, She loves me now, but what if I were to lose my job? or, Yes, he loves me now, but what if I become seriously ill? What if I could no longer care for myself? She loves me now, but will she love me when I am old? Would she still love me if I could no longer recognize her face?

Have you ever heard the words, “I love you” and thought, as I often did when my future husband said them to me, He has no idea what he is getting himself into?

We have no way of knowing in the beginning what is in the heart of a person who speaks the words, “I love you.” Over time, through experience, we come to believe or disbelieve, to have faith or to lose faith in the love of another.

God made me. He knows what is in my heart before a word is on my tongue.

Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD. Psalm 139:4

God knows exactly how much I truly love Him. God knows, not only how much I know and love Him, but just how deeply I want to know and love Him. God knows my heart, my every motive and every desire.

Before Jesus’ death, His passionate disciple, Peter, vowed to Jesus -

“Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will.” Matthew 26:33

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times.” Matthew 26:34

But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.” Matthew 26:35

Peter did deny Jesus three times, just as Jesus had said He would. And the rooster crowed. It is written that Peter then wept bitterly. You see, Jesus knew Peter better than Peter did. But here’s the beauty of that. Jesus knew Peter loved him. He fully understood Peter’s human weaknesses. Jesus knows I love Him. Jesus understands my every weakness. The story does not end with Peter’s bitter weeping. It never ends with my tears.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He came back to Simon Peter, and said -

…”Simon son of John, do you truly love Me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “You know that I love You.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love Me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love You.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time He said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love You.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17

Three times the risen Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” And even though it hurt Peter to think back upon his three previous denials, it was a beautiful, tender and redemptive act toward the disciple Jesus fully knew and wholly loved.

Jesus is all about redemption and love, but the love of Jesus is not your ordinary love. Jesus loves you and me with a revolutionary love.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8

Who is on my list of people I would die for? Would it ever include those who despise me, ridicule me, or do not believe I am who I say I am? Would I die for someone who does not care to know me or honors me with his lips, but keeps his heart from me. These are who Jesus came to earth to redeem.

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32

Jesus died for all - the beloved disciples and the soldiers who mocked Him, drove nails into His hands and pierced His side. Jesus died for the healed leper who came back to thank him and for the nine who did not. Jesus died for the man who gave up everything to follow Him and the rich man who walked away from Him. Jesus died for you and for me. Jesus died for us all.

Jesus asks me, Do you love me?

“Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. Help me to love You wholly.”

Wholly - A Prayer

Oh Lord, my God

Search my heart

and know me

I want to love You

wholly

Not just any love

revolutionary love

Drop my nets

and follow You

to the ends

and back again

I want to love You

wholly

inconveniently

solely

out of my comfort zone

into the unknown

I want to love You

as I love

no one else

in heaven

or on earth

I want to love You

wholly

close my eyes

step out

jump off

go anywhere

with You

I want to love You

wholly

unafraid, boldly

unrestrained, fully

I want to love you

wholly

Mary Graver

You are holy, holy, holy

I am wholly, wholly, wholly Yours

David Crowder

Music Video ~ Wholly Yours ~ David Crowder Band

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It began to rain hard right before my son’s bus was due to arrive at the end of our long driveway. It was warm and dry that morning, and I knew Daniel had not brought a jacket or an umbrella to school.

I grabbed a large golf umbrella and slogged my way to the road. The driver was always reliably there at 4:00 pm, so I knew I had only a few minutes to wait. As the time passed, I felt the rain soaking through my shoes and socks. I have some great rubber boots back at the house, I thought, but the bus will be here by the time I could fetch them. The wind picked up and the rain was now beating down sideways. Despite my efforts to keep the umbrella at the proper angle, my legs were wet and my shorts were now completely soaked. I struggled to take the phone from my pocket  - 4:06 pm. Today would be the first day the bus was late.

I looked longingly back at the house. I thought of my husband, dry and comfortable, working at his computer. But I was on a mission of love. I would have stood at the edge of that highway for as long as it took for my son to come home. I did not want him to get wet. I thought about how happy Daniel would be to see me standing there, waiting for him in the rain. I hoped he would see me there and know a little deeper how much I love him. Picturing his smiling face, our embrace, the Kodak moment, helped me keep in mind that the wet and the wait would all soon be worth it.

Finally, I saw the approaching bus. It stopped on the opposite side of the highway, and in the safety of its flashing red stop lights, I ran across the road to meet my son.

Daniel came dashing off the bus, head down, and ran right by me in the pouring rain. “Daniel! Daniel!” I called. Come back under the umbrella - you’re getting wet!” He paused, turned around, and came back to me. “Daniel, I’ve stood out here for twenty minutes in the pouring rain waiting for you!” He was now close to me under the umbrella and he looked up at me with furrowed brow, “Why’d ya do that, Mom?” “I did it because I love you, son! Look at me - I’m soaked to the skin. But I wasn’t going back into the house until you were with me.” “Oh”, he said, and then he paused to think - “Thank you, Mom.” And off we walked, side by side.

As I took off my shoes and socks and made my way up the stairs to change out of my wet clothes, I had to chuckle and shake my head. I looked up to heaven -

I know, Father, I know - how like Daniel I can be, yes? I mean, there You stand, waiting for me to come home. You’re always waiting for me to see You, to realize who You really are and what that means in my life. But so many times, Father, I am like my son, dashing to the next destination, head strong, head down - not seeing, not understanding Your protective power, Your compassion, Your mercy and love so close at hand. I feel the pouring rain beating down on me. The storm is my reality, and I’m afraid.

Thank you, Father, for seeing me for who I am and loving me anyway. You ran to me, in my most worn and tattered spirit, calling out, “My beloved child, come to me! Look! Here I am! I’ve been waiting for you for so long. I sent My only Son to die for you. You are reconciled to Me. You are forgiven. Why? Why did I do that? I did it because I love you, child. Look at Me - I love you!”

And then I see. “Oh, thank You, Father, thank you!” And off we walk, side by side.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:20

Music video ~ When God Ran ~ Phillips, Craig and Dean

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mail..

“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”
- Oscar Wilde

The apostle Paul taught that saints are daily forgiven sinners. I am saint and sinner in one person. Yes, I have a past, but thanks be to God, I also have a glorious future in Christ Jesus! 

In the sanctuary of my car, I turn up the volume. Donnie McClurkin sings -

We fall down, but we get up

We fall down, but we get up

We fall down, but we get up

For a saint is just a sinner who fell down

And got up

Over and over he sings -

We fall down, but we get up

We fall down, but we get up

The Spirit speaks to me -

You could sing this song all day. You could repeat these words every minute of your life for the rest of your days and they would be true. God’s mercy never ends.

The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. Psalm 145:14

Jesus forgave and healed, forgave and healed, forgave and healed…

Jesus forgives and heals, forgives and heals, forgives and heals…

We fall down, but we get up - “Take heart son; your sins are forgiven.” Matthew 9:2

We fall down, but we get up - “Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Luke 7:48

We fall down, but we get up - “Friend, your sins are forgiven.“ Luke 5:20

For a saint is just a sinner who fell down - “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13

and got up - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

We fall down, but we get up - “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Matthew 9:6

We fall down, but we get up - “Get up, He said, “Don’t be afraid.” Matthew 17:7

We fall down, but we get up - “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Mark 2:11

We fall down, but we get up - Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Luke 7:14

We fall down, but we get up - “My child, get up!” Luke 8:54

We fall down, but we get up - “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” Mark 5:19

Music video ~ We Fall Down ~ Donnie McClurkin

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On this day, the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we remember…

Jesus said,

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John 14:1-6

And the winds came, the waters rushed in. The beautiful trees that once shaded now sliced through houses and places of work. Concrete slabs stood as tombstones of longtime family homes. Trucks, cars, boats, RVs and trailers tumbled over each other and were lost. Family heirlooms, photographs, antiques, treasured jewelry, gifts passed down from generation to generation, vanished in a moment.

Children, separated from their parents, waded through the streets crying, alone, a three year old clutching onto her one year old sister - a six year old brother leading them to a place he’d never been before. A woman’s husband died before her eyes and she was forced to say a lifetime of goodbyes in minutes. His body had to be left behind as she was rescued from her own impending death.

Babies were swept from their mothers’ arms into the speeding, swirling waters. A mother told her husband to take care of her children and grandchildren as she was losing her strength to hold onto a ledge. Her husband, unable to reach her to save her, watched in horror as she slipped away beneath the muddy waters. Beloved grandparents and great-grandparents died sitting in their wheelchairs on the highway, waiting for buses to come and take them to safety.

Loss, loss, loss - unfathomable and complete, devastating and gut-wrenching, forever life-altering loss.

And the people cry, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?”

Thomas voiced this question to Jesus, but he was not the first to wonder, to call out in the darkness for a glimmer of light.

You and I, and the children roaming in the street, the widow who cannot bury her beloved husband, and the now childless mothers, crying in the rubble, want answers. Voiced or unvoiced, an honest prayer cannot be contained.

Dear God,

It is dark and I cannot see. I feel abandoned by You, my Creator. I am alone, free-floating through the universe. How can I know the way? How can my heavy heart be consoled? How can my ears hear Your word in the din of my pain? How can I walk when I am paralyzed in my grief? Where are you going Lord? How can I know the way?

And then He speaks - through the kindness of a stranger, in the eyes of a friend, the embrace of a loved one, through the words of a pastor. Somehow, someway, Jesus speaks,

 “Do not let your hearts be troubled…
I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John 14:1,6

..

On April 22,1980, I was violently attacked. My life was saved by a woman who literally laid down her life for mine.

It was a beautiful spring evening. I had just purchased a gift for my mom for Mother’s Day. I was driving to my class at Wichita State University, when I was the first to innocently drive into the beginnings of what would become a historic Wichita racial riot, lasting through the night. I would later learn that it began as a result of an altercation between a white police officer and a black man during an arrest.

As I approached an intersection, black men stormed my car, shouting and throwing bricks and bottles through my windows. My first reaction was to stop and protect my head and face beneath the dashboard. That was a costly mistake, for if I had slammed on the gas pedal instead of the brake, I would have driven up to a large police force walking abreast down the street just a few blocks up. I felt the piercing pain of each brick and bottle cutting through the skin on my back.

My car was now surrounded and one of the men flung open my car door. A hand reached in, grabbed me by my hair and dragged me out onto the street. I was wearing a white shirt with white pants and white sandals. I could not have been more representative of the white police officer these men wanted to kill. I had no doubt in my mind; they were going to kill me in his place.

 I closed my eyes, shielding my face, screaming, begging for my life, when I felt the weight of a woman covering my entire body. This is what it is to die, I thought. My angel has come now to take me to heaven. But the black woman protecting me was screaming at the men, commanding them to leave and not to kill me. I was not being taken to heaven, I was being rescued on earth - and my rescuer was in great peril herself. Did I know this woman? Who would do such a thing for me?

Miraculously, the men obeyed her and turned away from us. As she and I ran together to shelter, I caught sight of the men turning my car upside down and setting fire to it. My future husband, Matt, who lived in Lawrence at the time, woke the next morning to the picture of my car, upside down and burning, on the front page of the Kansas City Star.

Jesus said -

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

But I wasn’t this woman’s friend. She laid down her body, her life, for me, a perfect stranger, a white girl, a minority in her neighborhood. She loved me like Jesus.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8

People later asked me if this traumatic event in my life ever leaned me toward prejudice. The way I see it is this - God’s goodness, mercy and grace overcame evil, anger and revenge that day. They both came to me in the same color of skin. If those men who attacked me asked my forgiveness today, I would not hesitate to give it to them. For I am called to love like Jesus, my Savior, whose blood-drenched body, hanging from that blessed tree on Calvary, cried out -

 ”Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

And if one of those men, or the woman, or any other one of God’s children is in danger, and I hear a cry for help, I need only look to Jesus, and remember the woman, to know what I must do.

Today, I think of that woman who saved my life and I pray for her. As I gather with my growing family, my two grandchildren in my arms, I ponder all the ripples - the celebrated lives that would not be, but for her one act of faith and obedience to God’s command -

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:36-39

Love like Jesus.

Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us. Love like that. Ephesians 5:1  {The Message}

Music video ~ Remedy ~ David Crowder Band

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Angel ~ from www.christianartforyou.com

 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…

Really? - joy and endured in the same phrase - joy and cross together? What kind of joy propels my King to put the glory of His heavenly realm in His rear-view mirror? What is this joy that sends Jesus, beaten and bloody, down the Via Dolorosa all the way to Calvary? It was, and still is, the joy of our salvation. He did it all for you and me, and if one of us had been the only one who needed to be saved, Jesus would have done it all the same!

Just as the gift of deepened faith comes wrapped in loss, so too does joy. Loss and joy? - Yes! I saw it here in Louisiana in the days and months following Hurricane Katrina. My husband, Matt, made the first mission trip from our home in Kansas, but when he brought back the photographs of the survivors, I was intrigued. I wanted to go and see them face to face. I wanted to meet these people who had lost everything they owned, yet had this transparent joy beaming from their faces. What was that about? - I had to know!

Well I did go, and I did learn. The light in their eyes and the genuine smiles on their faces was the joy of Jesus, smack dab in the middle of the biggest loss of their lives! It was the beginning of another life-changing work of God in me. I did go, and then God called me to stay, and for Him, I left my home, my older children and my grandson, my church, all my friends and the nearness of my extended family. 

 Through Christ’s strength, not ours, and by His grace, we “dropped our nets” and followed Him to this foreign land. We were definitely driving against the flow of traffic and many looked at us like we were crazy. They still do. “Why? Why would you do that?” they ask.

Happiness is cheap and fleeting - joy comes at a cost. I have tasted the world’s happiness in spits and spurts, wrestled it to the ground and watched it get away. When drafting the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson and his colleagues carefully chose the words to describe what we are entitled to - “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, which proves in my mind that smart folks knew, even in 1776, what a squirmy little devil happiness is! I would trade an ocean of it for one drop of God’s eternal joy! 

Am I always glad I came? - no. Many days I miss my children and grandchildren so much, that I think my heart will break in two and I will not survive it. Our financial loss is frustrating and discouraging, especially when it adversely affects our children. I can have doubts that I even heard God right. The enemy’s voice is so loud in my ears - Have you lost your senses, girl? What are you doing here? You gave up too much, and for what? - loss and heartbreak? Are you out of your mind?

Those are the times when I need to stop and glimpse the big picture, the eternal calling on my soul.

Jesus…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame… Hebrews 12:2

Jesus scorned the shame of the cross and all He asks of me is to scorn the shame of loss.

Following Jesus isn’t easy, but it is worth it - now and forever. And what do I really need here on this speck of dust in this tick of time? I need the same One those beautiful souls in the photographs need - I need Jesus. I need to feel His presence in this room. I need to believe that His promises are true. I need to hear His voice and know that He is listening. I need to experience first-hand God’s love and His joy.

Jesus…sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

 And one day, I will see Him there. This is not my home, and neither is Kansas.

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD!…

Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage…

Blessed are those who trust in You. Psalm 84:1-2,5,12

Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere… Psalm 84:10

Music video ~ Better is One Day

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 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

What stands out to you in this verse? The first seven words have always grabbed me. I remind myself often, Fix your eyes on Jesus. But now the Holy Spirit points to the next seven words and speaks to me - Pay attention!

….the author and perfecter of our faith… Hebrews 12:2

Merriam Webster tells me that an author is: one that originates or creates : source

 God is the author of my faith, the One who created my faith. God originated my faith. He is the source of my faith.

I love the dictionary’s antonym - nonauthor! That would be me in this case, right God? I can be a quick study. Got it - I am not the author of my faith. And, okay, Windows 7 was not my idea either! But, hey, I do know what I want when it comes to faith.

I want my faith to have the deepest possible roots. I want the greenest leaves and the most amazing fruit. I want my faith to be perfect. And look, there it is, the fourth word - perfecter. Great - God wants my faith perfect too! So God, You are the perfecter and I am ready!

 Bring it on God - rain down on me that beautiful and perfect faith!

But faith isn’t rain. It doesn’t come as a refreshing shower. Oh, once you have it, it is the most refreshing shower - but that’s not how it comes. Faith is rooted in just the sort of experiences that most call for it. Faith is rooted in loss. Faith is ripened in sorrow. Faith is abundantly produced in suffering.

Yet, when I experience loss, the first thing that I, the nonauthor, is apt to do is to cry out to the Author -

“Why, God? Why me? Why this? Why now? Why? Why are You allowing this to happen? You could fix this in a millisecond! Why will You not just fix this for me?”

I have good company with the future King David, who begs God to fix his enemy problems -

O Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue my life from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.

O LORD, You have seen this; be not silent.
    Do not be far from me, O Lord.

Awake, and rise to my defense!
    Contend for me, my God and Lord.

Vindicate me in Your righteousness, O LORD my God;
    do not let them gloat over me.

 Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
    or say, “We have swallowed him up.” Psalm 35:17,22-25

In other words, “God, I know that you see what is happening to me. Do not let my enemies get the best of me. Do what only You can do! Please, Lord, fix this!”

David was a twenty-five year old shepherd when God told Samuel to anoint him as the future king of Israel. Do you think God had some royalty-building work to do in David?! All of David’s trouble, suffering, fear and resultant trust in God led to the faith of a king.

What does God have in mind for you and me? I look in the mirror and I see a new wrinkle, more gray hair, a few extra pounds to lose. My King looks at me and sees His beloved child, His royal heir.

Yes, God loves me just as I am, but He desires a closer bond with me - the most fervent love that requires deepest faith.

When did love become unmoving?

When did love become unconsuming?

Forgetting what the world has told me

Well, Father of love, You can have me

You can have me

-  Sidewalk Prophets

Let’s listen anew to the words of this music video - my new favorite song!

You Can Have Me ~ Sidewalk Prophets

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I was clicking through the channels the other night and happened upon an interesting interview. Oprah was speaking with a young nun. I had never seen that before, so I put the remote down and listened.

Oprah asked the nun about her vow of poverty. This was a particularly poignant moment, since Oprah was once poor. Oprah has spent many years of her life digging herself out of poverty to be among the wealthiest people on earth. You could see it on Oprah’s face - the underlying question, Why? Why would anyone choose to be poor?

The nun knew that Oprah was completely out of her element, so she, in the same manner in which Jesus taught, used an analogy. She compared wealth to noise and poverty to silence. I sat there on the couch and thought, Yes, that’s it! Brilliant! I had never heard it stated like that before, but I completely understood it.

  I hear God’s voice in this current season of my life more than I ever have before. I know it is not because He has just now decided to speak to me. It is because, in the silence of my need, I am now listening like never before. This is the blessing of loss - the realization that I am truly nestled in the palm of God’s hand, that He is not going anywhere and neither am I, without Him. This is a degree of intimacy that I never knew in plenty.

God knows me better than I know myself. I must trust Him even when I do not understand His ways or His timing. God’s greatest spiritual gifts come wrapped in loss. Do not be afraid of loss. In God’s economy, loss is gain.

 There is no loss we can experience that is unfamiliar to Jesus. In His short life here on earth, He was broke and homeless. He lost friends and family through death and abandonment. He lost respect and honor.  And finally, because He was never at a loss for love, Jesus, …for the joy set before Him endured the cross… Hebrew 12:2

His loss was our eternal gain. Our eternal gain is His joy! In the face of that love, what is my loss? What is my loss?

Music video ~ You Can Have Me ~ Sidewalk Prophets

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