Our dog, Jack, woke up at 5:30am this morning. It was okay because I was awake, too. I quickly dressed, slipped Jack’s harness over his head, and we were off — stepping into the darkness. I could only just make out the shape of the sidewalk. The sky was overcast so any thought of moonlight helping was out of the question. Even so, with no hesitation, we walked on. After all, we have walked this route many times. We know where we are going be it daylight or night.
As we moved along I sensed Jack pull against the leash. He was alert to something I could not see. He began to pull harder in his quest to go after whatever had caught his attention. I hung on firmly as we stepped forward with caution, but I did not try to hold him back. After all, his nighttime vision is far better than mine. As we walked further I saw it, just as I had guessed. It was a fox trotting across the street, watching Jack as Jack kept his eyes on him. The fox jumped into some shrubs and Jack continued on with no further pulling against the leash.
I began to think of how we are at times with our Heavenly Father. He is out front leading the way. He can see through the darkest moments of our lives. Sometimes He stops us from proceeding. At other times He continues to lead us forward. We don’t know what’s out there. We can imagine all sorts of threatening scenarios, but if we give in to the fear, turning back as He leads forward, we may miss a faith-building part of our journey.
Just as Jack sees in the dark, sensing what is danger and what is not, God does so even more. He never makes mistakes. When He leads us forward, we can hang on amidst any fear, knowing that He knows, He cares, He protects, and He will not lead us into any situation alone. He is there. He will never leave us. He is our strength. He is our courage. All we need do is hang on to Him. This reminds me of that beautiful song, Be Still, For The Presence of the Lord. I find the words encouraging and faith building every time I hear them. The song is filled with beautiful and comforting truth. May you be blessed today with the reminder that — whatever dark place you may be going through, with God, you are never alone.
Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here.
Come bow before Him now, with reverence and fear.
In Him no sin is found, we stand on Holy ground.
Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here.
Be still for the glory of the Lord is shining all around;
He burns with Holy fire, with splendor He is crowned.
How awesome is the sight, our radiant King of light!
Be still for the glory of the Lord is shining all around.
Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place.
He comes to cleanse and heal, to minister His grace.
No work too hard for Him, in faith receive from Him;
Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place.
Physically, the heart must be in good working order for the body to flourish. When the body has a faulty heart, it affects that body in negative ways. I have a mitral valve prolapse. At times, I feel pain. When this happens, I know I need to listen to my body as it calls out for rest time. If I ignore it, the pain increases. Thankfully, I have learned to do what my physical heart directs me to do. Therefore, I recover and continue on with daily activity.
It’s no different in our spiritual worlds. Jesus said something of great value to His followers in Luke 6:45, “…Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” We have all experienced moments when we hear ourselves spew out negative words, angry, full of condemnation for ourselves, others, or our difficult situations. At the end of such emptying of negativity in our hearts, do we feel joy and peace? Of course not. Negative words damage ourselves as well as others, bringing more pessimism, doom, gloom, and growing anger.
How then, do we put positivity into our hearts? There’s no button to press that suddenly makes us “feel better.” The power to a positive heart lies wholly in developing an attitude of thanksgiving. I now share with you a dream I had this week. I dreamed a man was taken prisoner through kidnapping. He was put into a room with no windows. Lights were off. He could not see even a sliver of light beneath the door. In my dream the man was afraid. For a long time he was frozen in his fear, unable to move, breathing shallow. After a while he slowly put out a hand and felt the wall. He kept his hand on the wall for a long time. The man whispered, “at least I can still feel.” Then I woke up.
Throughout the day the dream stirred in my thoughts.. After a while the following came to me: at times we are each kidnapped by our fears, imprisoned in the dark because we cannot see tomorrow or the outcome of a bad situation. However, in our hearts, we grow either fear or peace. When we choose to focus on the dark, the fear only deepens, but when we focus on something positive, giving thanks for the smallest thing, then peace begins to replace the fear no matter the darkness. Maybe all one can say is, “thank you, Lord, I can still feel.” You see, the fact that you feel pain, sorrow or fear, is in itself a sign of life. Life is always a sign of hope.
When we choose to fill our hearts with positivity by concentrating on the things of God; like His character and love, His promises and grace, then fear of the dark takes second place. Instead, we feel His nearness. We feel His hope. It’s a matter of the condition of the heart. A spiritually healthy heart finds reason to praise. One can then say in his or her darkest moments, “thank you, Lord, I can still feel.” We can add, “thank you, Lord, you are in all our tomorrows.”
“Above all things, guard your heart, because it affects everything you do.” Proverbs 4:23
The days are growing shorter with the arrival of Autumn. Just a few weeks ago, when I would take our dog, Jack, for his first walk of the day, it was fully light at 6:00am. Yesterday was much different. We stepped out to a cooler and darker morning. Everything was covered in various shades of grey and gloomy shadows around trees, lurking in corners, and peeking from behind bushes.
As we were walking down one dark street, Jack paused to have a sniff at some interesting bits of grass growing between cracks in the pavement. As he slowed, I glanced behind me. Oh, what a surprise met my eyes! I was astounded at the beauty! The sky was painted in bright pinks and blues as a golden sun was rising to wash away shades and shadows. I stood several moments basking in the light. It not only began to brighten the day but also awakened my senses to joy and appreciation.
This is the same in our spiritual lives. The troubles of this world, if we’re not careful, can equate to a constant walking in shadows of gloom, forgetting that light will ever come again. I take great comfort in something Jesus said to His followers in John 16:33, “…Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows, but be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.” Jesus, and everything about Him, His own strength, courage, peace, and joy in the face of any calamity, is promised to be ours, too.
We may walk down a long dark street of despair, not knowing what’s around the next corner, but turn around, see Him there. Focus. Listen. Enjoy. Walk on in the comfort that the light of His love and guidance will indeed light our way again.
Yesterday the entire world heard the news that Queen Elizabeth II passed away. The United Kingdom and the Commonwealth are now in mourning as its people reflect upon her life and anticipate the sad day of her funeral. There are many things to be said about Queen Elizabeth. She met dignitaries, celebrities, and multitudes of common people throughout her lifetime. She experienced the horrors of WWII. Churchill was her first prime minister. She endured parental fear when an assassination attempt was made on her daughter, Princess Anne. She suffered family scandals (everyone has skeletons in their closets) with grace and dignity, comforted the nation in times of turmoil and hardship, and made everyone she met feel important. All of the above is most admirable, but there is one thing about her life that stands above all else, and that is her personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Queen Elizabeth was very open about her faith, often saying in her Christmas messages that she did her best to follow the teachings of Jesus. In celebration of her 90th birthday, the London Bible Society published a book titled, “The Queen and The King She Serves.” The Queen wrote the forward for the book herself. In that forward she writes that upon her coronation she, “asked the people of the Commonwealth and Empire to pray for me as I prepare to dedicate myself to your service.” In conclusion she quoted the words of a poem, “I said to the man who stood at the Gate of The Year, ‘Give me light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied, ‘Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.'” She also called her faith, “the scaffolding of my life.”
The Queen has now exhaled her last breath on earth. She inhaled her next breath in the presence of Jesus. All who receive Him into their lives, asking forgiveness of sins, thanking Him for His death on the cross, will live with Him eternally where tears nor sorrow exists.
It is an honor for all who ever met the Queen. Yesterday she was honored, too. It was the day the Queen met The King face to face. She was swiftly ushered into His loving and magnificent presence. Can you imagine her joy? What she now has is available to each person who comes to personally know Jesus. Salvation belongs to anyone for the asking. I hope you do. I hope you have your day of indescribable joy, like yesterday, when the Queen met The King.
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