In the Dark Places

“At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God’s hand until we learn to hear Him…Watch where God puts you into darkness, and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet…When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.”
― Oswald Chambers

Lord, teach me to lean on you when I’m in a dark place. Give me ears to hear what you long to teach me. Teach me to use my hands and feet to do your bidding, and to use my mouth to tell your story. May I hear the message you want me to share, and may I have the means and the courage to share it.

Be My Guide

I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide.
― Martin Luther

Lord, sometimes the path ahead is unclear, and I become confused, afraid, or worried. Forgive me for not trusting you to keep my steps on the path, on the way you choose for me. Help me know You well enough to follow, even when I don’t know where the path leads.

The Physician’s Advice

Recently, I had an MRI.  As I lay inside the narrow cylinder, the machine whirred, clanked and peered deep inside my body.  It didn’t care how I appeared on the outside, only on the inside.   After the doctor reads the MRI, he will decide on an appropriate course of action to make me whole again.  It’s up to me to follow the doctor’s orders. 

Just as the doctor looks within the body in order to heal, so God looks deep within his loved ones for diagnosis and healing.  The great Physician doesn’t care how we appear on the outside; his only concern is those sins entrenched in the soul.  God sees deep inside, understanding all our thoughts and sins. 

Once God informs us what sin lies within, he gives us specific actions to remedy our spiritual ailments.  Forgiveness is a common prescription, as is repentance.  Instead of bed rest, the patient may need quiet time alone with God, in His word and in prayer.  Whatever spiritual ailments we possess, God provides the cure.  It is up to us to take our prescriptions and follow his bidding.

Great physician, as you look deep within my soul, keep my mind and heart willing to follow your spiritual advice.

A Work of Art

Many admire the beauty of glass, its colors sparkling with the sun’s light.  Stepping stones decorate gardens, the glass embedded in the stones. Stained-glass windows in churches inspire awe and reverence. 

Anyone who works with glass knows the process of creating these works of art.  After deciding on a pattern, the craftsman scores and breaks the glass, leaving tiny splinters and sharp edges.  After cutting the glass, the artist grinds its edges smooth.  During grinding, powder-fine pieces of glass fly off.  When the pieces are shaped and smoothed, the artist arranges them into a stepping stone or solders them together for a stained-glass window.  After the final project is completed, its beauty is far greater than the original pieces of uncut glass.  With hard work, the glass is transformed into a work of art, matching the image in the artist’s mind long before she broke that first piece.

There is a parallel between the artist cutting and grinding the glass and God forming us into His image, creating our unique stained-glass.  Before God begins crafting us, He sees how the finished product will look—more beautiful than we can ever imagine.  Just as the artist cuts and breaks the glass into the correct shapes, so God shapes us.  Whenever our lives are filled with difficulties, this may be God’s hand at work in us.  Once the pieces of our lives are cut into proper shapes, God grinds them smooth. Cutting and grinding may not be pleasant, but God, our designer and artist, will complete the work He has begun.  The longer He works in our lives, the more we resemble His image.  The more we yield to His touch, the more His light shines through us.  Someday all the jagged edges of our lives will be smoothed by God’s touch; someday He will shape us into His perfect work of art, allowing His love to softly glow through the colors of our lives.

Father, thank you for the work you are creating in me.  Even though cutting and grinding may be unpleasant, the end result is well worth it.  Thank you for forming me into your image.

Hebrews 13: 21b “May he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Reap a Harvest

Friday Friends’ Favorite:

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Lord, give us strength. Strength for the days when we want to give up, strength for the days when we are weary, strength for the days when we’d rather just be lazy and selfish. Help us keep our eyes on the harvest. Thank you for all the ways you encourage us and provide us what we need.

Mercy and Forgiveness

Mercy and forgiveness must be free and unmerited to the wrongdoer. If the wrongdoer has to do something to merit it, then it isn’t mercy, but forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one granting the forgiveness.
— Tim Keller