Open my eyes, Lord

In John 21, the disciples fished all night and didn’t catch a thing.

But then, God…

Jesus enters the scene. And He totally removes the problem, pain, and disappointment. Their nets can barely hold all the fish! I am caught wondering if they prayed. For fish. It doesn’t say so in any translations I have read. In the midst of their tiredness and frustration, Jesus just shows up.

Jesus doesn’t always wait for us to ask. Some answers come after the seeking-prayer, but some come before a word is on our lips.

We’re already in the presence of God. What’s absent is awareness. - Richard Rohr

When our anxious thoughts get interrupted, we can see the Lord is present - clearly present - and already providing. And we will know it, see it, feel it when we stop focusing on the trouble. The goodness of the Lord is right there the whole time.

Maybe you prayed - but maybe you didn’t. Loud distractions can do that to you. But the Lord Jesus shows up anyway. And whatever thoughts or feelings you had, you are welcomed into His arms of grace.

Are you tired? Overwhelmed? Have you reached your limit in wisdom and strength? The Lord is near - to take over from there. Gladness is near. No more squeaking through. The joy of the Lord, the joy of Him stepping in and finishing it with abundance. Oh, yes! Surely goodness and mercy will follow my attempts at strength.

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Lord, I’m going to believe in Your provision, Your help, and Your abundant response. Great are You, Lord, and greatly to be praised! I will breathe in Your presence. I desire to eagerly seek You with open eyes to all the goodness of having You in my life. Whatever concerns I have, whatever problems may arise, it is already finished by You. They don’t need to consume me. You are the strength beyond my strength.

He Who began a good work in you is not deterred by hiccups along the way. God moves steadily forward to bring it to completion.

“for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” Acts 5:38b-39a

Water often

 I’m not very good with plants. I forget to water them. They start to droop; they stop blooming; their vibrant color turns to a dull crusty brown. Leaves and flower petals drop off. And then I give them too much water at one time and they are overwhelmed. They sure seemed fine the other day. Or was that last week? Time sure has a way of slipping through our fingers.

I have done the same thing with myself. I go all day forgetting to drink a sufficient amount of pure, clean water. Reaching instead for morning coffees and afternoon sodas. And it shows. Because I start to droop. My vibrancy diminishes. I become sluggish, irritable and have a hard time thinking clearly. I think I’m just tired and want to call it a day. But really, I’m dehydrated. There’s no living water flowing through my system.

But tomorrow… tomorrow I will do better. I know it’s important. So starting tomorrow…

… and we all know how that scenario plays out. If you wait until you are actually thirsty, your body is crying out because it is already dehydrated. You need to be intentional with supplying your body with life-supporting water on a regular basis.

The same can be said about our spiritual health and well-being.

Are you feeling tired, even exhausted in your service? Is your passion for your calling lackluster? And not quite as alive and vibrant… are you feeling dry, even drained?

Do you wait until you’re in the mood to pray? Do you wait until you are thirsty for His Word before you read your Bible? (Didn’t I just read something from it the other day; or was that last week?) Have you lapsed from hanging out with other Christian believers? Has church become more duty and less about worship? Time sure has a way of slipping through our fingers. But you need to do all these things on a regular basis. And just watch and see your service to the Lord and others be revived! It can happen in just a day. It can happen this very day! 

Just as your body needs food and drink, work and play on a regularly scheduled basis, so your soul requires intentional attention in order to function properly. Like my plants, it doesn’t work to let them go so dry and then try to pour as much as possible into one quick, catch-up moment.

For peak performance, maintain consistent connection with the Lord through daily prayer, His Word, and fellowship with other believers.

Read your Bible, pray every day - and you’ll grow, grow, GROW!

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭42‬ 

Walk in it

 “Take a good look at God’s wonders - they’ll take your breath away. He converted sea to dry land; travelers crossed the river on foot. Now isn’t that cause for a song?” - Psalm 66:5 MSG

Take a close look at this verse. They walked - on foot - across the dried up riverbed. No running, screaming, hurrying, with arms flailing…

They walked. They probably looked all around, taking in the awesome, unbelievable sight. The walls of the life-threatening, death-defying waters held back until all were safely on the other side.

Have you ever faced such a “wall” and thought, “There’s no way…”

Have you been on a rough stretch of road?

Then, oh wow, do I have the God for you!

“Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He performs for His people!” - Psalm 66:5 NLT

God doesn’t completely remove the terrifying circumstance. Why, you’d miss the display of His awesome power - these are His opportunities to reveal Himself to you in miraculous ways. So you can personally experience His unbelieveable, unimaginable greatness.

Take the time to live in it. Don’t panic. Open your eyes to Him. See Him for Who He really is. Walk in it. Be amazed by it. No need to rush through it. Do not be afraid. But stand in awe… take a look around - the Lord is near. 

“He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.” - Psalm 18:19 NIV

“Sing a new song to the Lord, for He has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; His holy arm has shown His saving power!” - Psalm 98:1 NLT

Come, Jesus, come…

Or should I say: you have to come… to Jesus… messy.

You can not wait until everything calms down. Or when you think there’s a lull. And then it really isn’t so you keep plowing ahead telling Jesus, “Soon!” Soon - I will have time. Soon I will be presentable. Not so harried looking. Not so distracted. Not juggling so many things. When things calm down, Lord, we will have a nice visit and I will be able to praise You as I should. Just give me a chance to clear my schedule. And fix a few things before I come before You. I want to look nice and feel good and be fully ready for a nice visit. I don’t want to burden You with any complaints or grumbling. No. That’s not the way to treat someone as special as You. Let me just clear a few things up and I will come with a happy face to make You smile and be pleased with me. I want to look nice for You. I’ll just finish up today’s to-do list and by this evening, I will have a clear mind and some spare time for prayer.

Sound familiar?

And we know what usually happens, right? We fall asleep after working so hard to make everything happen smoothly and successfully and… done. 

Oh, my dear child, says the Lord. I’ll take you any way I can get you. Scruffy. Whiny. Distressed. Scrambled. Sit with Me in the midst of all of that and I will make a place for peace. A time for breath and sighing and releasing all that heavy burden you carry. A real rest. Come. Now. As you are. Empty. Or too full of other things. Off kilter. Or grasping. Whatever it is. Wherever your head is at - I can make space for something better. But you must come to Me. You must let Me in…

Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy (Hymn by Joseph Hart, 1712)

 

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, 
weak and wounded, sick and sore; 
Jesus ready stands to save you, 
full of pity, love, and pow'r. 

2 Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God's free bounty glorify;
true belief and true repentance,
every grace that brings you nigh.

3 Let not conscience make you linger, 
nor of fitness fondly dream; 
all the fitness He requireth 
is to feel your need of Him. 

4 Come, ye weary, heavy laden, 
lost and ruined by the fall; 
if you tarry till you're better, 
you will never come at all. 

5 Lo! th'incarnate God, ascended, 
pleads the merit of His blood; 
venture on Him, venture wholly; 
let no other trust intrude.

A fresh encounter

The apostles all heard it. And from a woman. They probably didn’t believe her but I bet her face shone like the sun; shone like Moses’ did when he encountered God on the mountain. So there might have been a flicker of curiosity in them. But Mary, she was changed forever.

She was changed at her very first encounter with Jesus. He healed her from all those demons that demanded her attention and distracted her. She was healed and her life shifted to following Him. Forever grateful. And now set on staying close to Him. I bet during those years of following Him, with all that He had said and done; with every experience of walking close to Him, turning to Him, keeping her eyes on Him - she changed and grew in faith and love. I have to believe she became softer and gentler with herself and others. More gracious. More understanding. Living in the presence of His example.

I wonder, as she watched Him die, if she thought about all He had taught her and how He loved her, included her, interacted with her, and nurtured her into such a loving, caring person - was she grasping every detail in her memory, thinking she will not encounter Him again?

But wait…

“Come and see…”, says the angel. Matthew 28:6

Heart stopping amazing!

And then He appears before her. Some translations imply she even grabs His feet.

He is here!

Can you imagine what she is thinking now?

He sees me! He remembers me! He knows me and speaks to me! He even calls me by my name! John 20:16

Because He is risen! Risen for all time. Even our time. And your endearing relationship with Him can carry on into eternity.

Go! And tell the others. Matthew 28:10, Mark 16:7, Luke 24:9, John 20:2 They all record this message…

Jesus is alive! And you can renew your relationship with Him. Even now. Your relationship with Him can continue being nurtured by Him. It wasn’t just for Mary, the disciples, and those living in those biblical times when He was first present.

Yes! Jesus is alive and He longs for you. Longs for sweet fellowship with you too.

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” - Matthew 28:10

Jesus says, “They will see Me…”

And may your face shine like the sun!

A good tired or dog-tired?

Most of us are familiar with the passage:

“I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:13 

And we know that it means we will be provided with whatever is needed in the face of challenge.

Do you know what it doesn’t mean? It doesn’t mean you do all things.

If you find yourself dog-tired, perhaps you have taken on more than what the Lord has required of you.

There is work and sometimes hard work. But if it is in your God-given passion, it uses energy. It doesn’t drain you. There is a “good tired”.

We can get excited about having an assignment from the Lord that looks right up our alley. We can get so excited to be doing something the Lord wants - that we run, sprint, dive into it without hesitation. How easy, how tempting it is to receive a calling from God and immediately begin planning how you are going to do it. How you are going to bring it to a successful conclusion. Oh, we may pray for guidance in the beginning. And then again when we get stuck or things aren’t turning out like we had hoped…

I think we need to be vigilant in prayer; in asking how to proceed - step by step - and for knowing when our portion is completed and someone else’s begins. Let’s not forget we all make up the one body. And together, kingdom work is accomplished. God is not asking you to do it all or have all gifts.  Yes, He equips the called. Yes, His grace is sufficient in our weakness. But let’s follow as He directs and allow space for others to do the same. Working together where all get the joy of serving and we all get a share of responding in obedience. 

Food for thought:

“I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose— Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ ‭AMP‬‬a (emphasis mine)

“so we, who are many, are [nevertheless just] one body in Christ, and individually [we are] parts one of another [mutually dependent on each other].” - Romans 12:5 AMP

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. - Ephesians 4:16 NLT

He handed out gifts … to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s holy body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son… - Ephesians 4:16 MSG

What is God calling you to do?

And how do you know when your portion is finished and when to pass the baton?

And how do you know when it’s your turn to step up to the plate and continue the task at hand?

“Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. In this way, they traveled and camped at the Lord’s command wherever he told them to go.” - Numbers‬ ‭9‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Where are we going now?

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” - Genesis 12:1

This biblical account of Abram being called to move is very relatable to me. When my husband was full time pastor, we lived in a manse. Meaning the church owned the house and we paid no mortgage, or taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc. (which also meant no equity). When the time came to retire, we were drawn to a place several states away. We knew no one there. No family or friends were there. And yet we decided to start building a house there - long distance. We looked at all our potential sources of income and made our best estimates - but weren’t real sure of the exact amounts that would be coming in monthly once we retired. Nor did we know exactly what mortgage payments would be until things were finalized. Or taxes. Insurance. Utility bills. Or any other expenses not to mention to cost of moving itself. On top of all these unknowns was the pressure of leaving mentally and emotionally… all the good-byes. And leaving all our normal comfortable rhythms and routines for… whatever the Lord had in mind.

“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…” - Genesis 12:4

It was frightening. It was stressful. And, yes, at times exciting too. But did God know what He was doing? Would we really make it through all the pressure?

That was three years ago now. We live happily in our little cottage size home with our two cats. We have made so many new friends and have kept in touch with the old dear ones. We love our neighbors. So many simple pleasures to enjoy in this new life. The Lord has provided in every way. Every single way! Financially. Relationally. And oh my, spiritually, how our faith and trust in the Lord has grown deeper and richer! It is unimaginable how Abram took that leap of faith. The bible makes it seem effortless. It only spans four verses. God said and Abram went. But we walked a similar path and there was nothing simple or easy about it. But that didn’t slow God down one bit. He forged ahead with His plan. His perfect plan. And His blessings have been beyond imaginable. More than we could ever ask for or dream of asking. Yes. Great is Your faithfulness, Lord! Great is Your faithfulness!

Is there a calling on your heart and you’re thinking, NO WAY! I need more information. More assurances. When God calls, He always has something amazing and wonderful in mind. Don’t miss it. He stands ahead of you with arms spread wide and what’s before Him is just bursting with glorious blessings for you. If you will just follow Him into it.

Like Abram.

Like the Cranes.

The list of faith-following leapers is extensive. Think about it. You know some.

Where is God calling you to leap next?