despair

Waiting Day 1 Not Abandoned

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 45:4-8
Psalm 13:1-6
Psalm 23
Philippians 1:3-6

Waiting, Day 1

Waiting is hard.
Especially when there’s no end in sight.
Especially when circumstances become painful, or confound our expectations.

In such moments, we begin to ask questions.
Questions such as the ones King David asked in Psalm 13:1-2.

“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemies dominate me?”

On another occasion, David cried out, “Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?” (Psalm 73:13)

Generations before David penned his anguished words, Joseph found himself in a similar situation, seemingly lost in a wait without end. The more he waited, the darker his world grew.

After being sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, Joseph found himself in Egypt, serving a man named Potiphar. (Genesis 37:3-28, 36) Joseph served his master so faithfully that Potiphar put his entire household under Joseph’s care, and the Lord blessed everything under Joseph’s authority. (Genesis 39:1-5)

Sounds like a happy ending, right?

Not quite.

Potiphar’s wife, seeing Joseph was “well-built and handsome,” tried repeatedly to force him to lay with her. Finally, he had to literally run away as she tore at his clothing. (Genesis 39:6-12)

What should be Joseph’s reward for resisting sin and honoring Potiphar’s trust in him? Promotion, right?

No.

Enraged by Joseph’s rejection, Potiphar’s wife told her husband Joseph tried to rape her. Without any fair hearing, his master put him in prison. (Genesis 39:13-20)

Perhaps, as a slave, Joseph might have expected unfair treatment by his master, but shouldn’t God defend him? He was in this mess because he refused to sin against God! Yet, God seemed silent, and Joseph was left to face his fate.

Despite Joseph’s situation, God had not abandoned him; even in prison, He was with Joseph. He gave Joseph favor with the prison keeper, and once again, Joseph was placed in authority. (Genesis 39:21-23)

In the process of time, two prisoners, both Pharaoh’s officers, had troubling dreams. (Genesis 40) With God’s help, Joseph interpreted their dreams and his interpretations came to pass. Joseph asked one of the officers, who was restored to his position of cupbearer in Pharaoh’s court, to remember Joseph before Pharaoh. But when the man resumed his office, he forgot about Joseph. Oh, what a hopeless situation it appeared, but Joseph did not despair.

Finally, God set in motion the vehicle for the culmination of His plan in Joseph’s life. (Genesis 41) Pharaoh himself had two similar dreams, and none of the Egyptian magicians could interpret them. Then, Pharaoh’s cupbearer remembered Joseph, and urged Pharaoh to consult him. With God’s help, Joseph gave the right interpretation. Egypt would experience seven years of abundant grain, followed by seven years of severe famine. With this foreknowledge, Egypt could stockpile food during the plentiful years, and use it to survive the famine. Impressed by Joseph’s discernment, the king realized God was with him, and he made Joseph second in command of all of Egypt. Hallelujah! From prison to palace in one inspired moment.

God’s plan for Joseph continued to unfold. (Genesis 42-44) As the famine set in, Joseph’s family back home was affected and the only option for survival was traveling to Egypt for food. Joseph was in charge of the grains, so his brothers were forced to encounter the brother they’d betrayed face to face.

While they thought they had ended his destiny when they sold him, they found themselves prostrating before him in Egypt.

Joseph’s dream became a reality.

When God makes a promise, it must come to pass, because His word cannot return to Him empty.

At last, Joseph welcomed his father and the rest of the family to settle in Egypt. (Genesis 45-46) Approximately 22 years of waiting passed between Joseph’s boyhood dream in his father’s tent and its fulfillment in the palaces of Egypt.

But why did God allow Joseph to wait so long amidst those trials?

I see God using every trial to draw Joseph closer to Him. As he communed with God moment by moment, day after day, he learned about God’s unfailing love, and entrusted himself to Him.

Like David, Joseph might have concluded by saying,

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need [. . .] He leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff–they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:1, 3b-4)

With his faith firmly established in God, the place of power could not corrupt Joseph. He remained focused and firm in his walk with God. As a result, he forgave all the evil his brothers did against him. He said to his brothers, “And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.” (Genesis 45:5)

The purpose of God was, and always will be, fulfilled.

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Beloved Day 12 Seasons Of Love: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Seasons Of Love!

The Questions

1) Why might the woman have paused before opening the door to her loved one (verse 3)?

2) Why did the man not continue to wait for her to open the door (verse 6)?

3) Verse 7 seems to indicate abuse of the woman. What might be the significance of this being included in the passage?

4) How does the woman express her disappointment of not finding her loved one? (verse 8)

Song of Solomon 5:3-8

3 I have taken off my clothing. How can I put it back on? I have washed my feet. How can I get them dirty? 4 My love thrust his hand through the opening, and my feelings were stirred for him. 5 I rose to open for my love. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh on the handles of the bolt. 6 I opened to my love, but my love had turned and gone away. My heart sank because he had left. I sought him, but did not find him. I called him, but he did not answer.

7 The guards who go about the city found me. They beat and wounded me; they took my cloak from me—the guardians of the walls. 8 Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you, if you find my love, tell him that I am lovesick.

Original Intent

1) Why might the woman have paused before opening the door to her loved one (verse 3)?
Since this book is not a chronological account of the events between Solomon and his beloved, there are some difficult passages to unravel. This one is no exception. In verse 2 of the chapter, we read the bride’s words, “I was sleeping, but my heart was awake.” As in chapter 3 verse 1, we are left with questions about the sequence and the reality of the couple’s actions in this scene. Is the young woman dreaming, or is she at the drowsy verge of being awakened? Since many Bible commentators have come to different conclusions, it seems unnecessary to dwell too long in a discussion about this. More importantly is the big picture. In these verses we encounter a scenario of a real-life relationship which included human responses. The young woman knows her loved one is at the door, but she is either too tired or too lazy to get up, get dressed, and open the door for him. David Guzik says, “her problem was not that she didn’t go to the door; but that she did it so slowly and reluctantly, making excuses all along the way. [This reveals she was] thinking only about her comfort and not at all about Solomon’s desires or her relationship with him.” (enduringword.com)

2) Why did the man not continue to wait for her to open the door (verse 6)?
The woman’s lover reminded her that he was standing on the outside waiting. “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one. For my head is drenched with dew, my hair with droplets of the night.” (verse 2) Whether or not the terms in verse 4 are explicit references regarding sexual intimacy, the scene certainly portrays an active pursuit of one lover desiring to be with the other, but being met with rejection. I think the best interpretation is to read this within the framework Guzik describes as a “missed connection” between the bride and groom, and therefore we should apply it literally rather than symbolically. (enduringword.com) The groom has been waiting patiently outside the door of the bride’s room. As he was leaving, he likely placed myrrh on the door handle as was customary in ancient settings. We are not given the reasons why the woman paused, but the delay causes her beloved to leave. It does not appear he was angry with her, and the emphasis again seems to be on the passion of the bride once she realizes his loving gesture. The bride’s emotions are awakened and she has legitimate feelings of despair because her loved one can’t be found.

3) Verse 7 seems to indicate abuse of the woman. What might be the significance of this being included in the passage?
In chapter 3 we read how the watchmen were helpful to the woman as she frantically sought her beloved. But now verse 7 seems so out of place. What is happening? In then-current day, there were two sorts of watchmen in a city. One guarded from the inside of a city wall to ensure all those within were safe and secure. The others were placed on the walls themselves to watch and give notice of an enemy approaching. (Bible Study Tools, David Gill) The watchmen on the wall would be aware that the only women who would be on the streets at night were prostitutes. Not realizing who she is, they treat her with inappropriate disregard, even abusing her. Whether a dream or reality, we surely feel the stab to our hearts as we read what the bride endured as she runs out into the night. She so desires to find the one she loves that she risks her wellbeing to search for him. Nothing is mentioned about her response to what she experiences, but we share her anguish over not finding her groom. These verses are communicating unrelenting passion and desire between a bride and her groom at all costs.

4) How does the woman express her disappointment of not finding her loved one? (verse 8)
We have read in the previous chapters how the couple speaks to one another with words describing their longing for, and their satisfaction in, one another. Here in verse 8, the bride begins to plead with the women of the town to help her find her groom. It appears she has deep regret over her rejection of his advances, and she now wants to let him know how much she longs for him.  In Song of Solomon 2:4-6, the bride expresses her soul’s desire toward her new groom in those pleasant moments of marital intimacy and passion. She was overwhelmed by the presence of love and the joy of lovemaking. Here in chapter 5, the young woman aches over the distance she has created with her beloved. She has become physically and emotionally ill due to her yearning love for him. She asks the city’s women to “tell him that I am lovesick.” The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT) uses the verb titrosko which means inflicted with a wound, injured, damaged. The Shulamite woman is emotionally and physically overwrought. (preceptaustin.org) Within the context, we can surmise she is craving more moments with the groom. She grieves the way she let him slip away due to her unwillingness to respond when he came to her.

Everyday Application

1) Why might the woman have paused before opening the door to her loved one (verse 3)?
We don’t know all the motives behind why the bride doesn’t go to the door. She expresses it would be somewhat of a hassle since she has already changed clothes, whether it is weariness or laziness, we are not sure. What we discover as we read further in the passage, though, is that she regrets her inaction to open the door to her beloved. While there will be times in marriage that one person lacks a desire to make much effort toward intimacy (due to fatigue or distress), we should not make it a habit to neglect our spouse’s need for sexual and physical closeness. This will likely require ongoing conversation and work in our relationships as we strive for a healthy marriage. As we think about this in spiritual terms, we can also pray for our hearts to be receptive to our Beloved Savior. Bible teacher Harry Ironside says this is a great picture of our own callousness toward Divine Love. “When [Christ] comes to the heart’s door we practically say, ‘No; it is inconvenient. I do not want to drop things right now.’” What an even greater tragedy to reject God’s perfect love. (John 3:16-19)

2) Why did the man not continue to wait for her to open the door (verse 6)?
The bottom line of this verse is how the groom was demonstrating his desire for his bride. He was patient. He did not force his way in, nor did he demand her to meet his expectations. Instead, he waited and then quietly slipped away, but not before leaving a symbol of his love. What beautiful restraint and gentleness was shown by this man. Although his loved one did not receive him in the way he expected, he chose kindness. Putting a fragrance on the bolt handles would have been akin to leaving flowers by the door. Sometimes in marriage we don’t feel the emotional attachment to our husband. When that happens, we can begin by praying for God to stir passion in us. Years ago, I heard a woman Bible teacher talk about how she prayed for her marriage. She said one of her prayers was that she would “always thrill to her husband’s touch.” That is a good start! Whether we are the initiator or the one waiting, our goal should be to demonstrate unrelenting love. Friend, maybe you feel that any sign of promising light is so far in the distance you are unable to see it. I pray you will not lose hope. God will be faithful as you pursue a passionate and lasting marriage.

3) Verse 7 seems to indicate abuse of the woman. What might be the significance of this being included in the passage?
The picture of the beloved bride of the king being assaulted by his own watchmen is appalling! Whether she is dreaming or is in fact walking around at night like a prostitute, she is a desperate woman in search of the one her heart longs to be near. She has felt the pangs of dismissing her lover’s kind and patient pursuit. It has been said that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” I doubt that is always true as I have seen absence push people apart. But one of the ways we can create a healthy kind of distance that inspires desire is to rehearse the benefits of being married to our husband. When marriages are struggling, it is hard to find the good in the other person. Our human tendency is to rehearse our weariness with it all. As we do, we only add to our growing list of reasons not to make efforts. However, when alone with our thoughts, considering the good things of our marriage and the positive characteristics of our husbands helps stir our emotions toward desire. As the bride longed to find her beloved groom, God can restore our passions as we pray and work to bridge the gap we may or may not have caused.

4) How does the woman express her disappointment of not finding her loved one? (verse 8)
The Shulamite woman had gone from being “too tired” to being “lovesick.” She desperately went searching for the one her heart so deeply loved. She called those around her to join her in her search. Sister, enlist your own army of women to support you in your marriage. No, I’m not asking you to find friends to whom you can badmouth your husband. I am encouraging you to gather those around you who will remind you to “love your husbands … so God’s word will not be slandered.” (Titus 2:4) It is not an easy journey, this thing called marriage. But with God’s help, and with friends pointing us to Christ, we can pursue the kind of passionate relationship we read of in Song of Solomon!

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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Eve Day 10 Eve of Hope

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Eve Day 10 Eve of Hope

Rebecca Adams

December 15, 2017

Adoring,Broken,Faith,Fear,Forgiven,Fullness,God,Gospel,Grace,Hope,Jesus,Love,Power,Relationship,Restored,Sacrifice,Scripture,Truth

Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 22:39-62
Luke 23:44-56
Luke 24:36-49

Huddled in fear. Hiding in secret.
Their lives turned upside down.

The Passover meal we’d just shared was so different from the other ones we had shared together. The intensity and fullness of every moment was pregnant with meaning and vast, unmistakable love.
The hymns we sang, the way we had prayed together, the way Jesus had prayed so intimately, out loud, in front of us…, it was as if we were in the throne room of Yahweh Himself. One could scarcely breathe it was so beautiful!

As incredible as our time together had been, the limits of our emotional and physical capacities failed us as we moved to Gethsemane to pray. It was late, the meal filling our bellies, the sweetness of being with Jesus wrapped us up, and our eyelids grew heavy despite how Jesus had urged us to stay awake and pray with Him.

Jolting awake to the stomp of soldier’s feet and rustling branches, we, the 11 disciples had peered through the leaves, watching in horror as we saw Judas betray our Lord. Peter had sprung into action, hacking away at a soldier’s ear to defend Jesus, but, astonishingly, Jesus had rebuked Peter!
With an ever-clarifying understanding, we realized this wasn’t like all the other run-ins with the Pharisees. This wasn’t like the countless time the crowds had threatening to stone Him or push Jesus over a cliff, and He had walked away or moved into a safer political region. There was something about this time that was ripe, full, and Jesus wasn’t backing down. He was handing Himself over.

In the hours that followed, every fear became reality.
Jesus was flogged.
Peter denied even knowing Jesus.
The murderer Barabbas was released from prison, and Jesus….
Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion.

Most of us hid, or stood at a distance, as Jesus hung outside Jerusalem, fastened to a wooden cross by Roman nails, naked and alone. Even Father God abandoned Him. Only John was bold enough to stand at the foot of Christ’s cross, comforting Mother Mary in the midst of unspeakable agony as a sword pierced her own heart emotionally.  

Despite our distance, we could hear Jesus painfully cry out with all of His strength, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit”, and then breathed His last.
Jesus was dead.
And our world was in shambles.

Some of us responded in anger, wanting to cut off our own ears as Peter had done to the soldier just hours ago, wishing we could somehow be immune to the reality of death.
Fear was everywhere.
Would soldiers be shoving down the door to this little Upper Room to crucify us next?
We didn’t dare leave. Besides, where would we go?
Life itself had lost its meaning.
If the Pharisees weren’t out to plot against us next, we were most certainly the laughingstock of all Galilee and Judea. We had walked every road, stayed at every town and village in the area, been with Jesus as He had healed the masses, cast out demons, and preached love as He lived love.
But now, He was gone, swallowed up by Death.  
And we were alone.
Maybe in a few weeks or months when the buzz of His death had subsided, they would be able to get back to life. Yet, even so, fishing boats and tax ledgers no longer had the same appeal they did a few years ago.

The women cared for us, though their hands shook and their faces were etched with tear stains.
Our grief was shared by many, but that fact didn’t lessen the weightiness that Life itself had died. We were as dead men too, our hearts having died with Him, so great was our grief.

Jesus had died on Friday, just as the Sabbath hour was nearing.
No one could do any work until Sunday morning.
Little did we know,
the work of redemption was being done in full for us
when we could do nothing for ourselves;
held back by the very Law God Himself had lovingly put in place!

The women, unbeknownst to us, had the wherewithal to follow Joseph of Arimathea to see where Jesus was buried. Despite their sadness, they worked together preparing spices to embalm His body as the last light was fading from the sky and Sabbath was being ushered in.

Sabbath.
“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
“Oh Lord, God!” our hearts cried.
Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath, lay in a borrowed tomb, lifeless.

As dusk settled in on Saturday, Sabbath ended, and tomorrow would be the 3rd day since Christ’s death. Time was moving steadily forward, despite their overwhelming sense of loss and despair.

Good Friday had come and gone, but Sunday was coming.
It was Saturday night, but Sunday was coming.
Resurrection Sunday.
The day the triune Godhead had been anticipating since before the dawn of time,
even before the Eve of Sin.

Sunday.
When Life would defeat Death!

 

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crucifixion,death,despair,Eve,gospel,hope,Jesus,life,peace,resurrection
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Eve, Day 10 Digging Deeper

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Day Fifteen
Desperate for Redemption

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Matthew 12:9-21
Isaiah 42:1-9
Isaiah 40:27-31IMG_4982
Psalm 147:1-6

“For it is exceedingly bitter to me…that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”

We all have those sore spots.
Come on, don’t cover them up with cute Christian slogans,
“Oh, I’ve forgiven that. The Lord knows best. God is just so good. Let’s just rejoice always.” All true, but sometimes we use clichés to cover our hearts.

The thing about God is that He knows our hearts. And if we aren’t being up-front and honest about the state of affairs in our hearts with God and ourselves, then we have stunted what would otherwise be a growing, intimate relationship with the Creator.

What makes your list of “the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”?
Cancer
Early death of a loved one
Material loss
Infertility
A career that dropped out
Addiction
Emotional wounds
Abuse
Abandonment
Unfaithfulness

Scars. Some you can see, many that you can’t, but hurt even worse.

Naomi was a woman whose pain was so close to her that she seemed resigned to forever be wearing it.
Exceedingly bitter was her autobiography.
She even changed her name from Naomi (meaning pleasant) to Mara (meaning bitter).
With the collapse of her finances, severe famine and drought, the death of her husband followed by the deaths of both her sons, Naomi’s life had indeed gone from “pleasant” to “bitter”. She was aged, abandoned without security, home or husband, and so she did the only thing she could, she made the long trek back to her homeland. Shame-faced and spent from a 7-10 day walking journey on dusty roads, Naomi faced the people she’d left years before.

As if the heaviness her heart already held wasn’t enough, she now faced the shame of coming home empty when she had left so full. We watch Naomi’s story unfold and we see ourselves. Hopeful, dreamy, until the circumstances became too much. One thing after the other, heartbreak after heartbreak, and eventually we find ourselves at the very end of our tattered rope. Unsure. Lost. Scarred. Perhaps even past desperate hope to a place of empty resignation.
“The hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”

She hadn’t abandoned her faith, she knew God was still sovereign, but she just couldn’t see His goodness anymore.

Are you there, Sister?
Are you the bruised reed, the broken hearted, the abandoned and emptied?
Maybe you’re not anymore, but perhaps those broken places still linger somewhere in the corridors of your heart. You try to avoid them, but sometimes a light shines on them and the searing pain you feel is like it happened yesterday.

For Naomi, or Mara as she preferred, the Lord had not abandoned her. God was using her heartbreak to bring her home, to redeem her heart.
He was working in her as she welcomed new daughter-in-laws, one of which would become so attracted to Naomi’s solid faith that she would willingly leave her own homeland to follow Yahweh.
God was working in the pain of her heart to give her enough faith to return, despite her shame and emptiness.
The good Father was working in the timing so that Naomi would come home right at harvest season.
She couldn’t see His hand, but He was still there.
Her cause had not been disregarded by her God despite how she felt.
Her Abba desired “pleasant”, not “bitter” for His daughter.

It’s the same for us, as His adopted heirs. He doesn’t say the pain is good, but He does promise to bring goodness for our hearts from it. He promises fullness.

Naomi’s husband and sons didn’t rise from the dead. Her pain wasn’t eradicated in one fell swoop. It was still there, but God was good and He showed up. Because of her faith, God blessed Naomi through Ruth and her new husband Boaz with security, an inheritance, and an heir. An heir that would place Naomi as the great-great-grandma of King David through whom would come the Savior, the Eternal Redeemer, and our own very rich inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ.

One woman’s pain.
One woman’s faith.
One True God who lovingly worked in the darkness to bring about His light, not just for her, but for humanity.

At the birth of Naomi’s grandson her community couldn’t possibly ignore the goodness of God in her life and proclaimed:
“Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

In turning over our scars to the One who gave His Own Hands to be scarred for us, may His light shine so brilliantly, even in our darkness, that our community, our city, our nation, our world can’t possibly ignore His Eternal Redemption.

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Day Five
Embracing Fullness

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Haggai 1
Haggai 2Fullness-Week1-Day3

You have sown much,
and harvested little.
You eat,
but you never have enough;
you drink,
but you never have your fill.
You clothe yourselves,
but no one is warm.
And he who earns wages does so
to put them into a bag with holes.

Words penned centuries ago, but oh don’t they echo a piece of your life like they do mine sometimes? So much doing, hoping, living, working hard, and it just…doesn’t….cut it. All this striving seems like we are investing our “everything” into a “bag with holes.”

Friend, lean in, this is not the abundant life Jesus offers.
Struggles in following Jesus? Oh yes.
Pain in the doing? Definitely.
Costly sacrifice in giving God your all? It’s a guarantee.
But never feeling full or satisfied? Big Fat No Way!

These words were those of Haggai, the prophet; and his ancient message hits me hard today in the 21st century.

Let me set the stage a bit….
The Jews were exiled to Babylon for continued disobedience and worshipping false gods decade after decade. Roughly 70 years passed and God, through an incredibly miraculous string of events, opened the door for His people to leave captivity and go home to Jerusalem. He commanded them to rebuild His temple that all nations might know that He was the one true God.

Simple enough, right?
One couldn’t ask for clearer direction from God (something most of us have probably wished for at one point or another). But the newly freed Jewish captives, those few that actually decided to take God’s offer of freedom and return home, found not only a destroyed Temple, but also discovered that they would be housing their families in makeshift tents and rough hewn abodes because so much desolation had happened at the hand of the Babylonians 70 years prior.
The Jews set to work, but focused on the wrong task and spent almost 20 years trying to build “paneled houses” for their families. They worked the hard ground vigorously, only to reap meager crops. All of their labors emptied themselves into a “bag with holes in it.”

See, they had God’s truth,
they knew His directive,
….but they marched to the beat of their own drum instead.

They knew of God’s grace,
…..but they took advantage of it for almost 2 decades!
They respected neither aspect of God’s character
and the result was pitiful emptiness instead of abundant fullness.

And so the mirror of God’s word turns towards my life….
Sometimes the truth I know my God is calling me to just seems too difficult and so much “other” seems far more important. Sharing the gospel (and actually talking!), loving my husband when I don’t feel like it, parenting with intentionality, prioritizing consistent quiet time with God, loving the unlovable, living generously. Is there grace for disobedience? Of course! But as Paul exhorts, “shall sin increase that grace might increase? NO!”

Fullness is found in obedience
that flows from love, not legalism,
as we rely fully on God’s grace and sufficiency for our strength.

The Lord spoke His truth. Hag 1:7
The people feared (or stood in awe) of Him, Hag 1:12 (our response)
The Lord stirred up the spirit of the people (grace came before works!), reminding them of more truth, that He was with them. Hag 1:13
and the people were moved to whole-hearted, obedient action. Hag 1:14 (our response)

Was the task overwhelming for the Jews of Haggai’s day? Incredibly so.
But we can relate to that, can’t we?
A seemingly dead marriage.
Ruined finances.
A wayward child.
Loneliness.
Death.
Illness.
A haunting past.

But the Great God Almighty speaks into our empty places just as boldly today as He did to Haggai’s hearers,
“Be strong! Work, for the Lord is with you! My Spirit remains in your midst!”
Can there be better encouragement than to know that you are neither alone nor without strong confidence?!

Actually, there is… 🙂 The richness of these passages that follow simply astounds me!!
Haggai goes on to speak the Lord’s words,
“Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.  The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”

This prophecy points straight to Jesus and the rich inheritance for those who follow Christ!
Right here in the Old Testament!

I hope you will make time to click below on today’s “Digging Deeper” to see how all of that plays out, but for now, know that God longs to bring you into far more abundance and satisfaction than you’ve ever dreamed.
Stop settling for tossing your investment into “a bag with holes,”
and instead secure your soul in the hands of the One who lavishly loves you.
Embrace the fullness He’s freely offering inside His boundless grace and beautiful truth!

Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper!     And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey!    Comment Here!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Fullness! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Fullness!

Day One
Empty Spaces

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Click and Read!
Psalm 34:5-12
Matthew 11:28-30
John 10:7-17emptyspaces4

She loves her kids, loves her husband, but she’s running herself crazy trying to
maintain it all. Sometimes there’s so much frustration in her marriage, she doesn’t feel understood from her man. And as much as she adores being called mommy, the feeling of being tired seems to go much deeper than mere sleep. What purpose can be found in the relentless monotony of dishes and toys and laundry? She wonders if there must be something more; something to fill her heart in ways that her kids, career, or even her husband haven’t been able to reach.

She walks through loss like dead leaves being tossed cruelly through the winter air. It’s an ache so deep it colors everything in her life. So many questions. So many unknowns. The hurt and anger threaten daily to undo her from the inside out and she wishes for more. She wishes for the all too illusive peace. Desperately weary from the burden of grief, if only she could lay it aside for a while.

Her past haunts her like a threatening shadow. Pervasively influencing her everything. Nothing seems to be untouched by the ghostly haunts of what “was”. Her relationships, her self-image, the person she tries to be, even her future are all held tightly by the icy grip of her past. Can she be free? Is there more? Will fear forever have power over her?

Life has been full of so many good things and now she is reaping the rewards of giving her life away. Watching her kids be parents satisfies her beyond words knowing that she played a role in who they are today. Grandkids fill up her heart in ways she didn’t know existed and now she has plenty of time for her friends and all those other things she couldn’t do when her babies were young, yet, she wrestles quietly with an internal angst. They have more money now than they did a few decades back, but the shopping only half-fulfills. Her husband is harder to read these days, and she finds herself wondering if, now that the kids are gone, they will even make it to “death do us part”. The emptiness, the emotion, the depth of longing for….something. If only she could find what she was looking for.

The ragged outline of a broken body fills her thoughts so consistently now. The bold smile that once graced that precious face so easily now comes so rarely and always with eyes etched with pain. Why would sickness steal something so lovely? The endless doctor appointments, the wrongs that seem never to be righted, and the lack of answers multiply her heart’s demand for, “Why?!” She imagines what “could have been”, but tries not to as the wholeness her mind’s eye sees only intensifies the pain that she can not heal. The unfairly broken body leaves her own heart desperate for healing as well. Is there good? Where can the hope be in the middle of this bitterness? Inside, her heart seems to wither away with its own kind of disease while begging for hope and merciful healing.

The blatant truth is that we are all desperate and empty. Fighting loneliness and pain so deep that its wounds seem impossible to heal. No matter which “she” you identify with, your heart begs for more, just like mine.

The beauty is found here in this equally blaring truth, there is a healer. Hope is real. Fullness is here. Your heart’s longings can be satisfied in ways you never dreamed possible.

The Satisfier of your soul longs and aches to not only hold your hurt and carry your grief, but to give you Fullness in its place!

Come, See, Taste, He’s waiting, holding out life!

Share Your Thoughts with the GT Community!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Fullness! Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Fullness!