I have been meditating this week on what it means to be a child. To be full of joy in the presence of my Papa. To be completely reliant on Him.
This child-like theme has been long running with the Lord and here is a brief summary of highlights:
1. A picture He gave me in December 2011. The picture was a friend and I as children- around three to five years old- playing in a playground. Our dad (representing our "Papa" a.k.a God) sat on a bench just on the outside of the playground overseeing all that we did. He was present and as children we would continually return to Him for affirmation and comfort as we played. At one point my friend and I found some black rocks (which represented the heavy burdens in our lives) and we immediately ran to our Papa to show Him the rocks and were somber as we did not know what to do with them. Through this picture the Lord showed me that, as His child, I can run free and be full of joy in the playground of life and need not fear when the heavy rocks of burden are found. That whether I have burdens or not He loves to receive me in the likeness of a joyful father. That I can run to Him throughout the day as I play and just sit with Him and rest in the warmth of His embrace.
2. A few weeks ago the child-like theme heightened as I talked with a mentor about the past few years of life. The Lord brought forth the picture of me as a young girl- maybe six to ten- going in the puddles. Typically, I would go bare foot and jump with joy from puddle to puddle; however, in the picture I has boots on and was hesitantly trying to get around the puddles. Then my Father appeared. Reaching for me in the likeness of an earthly father He took hold of my hand and began guiding me through the puddles. He didn't grow upset with my hesitancy, nor did He mention anything about it. Rather, He continued to say "it's okay; trust Me" and I would feel the warmth of His gentle and patient nature take over every facet of my being.
3. Yesterday one of my really good friend's from PLU recently shared some wisdom from his mom- "if you are not sitting at the table with your feet dangling then you better get some joy." This is meant to be that if you are not sitting with the Lord at His feasting table with your feet dangling as a child without worry; then you better get rid of that plate of worry and pick up some joy.
4. Today (Thursday, March 20) I was sitting reading 2 Chronicles and the Lord highlighted a verse to me in chapter 24 that talks about the king setting his heart to rebuild the house of the Lord. As I dwelt on this verse I asked myself "what does it mean to rebuild?" "what does it mean to set my heart to something?" and "what does this mean personally as well as on a larger scale of ministry in my life?" As I meditated on these questions I realized that I was swinging my feet in the chair I was sitting at with a huge smile on my face- just like a child. That to rebuild means to put back into place the ORIGINAL structure. So, what does it mean to REBUILD my life? It means that I set my heart (commit, focus on, pour forth energy and resources) to be the child the Lord created me to be. That He created me to be child-like and thus I can conscientiously choose to trust Him with everything and have complete JOY in it all.
This child-like theme has been long running with the Lord and here is a brief summary of highlights:
1. A picture He gave me in December 2011. The picture was a friend and I as children- around three to five years old- playing in a playground. Our dad (representing our "Papa" a.k.a God) sat on a bench just on the outside of the playground overseeing all that we did. He was present and as children we would continually return to Him for affirmation and comfort as we played. At one point my friend and I found some black rocks (which represented the heavy burdens in our lives) and we immediately ran to our Papa to show Him the rocks and were somber as we did not know what to do with them. Through this picture the Lord showed me that, as His child, I can run free and be full of joy in the playground of life and need not fear when the heavy rocks of burden are found. That whether I have burdens or not He loves to receive me in the likeness of a joyful father. That I can run to Him throughout the day as I play and just sit with Him and rest in the warmth of His embrace.
2. A few weeks ago the child-like theme heightened as I talked with a mentor about the past few years of life. The Lord brought forth the picture of me as a young girl- maybe six to ten- going in the puddles. Typically, I would go bare foot and jump with joy from puddle to puddle; however, in the picture I has boots on and was hesitantly trying to get around the puddles. Then my Father appeared. Reaching for me in the likeness of an earthly father He took hold of my hand and began guiding me through the puddles. He didn't grow upset with my hesitancy, nor did He mention anything about it. Rather, He continued to say "it's okay; trust Me" and I would feel the warmth of His gentle and patient nature take over every facet of my being.
3. Yesterday one of my really good friend's from PLU recently shared some wisdom from his mom- "if you are not sitting at the table with your feet dangling then you better get some joy." This is meant to be that if you are not sitting with the Lord at His feasting table with your feet dangling as a child without worry; then you better get rid of that plate of worry and pick up some joy.
4. Today (Thursday, March 20) I was sitting reading 2 Chronicles and the Lord highlighted a verse to me in chapter 24 that talks about the king setting his heart to rebuild the house of the Lord. As I dwelt on this verse I asked myself "what does it mean to rebuild?" "what does it mean to set my heart to something?" and "what does this mean personally as well as on a larger scale of ministry in my life?" As I meditated on these questions I realized that I was swinging my feet in the chair I was sitting at with a huge smile on my face- just like a child. That to rebuild means to put back into place the ORIGINAL structure. So, what does it mean to REBUILD my life? It means that I set my heart (commit, focus on, pour forth energy and resources) to be the child the Lord created me to be. That He created me to be child-like and thus I can conscientiously choose to trust Him with everything and have complete JOY in it all.
So, as we enter into spring I am reminded of words from Isaiah 43(v.16-21):
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
Who brings forth the chariot and horse,
The army and the power
(They shall lie down together, they shall not rise;
They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):
“Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
The beast of the field will honor Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I give waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen.
This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise.
Our God is BIG. He is doing a NEW thing this spring and we can trust Him with a child-like faith like never before. Will you trust Him? Will you jump in the puddles of life with Him? Will you move forward and let go of any hesitancy that has been holding you back? It's time we stand; it's time we live as we have been made- free (Galations 5:1), light (Ephesians 5:8); and powerfully in love (2 Timothy 1:7).
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
Who brings forth the chariot and horse,
The army and the power
(They shall lie down together, they shall not rise;
They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):
“Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
The beast of the field will honor Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I give waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen.
This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise.
Our God is BIG. He is doing a NEW thing this spring and we can trust Him with a child-like faith like never before. Will you trust Him? Will you jump in the puddles of life with Him? Will you move forward and let go of any hesitancy that has been holding you back? It's time we stand; it's time we live as we have been made- free (Galations 5:1), light (Ephesians 5:8); and powerfully in love (2 Timothy 1:7).