Feeling Overwhelmed? Remember the Joy!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by life? Well, you can drop the false guilt and exhale, because feeling overwhelmed is a very real part of being a human being. I've personally had moments throughout this week when it seemed the cares of the world and the details of my day would drown me in despair. But thanks be to God, I'm still above the flood.

When you feel overwhelmed what do you do? I don't know what you do, but I whisper the name of "JESUS" over and over and over again. Knowing JESUS will not abandon His own, causes my overwhelmed human feelings to experience the overflow of His Holy joy.

In fact, this verse has continuously held onto my heart moment-by-moment this week: Nehemiah 8:10b -- "...the joy you have in the Lord is your strength."

Let's remember that "the joy of our LORD is our strength!"
Grateful

Hearing Jesus Laugh

The Son still prays and weeps at the right hand of the Father. I look forward to seeing and hearing Him exhale and laugh one day.

Weeping may endure through the night but joy cometh in the morning. -- Psalm 30:5b

Lord, let my life bring joy to your heart.
Grateful

Every Breath

In one of our Tuesday morning men's prayer gatherings, I asked Steve to come and pray for us. He prayed, "Lord, help us to remember that because every breath we inhale is a gift from You, surely, every breath we exhale should be worship to You."

Grateful

The Breath of God Breathing in Us

When we speak about the Holy Spirit, we speak about the breath of God, breathing in us. The Greek word for "spirit" is pneuma, which means "breath." We are seldom aware of our breathing. It is so essential for life that we only think about it when something is wrong with it.The Spirit of God is like our breath. God's Spirit is more intimate to us than we are to ourselves. We might not often be aware of it, but without it we cannot live a "spiritual life." It is the Holy Spirit of God who prays in us, who offers us the gifts of love, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, peace, and joy. It is the Holy Spirit who offers us the life that death cannot destroy. Let us always pray: "Come, Holy Spirit, come."
-- Henri Nouwen

Inhale and exhale His Presence and be...
... Grateful

Can We Live Without Revival?

If we can Iive without Revival?
Then we're not where God wants us to be!
-- Leonard Ravenhill

Let's humble ourselves before the Lord, praying and seeking, that is, desperately gasping for Revival with every breath we take. Let's turn from all other deceptive imitations of life-support, and only inhale and exhale God's holy invitation found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 -- yes, indeed, His invitation to breathe, to really live in the realm of Revival for forever and today.

If My People... Will? I Will! -- God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14
Grateful

The Stress Line

As our family entered our favorite seaside village for summer vacation, seven words in big letters on a roadside banner gave us immediate permission to finally exhale:

Relax: You're South of the Stress Line.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Gratfeul

Empty Hammocks

When was the last time you saw someone actually resting in a hammock? I often take note that too many resting places are empty.

My family gave me a new hammock as my birthday and Father's Day gift this year. If my count is right, I think it's my fourth hammock. I wish I could say I wore all of the previous hammocks out by resting in them, but the truth be told, I may have worn one hammock out resting in it, while the others just plain dry-rotted.

Anyway, next time you see an empty resting place, give yourself permission to occupy it for a while. Take time to exhale.

Come unto Me and I will give you rest.
(Words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28.)

Thank You, Jesus, for being my Resting Place. I want to be a resting place for You, too.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Go to Calvary. Breathe Again.

For as long as I can remember, my Aunt Edith (my Dad’s only sister and only sibling) has been the organist at the church where I was raised – Free Grace Wesleyan Church. She’s not a flashy musician, but she is talented and dependable and her love for the Lord invites breathless souls to breathe again.

Aunt Edith was always content to let the pianist choose the selections for praise and worship. I only remember once when she requested we learn a new hymn. Well, it was written in 1921 by Jennie Hussey, so it wasn’t exactly “new”, but you know what I mean. It was “new” to us. As Aunt Edith passionately shared, it was obvious that this “new” hymn was a personal prayer from her very alive soul.

By the theme of the hymn, it must have been the season leading up to Easter when Aunt Edith brought it to our attention. The title is “Lead Me to Calvary”. To this day, whenever I think on the wonderful words of “Lead Me to Calvary”, it inspires and challenges me to consider each word carefully and prayerfully.

Here are the loving lyrics now. Let’s remember that before we can breathe again on Easter Resurrection Sunday, first the Lord must “Lead Us to Calvary!”

(1) King of my life, I crown Thee now,
Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow,
Lead me to Calvary.

(Chorus)
Lest I forget Gethsemane, Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget Thy love for me, Lead me to Calvary.

(2) Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid,
Tenderly mourned and wept;
Angels in robes of light arrayed
Guarded Thee whilst Thou slept.

(3) Let me like Mary, through the gloom,
Come with a gift to Thee;
Show to me now the empty tomb,
Lead me to Calvary.

(4) May I be willing, Lord, to bear
Daily my cross for Thee;
Even Thy cup of grief to share,
Thou hast borne all for me.

Lord, I do not ever want to forget Your love for me. I want to go to Gethsemane and to Calvary, yes through Your agony, so my eternal soul can in gratitude breathe again – inhaling and exhaling for forever Your Resurrection Life. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Refused to Rest?

I recently read a line in a book written by a Messianic Jewish author. It wasn't my book, so I cannot retrace the author's name but I have not forgotten the line:

In the beginning God created Paradise, but the man and the woman refused to rest.

Refused to rest? How sad is that!

Lord, you say in Luke's Gospel that "the Kingdom of God is now within us." Sounds an awful lot like Paradise to me. Lord, help me to live in the atmosphere of Your Holiness. I want one of the undeniable proofs of Paradise within me to be that I don't refuse to rest in You. After all, if Your Kingdom is really within me, and I believe it really is, then surely You are my King meaning You are both resident and president within me. You have recreated Your Paradise within me. Let it never be said of me, ever again, that I refused to rest in Your Paradise. Lord forgive. Lord forbid. Your Name is Faithful. My name is Grateful. I'm exhaling NOW! Amen.

Luke 17:20-21 (NIV) -- (20) Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, (21) nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you."

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Presence

Presence is much more essential than words.

Lord, when I don't know what to say, let me continue to be present in the lives of the hurting so that I might inhale and exhale Your essential Presence in their presence, knowing that these seven words from Colossians 1:27 are wonder-working indeed: "Christ in you (me), the Hope of Glory!" Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Breathe Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5-6 has been an especially inviting passage for my seeking soul over the years and over these past few days it's really been calling my name aloud. So here's a prescription if you need some good medicine from God's Word for your soul:

Read Proverbs 3:5-6.
Pray Proverbs 3:5-6.
Obey Proverbs 3:5-6.
Inhale Proverbs 3:5-6.
Exhale Proverbs 3:5-6.

Proverbs 3:5-6 -- Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

ALL JOY!
Grateful