Streams in the Desert

 Streams in the Desert

Likewise also the Spirit helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).

This is the deep mystery of prayer. This is the delicate divine mechanism which words cannot interpret, and which theology cannot explain, but which the humblest believer knows even when he does not understand.

Oh, the burdens that we love to bear and cannot understand! Oh, the inarticulate out-reachings of our hearts for things we cannot comprehend! And yet we know they are an echo from the throne and a whisper from the heart of God. It is often a groan rather than a song, a burden rather than a buoyant wing. But it is a blessed burden, and it is a groan whose undertone is praise and unutterable joy. It is "a groaning which cannot be uttered." We could not ourselves express it always, and sometimes we do not understand any more than that God is praying in us, for something that needs His touch and that He understands.

And so we can just pour out the fullness of our heart, the burden of our spirit, the sorrow that crushes us, and know that He hears, He loves, He understands, He receives; and He separates from our prayer all that is imperfect, ignorant and wrong, and presents the rest, with the incense of the great High Priest, before the throne on high; and our prayer is heard, accepted and answered in His name.
--A. B. Simpson

It is not necessary to be always speaking to God or always hearing from God, to have communion with Him; there is an inarticulate fellowship more sweet than words. The little child can sit all day long beside its busy mother and, although few words are spoken on either side, and both are busy, the one at his absorbing play, the other at her engrossing work, yet both are in perfect fellowship. He knows that she is there, and she knows that he is all right.

So the saint and the Saviour can go on for hours in the silent fellowship of love, and he be busy about the most common things, and yet conscious that every little thing he does is touched with the complexion of His presence, and the sense of His approval and blessing.

And then, when pressed with burdens and troubles too complicated to put into words and too mysterious to tell or understand, how sweet it is to fall back into His blessed arms, and just sob out the sorrow that we cannot speak!
--Selected

The Promises of God..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Promises of God

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Corinthians 1:18-22

 

The Christian life rests on a foundation of God's promises for today and for the future. We can trust everything that our heavenly Father has said because His Word shows Him to be...

 

Truthful. The Lord knows what is true and speaks honestly in all matters. We can be assured of this because He is holy; there is no sin in Him. He is also omniscient and understands everything (Heb. 4:12-13). His promises are based on His infinite knowledge and truthfulness.

 

Faithful. Scripture compares the Lord to a shepherd who "gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart" (Isa. 40:11 niv). What He has planned for us, He will bring to fruition (Rom. 8:28). Our heavenly Father does not waver in His intentions or will.

 

Loving. God's love for us was demonstrated at the cross. He sent His Son Jesus to die by crucifixion and thereby take the punishment for our sins. The Savior experienced God's wrath against iniquity so we might know only His love. This is the ultimate proof of His devotion to us.

 

All-powerful. Divine power created the world and raised the Savior back to life, so we know God has the ability to carry out all His plans. Our omnipotent Father can keep every one of His promises.

 

A promise is valuable only if the one making it has trustworthy character and the ability to carry through. Our heavenly Father is truthful, faithful, loving, and all-powerful. We can base our entire life on His promises, secure in the knowledge that He will do just as He has said.

Why Paul Wasn't a Zombie..... by John UpChurch

 Why Paul Wasn't a Zombie

by John UpChurch

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” Colossians 1:28-29

Worn out. Exhausted. Please oh please oh please be Friday. Those words probably describe many of our weeks—often by Monday afternoon. The surge of the weekday tide sucks us under and spins us around and strips away our energy by making us swim to the surface over and over again. Gasp. Bills. Gasp. Long meeting. Gasp. Kids biting each other.

What more can we give than that? What else can God expect from us than just trying to keep from drowning in the mess of life?

Paul says everything and more. Yep, you read that right. We’re supposed to slap down every last ounce of ourselves to the cause of Christ. We’re supposed to surrender every modicum of ourselves to the purpose of “proclaiming Him” with our joy-filled words and our peace-in-the-midst-of-this-hurricane-called-life actions.

Everything. Every single bit. For Him.

Feeling tired yet? I hope you don’t. You see, there’s something in here that we too often overlook. It does take energy—loads of it—to live a life of surrender. We wouldn’t expect anything less from being a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). That means using all that we are to make all that He is known to all. But even with all those alls, you won’t be using up your energy.

Look again at what Paul says here: “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” He doesn’t say, “I did it all myself until I burned out and crashed into the dirt and hated my life and decided it was just too hard to do anything and wanted to move to Alaska forever and hide in a cave.” Instead, he tells us that the source of his oomph is Christ.

Christ didn’t save us so that we could barely keep going, dragging our way like zombies down the road of life. Instead, we’re operating with power—His. He jumpstarted our lives with a spirit of power (2 Timothy 1:7), cranking up the juice through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). After all, like Paul, we’re wrestling with the tasks God’s called us to do. We aren’t supposed to do this by tapping into our own reserves. God takes these fragile clay pots that we are and supplies His power so that He gets the glory (2 Corinthians 4:7). He adds the zing, and His zing is potent.

Intersecting Faith & Life: When you try to make it all work on your own guts and grit, you’ll eventually drain down and sputter out. Instead, take Him up on His “by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6) thing—that is, not your own strength. That doesn’t mean you’ll never get tired or weary. You will. But you can be sure that He specializes in renewing the worn out and exhausted (Isaiah 40:30-31).

For Further Reading

Isaiah 40

Not Our Strength, But the Lord’s..... By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

 Not Our Strength, But the Lord’s

By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. - Psalm 18:28-29 (ESV)

I’ve always loved these verses in Psalm 18. They make me feel powerful because I know through the Holy Spirit, God equips me to be strong in Him. I can leap walls! I can run against a troop! While these examples aren’t necessarily directly relatable to today’s culture, we get the gist of what the psalmist is expressing. We are powerful in the Lord. When our hearts are right with Him, we feel like anything is possible.

Without Christ, though, I am nothing. I am weak. I am helpless. My own strength, be it physical, mental, or emotional, simply doesn’t last. Think about the last time you ran a marathon, went through a rigorous workout, or climbed a steep hill. We often start out feeling capable, right? Our blood is pumping, and we feel our muscles working to carry us through the race or to accomplish the tough physical goal. But at some point, during or after we achieve it, we’re exhausted. We want a nap and a big plate of carbs. We can’t sustain that level of energy for long without having to recharge and replenish our bodies.

The same goes for our spiritual life. When we start our day with a to-do list and social media instead of with the Lord, our strength will burn out—fast. We think we can be productive and conquer the day, and for a little while, we might deceive ourselves into thinking we did exactly that. But after a few hours go by, we realize we’re impatient. Irritable. We get aggravated and frustrated at little things, we snap at our families, and we lose it when we’re interrupted. Those are all signs that we’re working through our own strength, and not the Holy Spirit’s.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about being content in all circumstances for the sake of Christ. He wrote, “for when I am weak, then I am strong”. This isn’t just a poetic turn of phrase. He means when we are weak, the Lord is strong in and through us. Our weakness only serves to give God glory. We don’t have to be ashamed or embarrassed in our lack of strength. It gives God joy to be strong for us.

For example—think how much a husband delights in being able to open a tightly sealed jar for his wife, mother, or daughter. He doesn’t mock her for not being able to do it herself (though there might be some lighthearted teasing!) He’s happy to do what she can’t. He finds joy in being strong for her. How much more does the Lord receive glory for being strong for us? Our frail flesh, our depraved hearts, and our struggles with sin and temptations are no match for His strength and ability to overcome through us, in us, and for us.

This is how it’s meant to be. It’s how God designed it. Because when we are capable on our own, we get prideful—quick. When we can do it all ourselves, we lose humility. Being constantly aware of our need for the Lord is what bears genuine fruit of the Spirit in our lives—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

The next time you’re tempted to skip your morning prayer and Bible time with the Lord, think twice. Remember you’ll get more done in Him than you will on your own—and your heart will be more at peace during the chaos of your day.

A Prayer to Forgive Wrongs..... By Meg Bucher

 A Prayer to Forgive Wrongs

By Meg Bucher

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” - Matthew 18:21-22 NIV

“Mom,” my oldest said in her most mature voice as she walked up to my pool chair, notebook in hand.

“What do you want to talk to me about?” I asked, already knowing the answer was either a ploy to get something she didn’t already have, or a surefire way to get her little sister in trouble.

“I just think you need to be aware of what she has done at the pool today.”

Though no alerts had pinged my momma radar, my eldest daughter proceeded to rattle off a very nit-picky list of things that annoyed her about her little sister.

As today’s verse instructs us, we are not to keep a running list of wrongs in our heads, but to forgive and release who and what has hurt us. (Of course, boundaries are important… very, very important… but they do not negate forgiveness.)

In Peter’s defense, there was an actual number of times Judaism taught it’s followers as “enough” to forgive. But Jesus spoke of a “more excellent way.” We are not to withhold forgiveness… ever. We forgive, and leave the one who hurt us in God’s hands, who is the only one capable of judging a heart accurately and allowing just consequences for sinful actions.

Peter was seeking to do the right thing, and we can all relate to a desire not to be taken advantage of. The NIV Application Commentary actually describes his generosity to lend more than twice the previously allotted amount of forgiveness: “His offer to forgive the person seven times, more than double the above-mentioned statements, is magnanimous, reflecting a desire for completeness that the number seven usually evokes."

How often do we seek to do the right thing, but misunderstand? Jesus clarified Peter’s confusion by telling him to extend forgiveness without keeping count. The sisterly poolside spat was easy for me to defuse because I’m their mediator. However, I admittedly find it hard to extend an unlimited amount of forgiveness to those who repeatedly and unapologetically cause hurt and pain in my life. Injustice continues to run rampant in our world, yet we are to maintain a forgiving status. Why? Because God is our Defender. God is never asking us to be a doormat. But to forgive authentically from the seat of our hearts? That’s a no-brainer for Christ-followers. Why? Because He did.

“What would happen if your sister kept a list like this of all the things you’ve done to her?” I asked my oldest. “Be quick to forgive, give the grace you want to receive, and remember Jesus did not … and will not ever … present you with a list of what you’ve done wrong in your life. He went to the cross and died for you …because He loves you.”

She camouflaged her eye-roll, but I relate to how hard it is to apply this note of wisdom to our lives when we don’t feel like it. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:13-14 NIV) Prayer and time in God’s Word will give us the strength to stop jotting down wrongs and instead lend forgiveness more authentically and automatically.

Let’s pray now for soft hearts that are ready to quickly forgive.

Father,

This is the day You have made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Father, you hold the key to every heart on earth, we do not. Judgment for others is not in our hands, and shouldn’t be on our resumes. As we seek You more each day in prayer and in Your Word, show us how to be forgiving, in Christ. Cleanse us of our tendency to keep records of wrongs and reasons for blame.

Let us not become people who shame others, but show them how to be free through Christ. We want our lives to reflect Your brightness, Your grace, and Your love.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Streams in the Desert

 Streams in the Desert

Let us run with patience (Hebrews 12:1).

To run with patience is a very difficult thing. Running is apt to suggest the absence of patience, the eagerness to reach the goal. We commonly associate patience with lying down. We think of it as the angel that guards the couch of the invalid. Yet, I do not think the invalid's patience the hardest to achieve.

There is a patience which I believe to be harder--the patience that can run. To lie down in the time of grief, to be quiet under the stroke of adverse fortune, implies a great strength; but I know of something that implies a strength greater still: It is the power to work under a stroke; to have a great weight at your heart and still to run; to have a deep anguish in your spirit and still perform the daily task. It is a Christlike thing!

Many of us would nurse our grief without crying if we were allowed to nurse it. The hard thing is that most of us are called to exercise our patience, not in bed, but in the street. We are called to bury our sorrows, not in lethargic quiescence, but in active service--in the exchange, in the workshop, in the hour of social intercourse, in the contribution to another's joy. There is no burial of sorrow so difficult as that; it is the "running with patience."

This was Thy patience, O Son of man! It was at once a waiting and a running--a waiting for the goal, and a doing of the lesser work meantime. I see Thee at Cana turning the water into wine lest the marriage feast should be clouded. I see Thee in the desert feeding a multitude with bread just to relieve a temporary want. All, all the time, Thou wert bearing a mighty grief, unshared, unspoken. Men ask for a rainbow in the cloud; but I would ask more from Thee. I would be, in my cloud, myself a rainbow -- a minister to others' joy. My patience will be perfect when it can work in the vineyard.
--George Matheson

When all our hopes are gone,
'Tis well our hands must keep toiling on
For others' sake:
For strength to bear is found in duty done;
And he is best indeed who learns to make
The joy of others cure his own heartache.

The Nature of Conviction..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Nature of Conviction

Dr. Charles Stanley

John 16:7-11

 

Jesus assured His disciples that it was to their advantage that He go away so that the Helper could come (John 16:7)--God sends Him to convict people of their sin. Since the Holy Spirit is unlimited by time or space, He can reach out to every individual on the planet. However, His work differs with regard to believers and unbelievers.

 

With regard to unbelievers, God's Spirit penetrates the heart and brings awareness of wrongdoing. He reveals that according to God's holy standard, they have sinned and stand condemned by their transgression. Unbelief is the greatest sin against God, so every prick of the heart is meant to point out their need for the Savior.

 

As for believers, the Holy Spirit deals with them on the basis of their relationship with Jesus Christ and convicts us of disobedience to Him. In other words, He makes us aware of specific sins and the Lord's attitude about them. But He also prompts us to be accountable before Christ for our wrongdoing by confessing it and repenting.

 

Convicting believers of sin is an important part of the Holy Spirit's job, but He is equally delighted to make them aware of the Lord's approval. God commends righteous living, obedient actions, and loving acts done in His name.

 

While conviction is often uncomfortable for unbelievers and believers alike, it's a beautiful demonstration of God's love. He desires to bring us into the center of His will and keep us there for our good and His glory. The Holy Spirit's work makes that possible, if we choose to follow His promptings.

The Blessings of Loving God’s Word..... ARLENE PELLICANE

 The Blessings of Loving God’s Word

ARLENE PELLICANE

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8 (NIV)

During the pandemic, I have been watching a show from time to time. Daytime, nighttime, lunchtime, anytime! You might say I have become obsessed with catching up on all the seasons I have missed — and there are several.

I’m reading episode synopses and finding fresh things to talk about with my friends who have been die-hard fans for years. When I wake up in the morning, I am often thinking about the last episode I saw and wondering how it will resolve. It used to be that shows were only available once a week, and you had to wait to have your fill of your favorite sitcom or drama. But now, with streaming services, you can watch an entire season if you’re willing to stay awake.

Isn’t it crazy how something I’m watching, that has nothing to do with my life, can take so much of my time and mental energy? It’s like I’m meditating on the show. Thinking about the characters. Relishing the beginning of romance. Pondering the mysteries of the storyline.

We can get stuck on streaming, meditating on storylines that have little to do with real life. It’s so easy to get distracted with what our devices offer so easily. We gravitate toward entertainment, just like kids do. But the Bible directs us to a different path than modern media does. As today’s key verse says, we are to:

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).

Ideally, what is supposed to be filling our minds and the topics of our conversations? What should be influencing our behavior? The Word of God. Not Netflix, Hulu or YouTube. Although you can find the Word of God in these places, you’re more likely to find something else.

The words in the key verse were spoken to Joshua as he was about to assume leadership from Israel’s man of God, Moses. Joshua was about to become the CEO of Israel, Incorporated. He was going to have more work than he had hours in the day, yet he was told to meditate. He was supposed to take time to understand the Book of the Law — and we are too.

The Word of God is to shape what comes out of our mouths. The orders and judgments from Joshua’s leadership had to be consistent with the Book of the Law. We may not be heading up a nation, but we are influencing people around us. We are told to meditate on the Word of God.

Let’s get real. This takes more effort than kicking back and streaming our favorite shows. Streaming services offer us endless choices that captivate our imaginations. It’s all about us and our preferences.

The Bible, however, is about God and His preferences. When we choose to love God’s law and delight in what He delights in, we unlock a “prosperous and successful” life. Psalm 37:4 says it this way, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (NIV).

One thing that has helped me meditate on God’s Word during this pandemic is reading through Psalms and Proverbs with my daughter. It’s amazing how relevant these books are today. More than ever, with so many channels screaming and streaming to capture our attention, we’ve got to focus on the Word of God. Inside the pages of the Bible, there’s not only romance, drama, war and comedy — there is the path to everlasting life. That’s something that binge-watching can never deliver!

Dear Jesus, I don’t want to rely on my phone or my screens for comfort or connection. I want to put my trust and hope in You alone. Help me to meditate on Your Word throughout the day. Forgive me for being preoccupied with my tasks and technology. Alert me to the ways I am wasting time and energy, and help me to change. Please help my family members too. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
1 John 5:21, “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” (NLT)

The "Whys" of Life..... by Kelly Givens

 The "Whys" of Life

by Kelly Givens

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4

Towards the end of work some weeks ago, our office was informed that a few cars in our parking deck had been broken into. The vandalism and robberies had been contained to Level 2—the level I had parked my car. Thankfully, my car had been left untouched. The SUV directly across from me, however, hadn’t fared so well- the shattered glass on the ground evidenced the vandals’ quick and effective work. As I began my drive home I prayed God would give the owners of the busted-up cars a measure of his peace, mercy and patience.

Nearing my exit, I noticed cars slowing down, and around the bend in the road I saw why. A cop was getting out of his car; he had been called for a minor fender bender and traffic was slowing to accommodate. I inched past, glancing at the guy in truck that had been hit. He had his head in his hand and was looking up at the sky in exasperation. You could tell he was thinking, “I can’t believe this happened. Why me?! What did I do to deserve this?!” I thought back to the owners of the cars in the parking deck, knowing they would be asking those same questions when they discovered their vehicles had been broken into.

The “whys” of life point us to a story larger than our own. When we ask why bad things happen, we’re acknowledging that the way life is right now is not how it ought to be. Why is that significant? It’s significant because, in a world that wants us to believe we were created at random and have lived on through survival of the fittest or just good luck, our souls actually cry out against randomness and unjust advantage. We crave order, justice, and mercy, and we feel angry and sad when a seemingly arbitrary, awful thing in life happens. There’s a disconnect between what we believe should happen and what really does happen.  I find it interesting that my friends who believe in a random, chance creation still feel indignant when apparently random, chance events work against their lives. Their heads may believe one thing, but their hearts believe something else. As Christians, our heads and hearts are more aligned.

At the beginning of Creation, we’re told “God saw all he had made, and it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). You were created to live in a perfect world, where the question of why bad things happen was never supposed to exist. But then man sinned and the world was corrupted (Gen. 3:6-7). Adam and Eve immediately recognized sin for what it was, and in their guilt hid from God (Gen. 3:10). In the same way, we recognize evil as evil because it goes against the very nature of our intended existence. We cry out against suffering because we were never meant to suffer. We are distraught over death because no one was ever supposed to die.  As believers, we can take encouragement from this gut reaction to pain and suffering. It reminds us we were created for a world absent of these things, and we can look forward to the day when Jesus comes back and takes away our tears and frustrations. We will never utter “Why me?” again. Everything good that can be, will be. Everything evil will be undone. That is such good news; it fills me with joy and hope to think on it.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Are you experiencing seemingly random suffering and sorrow in your life? Cling to the comforting truth of your faith - all suffering is temporary, it is not random, and Jesus is coming soon to restore this world and everything in it - including you - to perfection.

Further Reading:
Isaiah 25:6-9
Romans 8:18-39

Believing God Is Pleased with Us..... By Lynette Kittle

 Believing God Is Pleased with Us (Luke 3:22)

By Lynette Kittle

“And the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” - Luke 3:22

Floating around the pool on a 100+ degree summer day, it was a sweet, unexpected moment when a white dove and his companion landed in the waterfall fountain for a drink. After taking several drinks and splashing around in the water, the pair flew over me as they left the water.

It was such a lovely moment, one that turned my thoughts to Luke 3:22. “And the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”

Often when we read passages like this, it’s easy to think, “Well of course, it was Jesus, God was talking about, so how could He not be well pleased with Him?”

Yet, we usually don’t believe God feels the same way about us. We tend to think He is looking at us in a critical way, seeing our weaknesses and failings rather than believing how Scripture says He sees us.

Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, everything God sees in Him, He now sees in us, too. Colossians 3:3, explains, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

Likewise, Galatians 2:20 states, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

When we accept God’s gift of Salvation, we, too, become His loved sons and daughters. Like Ephesians 4:24 describes, we put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. In Christ, we become God’s beloved children in whom He is well pleased.

Still, it’s a hard concept for many of us to grasp, for us to believe God sees us this way, so sometimes He helps us to understand in ways it’s easier for us to comprehend.

For example, my daughters and I have fun playing a karaoke video game called “Sing It.” In it each player creates a virtual character, chooses a song and virtual venue, and sings to a virtual crowd. Singing into a microphone, performance scores add up. As a player excels, they are rewarded onscreen with a radiant glow surrounding their character, along with music notes flowing from the microphone.

One night in a dream, I was on the “Sing It” stage, surrounded by a soft glowing light with music notes flowing from my microphone.

In waking up, I sensed God assuring me of His pleasure in me in a way I understood, turning my thoughts to 1 John 3:1. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

A Prayer to Know Your Life Purpose..... By: Noelle Kirchner

 A Prayer to Know Your Life Purpose

By: Noelle Kirchner

"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." - Hebrews 13:20-21

The first step to discovering our purpose is surrender. This is a counter-intuitive step given the nature of most self-help literature today. We want to do something; to make something happen. But the spiritual path differs from this perspective. Vocation and life coaching experts Robert and Kim Voyle write, “Your life is not something you own. You did not create it and it’s not for you to tell it, or God, what it should be. You may however gratefully and humbly awaken to your life, discover its purpose and manifest it in the world.” To do so, we have to tune ourselves to the voice within and to our Creator.

The Bible says that our Creator formed us with purpose and intention. If you’re a parent, you’ve probably seen hard proof of this. Children can express tendencies and personalities that are unique to them instead of cultivated by you. We can raise each of our children the same way, and yet they can turn out so differently. Psalm 139 confirms this by testifying that our Creator God is at work forming us with a plan before birth.

Christian author Parker Palmer realized this not as a parent, but as a grandfather. He marveled at the unique tendencies of his granddaughter from birth and decided to start recording them in the form of a letter. Parker had experienced depression in his own life before reconnecting with his purpose, and he didn’t want the same thing to happen to his granddaughter. In his book Let Your Life Speak: Listening for The Voice of Vocation, he explains, “When my granddaughter reaches her late teens or early twenties, I will make sure that my letter finds its way to her, with a preface something like this: ‘Here is a sketch of who you were from your earliest days in this world. It is not a definitive picture – only you can draw that. But it was sketched by a person who loves you very much. Perhaps these notes will help you do sooner something your grandfather did only later: remember who you were when you first arrived and reclaim the gift of true self.’”

Whether it’s a rediscovery or kind of evolution, the spiritual life requires the time to discern and surrender when it comes to living our purpose.

Let’s pray now for a heart of surrender:

Lord, 

I surrender my life to you. I want to do something, to make something happen, all on my own strength, but I know without you I can do nothing. I know my life is not my own, it is yours to work through me. Lord, I am grateful for this life you’ve given me. You’ve blessed me with different gifts and talents. Help me understand how to cultivate those things to bring glory to your great name.  Amen.

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver (Malachi 3:3).

Our Father, who seeks to perfect His saints in holiness, knows the value of the refiner's fire. It is with the most precious metals that the assayer takes the most pains, and subjects them to the hot fire, because such fires melt the metal, and only the molten mass releases its alloy or takes perfectly its new form in the mould.

The old refiner never leaves his crucible, but sits down by it, lest there should be one excessive degree of heat to mar the metal. But as soon as he skims from the surface the last of the dross, and sees his own face reflected, he puts out the fire.
--Arthur T. Pierson

He sat by a fire of seven-fold heat,
As He watched by the precious ore,
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.
He knew He had ore that could stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold
To mould as a crown for the King to wear,
Set with gems with a price untold.
So He laid our gold in the burning fire,
Tho' we fain would have said Him 'Nay,'
And He watched the dross that we had not seen,
And it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire--not the Master's hand,
And questioned with anxious fears.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above,
That bent o'er the fire, tho' unseen by us,
With a look of ineffable love.
Can we think that it pleases His loving heart
To cause us a moment's pain?
Ah, no! but He saw through the present cross
The bliss of eternal gain.
So He waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat,
Than was needed to make it pure.