Monday, December 6, 2010

Groaning.


"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." Romans 8:18-25

Father, I am waiting for you to show up in my suffering, in my home where Jesus is a stranger and the darkness hovers over like a cloud. I am groaning for you, groaning as in childbirth for so many of my friends that ignore their need for you in their lives. Screaming out for you to show up and to help and to heal in so many places where I see the outcomes of my sin. To come. I long for you, a longing that seems dry and empty. But in this season of longing, I know and trust that it is only You that put me here. That this longing itself is a promise. Instead of this thirst and desperation being the lack of Your answer, help me to see that maybe it IS the answer or at least the presence of it. Your promise is true and great and holy. You will come, You will show up, and You will heal and fill and pour love and grace over the parts of my heart and soul that are dying to be quenched. I pray for patience as I wait, that I may wait well and not be afraid to go deeper into the longing of my heart. May I be stricken with lovesick desire for You, sweet Lord.

"What is desire satisfied without desire unmet? how our hearts need to go hungry before we are fed."

Friday, December 3, 2010

Advent.

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismissd your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people,a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:25-31

Simeon is everything I want to be around Christmas time.
First, it says that Simeon is
righteous. He is trying, with everything in him to be moral and virtuous. And second, it says that Simeon is devout. He is running after the Lord and seeking him in preparation for the salvation of Israel. In the silence, Simeon knew that the Lord would come again. In some versions it says that "the breathe of God was upon him" instead of the Holy Spirit. I love that, love that the breath of God and the Holy Spirit are the same. The breathe of God consumes me and carries me. Simeon was moved by the spirit, just at the right moment, in perfect timing to come face to face with the light of the world. I think about my life and the moments when push of the Holy Spirit was very apparent and am overwhelmed by the provision of the Lord.

I pray that my heart ready for the coming of the Lord in my life. That, as Simeon, I will wait for the Lord patiently and faithfully, trusting that He will show up. I pray that my life is one that seeks righteousness and devoutness. That sprints to the cross with everything I have. I also pray that I am stripped of myself and allow the Holy Spirit to carry me into the presence of Jesus where my eyes can see salvation.

 
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