While He May Be Found

Isaiah 55:6-11 NLT "Seek the LORD while you can find him.  Call on him now while he is near.  Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very though of doing wrong.  Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them.  Yes turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.  'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the LORD.  'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.  The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth.  They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.  It is the same with my word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit.  It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.'"

Right now it seems that the LORD is making Himself known more readily than ever in my lifetime.  Seeking Him now is so urgent and necessary.  He wants us to search Him out.  He wants us to find Him.  Even the crumbs will not return void.  He says that His word always produces fruit.  Yes.  He will be found.

He doesn't just want to be found as a means to be forgiven and shown mercy.  He desires a relationship.  He desires an intimacy that is beyond all thoughts.  He desires beyond what we deserve for sure.  Today in prayer, this scripture came to mind after a scripture from Song of Songs, but the theme is greatly the same and it stirred something within me as I put the two together.

Song of Songs 5:2-8 NLT  "I slept, but my heart was awake, when I heard my lover knocking and calling: 'Open to me, my treasure, my darling, my dove, my perfect one.  My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.'  But I responded, 'I have taken off my robe.  Should I get dressed again?  I have washed my feet.  Should I get them soiled?'  My lover tried to unlatch the door and my heart thrilled within me.  I jumped up to open the door for my love, and my hands dripped with perfume.  My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh as I pulled back the bolt.  I opened to my lover but he was gone!  My heart sank.  I searched for him but could not find him anywhere.  I called to him, but there was no reply.  The night watchmen found me as they made their rounds.  They beat and bruised me and stripped off my veil, those watchmen on the walls.  Make this promise O women of Jerusalem -- If you find my lover, tell him I am weak with love."

She had a chance to find him, but was too preoccupied to unlatch the door.  He was near and could easily be found.  He called her his treasure, his perfect one.  He will forgive generously and His thoughts are not our thoughts.  When He looks at me, He is seeing a reflection of Himself which is perfection.  He can call me His perfect one.  I must not miss the opportunity to find Him.  I want to tell Him face to face that I am weak with love for Him before it is too late and his fingers leave the latch.

Moses said to Israel in Deuteronomy 4:29, "...And if you search for him with all your heart and soul you will find him." NLT.  Sure, I believe this, but He is making it so easy right now.  He is at the door.  I don't want to sleep.  My heart is awake and is quickened at the sound of His voice.  Let me arise quickly and answer His calling.

Be Still

When watching Karate Kid 2010,  I was struck by a quote.  "Being Still and Doing Nothing are two very different things."  Such a concept that we as Christians can apply.  The Word says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10 NIV. 
Often times, I think God needs a little help in getting through to someone, so I interject my thoughts.  The key word here is, "my."  It sure messes things up when I get in the way of God doing His thing.  Yes, there are times when I am to speak, but many that I must be silent and still.  Prophecy in the wrong timing is sometimes even dangerous.  One way for me to be still is to keep my lips quiet as God does the ministering. 
I have noticed that a moment of silence sometimes can be the most uncomfortable of times.  Who will break the silence?  How long will the silence last?  What is that in my pocket?  Oh crud, I spilled something on my shirt.  Who just coughed?  -  So many things get in the way of our quiet and still time.
Another way that I "help" God is in the way Abraham and Sarah did in Genesis.  They created a nation that really has shaken the world.  I know that God promised this thing and so if I just do something, it will speed Him along.  He doesn't need my activity to make His way come to pass.  I wasn't there at the beginning of time.  I didn't see how He separated the water from the land and cannot see where He stores the snow.  All He needs to do to make something happen is speak.
His reckoning of time is not the same as mine either.  His timing is perfect.  When He tells me to be still in something I must obey.  How long?  As long as it takes.  He will take care of all things in His time.
Being still, when ordained by Father, is right and will bring about the display of who He is.  It should not be confused with complacency or doing nothing.  Turning a deaf ear or a blind eye will not accomplish His purpose either.  As a matter of fact, much of what He does is through His creation.  This  is by His design.
A challenge is to know when it is time to be still and let Him be I AM, versus doing nothing when He is calling me to move.  He is excellent and His ways are perfect.  I need to learn to hear His voice and work on obedience.  In this I can reflect Him better.

The Light of the World

As a child, I sang the song, "This Little Light of Mine."  As I sing it now, it sounds like shining my little light is an option.  Actually since I've invited Jesus into my heart and life, it is no longer optional to be the light because I am now the light.  Jesus said, "You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:14-16 NIV 
Jesus even prayed for His glory to be in us in the Garden of Gethsemane as recorded in John 17.  This has confused me because He says in Isaiah 42:6-8 that He will not give His glory to another.  Well He is not giving His glory to us, but imparting His glory in us so that the world will know that Father sent Him.  John 17:23.  So we are not receiving an impartation of His glory and light to show ourselves, but to reflect Him.  He is the source of light as Psalm 104:2 says, "He wraps himself in light."
The world is dying, people are dying.  The world needs our light which is His light.  They depend on it even if they do not know it.  We must do what we see Father doing just as Jesus taught.  If we are the only Jesus that some people see, what does that look like?
What is tarnishing your mirror?  Perhaps it is drunkenness or sexual impurity or one of those obvious "big sins."  Well the truth is that all sin is sin, so how about gossip, lust, selfishness, anger.  The book of Romans shares many things that would tarnish the reflection of God's light, but goes on to show redemption and righteousness.  In Leviticus 11:44-45; 20:7,26; I Peter 1:15-16 God tells us to, "Be holy, because I am holy."  We need to be a reflection of His holiness, His glory, His light.
In this season of light, remember that you are light.  If you are single, reflect him in your singleness.  If you are married, reflect Him in a godly marriage.  Pronouncing Jesus as your savior has turned you into a reflection of Him.  You can be a dim reflection or you can radiate.  Even when I am depressed, grumpy, or whatever, I am a reflection of Jesus Christ in the eyes of others.  Whether I give others a clear picture of His true light is my challenge.