Noise

P3333 There’s great value in resting.

/ DVH

We’ve been actively resting in the past four days. After the intense chaos of making many deliveries and having lots of positive interactions;  by God’s grace we found a quiet spot on a farm stay, and we’ve done nothing – apart from eat and sleep. We needed it. Neither of us are 23 anymore! There is one thing I’ve noticed about God’s kind of resting, the more you do it, the more you want to — plus you start to feel better.

Resting from our labours here, BTW, consists of me falling asleep several times during the day, as well as sleeping for 7 or 8 hours per night. Hubby nods off regularly and then quietly snores, and then … he wakes himself up with the snuffly noise. It really is better that he wakes himself up – the alternative is that I whack him on the arm and say “Honey you’re snoring again.” OK! You got me, I don’t whack him alright? But-I-do-sometimes-think-about-it!

Rest is something the bible tells us that we are to enter into. In other words, it’s a place where you leave everything else outside the door, take the Lord’s hand, and just be content with the fact that He is in charge. It is God’s gift to us, and He made it clear that rest is available any time, any place. It means that everything else fades into the background. When we are away on a trip, we even like to cut down on extraneous noise from the TV and stuff, and just sit. Sometimes we don’t even talk, or pray. We just let the quietness sink in. At the same time we do restful fun things — hubby trots about taking brilliant photos and I get to see them.

Resting in the Lord, can get even deeper… it’s in the scripture. It’s a place where we leave the results and the work to God Himself. In my opinion this is one of the most challenging ways to use our faith. It’s not the Lord’s fault, it is just that we have spent our lives doing the next thing and the next, and then suddenly we realise we have stumbled back into trying harder and harder. Pushing ourselves to make things work. Meanwhile other people start to give you the pip, because you are tired of wrangling and managing stuff, and nothing is simple anymore. 

God’s rest is the place where you don’t have to make things happen. Here’s my point today — this kind of rest is part of our birthright. The secret is to live in the hustle and bustle of this life without constantly engaging our emotions and our minds. Step back into the Lord and breathe, and defer to His wisdom, simply because we love to walk with Him, even in ordinary things.

I can almost hear a mother somewhere yelling at me: “If I don’t make my kids get out of bed and go to school they won’t do it. They won’t do their homework either!” I really dislike those happy happy pictures of tidy little smiley kids smartly marching out of the door, dressed properly. It’s a wonder they don’t have sunbeams coming out of their ears! In most homes this time of the day is a bun fight – making sure this kid has this, and that kid has it’s socks on, plus leave the house yourself! This is not the kind of rest the Lord is talking about in the bible, His rest is internal. Your kids may not want to go to school, etc., but you can still be at rest in Him. He’s ultimately in charge of your well-being, and theirs. It’s the place to say: “HELP, LORD!”

You can choose to be upset with them, or cry out for His Grace and patience for those moments. We don’t have to lose our cool because the little darlings won’t co-operate. Often we willingly give up our internal rest and peace, because we are deceived into hoping and thinking, that worrying or shouting will work … because nothing else seems to! However, God’s idea of rest is stepping back momentarily and leaning on Him. When, and if you can – remember, humour helps. He organised a couple of million grumpy Jews to get up every morning to a ready-made breakfast … your kids are a piece of cake!

His rest inside of us flows out of us as His peace toward other people. Deal with you, and then deal with them. The whole gotta be, gotta do, gotta go, gotta get it right thing – falls away as we focus on His bigger picture. He’s God and He won’t let us down no matter how it looks, simply because He is so-o-o faithful. I call this stuff my faith work out. It’s the place where all the worst cases scenarios smack you in the head and you can’t think clearly anymore because your mind is filled with scenes and thoughts of “what if.” There are no “what ifs” in God’s rest – there is only the bigness of Who He is. 

We enter that rest by focussing on Him and deliberately choosing to momentarily lay everything else at His feet. I think this kind of incredible stillness was inside the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Any other noise stayed outside. So did agendas. You can be present with the Lord and still do the things that need to be done. It’s good to remember YOU and I are now the Holy of Holies. Father God produces the kind of quiet comfort that releases an atmosphere of safety. Nothing bad can happen in His Presence, He’s just too awesome. 

As we learn to cultivate the Holy Spirit’s Presence by living our lives His Way – we will find our confidence in Him grows. Jesus lived like this. He lived in God’s grace and assurance that He was at the right place at the right time — doing what His Father wanted Him to do. Jesus’ confidence in His Father’s Will allowed the people around Him to experience God’s loving kindness easily. This rest means we cease from our labours and lean on Him and there’s great value in it. Bye. 👋

P 3089 Keep running.

/ DVH

“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honour, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us,…” Hebrews 12:1 (GNB & AMP)

My first thought was this … these guys use more words than I do!!  Would you believe this is just one verse both times? There is something therapeutic in reading the bible in an unfamiliar version. I do it a lot, because words are incredibly limited, and we can become overly familiar with the version we read every day. However, every single fresh glance at a different version, clarifies and expounds our understanding.

We don’t want past knowledge to throw us off present revelation. Otherwise it is easier to start skipping bits instead of absorbing precious old truths in new ways. When you have been reading this book for many years like I have, the newer translations are like meeting an old friend with brand new up-to-date clothes on. I love it.

What’s not to love about this? “… It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, Who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed …”  Doesn’t that paint pictures in your mind?

In my mind’s eye, I can see the Lord Jesus – He ran this race before me. He’s warming up on the tinder track, stretching His muscles – now He is on the blocks, ready to run.There is no-one else on that track – He was a solitary runner. We all know the end of His race — He finished it and HE WON. Despite how it looked as He rounded that last curve, when the enemy was beating Him, taunting Him, and throwing all kinds of stuff at Him from the stands, He finished His race. 

The Holy Spirit is always there for us – He’s our Coach – the heartbeat of God inside us. He runs with us. He calls out encouragement, and warns us of any pitfalls ahead. He wants each one of us to finish our race. We don’t have to win – Jesus did that for us – we simply need to stay in the race and keep on running. Keep following in the Lord Jesus’ footsteps. I don’t run against you, you don’t run against me. We are in an individual race toward glory, and Jesus is our prize. 

Our task is to throw off anything that will slow us down. Things like other people’s opinions, our circumstances, our youth or our age, even our own self-efforts. All those things and more can distract us. They can stop us from being in peak spiritual condition, as well as break our stride and try to prevent us from keeping up with God’s pace for us as individuals. Some of us are racing this race holding onto a walker, some have no home. What does it matter? We all need to grasp and hold onto the stamina the Word of God gives us. Our race is not a sprint – it is a marathon.

We can’t afford to strive and strain, otherwise we will exhaust ourselves and throw this race off the rhythm we need to keep running. Step after step after step. Heart pounding, blood pumping, feet striking the ground bam, bam, bam! We cannot afford the luxury of wondering whether we are doing it right. Instead our eyes are on the prize. So we ignore anyone else but the Holy Spirit. He’s ALWAYS there. His loving voice is in our heart and ears – He helps us remember that verse we read yesterday: “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” Big deep breath, quick prayer, and on we go. We cannot afford to let distractions, noise, or the difficulties and heartaches of this world keep us from running our race.

As we round yet another turn, suddenly all hell breaks loose, stuff is flying through the air at us. Our bodies are screaming for fresh water, as well as relief. Every muscle, every part of us aches with tiredness. Then we become aware of all kinds of voices and distractions around us, calling out. Not every voice we can hear is cheering for us, or on our side. We must remember that the finish line is not unattainable. Then suddenly we become aware of the sound of SomeOne Else’s footsteps running beside us, and we can see the Lord is there with us. He is our constant Companion in this race. He is praying for us – He lives to pray for us.

As we grow closer to the end, we can see so much compassion in His dear face. He is laughing, because He knows that we can do this. And He knows, personally, intimately, how hard this race is. “One more step dearest, you can take one more step. I have given you My power to keep running. Let go of the past, let go of your infirmities and weaknesses, and just keep taking one more step. I love you!”  Bye.👋

P 2765 Jesus just wants you.

/ DVH

 “A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect —life in its fullness until you overflow!”John 10:10 TPT. Let’s LET Him decide what abundant life looks like for you.

We can get stuck on verses like this one, especially when we think we already know what an abundant life should look like! Unfortunately this means we are trusting in our own understanding not in the Lord’s guidance. No matter what our situation is, whether it is good or bad, we need to ask Him for His input. Otherwise if a disaster falls on us suddenly, we can end up judging God’s integrity by what has happened. But the bible says:“The rain falls on the just and the unjust.” We can only see in part, Almighty God sees the whole picture and … He has a plan. Trusting in God’s goodness and faithfulness is an essential part of the Christian life.

This world has been making so much noise and fuss lately that without His help and daily input – I think it is difficult to see anything clearly. Opinions fly about like butterflies in the spring! The thing to cling to in any sort of trouble is His goodness and faithfulness. “He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” Psalm 91:4. He said it, we believe it – that’s the end of it!   

The Lord disciplines and teaches us His ways for a reason – He wants us to be SAFE no matter what is going on – and He values our faith. So we humble ourselves before Him, and wait for Him to speak to us. Things may not always look that great from our end while we are in the middle of this process — but we need to learn to resist the devil, and that means he has to leave!

Because it was good enough for Jesus to follow the Holy Spirit then it is good enough for us too. He will tell us what to do: “This the enemy – fight it.’ OR … “This is My will for you, just keep on walking. We are not there yet.” Almighty God has His Way of doing things, and we need to learn to yield to His processes – instead of trying to avoid them. He is refining us. Let’s not be fair weather friends — let’s choose to grow into being a faithful fiancé! The Holy Spirit knows how to prepare Jesus’ Bride. We don’t. We just like an easy life!

Isaiah said this sad edict about God’s kids: 5:12b”…but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of His hands.” It is foolish, BTW, to read these words as if they only apply to the Jewish people, instead, ask the Lord – ‘do I do that?’  Read the bible like He is talking to you, even if you don’t understand what it says, or why He is saying it! He is a faithful God and He is looking for a faithful people. That means in good times or bad, we keep on seeking Him. 

It says in Proverbs 3:6: ”In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].” Instead of ticking boxes when we read, or perhaps excusing ourselves, instead ask the Lord: “Where am I not acknowledging YOU?” The bible contains diagnostic tools that only work when we apply them to ourselves. Be humble – ask questions. Wait for Him to talk to you, before you excuse yourself. I have fallen down the ‘excuses’ hole many times, and then I started to see that I was dodging the Holy Spirit’s conviction! We are not right in our selves, we are MADE right in Jesus. God’s love includes correction.

Humility is a strange thing – it is much more than just self-effacement. It is an attitude of our hearts. My bible says that ‘our hearts can be deceitfully wicked above all else’ and I’ve caught mine out loads of times protecting itself. If you aren’t like that, I urge you to start thanking the Lord and don’t stop. What a gift you have been given! Humility begins when we realise what we are not, and we begin to see everything HE IS. In the face of His true holiness, that pious stuff we make up to look spiritual, crumbles instantly.

To be Holy we need to deliberately stay under the blood of Jesus. That means respecting and obeying God is …IN;  but rebellion against His will is …OUT.  Wishing you could whack someone around their ear-hole is … OUT. Secretly looking at others lustfully is OUT. You can make up your own list, but the point is, we may fool our friends, rabbits and relations but we can’t fool Him. 

Jesus Himself gives us the most wonderful key to overcoming all sorts of things in the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3. Recognise you are poor! Then live poor, and be needy. Need His help and instruction. We do not have to know everything. We are HIS. We gave our lives away – which means we don’t have them anymore!  Now we get to work alongside Him, and watch Him do stuff. Jesus just wants YOU. Bye. 🥰

P 2277 The value of silence.

/ DVH

“I stand silently to listen for the One I love, waiting as long as it takes for the Lord to rescue me. For God alone has become my Saviour. He alone is my safe place; His wraparound presence always protects me. For He is my champion defender; there’s no risk of failure with God. So why would I let worry paralyse me, even when troubles multiply around me? 

But look at these who want me dead, shouting their vicious threats at me! The moment they discover my weakness, they all begin plotting to take me down. Liars, hypocrites, with nothing good to say— all their energies are spent on moving me from this exalted place. Pause in His presence. 

I am standing in absolute stillness, silent before the One I love, waiting as long as it takes for Him to rescue me. Only God is my Savior, and He will not fail me. For He alone is my safe place. His wraparound presence always protects me as my champion defender. 

There’s no risk of failure with God! So why would I let worry paralyse me, even when troubles multiply around me? God’s glory is all around me! His wraparound presence is all I need, for the Lord is my Savior, my Hero, and my life-giving strength. Trust only in God every moment! Tell Him all your troubles and pour out your heart-longings to Him. Believe me when I tell you—He will help you! Pause in His presence” Psalm 62:1-9.

Sometimes the very best response to troubles or difficulties, is silence. There are times when talking about ‘whatever it is’ is the very worst thing we can do. Talking about our problems and trials can magnify them – plus other similar forgotten events can end up tumbling out adding to everyone’s ire. You can end up quite literally talking yourself out of your faith! Plus, why would we want to exalt the works of our enemy? Silence helps us pull focus back into trusting HIM, rather than focussing on the thing that is causing pain.

At one time, Elijah had just completed a major outworking of God’s power through him, right after that, somebody with authority threatened him, so he ran away. Eventually, Elijah ended up standing at the mouth of a cave, wrapped in His prophet’s mantle, waiting for God in silence. Whether you decide to fast, and/ or remove yourself from other people, some spiritual things become much clearer without this world’s distractions. Simply by quieting your thoughts and waiting, clarification comes. 

Psalm 62 has that interesting little word in it, Selah. It means ‘pause and think on this’. Pausing and silence are two of the least mentioned expected attributes of a Christian but they are greatly needed. I’ve found that the Holy Spirit is rarely loud, so if you want to hear Him, you will definitely need to take time to quiet yourself and simply listen. 

At those times it is good to try to soak yourself in His word. I’ve read all the way through an Epistle in one go, often pausing, or quietly thinking. I’m waiting for Him to speak. In times like this, what we are saying, without words, is… ‘I bow before You, Lord.’ Waiting and resting are signs of respect and reverence, as well as acknowledging Him. They help us remember He is God and … we are not! 

I have even been known to fall asleep whilst waiting – I don’t think that matters, my spirit is always on and so is His! There are other times when my mind is way too busy because I am overwhelmed by the enemy’s threats, distractions, and lies. Silence has helped me become more familiar with the Lord’s peace. In the Psalms it says ‘..I have stilled and quietened myself like a weaned child at its mother’s breast..’ BTW, I’m not waiting to get an answer as much as I am preparing myself to hear His answer by clearing away external noise.  

I believe that waiting and remaining in silence is good for us, particularly in today’s busy world. Our world demands that we keep active, busy or distracted most of the time. Sound washes around us everywhere we go until we are saturated in it. This means we could feel overwhelmed when there is complete silence. Silence is not only great for hearing the Lord’s thoughts on a matter – it’s terrific for keeping track of your own! Being silent before Him is like taking a cool shower on a boiling hot day – I always feel refreshed afterwards. 

It took me quite a while to wean myself off noise … I had to deliberately practice it, but eventually I fell in love with this skill. I have started to think noise and busyness can be a place we choose to hide in – instead of confronting our own feelings and facing this life’s dramas. Pausing and being silent is valuable and a great skill to cultivate, I heartily endorse it, because it helps us pull focus. 👋🏻