Test

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. – Malachi 3:10

After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” Genesis 15:1

God had been speaking to me about tithing from every direction. One friend. A second friend. A third friend. Each one, not knowing the other, was talking about God’s call to tithe and His favor to pour. I was starting to get the message. Then the temple spoke.

In the same week as these conversations, God continued His calling through my church's tithe challenge. A “money back guarantee” they called it: “If you tithe over the next three months, and you do not see the blessing of God pour over your life; if you come back to us and say, “This scripture is wrong,” we will give you all of your money back. Blessings pour in ways that are specific to you – it may be financial, it may be relational, it may be physical, but God promises that He will open the floodgates over your life.”

…this was just over the top. God had already been overflowing my life with so much blessing and favor in the prior months. Becasuse God is my source, I knew this truth: It’s never about the money. It’s never because the church is asking, or in this case, daring. It’s never about giving to get. It’s all about His call and my obedience. This is the only was to respond.

So, on Sunday I joyfully brought my full tithe to the storehouse. On Wednesday, my boss announced my bonus. (I think that God has a particular affection for “waiting three days”). I was floored. The amount bestowed was four times my expectation! I knew immediately that this was God’s generosity; giving to me so that I could give more to Him. All Him.

On this day, He said very clearly, “When I call, listen and respond; trust and obey. My Word is true and trustworthy. I alone am your great reward.” How much more I fall to His feet and seek His face and grace over me.

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack777@gmail.com

Speaking of Jesus

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Romans 1:16

Talk to God about your friends before you talk to your friends about God.

This weekend I called a friend to see how he was doing. Turns out, his life is in shambles. He is 60 years old. He is out of work, out of health, out of companionship, and, to him, out of hope. I met him where he was, at a local bar. I placed my coat on his shoulders, walked with him to a table, and watched despair cloud his face.

He asks: “What do I do? Join the Peace Corp? Tell me, Michelle, what do I do?”

I said, “I know that you pray your rosary every day. I know that you pray for me. I know that you believe that Christ came and died to save the world…”

He said, “Of course I do, I believe what my faith tells me that He came and died and saved us and we’re all set.”

I said, “That’s true. He did come and save us, but to receive Him, we have to ask Him personally to come into our lives. This is different than your every day prayers…”

He said, “I ask Him every day…I ask God to save me, every single day!”

I said, “You only need to ask Him once. Just once and He will flood your life with Himself. I know you believe He came and saved; tell Him that you believe. You asked me what do; this is what to do…”

He said, “You have the Good Lord in your heart…I have the devil.”

I said, “That’s the offer. Ask Him to come into your heart and He will take out that devil. Just ask…”

He said, “I will pray when I get home. I just want to go home. I know God has always taken care of me and He will take care of me. I just want to go home.” And with that, he drove away.

From that encounter, God revealed so much to me about revealing God to others. I know that there is much for the Spirit of God to work into this heart and life. I know, as I told my friend, that as long as there is breath, there is hope. I know that I followed in obedience and cast a mustard seed.

Still, there is so much that God spoke to me about speaking of Him.

I spent less time at God’s table than I did at my friend’s table. I spent more time scattering seed than I did soaking in God’s words. I was more anxious to see a result than I did to wait on the rain.

And the greatest of all...how much did I speak the Name of Jesus?

Very clearly, I got a powerful lesson – in beautiful conviction to my own heart – the power of the Name of Jesus. Only His Name removes the blinders. Only His name tears down the blockades. Only His Name tears down strongholds. Only His Name brings salvation. So simple. So powerful. So God. He brings such a greater praise and honor and glory to His Name! Praise Ha Shem (The Name), Praise Yeshua (Jesus), Praise Ruach Ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit).

There is so much more known and to be known…as a lifetime of spending time with God produces His words through me…but in this encounter, I was drawn to know, praise and speak the powerful Name of Jesus over each that I encounter. Each one.

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack1@yahoo.com

Love, Dad

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" Genesis 3:8-9

"Even though he knew what would happen, what heartbreak and suffering and devastation would follow upon our disobedience, God chose to have children. And unlike some hyper-controlling parents, who take away every element of choice they can from their children, God gave us a remarkable choice. He did not make Adam and Eve obey him. He took a risk. A staggering risk, with staggering consequences. He let others into his story, and he lets their choices shape it profoundly. “ – John Eldredge

A recent interview with Billy Ray Cyrus focused on his view of his daughter’s infamous life and the effects of her choices on their relationship. Not with blame, but with lament, pain, and regret.

He remembers the day she was baptized. He remembers her entering fame full of faith. He remembers the days when they resolved to be lights in a dark, dark world. Like a child’s “see-saw” – every inch the she rose, their relationship fell. He watched the storm slowly and surely roll in. He advised, but never forced, her, choices regarding her life and their relationship. Though he has chosen to step back and separate from her actions, he remains active in his love.

He continues to send her messages that read “Here if you need me” and “I love you still”..but they haven’t spoken since the latest scandal. He says that she’ll be home for Christmas, so maybe they’ll talk then. Meanwhile, he watches with the rest of the world, but not as the rest of the world. This time, he watches as her father, much more than her friend (admitting that he should have acted this way years ago).

Those that try to steer her life, literally called “handlers,” have told him that it’s “none of his business.” How much he filled with hurt, and all the more longing, to be a part of her life. Not as her manager, not as her friend, but as her Dad – the one and only heart connection between a father and child. “I would take back everything that tore us apart; I would take it back in a second, just to have us together as a family again.” His daughter followed up with an angry retort that her father has been cut off from her life. Anger. Hurt. Destroy.

Mr. Cyrus is admittedly flawed, especially in his own mistakes regarding the relationship. As God has used flawed fathers over time to illustrate His love as my Perfect Father, I saw a tiny smidge of His view over me.

I believe that I am who people say that I am, good or bad, and live my life accordingly. The more I rise, even in my own mind and in my own fame, the more I slowly and subtly ignore the advice of my Father’s words. I come into the day ready to be a light to the dark, and in some cases, I may be. But if I am not listening to Him, conversing with Him, living in love with Him…I begin to believe that the light is me (inflamed by my own fame) and not Him. I believe a lie, become a lie and live a lie. I snub and snuff out the true Light.

Inevitably, I’ll receive His messages, but not respond with messages of my own. I’ll be in my home, and He’ll be in His, not to meet except maybe on holidays for a week or two. Meanwhile...He really does hurt watching my life unfold without Him. I am too busy to notice or, quite honestly, to care. I know that He is there watching over me. What I don’t know is how much He only wants to be with me. It’s a focus shift – from what I think of Him to seeing how much He thinks of me. From a temporal to an eternal, this view changes everything when I see me through His heart.

He has taken back everything that has kept us apart. He took back my past, my present, and my future at the highest and hardest cost – more than I can imagine and certainly more than I dwell on. He waits on me to come running Home…just to sit across the table and talk. Not like it was, but like it is.

Nothing brings a father more joy than his child’s presence. Not to be good, but just to be with him.

My Father is Holy and Holding, Infinite and Intimate, Lord and Love. I am my Father’s and my Father is mine. "Come Home to the table," He calls. "Just come home and be with Me. You will be amazed, Child, at what you hear and see."

Click here: Just Come In, Margaret Becker

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack777@gmail.com

See the Light

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12

Despite the many tests made, scientists emphasized that they still are at a loss to explain how the image got on the shroud. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's house magazine, "JPL Universe," July 5, 1977.

"How did the image get there? Not only do I not know how that image came to be, but scientists don't know. For me personally, it's a great invitation to say maybe there's a miracle here. Maybe it truly was the power of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth that brought that image.

There's two schools of thought on a miraculous image. One is that the image is purely miraculous. The other school of thought is that the image was somehow created by a byproduct of the miracle of the resurrection…radiation. In other words, light. We have to start logically thinking that the body somehow is the source of this radiation.

I think, personal belief, based on--based on scripture and based on science is that the very split second that Jesus' soul zoomed back into that lifeless body, there was an explosion of light. Whatever the source of the light may have been, light only travels in one of two ways--in a focused manner, such as a laser and in a way that is spread out and diffused like a light bulb. If the light traveled straight like a laser, the image should be a harsh silhouette. If it spread out like a light bulb, it should be an indistinct blur. Neither way could've created the image we see here.” - John Jackson, a professor of Physics at the University of Colorado. In 1978, Jackson led a team of American scientists which was given exclusive access to the cloth for five days of intensive scientific examination. Jackson has continued his analysis of that data until the present time.

Oh, imagine! His natural transformed into His supernatural state. At the precise moment His Father brought Him back to earth, His body BECAME the Light that He is! He is not a light that we know anywhere in Creation. In fact, I would imagine that the word “light” is the closest adjective He gives us to describe His being…considering John’s account in the Revelation.

This Light, that raised Him and is Him, is the same exact Light that dwells inside each of us who welcome Him! Not a light that we know, a Light that we LIVE. He divides the light and the dark because He IS the Light that divides the dark…and He is always, always, always within us in power, truth, and love beyond our greatest imagination. This Light remains a mystery and an intimacy. A power and a Person.

He is not grand for display, He is grace for redemption and glory as King. He isn’t meant to be “figured out” or even “understood” – He is meant to be experienced, enveloped, and lived to the fullest! And when His light comes through in full force, the impression will leave many within a state of “how?” because we confine ourselves to the natural…oh, to experience Him in His native, eternal life of supernatural. A powerful new view of the Christ that resides within me – here and now. Wow.

Click here to hear of "Light of the World"

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack1@yahoo.com

See the Blood

  

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:5

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Cor. 5:21

Everything that we see on the shroud with regard to the injuries that the man sustained are perfectly consistent with what we see in the gospel account. You have a man who was both severely scourged and crucified. There's a lot of blood on the shroud: There's a tremendous amount of blood that flowed from the head; there's blood that flows from the side wound. These stains tell a horrifying story. They beat this man to hell. – The History Channel

I could only whisper: "Yes, sir...they did." Words have been written, said, cried, and shouted for centuries over the moments that Jesus the Christ took on Michelle the Fallen. Here, my words fall silent. Mangled in my brokenness...He speaks. Somehow, only by His Presence, His words rise with passion and pain as blood stains rise before my sights.

Bring me beneath the blood and all that means to me. My hope, my healing, my purity.

Here you will find me, silent in His grace. Gazing at my freedom, my love...His face.

My sin sliced His skin, my wounds became His scars. All so He could heal me and hold me in His arms.

This was not for the bad I'd done, this was for the evil I'd become. Horror as it's height, all to save my life.

He took every pain, He drove out ever fear. I know because He was there, and because He is here.

I try to muster a whisper of thanks, praise, and love. I am further drawn just to listen to Him. I'll soak in here for a while as He continues to wash over and heal.

Enjoy Him, Michelle mailto:mlpack777@gmail.com

Face: Life

Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 40:4-5

Albuquerque, New Mexico. February 19, 1976. American Physicist John Jackson and his team of USAF colleagues scanned a Shroud photograph on a VP-8 digital image analyzer. The VP-8 image analyzer is an instrument used by NASA to convert a series of photos into one 3D topographical map – showing mountains and valleys of earth, the moon, etc. by converting “lights and darks” into “highlights and shadows.”

The VP-8 image analyzer produced a perfect 3D image of the Shroud photo. Despite numerous attempts before and since this moment, the photograph of the Shroud is the only known two dimensional image to produce a 3D topographical result. Ever. – Compressed explanations from History Channel

Just like the series of photos of landscapes used to create a 3D map of mountains and valleys, my life is a series of constant events, relationships, words, experiences, etc. that create the “mountains and valleys” map of life. That map, may look like it’s in 3D, but at the end of my days, I have literally said, “my life feels very two dimensional (and that was just yesterday). Outside of Christ, it always will. Life is put in its place in the Presence of His Person.

God said, “I’m with you on the mountain, Moses and I’m with you in the valley, David.” Mountains and valleys are part of the life God gives. They are the designed as the stories of our lives. It’s not about changing the life that I’m given, it’s discovering HIS light and abundant life that levels those mountains and raises those valleys. It’s seeing His glory revealed from within. It’s going beyond the series of experiences to find life in the Savior. Constantly. An entirely new way to see and live every day of life, as He (not me) IS the Life.

Mountains and valleys are analogies of experiences; light and dark are realities of heart and soul. Once the heart of the eternal Christ Himself rises under the shroud of my everyday living; He separates light from dark, life from death. This is where 2D living becomes Trinity/Dimensional living.  From one source alone, Christ alone,  

He notes, “So from the beginning, you choose: dark/death, light/life. My design of your life will bring a great story of mountains that I give as gifts and valleys that I will allow as tests. I will be with you with every step because I love you. I will reveal to you, when you seek only Me, that I am so much more than you see and experience and know in this glass darkly. I am infinite and intimate in you. Like the drape dropped before my brothers three, your humanity is a shroud holding inside the only true Life: the Holiness and Glory of Me. When I rise within you, rivers of MY life will flow and you will truly live.”  

His glory will be revealed. He has spoken. 

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack777@gmail.com

Face: Truth

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deut. 4:29

The Shroud of Turin, a 14-foot cloth in which many believe Jesus Christ was buried, may be the most studied artifact in history—and the most controversial. For centuries, scientists and historians have pored over this bloodstained piece of linen that bears the faint outline of a crucified man, hoping to uncover what the image represents and how it was created. The first documented reference to the shroud dates back to the 14th century. Historical records suggest it changed hands many times until 1578, when it wound up in its current home—the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. – History Channel.

In March, 2009, the History Channel released a documentary titled “The Real Face of Jesus?” on the Shroud of Turin. I recently viewed this feature with quite a response. Insights from that night were so powerful and so profound that, with much trepidation, I decided to write on what was revealed to me personally through this one man’s journey to find the face of Jesus.

To be clear, I am very aware of the controversy over whether or not this cloth is, in fact, the actual cloth the laid upon Jesus in that tomb. Claims of its authenticity or forgery are valid arguments and are welcome, but not in this setting. Revelations to my own being are more coming from viewing the painting in its entirety, not in its brushstrokes. This is not about accepting a “fake as a fact”, it’s not even about the cloth itself. It’s about Christ and how He moves consistently in His Word and in my own life. In the end, it's all about whether I accept Him or reject Him for who He is - far more than who He appears to be.

Christ Dismissed
We tend to absolutely "accept or dismiss” anything based solely on our “findings and facts." For example, the authenticity of the “claims of this cloth” are accepted or dismissed based on the “carbon dating” results done on this relic 20 years ago. The results: this cloth is from the 13^th or 14^th century. The responders: this cloth "was obviously a forgery created by a medieval artist and is to be dismissed as a fraud” (again further discussions on conclusions from that test are for another time)

Based on the law and prophets, the Pharisees had a very strict checklist of who the Messiah was to be...and this Jesus was not fitting in with their "facts." As a result, the greatest charge against Jesus from these “experts on God” and was this: “He’s a fraud. He’s a fake. To believe anything He is “revealing” is to fall right in line with a lie.” In fact, this was the very charge used by these “experts” to “send Him to the cross.” (The “trial” itself was the real rouse. The charge was the cover for a much deeper issue of sin, but at the time, they could only see the surface of the depths of our despair).

Christianity does not promise that you will have every question fully answered to your satisfaction before you die, but the answers it gives are consistently consistent. There may be paradoxes within Christian teaching and belief, but they are not irreconcilable. – Ravi Zacharias

To dismiss claims in the natural world is understandable, regardless of whether or not they are undeniable. To dismiss Christ is the most personal, deadly deception was could ever fall prey to.

Like the scientists examining the cloth and the Pharisees examining the Christ, we sometimes come to God with a “checklist of expectations.” If any one of those expectations is not met, based on what we know, feel, experience or understand (as factual as they may be) then we dismiss Him: “He’s not real. He’s not authentic. And He’s certainly not Love. …and here’s why…” Experience becomes god instead of God being in experiences.”

It’s not about the cloth. It’s not about carbon. It’s about Him. He IS the only authenticity to seek and to know. He is the embodiment of truth; not to be boxed into our natural experiences, but heard in our everyday lives…however He chooses to reveal Himself into our hearts and minds through His Word and His life in the details of our days.

And so He reveals to me…

To be continued… 

Enjoy Him, Michelle
mlpack777@gmail.com

Know This Love

"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19

As I walked with my family toward the stadium, we walked past him. He was decked out as the walking Bible billboard; right down to the terrycloth headband that read, “Jesus saves.” I see him at ever concert, every sporting event, every time tens of thousands of people walk by. This time, though, it was personal.

He never said a word, just handed out his flyers. This moment, it landed in the hand of my family member. She looked at the flyer and scoffed, “I know that God loves me, I don’t need a brochure to tell me that.”

My mind flashed to her anniversary. I wondered the reaction of her husband if she had said, “I know that you love me, I don’t need a card to tell me that.”  

My mind flashed to my own treatment of God’s Word. I wonder how many times, silently, I have said to my Father, my Husband, my Love: “I know that you love me, I don’t need to actually read Your Word to tell me that.”  My pride often pulls me away from my greatest joy: listening to His Love song, reading His love letters, and basking in incredible romance beyond my imagination. 

How much we are deceived in minimizing the incredible, powerful, indescribable love of God to "I know." He is beyond our knowledge, but as close as the Words in our hands. We have no idea, but we do have a chance.

In 68,000 people that day, someone read that God loves them. By the power of the Spirit, they were moved to know a love that is wider, longer, higher and deeper than they can begin to imagine, comprehend, fathom. I was one, all over again. May I be one to hunger to experience His Word more..

May I be one to shout back to the enemy who lies to those around me with deceptive pride: we do need to read of His love…constantly. This is to be rooted and reaching into His love…and to show the world: we cannot begin to fathom, but we can begin to know measureless love. 

Click here: Word of God Speak 

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack777@gmail.com

Fall

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. – Romans 3:23-24


A few weeks ago, I tripped and hit my chin on the sidewalk. Prayers began to flow over me as fast the blood flowed from my little head. I was quickly mended and healed in miraculous ways, without bruising, infection, and pain. As much as God allowed the cut, He provided the salve.

Many things came to mind. First, I had an entirely new personal perspective of the thorns of sin that drilled into Jesus' brow. My gash was so small, but it was enough to bleed profusely. How much more did His cut up, beat up, sliced up head bleed with no help and only hurt? I had mending; He had murdering.

Second, this physical fall brought forth physical blood. Sin always leads to the shedding of blood. Sin bleeds me to death until His blood leads me to life. I will fall, He will save. I will bleed, He will heal. I see the physical manifestations of my fall; how much more does the Father see my suffering spirit?

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. – James 5:16

Third, after I fell, I was driven to familiar friends like a child to parent’s embrace. Just as the first moments of sin resulted in humanity’s hiding, sin brings on the shame. When my heart, however it is, is revealed to a trusted friend, shame loses its power in my friend’s prayerful embrace. I was meant to be known, healed, and held in love in all times of life. He knows and He provides; I must trust and receive.

Even God’s own Son fell beneath the weight of sin; so certainly do I. God’s own son rose with scars, so certainly do I. No one is exempt from the bleeding; no one is excluded from the healing.

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack1@yahoo.com

Christ(mas) Call

Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Leviticus 9:23

What if your father was President of the United States? Three years ago, I watched Jenna Bush call her father, President George W. Bush, before a live audience. As his daughter, she called to show how easy it was for her to contact the most powerful man in the county. She approached him with respect, confidence and playfulness – even a little “fear and trembling” over his response to such an impromptu call. The audience, regardless of personal agreement with the President, was thrilled and honored to be in the presence of such power, albeit vicariously.

Jenna asked her dad, "Are you mad?" He responded, "No, not at all, I'm glad to talk to you." The host asked if the President would like to say Merry Christmas to the audience. The President responded, “I do want to say Merry Christmas to your audience, and I want to tell my little girl that I love her.”

This display reminded me of a much more powerful conversation with the Most High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Ruler of all nations and how we neglect such an honor to call upon Him. If entering the Oval Office is a thrill, how much more then is entering the Holy of Holies at the invitation of the Awesome and Almighty King? Does fear keep us from the thrill of His conversation, as He waits on us to call?

Our “audience” wants to know, “Is it easy to call God?” They are awed by His Presence, but lack the intimate access of being His child to personally experience the conversation. Our Father responds with words of peace to the world and love to our hearts. He says, “I want to tell the people ‘Merry Christmas,’ celebrate my Son’s birth, but to the one who called on Me, I want you to know that there is no reason to fear my wrath only because you are my child and I love you very much! Enjoy my Presence and teach others to do the same through my Son.” This is Christmas.

Click here to watch Jenna Bush call her Dad, Pres. Bush

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack1@yahoo.com

Book Marked

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

John Eldredge writes: “As Eugene Peterson said, ‘We live in narrative, we live in story. Existence has a story shape to it. We have a beginning and an end, we have a plot, we have characters.’ Story is the language of the heart.”


“Mom really likes this author” my sister exclaimed during a Women of Faith Tampa conference. Two weeks later, I would have the honor of serving at the Women of Faith Ft. Lauderdale conference. “I have a GREAT idea!” she said. “I will buy his book, mail it to you, you can get it signed by him, and that will be her Christmas present.” PERFECT! And so it came to pass that book was bought and signed to be her gift.

Sometime during the night, I spilled coffee onto the book. Thankfully, the stain was only on the outer edges. The inside pages, however, remained pristine and without a trace of trauma. Still, I was mortified. There was no covering or cleaning this mess. The signed book was irreplaceable! The stained cover was irreversible. It is to be given "as is."

…All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

My choices will never change God's Sovereignty of my story. Though my cover is stained with humanity, my heart is signed with Holiness. He cleanses me internally, He changes me externally, and He carries me daily. My stains are not in shame, but are part of the tapestry that calls to other beggars to read of His grace and mercy.

I am a story book irreplaceable. His Son’s signature is irrevocable. I am bought, signed, and delivered to be the perfect and personal gift from the Son to His Father. This is also the gift presented to the world: His Perfect Word written inside this imperfect cover.

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar

Click here for "Heal the Wound" by Point of Grace

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack1@yahoo.com

Watch and Wait

But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint. – Isaiah 40:31

But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Psalm 39:7

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him; To the person who seeks Him. Lamentations 3:25

The service has started, but she remained distracted. Her eyes kept daring towards the door; she was obviously waiting on someone to join her. She was not going to be engaged, enthralled, or enjoying the moments of worship until her friend arrived and was by her side.

Watching her, I wondered…”Do I seek You, Jesus, with as much anticipation and attention? Is my focus on the service or watching for my Savior? Do remain uneasy until You are engaging me?”

Beth Moore once noted: “One day it dawned on me: no wonder we are so exhausted…we are waiting on everything except Him…’those who wait for YHWH will renew their strength.’ Those who wait on anything and everything else will be drained of their strength.” I am certainly living proof of that.

Personally, I wait on: words. I wait on emails. I wait on texts. I wait on calls. I wait on conversations. I find myself waiting on others’ words, even if they are about my LORD, before I wait on my LORD’S WORD.

Paraphrasing, one author notes: “’wait’ and ‘hope’ are two words in scripture that weave together into one binding rope; in fact they are often interchanged.” What I am waiting on reveals where my heart’s hope truly lies. For example, waiting on another’s words before God’s Word reveals my unbelief in God to be my priority, my passion, and my power of life. Who do I search for, who do I long for, who do I hope for?

He lives and breathes in me – yet I have made Him so commonplace that I cast aside His Presence for much less securities, comforts, and loves. “Seek first, His…” and then “all these things” will truly be every gift and favor God intended them to be in my life…but only after I am satisfied by His Living Water. Priority of His Presence brings to life the joy of His gifts. A simple truth eroded by distractions that turns my heart from His face…a moment here and there, then again here and there. Simply He says: “Wait and watch for Me. Love Me. Trust Me. Desire Me. Worship will flow as I hold you close and you hold close to Me, child. Just look for Me and You will see, I am already here.”

Enjoy Him, Michelle mlpack1@yahoo.com