The world may mix many sorrows in the pot, but God magnifies the beauty of life. Even the small things we could almost dismiss and count them as mundane. But the regular, normal, everyday stuff is not to be overlooked. For in them, we find a simplicity to be grateful for.
Take for instance something as simple as our five senses that fill our lives with wonder that we may miss otherwise. Touch. Sight. Hearing. Smelling, and taste. Oh, how these simple things enrich our lives. They allow us to feel the warmth of a hug, the soft texture of a comforting blanket, grass beneath our feet, or the petting of our favorite furry friend.
They open our eyes to see beauty budding in the Spring, a smile on a loved one’s face, flecks of color in the eyes of one adored, a sunrise dancing off the shores.
They allow us to hear music and laughter, words read aloud, voices we love to hear that are near, and birds singing their morning song in the trees above.
Our nose welcomes the smell of a fresh breeze, the fragrance of roses from the heart of your love, scents that only a baby possesses, and aromas coming from homemade oven-baked delectables that make our tastebuds rejoice at the anticipation of partaking of their sumptuous fare.
Little things. Simple things. Mundane things. But, oh so wonderful things. They are all around us. They are all a part of life. Let’s not ignore their benefits to our living, but recognize each gift they bring: “If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body?” 1 Corinthians 12:17-19.
No matter how much or how little of these sweet and simple reminders we get to experience here, it is my belief that the expansion of all they add to our lives will be even more astounding when we enter that heavenly realm. For we are told in Scripture, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9.
The simplicity and joy we find in our five senses here will only be magnified when, through them, we experience fully the wonders of heaven.
“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” – Isaiah 64:4
“Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!”– Psalm 31:19
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”– Psalm 16:11
“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”– Isaiah 35:10
I sit on my couch in the early morning, sipping my beverage and eating a bowl of hot breakfast cereal when through my window shines the rising sun. Its brightness captivates me and invites me to the joy of the new day before me.
It’s beautiful to see its rising and to feel the warmth of its encouraging rays stretching out before me. Like one of my cats who always seems to find that perfect spot on the floor to enjoy its richness, I, too, just sit to soak in its shining goodness.
As beautiful, and as welcoming as this morning moment is, I am reminded of the morning of a new day that all believers will be privileged to rise to. A day this physical sun cannot compare to or even touch in beauty and splendor, because, in that place, there will be a “city,” that has “no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof,” (Revelation 21:23).
Can you imagine the glory of that moment, of that place?
While I may struggle to put into words the thoughts my heart feels when taking in the reality of those written expressions of our future and the picture of glory they represent, one day all those who are in Christ will see this and so much more for themselves.
No matter how beautiful or hard a moment here may be, they will all be eclipsed by the glorious future that awaits the believing heart. Our hope, rest, peace, and restoration we are yearning for will all come to fruition when we enter the place where God’s glory shines brighter than any sun.
Live for that moment, dear friends. Let the beauty of what will be capture your heart, overshadow any troubles, and strengthen your steps for these days. For these days have nothing on that glory which is to come.
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
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Guarding is strong. Guarding is powerful. Guarding is beautiful because it says what I have in me is valuable space. Trivial things and those who tarnish or bring unbeneficial substances are not welcome here.
The sacred is alive in you (1 John 4:4) and it must be cherished and protected at all costs. The Bible encourages us to, “Be sober, be vigilant…” (1 Peter 5:8). Being vigilant means I must take a proactive approach to the value in me and be very attentive to the things that seek to drain and damage it.
Many distractions come in life with its very definition meaning to steal your focus and direction from what is truly important. These distractions stand against the foundation of what one considers significant.
But to truly treasure what’s in you is to truly treat it like the jewel that it is and stand guard against all who would try to misappropriate her value. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…” Jesus warned His followers (John 10:10a). So, the responsibility lies within each of us to be aware and never stop protecting the beauty He offers – “abundant life” (John 10:10b).
Would it be profitable to move one’s feet from the position on the watchtower even for just a moment while an enemy creeps in unawares?
No. It would not only be unprofitable, but it could be dangerous. A foe is a foe and nothing else. His purpose is to stop your advancement while Christ is accelerating you up to go forward. But if you are slowed and your progress hindered due to a personal refusal to stand watch, then what of the treasure within? Will it be used to its maximum usefulness, or will it, through neglect and lack of vigilance, dwindle and waste away?
The beauty within… the value within calls us to stand guard and to treasure and protect the significant.
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The cross, and what Jesus did on the cross, is enough to satisfy and uphold the demands of God’s righteousnessagainst the sin and sinners of today, yesterday, and forevermore. Nothing else is needed. It has already been proven that nothing else will do:
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:12-14
At the time of His death, all sin, past, present, and future, were placed upon our Savior as He hung on that cross. It’s what one does with the revelation of the cross for their own life that makes all the difference.
Mornings capture us with a sense of new. The freshness for what’s before us opens like a glorious flower that raises her petals to meet the sun’s rays. Whether the pace of the new days starts out fast or slow, there is a certain level of invigoration that permeates the atmosphere. It says life is here, meeting us again as we open our eyes and arise. What we see before us we have not encountered before. This moment in time, with the grace and mercy that comes with it, is unused.
I grew up during a time of hand-me-downs and leftovers. It was not an unheard-of concept to rely on things that were previously used by another or putting aside portions of a meal that remained for later use. “Waste not, want not,” is often what people would say. It was frugal living before frugal living became popular. We are seeing a resurgence of its popularity due to the current economy that is calling people’s attention to rethink how they approach money, life, and their stuff.
But for the children of Israel, there was one thing that God didn’t want them to rethink, and that was their faith and trust in Him. Even though they were relatively new on their exodus journey from Egypt, God taught them a lesson He hopes will last a lifetime – they can put their confidence in His commands, in His promises. They had no reason to doubt God’s goodness.
So, when the need for food arose, He instructed Moses on what the people should do: “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no,” (Exodus 16:4).
Further reading gives us a bit more details:
Vv. 11, 12 says, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God” (emphasis added).
V. 15 explains, “And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.”
And in v. 19, Moses instructed them to “Let no man leave of it till the morning.”
Every morning, when they opened their eyes, they were expected to walk by faith, depending on their daily provisions from God’s holy hand.
When they chose not to rely on God and to take matters into their own hands, and to keep some behind so that they wouldn’t have to worry about the next day, “it bred worms, and stank” (v. 20). When they decided they couldn’t trust God and believe that He would provide for their tomorrows, their personal, human efforts deteriorated right before their eyes. Instead of being beautiful and nourishing, it became something that was disgusting and unpleasant.
There are a lot of things we can be frugal with, but faith isn’t one of them. Jesus, in the Lord’s Prayer, called us to pray for “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Every morning we are reminded of our need for God, to pursue Him more, and again. As a tummy rumbling for morning nourishment, we are drawn to come to Him and be spiritually satisfied. We are leaning on the Father every single day for His holy provision: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him,” (Lamentations 3:22-24).
Every morning we get to reestablish our love for Him, reestablish our commitment to Him, and walk in His faithfulness another day. We get to come to Him, seeking our “manna” for the day, reaffirming He is our source. He is our God! He is our Portion (compare Jeremiah 51:19; Psalm 16:5; 73:26). He is the place where we not only find our holy sustenance, but it is where we trade the wrongs for what is right. It’s where we exchange the ashes of this life for the beauty of who He is.
“Every day” the children of Israel were commanded to go look for what God had for them. Every morning, their expectation and hope were to be on God alone. He, then, supplied their needs (Philippians 4:19) and sustained them for the day’s journey.
If your days seem limp and powerless, lacking the inspiration and sustenance for this time we live in, draw nearer to your daily Portion. Every morning partake of the Bread of Heaven so that your life may be properly fed.
In your pursuit to be properly fed, do as the children of Israel were instructed:
Come daily. Every morning the promise of bread awaited them, but they were the ones who had to put in diligent effort to rise and go get it.
Gather what was needed. Every family was allotted a certain amount so they lacked nothing of all God’s provisions. Don’t cut your time and opportunity short when you come to the Father. The Bible says, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart,” Jeremiah 29:13. Wholly, go after your portion so that you lack nothing of all God has for you. Stay before Him and gather what is necessary for the day’s journey.
Come back tomorrow and do it again. And the next day, and the next day, and so on. This is a life of longing – a life that refuses to go unsatiated. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God,” (Psalm 42:1). Drawing nearer to God is to be our daily desire. He is our holy pursuit. Daily I am unsatisfied in my soul if I don’t come to Him and fill my appetite upon Him who is “I AM THAT I AM,” (Exodus 3:13).
The promise still remains: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled,” (Matthew 5:6).
“From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.” Ezra 3:6
Our drive to have everything perfect often gets in the way of progress. Sometimes certain things just need to be left alone so that other, more important things can be done right now. Continuing to put it off will only be more of a hindrance. As they say, there is no time like the present. And this is how the returning captives from Babylon felt. They had been out of proper worship of God for quite some time. Things were not as they should be, but they were moving in the right direction. Offerings were being restored. People’s hearts were being moved to draw closer to God. The spiritual hunger was there and now was the time to do what needed to be done even if other things were not in their proper place yet.
Worship can’t wait. Drawing closer to God can’t wait. Getting hearts realigned with God can’t wait. Restoring fellowship and bringing back the service of the LORD could not wait for the foundation of the temple to be laid. It was vital for them to eventually get the building back in shape the way it needed to be, but it was even more important to deal with their hearts first. The foundation of the physical building can be laid later, but the foundation of the spiritual building needs to be laid immediately. The Apostle Paul taught us, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). This takes precedence over all else.
We all have a mountain of things to face each day and/or an extensive to-do list. And they are real things that need to be done – eventually. But what comes first? Or, should I say, who comes first? There is no substitute for showing God He has priority in your worship, in your life, and in your heart:
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:33
“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” – Proverbs 3:6
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” – Hosea 10:12, emphasis added
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” – Hebrews 12:1, emphasis added
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10
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Sour thoughts. Ill feelings. Have you ever struggled with these? There are days when they seem to invade your thinking. Although you don’t want them there, they seem to come unannounced. Not asking for your permission to be there, they come and tread upon the courts of your mind, disrupting your beautiful day.
When they step into your territory, what do you do? Do you let them walk around freely, unhindered? Or do you dismiss them and show them the way out?
Meandering about means they have a chance to muddy up the places marked with their footprints. In their meandering, they can bring confusion, bitterness, hurt, and pain. They can bring wrong assumptions that leave much devastation in their wake. Continuing their journey in your space unleashed can quickly tear apart what took years of love and hard work to build.
But giving them the boot frees you from these radicals that just want to stir up strife in our homes and in our lives. And the process the Apostle Paul gave us to do just that in and of itself, is not that complicated.
His advice: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
When it is peace that we want and not things that cause bitterness and strife, we have the choice to replace those sour thoughts with something lovely and beautiful. We can make the decision within ourselves to not settle for something that puts in us and draws out of us things we do not want.
Take up these things of virtue and praise, and clothe your day in them. Choose to be purposefully mindful of that which is good, making that which is bad and sour flee before you.
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If looking at a valley of dead bones isn’t enough, then what follows would have blown my mind! God does some pretty amazing things in the Bible and this by far has to be one of my favorite stories that display His complete sovereignty and grace. It’s one thing to hear of people being brought back from the dead and it’s quite another to see the process unfold in such an extraordinary way, even if it is in a wonderful vision.
Can you imagine experiencing that moment with God, and Him asking what is supposedly a simple but not-so-simple question? “Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ez. 37:3). That question must’ve rolled through his mind, stunning him a bit. Awestruck, his response was as I believe mine would have been, “O Lord God, thou knowest” (Ez. 37:3).
At that point, I believe Ezekiel was probably starting to realize in a whole new way the magnitude of this wonderful God we serve. Looking out over the valley that he was drawn to, and seeing the waste of what was once life and trying to imagine them alive? His response was to appeal to the sovereignty of God – “You know!”
God does know, but perhaps He wants us to know that He knows. Right? It may sound confusing but God puts these questions out there to see where our belief lies. To see if we really see Him as the One who is in control of everything, including those things that appear utterly dead and beyond the hope of restoration.
I don’t know personally how it may have looked, but I can imagine the scene in my head. Going about through that place and seeing nothing but human remains here and there. I would have begun pondering all the “what’s, who’s, why’s and how’s” all this came to pass. What battle took place? Who was involved? Why did it have to come to this? How is it that there were none left to bury the dead? There before him, was a mass of unanswered questions covering a sea of death.
I wonder about that scene with the appearance of bodies upon bodies, stacked and scattered throughout. Lives were gone here and there remained nothing but death and dry bones. Nothing to cheer about, nothing to hope for if it were not for that question that came from the mouth of the Lord: “Can these bones live?”
Death in reverse? Is that what God was asking, he must have wondered? Taking an impossible act of nature and reenacting the process in rewind mode? If the question wasn’t enough, how about the command: “Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” (Ez. 37:4). Standing reverently but in utter stupefaction, Ezekiel must have known that he was at a point of no return in his ministry. God was drawing him deeper into the process. “I don’t know about this,” may have been what most would be thinking as they did as He commanded.
What would it have been like? At the spoken command, to hear an unsettling sound. A noise permeates the atmosphere. Rattling began to disturb the quiet of the valley. In a place that knew only demise and decay would now be re-identified as something miraculous. The rattle was with purpose. It meant things were moving into their proper place. It meant brokenness was being made whole. It was the start of a brand new life where there was none before. This was incredible to not only witness but to be a part of!
After the re-attachment of limbs and other skeletal remains, the real stuff transpired. It’s one thing for bones to find their host bodies and reattach themselves. It’s quite another to witness those very bones, and the nothingness that was left, begin to take on a new life. Sinews and flesh began to re-cover the bleached, parched surfaces. All the while, Ezekiel just watches. What would you do? Like a train wreck, as horrible as it may seem you can’t tear your eyes away from it. Under it all, organs started to reform and the life supply of veins maneuvered their way throughout, spreading the possibility for more life.
But God was not done, yet. He was genuinely reversing the life process. The bodies were now formed and covered “but there was no breath in them” (Ez. 37:8). Then, God gave him a new command: “Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live” (Ez. 37:9). Ezekiel followed God’s command and said, “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” (Ez. 37:10). Before they stood, did they gasp at the feel of air entering their lungs once again? When they stood, did they turn to each other recognizing the “what was” and processing the “what is now?”
To see dead bones live in this fashion would have been awesome and beautiful. Think about it. God showed Ezekiel an impossible situation and did a complete turnaround and restored life where only death resided (compare to Israel’s spiritual restoration found in Ezekiel 37:11-14). It’s as if He had His finger on the hands of some big clock and purposefully began to rotate it backward. Spinning it and spinning it until all the death that once was had to let go and make room for new life to come to the forefront once again. What would it have been like to witness this vision?
Don’t you know? We may have not been bones but what remained of us of what the world stripped away was given a new command in the valley. The valley, our lowest point of life, was shaken and rattled until it stood at the command of God. Our lifelessness was renewed when His Spirit breathed in us freshness untold. Before He had a vision of us, we were surrounded by spiritual death. But then there arose potential out of nothingness. Captured by grace and loved on through His mercy, we received in us His gift of a second chance.
There are a lot of things in that particular vision of the valley that would have left me unsettled but I only had to turn to the One who was commanding the change in me and see the love in His eyes for me. I only had to look and believe as He did that, there is something alive here, there is something that can be raised up for me. We have all been in that valley. Vision or not, many have been to the place of impossibility just to see Him make it possible.
To see those bones rise to new life and live would have been awesome. But to see what He has done in us is far better. I don’t know what it would have been like there but I know what it is like here. The Bible says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection,” (Romans 6:4-5). Because of Christ, we have received another chance to experience a new life outside of the valley. Just because it appears dead, doesn’t mean it’s so. God can raise up the most impossible of situations.
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God is not only this great and wonderful God that we read and learn about, but in our walk with Him we experience Him; we feel Him in every area of our lives, and through every situation we face. Even if words escape us and we can’t properly explain it, and even if we don’t see it clearly right now, we know that He is there because we can feel Him alive in us, working around us and through us, covering us, carry us, and holding us through it all.