Walk Toward the Light

For those living in the Northern Hemisphere June, July and August is the time of year when we look forward to living a more leisurely lifestyle in one form or another.  The warmth of the summer sun draws us out of our indoor living patterns into the mountains for hikes or camping, the beaches for long walks on the sand or fun in the surf, and a block of time to enjoy the longawaited vacation holiday.  During this allotted time away from our daily responsibilities and usual routine of activity we assume that we will really rest.

Have you ever tried to rest, but find it impossible due to inner turmoil, stress, and feelings of responsibility? Our minds stay engaged, mentally calculating the things that need to be accomplished when we get back from our time of rest?

The truth is that rest isn’t just about finding time for a leisurely, second cup of coffee in the morning,  or deciding to take an afternoon off, or even finding time for your anticipated vacation holiday.

Rest begins in your heart and flows out of your relationship with God.  It comes from a place of complete dependence upon Him and total confidence in who He is for you.  It is that inner life of the Spirit that anchors you in times of busyness, distress or pressure because you not only know who you are, but more importantly, you know who He is in you!  You can actually be at rest in every situation as you walk through your day.

Let me give you an example of someone who lived knowing who He was and who God was for Him:

Jesus had just returned from His encounter with the enemy in the wilderness and was beginning His Galilean ministry. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood to read from the prophet Isaiah.  All eyes were fixed on Him and they marveled at the words which He spoke.   However, when He said to them, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing, those in the synagogue were filled with wrath; so much so that they, Rose up and thrust Him out of the city and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.

Now, if that happened to any one of us, our first impulse would be to flee as quickly as possible, but not Jesus.  Luke 4 continues, then passing through the midst of them, He went His way, as though He didn’t have a care in the world!  Do you mean He didn’t run?  Do you mean to say that He calmly continued to walk right through the midst of this angry mob who was trying to kill him?  Now THAT is peace, and rest.

Jesus was never moved by external things because He lived by His inner life and the communion He had with His Father.  He knew who God would be for Him in the midst of every trial, every disturbance, every misunderstanding and occurrence of blindness on the part of people.  He was not affected by the emptiness of the people around Him.  He was there to bring light.

For those who could hear and see, His words were transforming.  And for those who rejected Him, He knew they did not have the power to take His life.  There was only one Source of power and He walked in communion with that Source every minute of every day.

Rest does not come from feeling strong and confident in ourselves, but in knowing how powerful the Lord is in our lives.

Rest means to be free from anxiety or disturbance…to remain confident…to live in a state of peace in mind and spirit.  If you have inner agitation, you will have no power to cope with the outer things that come to you.

In returning and rest you shall be saved; quietness and confidence shall be your strength.  Isaiah 30:15

Strength for your walk depends on your relationship and communion with the Lord.  Being inwardly quiet and calm, you are able to approach all outward things in the same way and same spirit.

Be at rest!

Isn’t it interesting how at times there is a particular area of thought that seems to predominate in your mind and heart?  In my last blog, I spoke about love and the great need the world has for it.  I even started with a song that speaks of everyone’s need for love, sweet love.

Please indulge me and allow me to continue with this line of thought, even beginning this blog with the lyrics from another song of the same era, made popular by the Beatles.  The title is, Can’t Buy Me Love.  The lyrics are simple and straightforward.

I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright.  I’ll get you anything my friend, if it makes you feel alright….cause I don’t care too much for money; money can’t buy me love.

It’s a silly song, with a catchy beat, but the reality of the message is not sosilly.  The reality is you can’t buy what you need most…..love.

Love is a gift.

You can’t earn love.

You can’t buy love.

It’s simply not for sale.

Love is a treasure.

For all too many, the journey to know real love has been a pathway strewn with hurts and disappointments, leaving wounds in the heart.  Yet, a profound truth is that all the agony, the sadness and the confusion of former days has now become the fertile ground for a greater capacity to love and trust.  You have moved beyond your woundedness to realize that your heart is indeed anchored in God’s love for you, and you can now be less dependent on the praise, the response, or even the blame of others.  You have grown to a place of greater ability to give love without expecting in return, realizing that in the giving of love you also have a return within your own heart.

The more you have opened your wounds up to be healed by His love, the more that the place of woundedness has been turned into a place of love and of understanding for others pain.  You have found the treasure of God’s love in your own process of healing.  The desire you have for God’s unconditional love is the fruit and evidence of having been touched by that love.   If you want to know how love is really supposed to be, you have to go to its source.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  I John 4:11

Give your love as a precious gift, a unique treasure and a healing balm to others.

Love warms the heart.  Love cushions life’s blows.  Love turns troubles into triumphs

Give love freely.

Rejoice in the ties of love He has placed in your life.

Ask God to continue to bring you to maturity and give you the capacity to love as never before.

For God is love! I John 4:8

What is it about a love song that just seems to go to the heart?  It can bring a smile to your face or tears to your eyes.  Some of the great opera and theatre productions of our time are centered on the grief and triumphs of love.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love…

In the mid 1960’s, there was a pop song that shot to the top of the charts and stayed there for a long time.  Both the melody and the lyrics were simple.

What the world needs now is love sweet love, it’s the only thing there is just too little of…

What the world needs now is love sweet love, no not just for some, but for everyone…

Whether the words of love are sung in the grandeur of the theater or in the simplicity of a pop song, the message is clear…… the heart of the world cries out for love.

The words of scripture also make it clear that the world needs love.  Love is the foundation of God’s plan.  When Adam sinned, the plan remained unchanged at its core.  God made a way to draw mankind back to Himself and it was in the context of love, sacrificial love.   His love is not an earthly kind of love that can wax and wane at the slightest infraction.  It is a love that is non-negotiable.  God is not merely loving… He IS love.

Everywhere Jesus went, He found hearts that were hungering for love.  He reached out to the Samaritan woman letting her know that there was a source of life and love that went beyond what she had been able to gather together for herself in the form of human love.  Mary Magdalene was transformed by His gracious, freeing love and forgiveness.  Impulsive and self seeking Peter found forgiveness and restoration from the very one he had denied, Jesus.

We, too, have come to know this kind of love and restoration.  As followers of Jesus we have been called to share this amazing, transforming love with the world.  He has not asked us to do something for which He has not also provided the power to do it.  Think of the empowering words of Paul in Romans 5:5 and again in Ephesians 5:2:

The love of God HAS BEEN poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Walk in love as Christ also has loved us and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.

What does His love look like through us?

• It stands in the face of rejection, wrong attitudes, opinions, and hurtful words.
• It gives back a quiet spirit, a gentle response and a feeling of acceptance.
• It extends a heart of compassion to those lashing out in pain.
• It is a giving of yourself to others without demanding a giving in return.

Are you aware that you communicate even without words?  You either bring an atmosphere of love and acceptance or of fear and withholding.  The more you become anchored in God’s deep love, the more freely you will be able to trust yourself to others and be able to freely give the love He has shed abroad in your heart.

Love covers.  Love embraces.  Love understands.  Love speaks honestly.  Love forgives. Love cares.  Love gives.

Now abides faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
I Cor 13:13

Let love triumph!

As a believer, you are the beneficiary of great riches.  Not only have you received the promise of eternal life, but you have received an incredible promise for this present life, as well.

I Peter 1: 3-5 speaks of your inheritance as being incorruptible and undefiled…one that does not fade away, and is reserved in heaven for you.

Peter then goes on to exhort and encourage you with these words:

YOU ARE KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD…..

THROUGH FAITH FOR SALVATION READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST TIME.

The word kept in this verse is a military term and evokes the image of a sentry standing guard as protection against the enemy.  Being kept implies both protection from dangers, but also deliverance.  While you may experience various trials in this life, the promise is that you shall not be overcome by any of them.  You are kept under the continuous, watchful care of our Father.

As His children and His heirs…you are being guarded, defended, delivered and kept  by the power of God…the mighty and miracle working power of God!  You are being moved daily towards your destiny.  As an heir, you have the DNA of a king inside of you.  You are royalty.  You are rich beyond measure.  It is by His power that you are kept.  It is not of yourself.  Yours is to believe.  His is to keep.

Whatever you are facing today, know this…He is guarding you!

Whatever is trying to turn your heart and mind towards anxiety, know this…He is keeping you.

Whatever comes to lie against His character, know this…you have the delivering power of God within you.

The Father has never been overwhelmed.  Jesus is undefeated and the Holy Spirit can only lead us in triumph! ~Graham Cooke~