Aren’t you just absolutely amazed by how detail-oriented our God can be?! What a blessing when we are attentive… seeking, listening and watching….when our hearts and minds are “stayed on Thee,” all the thoughts and imaginations coming from our minds supported by God alone. Some days it is like a process of connecting the dots for me or maybe like following the trail of Living Bread crumbsJ. A Scripture in an emailed devotion is confirmed by my friend’s facebook status….then I listen to a sermon online while I fold laundry and the message is the same. Later, I find myself humming words to a song with a reminder of the very truth the Lord is speaking to me. I just want to keep pen and paper at my side to record it all. In fact, I would be smart to record His Words to me when I hear them, when I really hear that He is speaking straight to my situation, so that on the rough days, when I am struggling to look up from some pit I’ve found myself in, I could pull out that paper and read His promises, His instructions…the very voice of the Holy Spirit moving within me to calm me, to assure me that He is completing a good work in me, reminding me that He has never, ever left me or forgotten about me, promising me that He is Faithful and True, that He is Good and Loving and Perfect for me.
As I prepare today to travel to Louisville tomorrow by packing my bags and thinking through details, I have this dot to dot phenomena going on in my spirit. My heart is singing exactly as my husband prayed this morning….”freedom’s calling, chains are falling”….Lord, let it be so in Freedom Hall. I have a picture in my mind of a banquet table set up for us (from a John Piper sermon I listened to a few days ago). The Lord God, our King, is the Host. He has prepared this place for us and is leading us to attend. He is preparing the table for us. I am hearing from Psalm 23, a familiar psalm to many of us. He is leading many from green pastures….places of comfort and rest, growing, abundant places. Many are being led from the valley of the shadow….dark, grim places of loss, struggle, shame, fear, disappointment, worry. Where ever you are coming from, or better said, being “lead through” as on a journey, your journey is leading you to the banquet table this weekend. There we will eat and drink of His goodness, of the truth of His Word. There we will fellowship with one another in love. We will fellowship with the King of Kings as He anoints our heads with oil as His honored guests, Our cups will overflow. He is the Master Host, meeting every single need and nourishing every cell of our being, all for His name’s sake. The Word of God will speak and we will be delivered! Freedom’s calling us to Freedom Hall. The power of sin is broken. We are free….free to enjoy the abundance of Life at His table, in His presence, both this weekend and forevermore.
Psalm 23 (GNT)
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have everything I need.
2 He lets me rest in fields of green grass
and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.
3 He gives me new strength.
He guides me in the right paths,
as he has promised.
4 Even if I go through the deepest darkness,
I will not be afraid, Lord,
for you are with me.
Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me.
5 You prepare a banquet for me,
where all my enemies can see me;
you welcome me as an honored guest
and fill my cup to the brim.
6 I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life;
and your house will be my home as long as I live.
As we anticipate the gathering at Louisville Deeper Still, would you prepare our hearts and minds for the refreshment of Living Water, for the nourishment of the Bread of Life, for healing as you anoint us with the oil of gladness, the fullness of the Spirit without measure. Lead us from green pastures. Lead us from the deepest darkness. Lead us to the table prepared in advance for us. Lead us in accordance with Your will for our lives, all for Your honor and Your glory and Your name’s sake. Freedom is calling us, drawing us. Glorify Yourself in Freedom Hall. Magnify Your name. Our hearts and hopes are set on You both now and forevermore.
Amen.
~Contributed by Susan Moffitt with Lifeway Church Resources
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