I like to wake up my mind with a passage from Amy Carmichael’s little devotional, Edges of His Way. They tend to be short and significant. Not too much to handle before my first cup of coffee, nor are they a silly waist of time. The passage this morning (January 24) sprang from Revelation 1:16-17 where John tells of his vision of Him who held seven stars in his right hand and of that right hand being laid upon John as he was told to “fear not”.
Amy asks a question that I have been known to secretly ask, “How can He, Who has the whole world to care for, attend to this tiny matter that troubles me?”
In Gaza people are dying while the world argues about who the bad guy is. In DC it has been announced that President Obama will allow federal dollars to pay for abortions again. In a day when our national debt cannot even be fathomed, we are paying to kill citizens who might one day contribute to the reduction of that debt. More innocent blood will be shed on the land that we once proclaimed in song that God shed His grace upon. These seem like big and important issues that need my Lords attention. Big BIG problems.
What is the heart of one woman who does not want her son to go to prison but does want to practice the knowledge that our Lord never leaves us nor will he forsake us? Why does is matter if grace is shown to one recovering alcoholic when the law is clear on the consequences of his actions? Who else would care? What other life would be touched by this grace? Yet the One who holds the stars in his right hand, the hand of compassion, takes the time to touch me with that same hand of compassion without, for even a moment, forgetting the bigger issues of world concern. I am overwhelmed with thanksgiving.
Is it significant that the fog is gone, that the sun is bringing out the colors of the wooden fence and drying the air so that it feels a little less bone-chilling this morning? Even though the temperature has dropped enough to put a frame of frost on the black bunny that overlooks the bluff beyond the fence? I have seen few of the houses across the gully during the days of fog. Today the view is clear. So is my head. My prayers feel less anxious, the scope of subjects are wider. Today, with Jason free from the threat of prison, I feel only one sharp ach, and that is for my cousin Cathy and her husband Bill, who does sit in prison with little hope of release. For the two of them today I am praying for some miracle and until it is realized, I pray for the joy that sustains us, that sustained me. To God be the glory!
Amy asks a question that I have been known to secretly ask, “How can He, Who has the whole world to care for, attend to this tiny matter that troubles me?”
In Gaza people are dying while the world argues about who the bad guy is. In DC it has been announced that President Obama will allow federal dollars to pay for abortions again. In a day when our national debt cannot even be fathomed, we are paying to kill citizens who might one day contribute to the reduction of that debt. More innocent blood will be shed on the land that we once proclaimed in song that God shed His grace upon. These seem like big and important issues that need my Lords attention. Big BIG problems.
What is the heart of one woman who does not want her son to go to prison but does want to practice the knowledge that our Lord never leaves us nor will he forsake us? Why does is matter if grace is shown to one recovering alcoholic when the law is clear on the consequences of his actions? Who else would care? What other life would be touched by this grace? Yet the One who holds the stars in his right hand, the hand of compassion, takes the time to touch me with that same hand of compassion without, for even a moment, forgetting the bigger issues of world concern. I am overwhelmed with thanksgiving.
Is it significant that the fog is gone, that the sun is bringing out the colors of the wooden fence and drying the air so that it feels a little less bone-chilling this morning? Even though the temperature has dropped enough to put a frame of frost on the black bunny that overlooks the bluff beyond the fence? I have seen few of the houses across the gully during the days of fog. Today the view is clear. So is my head. My prayers feel less anxious, the scope of subjects are wider. Today, with Jason free from the threat of prison, I feel only one sharp ach, and that is for my cousin Cathy and her husband Bill, who does sit in prison with little hope of release. For the two of them today I am praying for some miracle and until it is realized, I pray for the joy that sustains us, that sustained me. To God be the glory!
Shalom Rainsong,
ReplyDeleteThanks again for allowing YHWH to use you in such a simple & deep way. This is how Yahshua taught the people with simple and yet deep meaning and significance.
You said,"Yet the One who holds the stars in his right hand, the hand of compassion, takes the time to touch me with that same hand of compassion without, for even a moment, forgetting the bigger issues of world concern. I am overwhelmed with thanksgiving." A most precious thought.
Thanks again for sharing and may YHWH grant you your prayer requests according to His infinite wisdom and love.
Shalom & Ahava in Yahshua.