"The Lord is merciful and gracious;
He is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
He has not punished us for all our sins,
nor does He deal with us as we deserve.
For His unfailing love towards those who fear Him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our rebellious acts
as far away from us as the east is from the west.
The Lord is like a father to His children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear Him.
For He understands how weak we are;
He knows we are only dust..." (Psalm 103:8-14)
Monday, March 11, 2013
Thursday, October 14, 2010
You Are Merciful
"The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!'" (Lamentations 3:22-24)
Friday, September 10, 2010
You Are There
"...even the darkness will not be dark to You;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to You." (Psalm 139:12)
I remember being on my knees in the prayer room as I read the passage. Face to the floor. It was our annual staff conference. Reading Psalm 139, which I had clung to much over the four years of being in full time ministry. I'd embraced this one, again and again, and shared it enthusiastically with many in that time, hoping to hit the point...home. Hammering it in, and still, barely aware. O' it takes a while for the truth to sink deep, deep into the dark places. In this moment, all I wanted was for the darkness to absorb me. Disappear. Quietly. Into nothing. Letting it all go. Though, it wasn't possible. The Lord, He doesn't stop there. No, the word continues, and reading further, I saw. He will be there, too. He won't go away, nor leave you alone, not ever. Still, while the darkness is light to Him, we cannot see. Not without Him. On our own, we run into the dark, wanting to be engulfed, entirely. Imagining everything might just go. Away. The pain, the hurt, the constant disappointment, the mistakes, the failures, and every reminder that we will never get it right. This feeling, this awful, awful ache. We desperately want an escape. We'd give anything. Anything. But, HE already did. Everything. For you, for me. "...before I was born...before a single day had passed" (vs. 16). He knew the darkness would consume us, that we may even hope that it would. Yet, without the light, the darkness becomes death. He knew our deep, deep need for Light. We can't do it without Him. When we do, the darkness stays dark. There is no light to see...the beauty that comes as the darkness fades.
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to You." (Psalm 139:12)
I remember being on my knees in the prayer room as I read the passage. Face to the floor. It was our annual staff conference. Reading Psalm 139, which I had clung to much over the four years of being in full time ministry. I'd embraced this one, again and again, and shared it enthusiastically with many in that time, hoping to hit the point...home. Hammering it in, and still, barely aware. O' it takes a while for the truth to sink deep, deep into the dark places. In this moment, all I wanted was for the darkness to absorb me. Disappear. Quietly. Into nothing. Letting it all go. Though, it wasn't possible. The Lord, He doesn't stop there. No, the word continues, and reading further, I saw. He will be there, too. He won't go away, nor leave you alone, not ever. Still, while the darkness is light to Him, we cannot see. Not without Him. On our own, we run into the dark, wanting to be engulfed, entirely. Imagining everything might just go. Away. The pain, the hurt, the constant disappointment, the mistakes, the failures, and every reminder that we will never get it right. This feeling, this awful, awful ache. We desperately want an escape. We'd give anything. Anything. But, HE already did. Everything. For you, for me. "...before I was born...before a single day had passed" (vs. 16). He knew the darkness would consume us, that we may even hope that it would. Yet, without the light, the darkness becomes death. He knew our deep, deep need for Light. We can't do it without Him. When we do, the darkness stays dark. There is no light to see...the beauty that comes as the darkness fades.
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