Free

yada Yehovah Elohim, Elohim aman El shamar berith chesed eleph dor aheb shamar mitzvah

Know therefore that the LORD your God,
He is God,
the faithful God,
who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation
with those who love Him
and keep His commandments
Deut 7:9

yada, know
shamar, faithful
chesed, lovingkindness

There is absolutely nothing more precious to me . . . more profoundly comforting, encouraging, and life-giving . . . than knowing the faithful lovingkindness of the Lord my God.

The ebb and flow of life’s many seasons, the unexpected intrusions of life’s tragedies, and the often relentless persistence of life’s challenges and difficulties can turn my personal creeds completely on their head. The crafted beliefs I hold dear can be entirely washed away by a flood of events that I neither understand nor feel truly equipped to handle. It is completely possible to leave me intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually stranded on the roadside of life, broken and confused, wondering if I have ever really gotten anything “right.”

But there is something utterly transcendent about the faithful lovingkindness of the Lord. He can reach me anywhere. He can touch me from any perspective. His kindness is so amazing that even the crass, vindictive, demanding, circumstances and people who feel obliged to demean me so that they can exalt themselves become swallowed up in a sea of hope and peace when I rest in His unchanging love.

That’s why the themes of quietness and stillness and rest are so prevalent in my writings. It is the hushed, secret places of the heart and soul, when both external joys and external sorrows have been shushed for a bit, that I find the rich, deep fellowship with God that brings my life its sustaining faith.

I want my heart to be like the glassy surface of a still, quiet pond . . . where the slightest breath of God’s Holy Spirit sends spreading waves of faith to every bend and slope of its uneven shoreline . . . where every raindrop of God’s Holy Word plops concentric ripples of life-giving Truth and Hope.

Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances at all, but on your relationship to God Himself. – Oswald Chambers

On this July 4th Independence Day weekend, Kirkhaven, once again, celebrates freedom. The nourishing fellowship of family, old friends, and new relationships . . . the sound of children splashing and playing in the pool . . . burgers and brats on the grill . . . fireworks in the clear, starry sky . . . contemplation and simple joy at the summer sounds of nighttime frogs and crickets and cicadas. I relish it all. I am so very blessed to be given such bounty.

For now, however, I will head down to our soon-to-be-finished bass pond, in this momentary lull, to sit with the Lord a bit. I’ll toss a few pebbles into the water that has begun to collect below the shadiest shoreline. I may pick a few more blackberries for the jam I plan to make tomorrow. I’ll chat with the Lord a little about my recent thoughts and questions.

But mostly I will listen.
And quiet my soul.

I will rejoice because I know that the Lord my God is a faithful God.
I will rest because of His unfailing lovingkindness.

yada Yehovah Elohim, Elohim aman El shamar berith chesed eleph dor aheb shamar mitzvah

Know therefore that the LORD your God,
He is God,
the faithful God,
who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation
with those who love Him
and keep His commandments
Deut 7:9

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me . . . I am the way, and the truth, and the life . . .”
John 14:1,6

So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36

Free indeed.
How amazing is that?
Happy Independence Day!