Last week I got a call from someone who told me that they had tested positive for the dreaded virus.  It got me thinking, what if I was the one tasked with cleaning their home, car, or work area?  What would that look like?  How would I approach it and what would I do to keep myself safe?  I would like to ask you the same questions: Today, if you had to fight the Coronavirus head on what would you don before entering the skirmish?  A hazmat suit?  Gloves, a mask, clothes you could burn?  What would you take with you into that battle?  Lysol, heavy duty disinfectant, a blowtorch (not suggesting by the way)?  What would be your protection when you entered that room?

I know what I would take into that fight.  I would don coveralls, my purple disposable gloves, the most lethal disinfectant I could find, rubber boots, a mask, and last but not least goggles.  Oh, and I almost forgot, ear protection.  Overkill?  That depends on who you ask.  How about in your daily walk?  Do you walk into work, do your shopping, drop off the kids, and run errands donned with the correct battle gear?   

So many of us face our every day battles unprepared and without any armor or protection whatsoever.  Many of us have found ourselves at one time or another going through life in our own strength and on our own terms which leaves us exhausted and defeated.  We were never meant to do life this way.  We were never meant to do life alone, unprepared, or in our own strength.  We were made to be in a relationship with our creator, made to gather our strength from the source of all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.  We are called to clothe ourselves in God’s righteousness.

How do we do this?  Just like any other relationship, we must nourish the one we have with God.  We must prioritize it and spend quality alone time with Him.  When you’re thirsty you get a drink, if you’re hungry you look for food.  When you’re tired you seek rest.  But how often do we seek rest for our souls, for our spiritual wellbeing?  How often do we drink from the well of life, sit at the feet of all wisdom, or prepare ourselves for the ups and downs of everyday life by going to the very source of life itself?  

If we don’t go to the source Himself, we will go through our days unprepared for what we must face.  We need rest.

–Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of your who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you.  Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29 NLT

We must have food and water.  

-Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.  Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35 NLT)

-“But whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty again!  On the contrary, the water I give him will become a spring of water inside him, welling up into eternal life!” (John 4:14 CLB)

We must know who we are.

-“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.  When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.  For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:1a-3a NLT)  See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.  And that is what we are.  (1 John 3:1a NKJV)

We must have a source of strength.

-“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 NIV)  

We must be equipped with the right gear for the fight.

-Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.  Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.  Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.  For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.  In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.  Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.  Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. (Ephesians 6:13-18 NLT)  

Are you equipped for the battle ahead?  Are you plugged into the right source and wearing the right attire?

I love when God uses my kids to teach me things.  It always amazes me what I can learn through the lives of my children and our relationships with one another.

Last week when I packed my car at the very last minute and drove ten hours because I finally had the opportunity to see my boy, I thought I was doing it for him but I was really doing it for myself.  I had to see him with my own eyes to assure myself he was okay.  I needed to feed him and stock his barracks room to ensure that he was well fed.  I brought him clothing, other essentials I knew he was missing, and spent half a day tracking down a charging cord for the computer I was finally being allowed to deliver.  I did all of this because I love my boy, but also because it’s a need inside of a mother to nurture and take care of her offspring.  

While preparing to see him, I was thinking in terms of meeting physical and emotional needs, but what blew my mind and rejuvenated my spirit was how much my presence meant to that boy.  He didn’t really want my food though he did enjoy it.  He didn’t care about the bag of clothing or other things I brought though he did appreciate receiving them.  What he wanted was my presence.  He wanted time spent with me.  

As day two wound down and we still weren’t cleared to go past the smoking pit which was right next to his building, my son started to apologize for not being able to take me anywhere or being able to do anything except hangout.  He thought that I cared about bowling and all of the other plans we had quickly thrown together.  Those things while fun weren’t important to me, time with my boy was.   This is when it hit me.  

God had given me two days of literally soaking in my son’s presence.  There weren’t any distractions of having to go anywhere or see anyone.  It was just us.  That time together rejuvenated me mostly because my boy wanted to spend time with me.  He wanted to share his life with me, wanted to hear my thoughts, desired my input, and was so happy that I was spending my time with him.  I delighted in the fact that he wanted me there.

Have you ever contemplated the fact that God delights in our presence?  Have you considered that He’s overjoyed when you come to Him to share your day, ask for His direction, or just soak Him in?  God doesn’t just want our talents and resources.  He wants time with us.  He desires to have an intimate relationship with each and everyone of us.  Our time and our desire to spend that time with Him is a gift that He rejoices in, one that brings Him great pleasure.

God used this long overdue visit with my son to reveal to me how much He loves to spend time with His children.  When we come to God we are blessed by His presence, joy, direction, provision, love, grace…and so much more.  At times we’re overjoyed that He even lets us approach His throne and that He doesn’t hide His face from us.  But we seem to forget that God delights in us too.  He desires time spent with us.  He longs to share in our lives just like a loving parent longs to be a part of their kid’s lives. 

‘For the Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty Savior.  He will take delight in you with gladness.  With His love, He will calm all your fears.  He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.’  Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

‘Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!  I John 3:1 (NKJV)

Nothing can make you feel as helpless as the desire to help, but the inability to do so.

~This year God has called me away from the tangible ability of problem solving service to the front lines of prayer.  He has asked me time and time again, to surrender my natural fix-it woman desire and instead go to Him through prayer.

~Surrendering my problem solving capabilities wasn’t too hard, that is until it involved my own children.  It was okay when God asked me to pray for my son even though we hadn’t received any correspondence and my mommy senses knew something was wrong.  (It was he had pneumonia).  But I surrendered in prayer because I at least knew where he was.

~It was okay (sort of) when God again prompted me to hit my knees in prayer because the start of the pandemic was going to keep us from attending our oldest son’s graduation.  The graduation that he had worked so hard for and the worst part was that we weren’t even able to warn him before hand.  

~But as time went on it got harder and harder.  Not only were we not allowed to see our boy, but we were unable to communicate, and even unaware of his location.  The only thing my husband & I knew for sure (besides that our son’s phone was broken) was that he couldn’t stand one more minute of being sequestered away, not even for his own safety.  Our son needed daily purposeful interactions in order to thrive, to have hope.  He needed life to go on, a routine to look forward to.  Being locked away from the outside world was killing him.

~For me not being able to offer help was one thing, but not being able to hear my son’s voice so that I could gauge how he was doing was another.  This absolutely broke my mama heart.  I didn’t want to pray aloud about this.  I wanted to fix it.  I didn’t want to hit my knees in prayer.  I wanted to storm the castle walls that were preventing me from having access to my boy.

~But and I mean BUT God was calling me into a new kind of prayer life, a new kind of surrender.  I could fight Him on this and do absolutely nothing or I could do something that might not change the situation, but would at least change me.  So I began by pouting out loud, (yes, I had a Jonah moment).  “God, I want to see my boy, to hear his voice, to fix this.  I don’t want my only option to be to come to you in prayer.”  

~OUCH!  As soon as those words exited my mouth, I wanted to recall them.  Talk about instant attitude change, those words caught my attention and my prayer immediately changed.  “God, I don’t really want my will in this, no matter how much I believe that I do.  I want your will for my son.  I want you to have your way in my son’s life, in my life, in this world.”

~And just like that I realized that I had once again taken ownership of a problem that God wanted to be Lord of.  So, I unfisted my hands and laid my son, his well being, and our relationship before the Lord in prayer.  

~I ran to my refuge, my fortress, my Hightower so thankful that He wouldn’t regard me in anger, but would welcome me into His presence.  

~Where Does Your Help Come From?

While I write this, I’m once again sitting at the River Walk because it is one of the places that I go to hide in God.  One of the places I find refuge and solitude.  A place where I can throw off all that distracts me and abandon everything to the King of the Universe.  Today I’m almost completely hidden from the world, surrounded by greenery and watching as the sleepy waters slowly trickle by.  But I’m not hidden from God, in fact I know that He is right here with me.  He’s holding me as tears of helplessness roll down my cheeks.  I’m wrapped in His loving arms and presence as I worship Him in my heartache.  He’s giving me strength and building me up for what is to come as I surrender the problem that weighs so heavy on my heart over to Him.  Today I am so thankful for my Father’s Love.  So thankful that nothing is impossible for Him even when it’s impossible for me.

What impossibility are you facing today?  What mountain do you want moved?  Have you turned it over to the King of the Universe?  Have you released it to God in prayer?