Pearls & Perils; life on a jungle trail

At the beginning of the summer I asked God for one (of many) thing; that I would experience a Spiritual Awakening in my personal life. I don’t know why but for some reason I am always amazed when I get what I ask for… It’s incredible!
Back to my Awakening, am I suddenly, one month into the summer, a Super Christian? No, most definitely not. But I am beginning to experience a change; it feels like a cool Northern wind is blowing through me. It’s refreshing, sometimes chilling & I get the occasion goosebumps. This Divine wind has began to blow away the junk and garbage that clutter up my relationship with Jesus. This Wind changes mind-sets, shifts relationships and alters spiritual landscapes. During this time of spiritual change I’ve had to learn to trust my Star-Breather, lean on Him and let Him carry me. You see, " the way is an experience…"*
This spiritual journey can’t be smooth bricked garden path. How boring! What would be the challenge in that? There would be nothing to learn or experience. No, the way that I travel is a wild jungle trail. One minute I bask in a tropical sunset, then in the next I’m in a constricting battle. It’s the way that adds character & beauty to my life. It’s a Life-altering Experience.
And who better to have with me than Jesus Christ, my own personal Tarzan. He rescues this clumsy, stubborn Jane, from ferocious self- doubt and constricting fears & failures. He swings into my Life with a rush. He delivers me from pain and hurt. He does these things simply because HE loves me…He adores me!
As the song says, " He is jealous for me. His love is a hurricane and I am a tree. Bending beneath the weight of His Glory."**
He loves me in my pitiful, needy, complaining state. Simply, powerfully , relentlessly, and jealously. Because He knows that one day this Jane will arrive at the end of her epic jungle tale & she will become the eternal Bride of Tarzan. And that is why, Tarzan is so very patient with His willful Jane. He sees the End of the Trail and knows Jane's outcome. And so… He waits.
And that Divine Wind blows Jane’s hair away from her face and she keeps walking down that gorgeous Trail full of unknown perils and pearls.

*Leonard Sweet- SoulTsunami
**Kim Walker- How he Loves lyrics

Atomic Displays of Christ

John 9:1-7
" Neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in his life." Then Jesus healed blind man…

Question: Are the works of God being displayed in our Life?

The blind man didn’t sin or somehow cause his blindness. His blindness was due to some previous error on his part. He was blind from birth. He lived with this defect/problem for years without release. Then one day his ailment was healed in a miraculous event that not only opened his eyes, but the eyes of many. His healing had an atomic effect on those around him. His life was a display of Christ’s mighty redemption. He, in a divine moment, became an example of the Savior’s power, A work of God. Imagine his story after that moment. Those around him knew his story and that there was no way that his story would have a " happily everafter" ending. Then in a radical event, they witnessed a complete 180 turn. They were changed by simply witnessing the active display of his Life Change. How incredible! Are the works of God being displayed in mine and your Life? Are people changed by seeing our Life Change? Are you a living, breathing display of Christ? Think on it.

Echoing

There is no one else for me. None but Jesus. Crucified to set me free. And now I live to bring Him praise.*

God, this is my heart’s cry. There is no one for but YOU. In YOU, I find completeness. I’m whole, fulfilled in You. I pray that my life echoes you. That you are amplified in me. Let me be an Echo of YOU. A continuous resonation of YOU and YOUR Sovereignty.

*None But Jesus- Hillsong lyrics

Rocky Road at the Right Time

Ps. 145:15-17

" All living things look to You for food and You give it to them at the right time . You open you hand and You satisfy all living thing. Everything the Lord does is right. He is loyal to all He has made."

When I was kid I loved ice cream. I would ask my parents all the time for Yarnell’s rocky road ice cream. But you know what, I didn’t get it all the time. There were occasions when Mom or Dad would give in to my desperate begging but there were other times when they knew I didn’t need that bowl of yummy goodness. For my greater health they said no. My parents knew that I didn’t need ice cream all the time. They knew that it was temporary filler & that eventually I would need something else more sustaining. Also they knew that my body & my mind did not need temporary stuffing, I needed sustenance, things that would benefit me in the long run. They saw the whole picture.

God is like that. God gives us what we need, when we need it. There are times when we pray & think that God should give us that relationship or that certain job but He is God. He sees the future. He painted my future so He has my best interests at heart. There will be times when like a parent He gently spoils us and then He says, "No more. You’ve had enough." And like the child that I am, I do throw fits. I spiritually stamp my foot and back talk Him as if He doesn’t know what He’s doing…. I know that I’m alone in spiritual tantrums, right?

In Ps. 145:15, we find out that God gives us our nourishment, just the things we need to survive in this crazy world. Our desperate begging and pleading sometimes works and He caves, He satisfies us. But the key is "at the right time." At the RIGHT time he gives us our daily bread. You see, He knows the difference between daily bread & cravings. That’s why we have to trust completely in Him. What creator would purposely harm or deprive his creation? He wouldn’t. HE knows what is right and everything HE does is right.