“And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations.”
-Ezekiel 36:23-30 NKJV
I don’t know about you, but the rising prices can make one weary. Gas. Interest rates. Food. This is just to name a few. They’re all things we can’t really live without, so we grin and bear it. So many people live on fixed incomes and can’t really adjust their accounts with these fluctuating changes. That doesn’t seem fair. But, as I was listening to this passage, it just kept saying I will, I will, I will. I will take care of you. It felt like vows to me from a covenant of old. God says He will:
-remove us (protection)
-clean us (no dirty feelings will remain within us)
-give us a new heart and spirit (this is an upgrade, y’all)
-cause us to walk in His statutes through His spirit (a desire to act rightly)
-cause us to dwell (belonging)
-bring grain and multiply it (favor)
-not let famine find us (scarcity is gone, for the future of abundance has begun)
I have found that to live a life of freedom means to walk counter culture. For, when my mind says hold, my heart says let go. When my mind says, this isn’t fair, my heart says let it go with a flare. When my mind says, this is an injustice, my heart says pray through the ruckus. When my mind says nobody really loves you, my heart says I do, I do. When my mind says, the world is not feeling safe and I must take control, my heart says call to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. He is the man to hold this weight. When my mind says, this is too much and I can’t take it, for enough is enough, my heart says, daughter, why are you weary? Did you decide to hold onto this burden to long again? I lower my head and say, yes I did. I did it again, I carried that thing until it was almost dead and buried. I’m sorry 😫.
When you meditate on anything, overtime it starts to become a part of your being and heart. This can be a blessing or a curse. So many words through books, music, movies, art, or the news can speak death all over us, and eventually it gets inside of us. We don’t want it to, but yet it does. The choice is yours. How many times when you were sad did you play a sad song while working through your emotional woes? If you are not in a good mood, do you like to play peppy music? I know at times I didn’t. This is an example of choice. Well, that sad song isn’t going to lift us out of our misery. Yet, we actually didn’t want it to. We wanted to sit in our misery just a little longer. So many songs were birthed out of the sad emotion alone. Anyway, you get my point.
Back to counter culture. When we feel a dip, we have to find the resources that gives us back our lift. For me, it’s been Jesus. He in His omnipresent state can find my heart and mind in any state and give me a line that lifts every-time. I hope you liked that rhyme. 😀 He is the giver and true resource and source of life giving things. My mind is taken to a passage about the king who owns everything. So, I will end with this. I think it ties up this blog beautifully.
The Mighty One, God the Lord, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people: “Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” Let the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is Judge. Selah
“Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices Or your burnt offerings, Which are continually before Me. I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth, Seeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you? When you saw a thief, you consented with him, And have been a partaker with adulterers. You give your mouth to evil, And your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes. “Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver: Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”
-Psalms 50:1-23 NKJV.
All these things mentioned above could be happening to you, but at the end of the day, “to him who orders his conduct aright, I will…” Again, back to the choice.
Well, this passage might be a little touch and go as you go through it, but it ends with praise. “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me.” It’s my testimony. May it be yours.
Until next time,
Stay Tender
Connect to the Mender
Be a Sender