Kristen is letting me blog again. So here it goes...
Psalm 121 encourages us to lift up our eyes to the hills and to see where our help comes from. We have mountains surrounding us here in the valley that we currently live in. I took a picture yesterday, and this is what it looked like:
The mountains were all but covered up with thick darkness. And that's how we've felt. And when we've focused so far down in our sadness and in our struggle, and we can't see a way out in the moment, we often don't want to, or feel like we can't see God in that struggle. I was thinking about that yesterday after I took this picture, and it reminded me of a mountain that Moses climbed once.
In Exodus 19 Mount Sinai is described as being covered with 'thunder and lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain...wrapped in smoke and trembling greatly'. But that's exactly where Moses met God, and where God even showed himself to Moses after placing him in the cleft of the rock. Moses was there in the thick darkness with God for 80 days when it was all said and done.
It gives me hope to know that it's often in times (sometimes long times) of thick darkness that God is powerfully at work. In other times in our lives, it's been the thick cloud of darkness that has caused us to see our need of him. We've been able to see who we really are, and in time, he's shown us more of himself. God has promised us that the darkness doesn't last forever. His mercies are new every morning.
The cloud doesn't appear to have completely passed, but we are hanging on to the promises of God and the beacon of his goodness to us brightly shining in the brilliant display of his love for us in Jesus. Praise God that there is great hope to be found in the darkness.
Some pictures from this morning:
We will be praying for you guys. It is difficult but your passage Psalms 121 is my favorite for just that reason that all we need to do is "look up and be reminded of where our help comes from."
ReplyDeleteThanks so very much for the vulnerability of letting the rest of us know what it looks like to really see you today. It means a great deal to us.
ReplyDeleteWe remain confident of Him in you...and so are not worried today, Nathan. But how good these words are for us to hear...both so we can join you in the fight and to wash over our own souls as truth. Joy truly does come with the morning light...and truly sometimes the morning tarries. We trust Him...we trust Him with you...we trust Him to tell you how very much we love you. Standing firm with you, Kim
Amen, Amen, Amen!
ReplyDeleteLove you guys!
When life is good (seemingly) and there is no crisis, we do not feel our need for him and can temporarily rely on ourselves. It is when we travel the valleys that we find he is there, we are finally weak (even in our own eyes), and our goal of emptying self is actually seeing progress. He is our rock and our fortress.
ReplyDelete