by
Kathleen Shore
Isaiah 66:2
My hand made them; that is how they came to be, says the Lord. I show special favor on the humble and contrite, who respect what I have to say.
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I was taken by God’s presence as I turned the corner of the next aisle in Hobby Lobby, to see a woman in a wheelchair waiting patiently for her caregiver to find what she needed to purchase.
That very morning, I had prayed and asked Father to please keep His fire ablaze in me…that it would not be quenched by any selfish ambition within His call on my life. And there He was…answering me with His “Way.”
For a moment, I could not move forward. I felt Father’s hand holding me back until I knew what He wanted to say. In awe of my Lord, I quietly watched and silently cried out. “Lord, what would You have me to do? Whatever You ask, I will do it!” And so graciously, God revealed His thoughts that were not my thoughts, with the power of His love poured out.
“I want you to tell her how beautiful she is to Me,” He declared to my spirit. Thinking surely God will give me more to say the moment I open my mouth, I moved in with what I knew to do.
As I approached to get permission to speak to the woman in the wheelchair, I observed her condition. Her eyes were dark and sunken…her arms drawn up tight at her chest…yet the word of the Lord had begun to well up in my belly and I saw the beauty God had spoken of her.
The caregiver was a bit disconnected, but kindly welcomed me in my request to speak to her. Not sure if His daughter could hear, see, or speak, I was hard after The Shepherd’s every move in communicating. As I stepped in front of her, Father said, “Get down on your knees…” and as I did, it not only brought me face to face with her, but my posture brought me to the powerful entrance of all I wanted to be for my Lord…a humble servant.
Without thought, I began to use sign language as I spoke the one thing I knew to say, “God made you so beautiful.” Immediately she responded with exuberance, bouncing her back against her seat, with her face turned upward, making grunting sounds with her mouth wide open… “Keep going,” I heard Father whisper. And so, I did. Now aware that she could see and or hear me, I continued on sharing about His love and want of her. She was simply ignited. And in the middle of our joyful conversation I realized, she was not responding to me…she was responding to Him.
Then, as suddenly as I had come upon them, the caregiver needed to go and I abruptly found myself in an empty aisle. Standing very still, I purposed to not presume to know the totality of what had just taken place, because I fully expected Father was not done with me. And gently, His voice came… “Did you see the way she lit up about Me…”
I was so in awe of the love in His voice for her and His pleasure in her response to Him, I could hardly reply. “Yes,” I whispered, “I saw it.” And as always, God caused me to run after Him like never before with His last words, “Know this…she will be first in my kingdom.”
~
For days following, I felt like I couldn’t get up off the throne room floor. I had been so altered by what God wanted me to know of His pleasure fulfilled. All I could think about was how I wanted to be first in His kingdom and that I wanted no earthly gain to steal that desire from me…not even the gain of what I knew God could do, but hadn’t done yet because His will was being made complete.
Who had been there for whom, in Hobby Lobby that day? All I knew was that I was running behind a woman in a wheelchair that no one on this earth would ever say she would be first at anything. And I, just wanted what she had of God’s pleasure.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
Surrender and trust to the will of our Lord amidst earthly suffering is like passing through a narrow gate covered in thorns, that becomes a grand kingdom doorway the moment we step over the threshold and fellowship with Him in it. For we are children of God…fellow heirs with Christ Jesus, if indeed we suffer with him…so that we may also be glorified with him (Romans 8:17). And each of us are being called, with trumpet sound, to ride upon the chariots of suffering as an escort to higher heights and deeper depths in Him if we would only live with renewed minds to this reality.
From the seed of His word dropped in perfect furrows of the heart, plowed by the “Way” of the cross, The Master is restoring His garden. We may feel great affirmation in new revelation gained the moment God opens our understanding to fresh manna in His word. But it is when we die to “self” through earthly sufferings that His character and likeness sprouts from that seed and becomes who we are, not just what we say we believe.
And so we can take joy in the midst of suffering, not wavering or ship wrecked by pain that has seared our hearts, because we know and believe – it is achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs all trials (2 Corinthians 4:17).
We who have taken hold of the hope (which is Jesus) offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope (Jesus) as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters (and leads us into) the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf (Hebrews 6:19-20).
Jesus, our Great High Priest, has gone ahead of us by the way of the cross. And having entered the Most Holy Place behind the veil, He calls for us to come to Him there. Our suffering joins us with him. Humbled, we become joint heirs with Christ and are welcomed into His love that, like a soothing river, brings us into more resurrection life than we had ever thought possible.
Let us be alert in knowing that our circumstances do not have the power to keep us from Him. It is only what is anti-Christ within our “self” that can keep us from Him.
Through the past six years of dying to self through the many scars of MS, I have found my Lord’s look of pleasure as I humbly lay my head down upon His chest. And there, His voice both holds me and thunders through the depths of me, even echoing to His bride around the globe saying… “Your joy in surrender to Me and My perfect timing in response to your suffering, tells Me that you trust Me; that you not only believe what I accomplished on the cross was enough, complete and done, but your surrender worships Me for it! You live in the joy of that belief instead of having another want… even another Godly want that is permissible. You don’t desire an earthly gain over being with Me in My presence. You keep your eyes fixed on Me as I steady you with My love and nothing of your suffering takes you away from Me. This, my little one, brings me the greatest pleasure. In this you say to Me, “How could I be ‘in need’ if I am living in the fullness of your presence?” For it is not your circumstances that cause you to be in need, but living outside of my presence that causes you to be in need.”
Prayer:
Father, I am humbled and broken before you. In this place I see your son so clearly – The Lamb, who chose to come in such humility…for me. And you set the signet ring of your pleasure down upon him in the form of a dove. Lord, I give You my whole heart to take joy in all that you bring to me today. You have done more than enough to fully convince me that you are so good, and even still, you won’t stop showing me! Your way, that is higher than mine, is so perfect! And your love is what I was made for. So I surrender all of my “self” to you… and trust you completely. Amen
Andrew Murray (b 1828) wrote:
“Wait on God till you know you have met with Him.”
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