God Shows Up

^“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3 (NIV)

God shows up.  He really does.  He shows you what He can do.  That is what I am continuing to experience this month.  I hope that you are experiencing God showing up in your life as well.

            When people are disrespectful to you, God shows up, and puts a hand over your mouth to not respond snarky to the person.  He sends a text or a phone call from a friend that is uplifting and helps you refocus to hear the truth when you are believing the lies.  God is a God of truth, and shows up.

            In the dark of night, when you are questioning what in the world is happening in your life.  He is the sense of peace.  When you are mad at where you are at, and feel stuck, He is the calm and the compass to direct you where you need to go. He will release you.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

            I am not saying that life will always be a ray of sunshine. Yet, the SON, will always shine on us.  He shows up. Even in the midst of the darkest day, God shows up. When we are in the fog, He is the lighthouse.

            The light house, that is something that I want to share a story about.  Christmas, two years ago, I was lost in the fog and needing direction of my personal life.  It was as if, I was in a lifeboat, and could not see which way to go.

            I prayed and read and journaled my journey in the fog.  One day, I received a gift from a friend.  It was a lighthouse.  I thought that I knew that it was the answer to my prayer.  So, I pursued the decision that I thought I should make.

            Cut to two years later, and having hit the rugged rocks of that shoreline, or decision, I should say.  What happened? “God, I thought you were leading me towards this decision?  Why did I crash into the rocks?  Why didn’t you warn me to go a different direction?” I ask God.

            It took a lot of soul searching, and God searching.  It took about seven months of every day asking why, and where to God. Honestly, there was time that I stopped asking, because my ears were closed to listen to the truth.

Then, in an unexpected way, God appeared to me through whisper.  “I did show up. In fact, there were three times that I tried to show you to choose a different course. I sent you the lighthouse ornament, and Acts 2:25-28, and the squirrel ornament.”

            “I thought that they were all leading towards the direction?” I answered.

            “That is the direction that YOU wanted to go, but I knew better.  I knew that you would be hurt. That is why I tried to warn you. Laura, a lighthouse is a warning of rocks and cliffs. The verse says that I will not lead you to hell, and the squirrel was meant to tell you that the direction that you were going was just a distraction, and not where I wanted you to go.  I am still with you, even unto the end of the world. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Let’s get you on the right course,” I hear God speak.

            It is a comfort to know that even when we mess up, or head the wrong direction, God is there.  He just turns us around and heads us in the right direction.  There isn’t anything that can make God stop loving us and wanting us to be in His presence.

            You may wonder what a squirrel has to do with a distraction. For those of you who have seen “UP” there is a dog, Dug, who is on the cartoon.  He is a talking dog, but that is not the point.  The point is, while he is talking, he always gets distracted, and yell, “Squirrel.”

            As I thought about it, God did appear.  Three times he showed up, and more. Three times, He tried to warn me that following the direction which I went would lead to crashing, and not where God wanted me to go. 

            God appears in the good, the bad, and the ugly.    

Dear Poppa God,

Thank you for appearing to us.  You are always with us.  When we seek you, we will find you, when we search for you with all of our hearts.  We are so grateful that you appear.  Thank you for leading us, and showing up.

In Jesus name, Amen.

            Laura Maxson

August Prayer Topic: Let Us Acknowledge the Lord

 ^“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3 (NIV)

This month the above verse is what we will be praying for.  What does reading this verse mean for your life.  More importantly, what does God want to show us this month through this verse?

            Sunday, I was driving home from a weekend away. As I was driving down the road, the air was filled with smoke from all the fires that are in our state.  There was a point where I could not see the sun.

I knew where it was supposed to be, but it was covered with a brown thick smoke cloud. Yet, I did not question that the sun was shining, it was just covered by the smoke.  The light was still shining, even through the smoke.

I know that come winter, the rain will come, and water the earth.  That black soil that was scorched because of the fire will start to regrow the green grass, and flowers.  Soon, the once blackened earth will be brand new and healthier than ever.

This verse to me, when I start this month means, that the Lord comes to us faithfully.  We never have to worry that the sun won’t rise, or that the earth will stop turning on it’s axis.  I also never have to worry that God is not with me.

Photo by John Lee on Unsplash

Maybe there are times that I don’t “see” Him because of all the smoke of worries that I have or problems that I am going through.  Yet, that doesn’t mean that He isn’t there.  He is there. He is shining through the smoke and the fire.

He will come to me like the refreshing winter rain.  When He comes to me like the winter rains, then my scorched heart will start to grow anew. He will water my parched soul.  I will grow greener, not literally, but I will have new growth in my life.

When I feel like no one is there, I will press on.  I will acknowledge that God is with me.  No fire or smoke of situations can completely darken out the sun.  God will shine through.

I am ready. Will you join me this month? Let us acknowledge God and see what He has been waiting to do in our lives.  I am ecstatic to see what God will do in my life, and those reading this post. Please feel free to share in the comment section of what God is doing in your life this month. I pray for each one of you. Thank you for being on this journey with us through prayer.

Dear Poppa God,

I pray for the Winter Rain to come upon each of us today. We are scorched by situations that we are in, or circumstances that we have created.  You have promised that you will faithfully be with us.  We need the rain.  We are parched. Some may be parched physically, or mentally, or emotionally. Some may be parched spiritually.  You know their stories, Lord. I pray that you quench our thirst as we look to you and acknowledge you. Forgive us when we doubt that You are with us. 

In Jesus name, Amen.

            Laura Maxson

Come, You Children, Listen to Me...

"The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them." Psalm 34:7

I remember learning this verse as a child. Often in church during children's story. In fact, I've even used it before. 

It was Girls' Club camp out, my freshmen year. A group of high school girls, a handful of parents, and both our deans. We headed into the the mountains of western Maryland. 

Even today I can picture our camp site. Surround by trees, up on a hill bordered by a creek down below and a road running around the other sides. 

Those were our boundaries. It was Saturday night, we had worship about  end time events and we were  going to "run to the hills" to play a version of hide-and-seek. 

Just imagine the flurry and confusion as a group of high school girls went running into the woods. As the small group I was with went running down towards the creek, we noticed the light of the campfire dim the further down the hill we went. That was when we realized no one in our group had a flash light. 

But because of the excitement and hide-and-seek adrenaline running through our bodies, we decided to continue on our course instead of heading back to the campsite to get one. We knew we were still with in our boundaries. We hadn't reach the creek yet, we could see the beams of other flashlights down below, we could hear nervous voices of other girls around us.

Then I heard it, "Stop." 

It was as audible as if it had been one of the my friends I was running to hide with. "I think we should stop, " I told the girls, unsure if I had made up the voice out of fear when you're playing hide-and-seek. We stopped, we all hunched down and waited. As we were waiting we watched down below small beams of light bobbing between the trees. We starting hearing the occasion scream followed by laughter as the dads found some of the girls hiding in the woods. 

One of the girls in our group said, "I think we too close, lets keep going." So we got up and started heading towards to creek, trusting our own instincts as we headed down. 

Then I heard it again, just as clearly as the first time, "Stop." 

Sheepishly I said, "I think this is far enough, we should stop." Again we stopped, hunched down, and waited. The voices and laughter of other being caught up the hill seemed to get closer. The flash lights down below starting turning off one by one as if they could sense the nearness of those looking for us. 

"I still think we're too close," said one of the girls in the group. Knowing we were still with in the boundaries we got up, and once again starting fumbling our way down the hill.

This time more clearly, more urgently I heard it, "Stop!" 

"I really think we should stop." So for a third time we stopped. This time hunkering down, we waited. The waiting, mixed with anticipation, a bit of fear and excitement seemed like forever.

Then we knew our wait would be much longer, we could hear and see other groups around us getting caught. The beam of light from one of the dads got brighter as he approached our group. 

He found us. The feeling of anticipation and fear in me was replaced by relief when he came to our group. Our questions and chatter mixed with nervous laughter from the running and hiding, "How many girls have you found? How long have we been out here? How much longer till the game is over?" 

As we were brushing ourselves off getting ready to head back with the one who had the light, there we one more questions. "Can you shine your light down the hill, so we can see how much further we have till the creek?"

As he changed direction of his light to point down the hill, that's when we saw it. No further than about 5 feet down the hill, a tangled line of barb wire stretched across our path, with a 3 foot drop off just beyond it. 

"The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,And delivers them." Psalm 34:7

There in the woods we stopped. He prayed and thanked God for watching over us.

As I think back on that story I praise the Lord that even in our ignorance He watches over us.  In our walk with Him, whether immature or deeply-rooted, He meets us where we're at and has so much more then we could even imagine in store for us.

The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Psalm 34:7-11

But am I ready to listen? Am I ready to obey? Do I have the fear of the Lord in me?

~kartini r. maxson