Without Words

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. 

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Romans 8:26

Yesterday was a day when I was desperate to hear from God, desperate for direction, desperate for just a word to bring clarity to this head that gets so consumed with chaos. 

I went to the last place that I had so clearly heard from God and waited in anxious anticipation to hear from Him again---one mile, two miles, three miles, four miles.....just my beating heart and silence. 

I cried out---God, I really need you..where are you?  

Romans 8:26 washed over me---"the Spirit himself intercede for us through wordless groans."

I felt like God did speak to me--just a simple sentence....."Sometimes there is more power in silence."

Sometimes out of desperation we begin to cry prayers of fear, prayers of worry, prayers of weariness and God simply says, "Quiet my Child." We get scared of the silence, we get uncomfortable with the distance and yet God is separating the noise from our heads and our hearts and listening to the Spirit to hear the true cry of our soul.  

When I don't have the words to describe all that I feel, when I don't know how to perfectly articulate my heart to God, when all I can do is just move forward with a heavy heart and a wordless groan--- it is then that the Spirit can meet me where I am, take my heart and bring me before the Father.  

Giving up control and embracing the quiet in order for the Spirit to work on our behalf is sometimes our greatest battle of faith.

There will be days when God may seem silent, there will be times when there are no words to articulate our greatest need, there will be moments of weakness and weariness--BUT TAKE HEART--the Spirit is interceding for you.

You don't have to fight every battle, you don't have to carry every emotion, you don't have to hold every word------God meets you in the silence and He whispers over your heart, "be still and know that I am God."

In the silence my spirit screams out

a melody of words that can't be heard.

In the silence my soul finds rest,

The silence is where my greatest battles are won.

It is in the silence that my heart begins to overcome

The Silence is where true worship is sung.

With every groan in my heart

With every cry of my lungs

My lips will remain still

but my soul will sing out.

May my greatest melody be the words that are never heard

May my sweetest song be only for your ears

May my silence be a sacrifice to You

May my worship be without words.

To Encounter God...

To Encounter God.

The word encounter means to "be faced with." 

To be faced with God.

Exodus 33:11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.
Exodus 33: 17-23 And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”  

Do we believe that the God of Moses is the same God who created us?  

Do we believe that God encounters His people today? 

I think so often we don't truly wrap our brains around what God did in sending His son to this Earth to die for our sins.  

God sent His only Son to this Earth, not just to destroy Sin--- but to establish relationship, to be able to encounter His children.

It overwhelms and saddens me to know that so many Christians are living and believing that they can not encounter God. 
They live their lives in devout religion but never experience relationship with God.  
They respect God as creator and judge but they can not accept God as friend and lover. 
They spend their entire lives trying to tackle sin and pursue perfection just to try and please God.

You were created to be a lover of God's presence.
The barrier of sin was destroyed so that we could live in the presence of God's glory.
God knows Your Name...
God longs to meet you face to face...
God longs to encounter you.

Get lost in God's presence, allow His glory to overwhelm you--to consume you.

Be a Lover of His Presence. Ask God to Show You His Glory.

Beyond the Borders...

Have you ever driven through the plains of Kansas?
Wide open fields for as far as the eye can see.
There is just something refreshing, something that makes you take in that deep breath and just feel free.  You can see a storm coming in from a mile away because the land and the sky are not separated by anything---
just an ocean of green grass that moves with the wind.
I just imagine myself walking through these fields, just taking my time, moving my hand over the corn and grass and just thinking, praying, escaping from all the borders of this life.

Have you ever seen the cattle in Kansas though-- all huddled together, no personal space what so-ever, all crowded together in the very corner of the fence line?  They have hundreds and hundreds of acres and yet as you drive by on the highway they have found the border and have found their safety and their rest in those limits.

This just made me laugh and think that we as humans aren't so different from the cattle. We cry out to God for freedom, we cry out to God for peace, we become desperate for rest and renewal and God answers our prayer by putting us in a season of escape, a season of renewal, a season of quiet.  How often though when He answers our cry and gives us the vast openness of renewal do we immediately go and look for the border?  How often do we search out to find where other civilization might be?  How often do we find ourselves setting up our safety in the very corner of the field, huddled around others, and falling back into the same routine?

What would it be like to have a faith that is without borders?
What would it be like to have a trust that is dependent on God alone?
What would it be like to allow the Spirit to lead us beyond the safety of what we know?

We cry out to God for what we need and when God provides we allow our fear to draw us back to our  same routine.  We have found comfort in our pain, in our busyness, in our weariness. Why is it so easy to find comfort and safety in affliction?  Why have we made our homes here?

Oh God---break the borders and the boundaries of our Heart.

Take our hands and lead us into your will and into your wonder.

Break these chains of fear and of distrust---
May we embrace your hand and your freedom.

Lead us oh God into fields of righteousness and renewal--Set our hearts for adventure.

Break these borders and lead us into your freedom--build our faith that we may walk confidently all the days of our lives in your fields of amazing grace.