Oh how we so badly need rain here! As I drove home today from running errands and I glanced up where I would normally see mountains and saw nothing but a gloomy sky, it made me so sad. Those in our family with asthma are REALLY needing some rain to come and clean out our air! And our land here needs it even more!
Then as I laid Kaylee down for her nap and got my Bible out to sit with Jesus (my favorite time of the day!), I put my praise music on and the song My Soul Longs For You by Jesus Culture came on.
And I began to pray for RAIN...both actual rain (even though it's not in the forecast- He can do ALL things!) and SPIRITUAL RAIN!
As desperate for rain as our land it, our souls are even more desperate for JESUS! Sometimes I don't even realize how desperate for Him I am until I sit with Him, with my heart fully yielding to Him and my eyes fully fixed on Him.
As He fills me I then realize how very empty I was. So much of the time I "get through" my days on empty....when all along He is right here, waiting to FILL me to overflowing with His Spirit!
He is FAITHFUL! Every time I feel weary and go to Him He fills me....every single time!
The other night as Brodie and I left our house for our weekly date night (which we hadn't had for a couple of weeks due to the holidays), we were both on empty and had nothing left in us. We each grabbed our Bibles as we headed out the door - each knowing we were just at that point of being at the end of our ropes.
There have been many times in this journey over the last 10 months with Kaylee Grace that we have hit this point - just feeling like we have nothing left to give, feeling like we are ready to start sleeping again and ready to not have to work so hard for every little thing with her (which we know is actually a GIFT to us...it is the grace of our Lord stripping us of our selfish ways --- and oh how thankful we are that He loves us enough to refine us in Him and make us more like Him and less like our old selves!) But in the moment of it all, we just felt completely wiped out.
So before we went to dinner we prayed. We had a nice dinner and grabbed a warm tea (for me cause it was cold out :) and went and prayed and read our Bibles for a good hour together.
We come back home COMPLETELY filled by Him and ready to pour back out! Even though we each start our days with Him in His Word, try hard all day to keep our eyes on Him and end our days praying together, there are times and seasons where that is just not enough....and all along He waits saying, "Here I am! All you have to do is come to Me and I will fill you! I am more than enough for all I have called you to!!!"
Jesus' words to us in Matthew are the best reminder:
Matthew 11:28-30
The Message (MSG) Bible Gateway.com
28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
And Jesus' words regarding how He strips us and removes the parts in our lives that aren't of Him:
The Vine and the Branches
John 15
New International Version (NIV) Bible Gateway.com
15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit,while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
So, Lord, we ask that You let it rain! Rain both literally on our dry land and spiritually in our dry souls!
You are Faithful! We know that when we come to You, You will pour out so much of Your Spirit that we will overflow with You and Your love...so we thank You now in advance for how You will fill us. Let us be faithful to You as well; faithful to come to You first, come to You often and fill ourselves up by sitting in your Word! In Jesus' Name we ask these things, Amen
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and journey. It encouraged my heart! :)
ReplyDeleteCarole Alfheim
Praise Jesus! What a blessing to read your blog and be reminded of how much I need More of Jesus and Less of me. Thank you for sharing what God is doing in your life! Like Carole said it is such an encouragement.
ReplyDeleteKristi xoxo