Delivered

I will bless ( I will speak good words of Him ) the Lord ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ) at all times; his praise shall continually ( I will actively ponder you always ) be in my mouth. 

My soul ( Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,  but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” ) makes its boast ( I will boast only of grace because of Christ Jesus )in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!

I sought ( Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ) the Lord, and he answered ( Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. ) me and delivered ( The Lord knows even the fears I have not discovered yet, and already He has rescued me ) me from all my fears ( Psalm 46: 1-3 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. ). 

Those who look to him are radiant ( I will never be silent of my love of God ), and their faces shall never be ashamed ( Philippians 1:20 [It is] my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ). 

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved ( Romans 10:13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ) him out of all his troubles ( When I remember my past, even amidst trial and pain, I can see that the Lord was working for His good, for His glory, for His pleasure, and because He loves me. ). 

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good ( I have tasted. I have seen. God is good. )! 

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him ( Who in all of the earth shall I fear? My Lord is for me )! 

Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek ( Proverbs 28: 5 Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.  ) the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, O children, listen ( Everyday I shall realign my steps with that of the Lord. ) to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord ( Psalm 86:11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. ). 

What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? 

Keep your tongue ( James 3:3-5 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ) from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away ( 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. ) from evil and do good; seek peace and ( Hebrews 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ) pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry ( When I call on His name He answers. There has never been a time when He has not responded to my cry. ). 

The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 

The Lord is near ( Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds. ) to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 

( 2 Timothy 3:12-15 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers ( Proverbs 20:22 Do not say, “I will repay evil” wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you. ) him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 

The Lord redeems ( Galations 4:4-7 [When] the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. ) the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned ( grace upon grace upon grace ).

Psalm 34

(if it is in brackets and is not referenced to scripture, it is my thought and/or prayer)

Resting

I've been spending a lot of time resting in God's arms lately. I've been in my car a bit more than usual lately, and my new job requires me to be in a file room a lot. Both of those places offer a place where the only other occupant is for the most part God. In my car I usually listen to worship music, and then turn it off to pray. I'm re-falling in love with prayer. I didn't fall out of love with it, but I'm using it more and more and more each day. In the filing room, I sometimes use the music on my phone, but I usually don't because I feel weird when someone walks in on me singing amidst all the files. So I pray. I ask a lot of questions. God's answering them quite quickly. A lot of my questions right now are yes or no questions. Is what I'm doing right now correct? Am I walking in step with your plan? Am I giving glory to you in amidst this season?

Dancing Past Dark

It always amazes me how once I hit the point of breaking, God suddenly teaches me that I don't need to be broken. He always fixes.

Isaiah 40: 28-31

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

This past week I counselled up at Anvil. It will probably go down as one my most precious weeks of the summer. I was challenged by questions from campers, and daily taught new things from God. I had an honest prayer with God via the Psalms which were speaking exactly as my heart was feeling. God's comfort was my strength. I'm learning how to wait for the Lord. The longer I wait, the quicker He arrives.

Camp is a perfect place for me. I get to dance around all day long, wear wacky clothes, teach beautiful girls that God thinks they are great, and in amidst it all God teaches me more than I think He can. 


The passage from Isaiah was a portion of a song that we danced and sang all week. It was my favourite song for its actions, and also its strong push for me to rely on God rather than my self.

God is good. 

One Thing

"One thing I of the Lord desire, for all my life hath miry been --
Be it by water or by fire, Oh, make me clean, Oh, make me clean!
So wash me now, without, within, or purge with fire, if that must be,
No matter how, if only sin die out in me, die out in me."
-A Clean Heart, W.G. Smith

Issues in Trust

Trust is such a funny thing, isn't it? We trust someone, they fail us, and we lose trust. We don't trust anyone, the fail us, and we're reenforcing ourselves. We try to stay mildly unattached to anything to save our self from pain. We decide to trust everyone, forgive everything, and then don't understand why we are frustrated with people.

Worry and fear, painfully close friends are often nearby the absence of trust. We trust but what if? What if nothing works? What if everything works? What if ...?

Fear is such a crutch. Crutches are supposed to help right though? They help us relearn how to walk when we've fallen. Eventually though we have to let go of them and walk on our own.

But trust, that's a different issue. So is fear the absence of trust? For me, my fears and lack of trust are never in God. Well, never is a strong word. Let's say, rarely. Sometimes I remind God of some ideas I have for the future. He's usually quite nice in how He reacts. Sometimes a laugh so hard it sounds like a thunderstorm, and sometimes it's even like a giggle like a light rain. Quite kind really. I do a lot of that. Letting God know my ideas for my future. Timelines that I have for everything. It's especially good for things that I have no control over. He loves that.

The beauty of it, from the God that I know, is that He does love it. I've never felt as though God is diminishing my thoughts or feelings. Often God has to teach me, and reteach me His will, and remind me of where to place my next step. I had a conversation a while back where I told someone that I love when I get convicted for certain things, because it makes me know that God is evidently working. This person told me that I was crazy, and that I didn't mean it. But I think it is because they thought I meant I liked being condemned. I don't like that, largely because that isn't from the Lord. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and rich in love. That's the Lord I know, because that is the Lord.

Anyways though, I get a verse a day from a man from my old church. I think it's this great ministry that he does. It's not that complicated, but it's a great way to literally get one tiny portion of scripture into every day - guaranteed.

Today's was one of those ones that came right on time.

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18)

Though you might read that, and feel that I should have been convicted against anger for others, to me, I saw it as a beautiful description of Jesus reminding me to trust in His plan. I don't need to worry, to fret, to fear, to blame others for things, or to place trust in things of human nature. I need to love. I need to trust the LORD for everything! Everything! It's a huge task, but graciously, God is able.

God is the Lord. Wow. You know that feeling when something really really good happens, and you get super excited, and get goosebumps, and everything seems to get brighter for a moment - that's the way it is. God is the Lord! God made us, loves us, and is constantly working.

Whom then shall I fear?