I'll Sing thy Power to Save
Dear dying lamb thy precious blood shall never lose its power; till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more.
My inner being praises Him...reflects on his saving grace....a life once lost but somehow restored by the power of One I can barely fathom .... that is what my life is.
Today was such a day of rest, such a day of peace, perhaps the closest I have ever been to Philippians 4:12....having learned how to abound...the mystery of life. There was nothing I desired but plenty some would say I lacked. I just walked outside in the breeze- barefaced and bold, confident in my Lord and His grace and faithfulness, surrendered contentedly, with many 'things' I could desire but not a one with power to shake the peace of Christ that settled inside me.
And so I recall...I think back. How he's changed me, and I don't know why. He didn't have to care. He could have left me in bondage and slavery, but He wanted to free me. He wanted me.
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Tibet is in the news. I was there 3 years ago; I was so different three years ago. Sometimes I become angry that I did not realize certain things or understand certain things when I was overseas. I get frustrated at how immature and ridiculous I was in so many areas of my life. I think, "why didn't you just open my eyes God??" Well, he did... it just took time.
So it's in the news-the protests in Lhasa. All the pictures, the names of places- they are so familiar. I looked at the Jokhang Temple in the NYTimes. I stood there. I have my own picture of it. The prayer poles and prayer flags- the men and women prostrating- the wrinkled sun scorched faces and long braided hair- the monks with shaved heads- it's a part of me. It seems surreal to me now, that I was there- that I lived in it...that I was immersed in it. The lack of sanitation- the trough toilets- the streets filled with human excretions and dying bodies. People giving all the strength they had along with their money to the temple, to the silver and gold statues...statues which they feared with more intense fear and respect than I'd encountered. I read the articles today and looked at the pictures and cried. The pain and the sin and the lack of Christ's light....it's overwhelming. My heart sincerely hurts, aches. I pray for miracles that are so huge people would probably think I'm crazy to pray for them, but I do. I pray that the light of Christ will flood the city and break the strongholds that Satan has there.
There is a part of me that wants to be there so badly- that wants to be there suffering with them and praying for them, not because I think that me being there would change things, but because I feel God calling me to it. I don't know when or how...or even if it is necessarily Tibet. Still, I ache, I long for, I hurt for, and feel made to be....there...with the lost and hurting and dying. A part of me thinks I will be someday...and honestly, that scares me to death....but it also brings me such joy and peace. My heart races at the thought, and I simply pray and ask God to accomplish His purpose and His will in His perfect time.
Regardless of the future, He has given the past experience, and so I can intercede for the missionaries I know who serve there and in surrounding areas now. I can pray for my old students and friends that I met. We are all in this together, and so today my job was to be on my knees for them and writing down my thoughts.
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I suppose I see Tibet as a macrocosm of the battle in the soul of any who becomes a dedicate believer and disciple of Jesus Christ. Satan doesn't want us to surrender in that way... and honestly, the struggles and the battles in my own personal walk and testimony are flooded with spiritual warfare. Scripture tells us that our weapons are different from the world's weapons because our enemies are different....our enemies are the spiritual forces and principalities...
So that's how I come back around to the start of this post- His Power to Save. Jesus Christ has truly overcome the world. His power is power that triumphs even the darkest night of the soul. I welcome the darkest night of the Soul if it means I can know my Savior a little more. I welcome the battle because that is the purpose of my life- to be on display as one struggling through sin and sorrow and surviving only because of her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. My Husband, my Redeemer, my Best Friend, my Provider, my Fighter, my Comfort, my Source of every Delight....my Healer...my God... THE God.
My inner being praises Him...reflects on his saving grace....a life once lost but somehow restored by the power of One I can barely fathom .... that is what my life is.
Today was such a day of rest, such a day of peace, perhaps the closest I have ever been to Philippians 4:12....having learned how to abound...the mystery of life. There was nothing I desired but plenty some would say I lacked. I just walked outside in the breeze- barefaced and bold, confident in my Lord and His grace and faithfulness, surrendered contentedly, with many 'things' I could desire but not a one with power to shake the peace of Christ that settled inside me.
And so I recall...I think back. How he's changed me, and I don't know why. He didn't have to care. He could have left me in bondage and slavery, but He wanted to free me. He wanted me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tibet is in the news. I was there 3 years ago; I was so different three years ago. Sometimes I become angry that I did not realize certain things or understand certain things when I was overseas. I get frustrated at how immature and ridiculous I was in so many areas of my life. I think, "why didn't you just open my eyes God??" Well, he did... it just took time.
So it's in the news-the protests in Lhasa. All the pictures, the names of places- they are so familiar. I looked at the Jokhang Temple in the NYTimes. I stood there. I have my own picture of it. The prayer poles and prayer flags- the men and women prostrating- the wrinkled sun scorched faces and long braided hair- the monks with shaved heads- it's a part of me. It seems surreal to me now, that I was there- that I lived in it...that I was immersed in it. The lack of sanitation- the trough toilets- the streets filled with human excretions and dying bodies. People giving all the strength they had along with their money to the temple, to the silver and gold statues...statues which they feared with more intense fear and respect than I'd encountered. I read the articles today and looked at the pictures and cried. The pain and the sin and the lack of Christ's light....it's overwhelming. My heart sincerely hurts, aches. I pray for miracles that are so huge people would probably think I'm crazy to pray for them, but I do. I pray that the light of Christ will flood the city and break the strongholds that Satan has there.
There is a part of me that wants to be there so badly- that wants to be there suffering with them and praying for them, not because I think that me being there would change things, but because I feel God calling me to it. I don't know when or how...or even if it is necessarily Tibet. Still, I ache, I long for, I hurt for, and feel made to be....there...with the lost and hurting and dying. A part of me thinks I will be someday...and honestly, that scares me to death....but it also brings me such joy and peace. My heart races at the thought, and I simply pray and ask God to accomplish His purpose and His will in His perfect time.
Regardless of the future, He has given the past experience, and so I can intercede for the missionaries I know who serve there and in surrounding areas now. I can pray for my old students and friends that I met. We are all in this together, and so today my job was to be on my knees for them and writing down my thoughts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I suppose I see Tibet as a macrocosm of the battle in the soul of any who becomes a dedicate believer and disciple of Jesus Christ. Satan doesn't want us to surrender in that way... and honestly, the struggles and the battles in my own personal walk and testimony are flooded with spiritual warfare. Scripture tells us that our weapons are different from the world's weapons because our enemies are different....our enemies are the spiritual forces and principalities...
So that's how I come back around to the start of this post- His Power to Save. Jesus Christ has truly overcome the world. His power is power that triumphs even the darkest night of the soul. I welcome the darkest night of the Soul if it means I can know my Savior a little more. I welcome the battle because that is the purpose of my life- to be on display as one struggling through sin and sorrow and surviving only because of her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. My Husband, my Redeemer, my Best Friend, my Provider, my Fighter, my Comfort, my Source of every Delight....my Healer...my God... THE God.
Comments
Jesus asked to be delivered. The pain hurt! He felt it and didn't deny it; nonetheless, he did not despair of death or the cross because He knew His Father's will, which is what He prayed to happen, was the best-
I also pray that He will bring Himself glory from my pain and work good of it