Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees, Say to those who have an anxious heart, Be Strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God, He will come and save you.   Isaiah 35:3-4

There are so many things in this world that can spin us out of control.  The enemies job is becoming increasingly easier as we are distracted and weakened by the issues arising in this broken world.  Our focus is so easily taken away from the eternal view and dialed in to the temporal moments in our life. It is from this perspective that our peace and joy are ripped right out of our lives!  We are so caught up in the whirlwind of the present moments that we are unable to even grasp the hope that is even greater and surrounding us.  Gods plan for us cannot be stopped, however the journey along the way can be more stressful and less joyful than intended.  The enemies  only strategy is distraction from truth.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free  John 8:32

What is this truth that will set you free? Jesus is truth and life.  To know the truth is to know Him.  It is more than memorizing scripture or having head knowledge of His existence; the desire is for an intimate personal relationship with  the Lion of Judah who is roaring with power and fighting your battles!!   Truly “knowing” Jesus is “knowing” the truth that will set you free from the bondage of anxiety and fear and propel you into a joy filled life regardless of your circumstances!  How can that be possible?  I know it sounds unrealistic, but I can testify that it is possible.  I am a work in progress and still find anxiety creeping into my life, however, the closer I become to the person who is truth,Jesus Christ, the less time I spend in that realm.  I am renewing my thought process to focus on the truth, the eternal perspective and not allow this temporal condition to dictate my joy.

The truth sets us free and His love sustains and guides us! The truth is the key for release from our prisons and love is our protector!

He who dwells  in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust  Psalm 91:1

A life with the Lion is full of adventure!  It is not problem free but an adventure none the less.    You have the power and the greatest place of rest available. You can take on life’s challenges with confidence knowing that the greatest love imaginable is covering you with every step.

In the battle of good vs evil the victory has already been won!  The worst possible fate death, has even been conquered!  Death has now become the door that leads us to our eternal reward!  But we do not have to wait to die to have a taste of eternity, the kingdom of God is at hand in our present time; we only need to open our spiritual eyes and allow our focus to be on our Lion who loves us fiercely!

One of the definitions of recompense is “make amends to or reward someone for loss, harm or effort”   This is what God, the Lion of Judah, has promised us over and over again.  He will make amends for the pain and loss we have experienced with a reward that far exceeds them all!

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us   Romans 8:18

When life gets tough remember who is tougher.  When you feel defeated or out numbered remember who has your back.  There is nothing this life can throw at us that can compare to the eternal glory we will one day experience!  In our temporal minds it feels like a mountain but from the eternal view it is nothing more than an ant hill, annoying but powerless and easily stomped out of existence.

Whatever you are facing today my friend, it is powerless!  Take a moment and silence the distractions of this world and listen very closely for the roar of the Lion who daily fights your battles!

In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us  Romans 8:37

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“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength, but you are unwilling.  Isaiah 30:15

There are so many times in my life that I have been frustrated with the way my life is or is not playing out.  I hear and see others who appear to be receiving the favor and blessings I could only hope for.  Often, I try to analyze whether or not I am doing enough or being enough so God will bless me too.  I envy those around me and make my next decision based on that comparison or my pride; being self reliant yet in desperate need of approval and validation.  It is a crazy train with the conductor being my emotions and the destination uncertain.  We do not and should not be living our lives this way.

In Isaiah God tells us that returning and resting in him is how we are saved. In quietness and in trust shall be our strength!  BUT we are unwilling.

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.  For the Lord is a God of Justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.  Isaiah 30:18

There is redemption opportunities for our moments of unwillingness.  Thankfully the Lord is full of grace and patience!  That is why he stated earlier in returning and rest you shall be saved.  We at any point and time in this journey can stop dead in our tracks and return to the one who has the directions for our life and when we do we will find rest for our weary minds.  Blessings come from waiting on the perfect timing of the Lord.  I don’t know about you, but I am a very impatient person!  When I get a vision or agenda that I want to see played out by golly I want it fulfilled yesterday!!  God waits to be gracious to us.  Let that sink in for a moment.  If God was as impatient as me, we would have been destroyed a long time ago.  If God was as impatient as me, he never would have endured the journey to the cross.  I am so grateful for this character trait of God!  Perfect timing for our best is what He has in mind as he beckons us to wait on Him. It is not to frustrate us or cause stress and anxiety; it is the opposite He wants us to have abundant life!  When we push through and learn patience and believe that God is working everything out for our good and His glory; then and only then do we get to experience the blessing we could not have imaged for ourselves.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us  Ephesians 3:20

The things  you are asking and hoping for and not receiving could be God waiting to be gracious to you.  He has something much greater in store. His ways are higher than ours and His vision far expands ours.  We are in it for the immediate gratification, God is in it for eternal impact and Kingdom glory.  Whatever it is you have been waiting on God to release in your life, be patient and those days when you are feeling defeated and hopeless stand firm on this truth “Blessed are all those who wait for him”

“I will quietly look from my dwelling  like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest”.   Isaiah 18:4

I have always been a lover of sunshine; I am not sure if it comes from being a native of Florida the sunshine state or the way I am wired.  My mood is easily swayed in a negative direction if too many days go by with no sunshine on my skin!  Sun plays an intricate role in my mental health.  I can be overwhelmed, mental exhausted or even feeling a little down but within a few moments of the sun beating down on me it is like everything is right with the world again.  Since moving to the mountains I have an even greater appreciation of the sun.  Unlike the sunshine state there can be days of cold sunless weather so when my friend the sun reappears I am elated and appreciative of the benefits of its presence.

When I read this scripture in Isaiah it jumped off the page for me!  I can totally relate to the clear heat in sunshine!  As I pondered what God was trying to relay to me these things began to be illuminated for me.

Just like the Sun’s presence brings me so much energy and comfort the presence of the son in my life brings that and so much more.

On a cold day the sun can bring so much warmth to your day.  The temperature outside does not change but the presence of the sun makes it more bearable than a cold, cloudy day.   The same is true in our lives.  Our circumstances may not change, things may seem cloudy or dark but if the Son is present they are much more bearable; there is hope and guidance.  The weight of our reality becomes less overwhelming in the rays of his love and grace.

I love the analogy of him quietly looking down from his heavenly dwelling and through his eyes of love warming my heart and letting me feel the physical presence of his spirit, comforting me and reminding me I am never alone!

God never meant for us to walk through this life feeling cold, alone, defeated but  his desire is for us, just like the flowers, to soak up the nourishment of the rain and turn our faces to the “son”  where we will find life giving rays of truth and life that will bring us into full bloom!

My days out in the sunshine have taken on an all new meaning to me.  As I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, my mind reflects on this scripture and it reminds me that God is quietly looking from heaven like clear heat in sunshine.  He is nourishing me and growing me into the woman he designed me to be.

“Woe is me! for I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of host!”  Isaiah 6: 5

Just as Isaiah saw the Glory of God seated on the Thorne and through this encounter acknowledge his true sin condition which then allowed the hot coal to be placed on his lips and atonement made; we too have the atonement of our sins through the blood of Jesus that was prophesied through Isaiah. We also get to go one step further than Isaiah in that he saw for a moment the glory of the Lord we have the spirit of the Lord residing in us!!!! Sit back and let that sink in for a moment!  This Glorious God that Isaiah experiences is the same God that dwells within our very being! Giving us the accessibility to see through the eyes of Jesus, hear with the ears of Jesus, feel with the gracious spirit of Jesus!! We have to like Isaiah understand the true deprivation of our human condition and allow the atonement of the blood to purify us giving full access to the power that lives in us and is able to flow through us if we will allow! Such confidence and boldness will arise when we truly allow ourselves to experience the presence of the glory of God IN us.

“ whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said Here I am! Send me!”  Isaiah6:8

Once we have encountered the overwhelming grace of God we too should be declaring the same “ here I am send me!”

Sharing and declaring all that we have experienced through the power of the blood!

We should be ecstatic that we are living on the other side of Isaiah’s prophecy! We should be continuing the message of a redeeming savior that came, died and rose again; preparing everyone for His imminent return and eternal reward!

This is not some feel good, wishful thinking philosophy. It is a promised truth spoken by a flawless savior who is the Alpha and Omega;the beginning and the end. The creator of all that is in existence who is renewing all things back to their original design! To All who accept and believe an eternal award is given! How can we be silent?

“Holy, holy,holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory”