On the Move
Until the spring thaw.
"Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight. At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more. When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again." - C.S. Lewis
Streams ran, flowers bloomed, Father Christmas showed up and gave gifts to Peter, Susan, and Lucy. Hope returned! Aslan was on the move!
Today, I began in Exodus 17:8-13 with the account of the Israelites fighting the Amalekites at Rephidim. The passage came to me as I was praying specifically for pastors and spiritual leaders who are in and leading this fight over the long haul. I know how wearying this can be, and the Lord reminded me that He is bringing a sort of "corporate" Aaron and Hur who will be the lifters of the weary arms. "When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up - one on one side, one on the other - so that his hands remained steady until sunset" (Exodus 17:12).
Sunset feels significant to me, too. The end of a day, the end of a period of time, the marking of a transition from one thing to the next. I prayed for our spiritual leaders to be strong through the whole phase until the next phase. Through the whole battle until the end of it. I prayed for encouragers with arms like steel to hold up the leaders when their strength begins to flag.
The place to sit is significant as well. The Lord doesn't abandon us to fight the battle alone; He provides resting points throughout, so that even while we are fighting, we have a place to rest, to sit. It goes back to that idea of God telling the Israelites before they crossed the Red Sea: "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Effective, entrenched in the stillness.
There were many things the Lord decided to show me today. Some of it was for me personally, some for my family, but this one was vivid and came as I was praying for our nation and the nations around the world. I am telling you the first part; the second part, I... am not certain I fully understand it yet, so I'm going to sit on it for a bit while I pray for wisdom.
I was in a room with a curtain stretched over a window. It wasn't a thick curtain; light filtered through the loose weave, but I couldn't look through it clearly; I could see only shapes on the other side. A strong breeze blew, and the curtain rippled and tossed in the wind, and I caught a glimpse of the outside. In that brief glimpse, the sun shone clearly and so brightly, I couldn't keep my eyes on it. Immediately, the Lord said: "Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
It seemed obvious to me that the curtain is our physical existence, that while we are here in our bodies, we cannot truly see or bear the unaltered glory of God, but that now and then He shows us glimpses as we truly pray and seek His face.
Until the day when we can look directly into His glory, I'm so thankful that we can still know in part; for now, it is still enough that we can know Him through the filter of our human condition that has been saved by the grace of God and by the blood of His Son Jesus, and that we can hold each other up in that knowledge as God leads up forward. Let's be Aarons and Hurs with the strength of steel.
Hallelujah!
Today, I began in Exodus 17:8-13 with the account of the Israelites fighting the Amalekites at Rephidim. The passage came to me as I was praying specifically for pastors and spiritual leaders who are in and leading this fight over the long haul. I know how wearying this can be, and the Lord reminded me that He is bringing a sort of "corporate" Aaron and Hur who will be the lifters of the weary arms. "When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up - one on one side, one on the other - so that his hands remained steady until sunset" (Exodus 17:12).
Sunset feels significant to me, too. The end of a day, the end of a period of time, the marking of a transition from one thing to the next. I prayed for our spiritual leaders to be strong through the whole phase until the next phase. Through the whole battle until the end of it. I prayed for encouragers with arms like steel to hold up the leaders when their strength begins to flag.
There were many things the Lord decided to show me today. Some of it was for me personally, some for my family, but this one was vivid and came as I was praying for our nation and the nations around the world. I am telling you the first part; the second part, I... am not certain I fully understand it yet, so I'm going to sit on it for a bit while I pray for wisdom.
I was in a room with a curtain stretched over a window. It wasn't a thick curtain; light filtered through the loose weave, but I couldn't look through it clearly; I could see only shapes on the other side. A strong breeze blew, and the curtain rippled and tossed in the wind, and I caught a glimpse of the outside. In that brief glimpse, the sun shone clearly and so brightly, I couldn't keep my eyes on it. Immediately, the Lord said: "Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Until the day when we can look directly into His glory, I'm so thankful that we can still know in part; for now, it is still enough that we can know Him through the filter of our human condition that has been saved by the grace of God and by the blood of His Son Jesus, and that we can hold each other up in that knowledge as God leads up forward. Let's be Aarons and Hurs with the strength of steel.
Hallelujah!
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