glad

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 (6:34 a.m.)

Awesome God,

What a gift Lord! Thank You that the very first word I thought this morning was “glad”. What an absolutely great way to wake up! Glad. And it just got better from there when I starting to sing ♫You have made me glad, You have made me glad, I will rejoice ‘cause You have made me glad♫ (Psalm 92:4). Lord, how I thank You for another gift of gladness.

Thank You too for the rather complicated way it took for me to find out what other song was trying to sing to me. Looking up snippets of words I thought might be it didn’t work. I only had one section of the melody and I wasn’t even too sure about that. But right there, in the middle of looking up ♫You have made me glad♫ ended up being ♫How lovely [not ‘blessed’ like I thought] is Your dwelling place Oh Lord Almighty, For my soul longs and even faints For You… Better is one day in Your courts Better is one day in Your house Better is one day in Your courts than thousands elsewhere♫ (Psalm 84:10).

Thank You Lord that as distracted and sidetracked as I can get, You are always here to guide me right back to Your Word. One minute I can be so glad about waking up and seeing the sky practically on fire and the next I’m practically lost in the search for a song I’m humming. Lord, thank You that every single time I confess to You that I don’t know what I’m doing, You are right here to pull me to safety. MUCH like when Peter ‘looked around at the high waves, was terrified and began to sink’ (Matthew 14:30). When he shouted, “Save me, Lord” You instantly reached out Your hand and rescued him (v.31a).

I’m always impressed by this verse Lord. You didn’t scold first and rescue later. Nope! Different versions of Your Word list the keyword of Your action here as: “right away”, “didn’t hesitate”, “immediately”, “at once”. You amaze me Lord. Every single time I think I have You all figured out, just like my waking up glad this morning and assuming nothing could touch me today, You have more for me to learn. I HAVE to keep my eyes on You!

When I let my focus shift over to concerns (instead of prayers!) for friends and loved ones I start to sink just like Peter did. Each time I cry out to You and You reach out Your hand to rescue me You are well justified in asking, “Why did you lose your nerve, baby-faith?” (31b) “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt me?”, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”

Just waking up glad isn’t enough. I have to stay right here with You. Constantly ♫Turn(ing) my eyes upon Jesus Look(ing) full in His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In light of His glory and grace♫

Thank You Lord for lessons hard in learning. As glad as I woke up this morning, let me return to rejoicing and being glad in You! You know the concerns and prayers of my heart for those in desperate need of Your loving and peaceful presence. Surround them each with the blanket of Your Holy Spirit. Your perfect Comforter!

Thank You Lord. I love You so very much. And now, on the extremely selfish side, be with me this morning as I attempt to make order of our MUCH neglected, avoided and long overdue filing problem. I’m looking at YOU here Lord. Full in Your wonderful face… I love You Lord. Thank You that I really truly AM glad to finally be ready to get started. Thank You God. Amen.

(636 words ~ 9:14 a.m.)