attuned

Tuesday, January 3, 2012 (2:17 p.m.)

Lake Arrowhead, CA

Wonderfully Beloved, Awesome Father God,

Again You surprise me! I thought I was coming here to ask You to teach more about savoring every moment. You give us so much. Love. Friendships. Warmth. Shelter. Comfort. Joy. The list is endless. Truly, I DO long to savor [relish, enjoy (to the full), appreciate completely, delight in, revel in, taste and enjoy something completely] all You provide.

But just as I began searching Your Word for verses to substantiate [provide evidence to support or prove the truth of] my desire, I was led instead to wanting to be fully attuned [receptive or aware; accustomed, adjusted, adapted, assimilated] to You.

(3:49 p.m.)

As I just spent time tracking Bible verses referring to savoring You, I was drawn especially to Psalm 34:8. “Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see – how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him.” In doing so I came across two Christian blogs of moms that amaze me.

Father God, how I thank You for the opportunity of seeing past myself and my own set of circumstances. Thank You for enlightening me to a whole wide world of things I have never known, much less considered before. Thank You for attuning me to You Dearest Father.

Turning to Colossians 1:8-10 in The Message, my heart and spirit once again smile. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers of Colosse telling them, “Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to His will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live for the Master, making Him proud of you as you work hard in His orchard. As you learn more and more about how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul – not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that He has for us.”

Oh most dear and blessed Father God, attune me to Your will! Strengthen me to endure to the point of joy. I smile at the mere thought and hope of it!

You are so good. The Illustrated Bible Handbook describes a growth process for believers that “begins with a knowledge of what God has willed (Colossians 1:9): that is the content of revelation.” It goes on to say that “God’s revelation is to be used to guide daily life in the present, material world (see Wisdom, p.632)!”

In turning to the page, again I am heartened as I reread words I have arrowed and bracketed before. “The Bible is not just a book about 'what' Christians are to believe. It is a book that helps us see the way God looks at and interprets all the issues of our lives.”

SOME of the issues? NO! “ALL the issues”! Thank You Father God. Even as I pause to consider this Truth, this particular Theology in Brief continues, “God has given us more than the Word. He has given us the Holy Spirit, who will help us understand and apply the written Word. Because the Spirit is in us and the Word with us, we can know God’s viewpoint on any situation in which we find ourselves. In the Bible and the Spirit we have access to the very mind of Christ, to give us guidance for daily living (1Corinthians 2:15,16).

And how do I tap into that access? By following Paul’s lead and ‘asking You to give me a wise mind and spirit attuned to Your will’ (Colossians 1:9).

That is precisely what I am doing right now Blessed Father. Quoting the Cotton Patch Gospel I am asking “that in every scrap of wisdom and spiritual insight you [I J] might be loaded up with a clear understanding of what God is up to, and thus behave in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.”

Ah, yes Blessed Father, let me behave in a way that is pleasing (and ATTUNED) to You. Yes! Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(740 words ~ 4:37 p.m.)