Relief

Joining with the Five Minute Friday Group to write for five minutes on a One Word Prompt. Today’s Word is: Relief.

Relief. You know that big exhale of breath you give, which you didn’t even realise you were holding. Relief, that big sigh of release that something is over, or test results have been favourable, or you’ve coped with something. Sigh. Exhale. Release. Relief.

It could be relief for many things. But for me in the ordinary, in the everyday and on yet another dark, damp January morning I am relieved to see signs of spring! Snowdrops appearing, almost a patch of blue sky this morning, and ever so slightly longer days. January has been a long hard month, it is a relief that it is almost over.

I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait,
and in His word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning—
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Psalm 130:5-6

I feel a bit like the Psalmist, a bit like those watchmen who are waiting for the morning, I am waiting for spring! Waiting for longer days, waiting for a glimpse of the sun, waiting to feel a bit more motivated, waiting to feel more energy.

So meantime, I wait, I put my hope in the Word of the Lord, I wait for the Lord, I wait for my relief, my release to come.

What are you waiting for relief from and how are you waiting on the Lord during the time of waiting?

Sacrifice

Joining today with FiveMinuteFriday Group where we write for 5 minutes on a one word prompt. This week’s word is: Sacrifice.

The dictionary definition of sacrifice = an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.

So the thing about sacrifice is that it is costly! We are giving up something we hold dear, something or someone of utmost importance in our life we are sacrificing for Jesus, for something He is calling us to do, for some act of service, or act of Praise.

One of the hardest sacrifices is to Praise in the midst of pain, to give up our own self-pity, our own feelings, to lay them aside and to Praise the Lord. Or perhaps it is to forgive someone a wrong they have done to us and we have hung on to that hurt for a long time, till it has flourished and taken on a root of bitterness. It is hard to give up those things, hard to sacrifice them so that we can move on in God, move on to new things, move on to Praise.

In 2 Samuel Chapter 24 we read of a time in David’s life when David had to give time, energy and money into intercession for his people. He knew it would cost him personally, but he knew that he needed to make that cost, he did not want to cheat on God and give Him something which cost him nothing:

Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.  Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.” But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.  David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

2 samuel 24:22-25

I love this song by Matt Redman, the Place of Praise, the chorus:

I will not bring that which costs me nothing
I will not bring that which costs me nothing
If the highest praise is a sacrifice
And the greatest song is to give my life then
I will not bring that which costs me nothing

What will be my sacrifice to the Lord today? What will be your sacrifice to the Lord today?

Direction

I am joining today again with the Five Minute Friday group where we write for 5 minutes on a one word prompt. Today’s Word is: Direction

I think there can be a lot of pressure at this time, the start of a new year, to think that you have to know what direction you are taking or even be changing direction.

But often you start the year as you finished the last year, facing the same way without specific goals or knowledge of what the New Year will bring. And who of us does know what the year will bring? Circumstances change, situations arise halfway through the year which may cause us to pause, even turn around, or just face a different dirrection, but until that situation arises what are we to do?

God has told us what he requires of us:

He has told you, O man, what is good;

    and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

    and to walk humbly with your God?

micah 6:8

With that in mind, our face set towards God and our hearts focused then we walk on, one step at a time, one day at a time, one month at a time throughout the year. We walk in the light He has give us for that next step, and then the light for the next step. They may not be huge steps, they may not be hugely illuminated, but we walk on in that light. And when we look back at the year we see that indeed God has guided our steps in His ways.

fiveminutefriday