Thank you, Mary Magdalene, for coming to Jesus. Your story shows: REST is humbly serving the One who always treats me with high respect, entrusts me with significant responsibility and involves me in things of first importance.
May I tell you a story? It’s a true story. And it shows what can happen when God sees courage in you that you do not see.
Seven times, God called Moses to come to him on a mountain. Still today, when the Lord says, “Come be with me,” more than you can imagine hangs in the balance.
When all seemed lost, Moses pressed in: To know the character and ways of God. To live in his Presence, to seek his face, to see and reflect his glory. May your heartcry echo that of Moses. And even when you do not realize it, may you become ever more radiant because you have been with your Lord.
I praise you, Lord my Shepherd. You have overcome for me all the shame that ever has or ever will attach to me. You are teaching me to overcome it too. By your grace, I drink deeply of your favor, and it restores my rest.
At times, David found himself in a very dark place. When he sang, “I will fear no evil,” he confessed: “Evil is real – but God’s ever-present help is greater.”
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” sang David, the poet-king. Or in other words, “I lack nothing.” “The Lord hasn’t given us enough!” cried Joseph’s clan. We may know and love David’s words. Yet at times, it may seem that we lack a LOT. So what do we do with that?
What do you do when the Lord answers what you had not asked? This is where it began, my journey with God into his view of women and the church.
It’s a story from the distant past, with profound implications today. A story of glory on the mountain – mutiny in the valley. Reading it, we can see how the Lord responded when a people who had just committed themselves to be his people reveled in breaking their vows. As we open ourselves to the Word and the Spirit, may we see much more.
In Moses’ day, the Lord went to great lengths to make a way to dwell in the midst of his people. Now, he’s made the way for his glory to dwell within us.