"This is the day that the Lord has made:
We will rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24
"So He Himself often withdrew
into the wilderness and prayed."
Luke 5:16
Lord, here I am today, withdrawn into "the wilderness" of the Secret Garden...but there are so many distractions in the garden, I am having a difficult time focusing on You! There is a woodpecker pecking away in a tree somewhere nearby.
Your Words speak to me again..."Be still and know that I am God...I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:10) ...and that is what is happening here today...
God is being exalted in the earth! All of creation testifies to Your majesty and power.
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| Dogwood buds lifting their faces toward heaven...waiting for the rays of His sunshine to open them up... |
"All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!
Oh praise Him,
Oh praise Him,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
"Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness.
Oh, praise Him!
Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father,
Praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three-in-One!
Oh, Praise Him,
Oh, Praise Him,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
(written by St. Francis of Assisi)
"the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
and verses 20-22 tell us that even though the creation was subjected to the corruption of this world (because of the sin of Adam), according to these verses
"The creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
And verse 22 says:
"For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now..."
In other words, even the animal and material creation, which was cursed for man's sake back in Genesis (3:17), will be delivered by Christ when He comes again!
Now, I don't fully comprehend exactly how all this will take place or what exactly that even means...except to say that even God's creatures here on earth are waiting, along with us, for Christ's return!
Verse 23 says:
"Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits
of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
eagerly waiting for the adoption,
the redemption of our body."
Without getting too technical or theological here, let's just sum it up to say that all of creation, both human and creature, is waiting for Christ to return to redeem us and remove us from the corruption of this world. That's the simplest way I can explain it. And according to verse 25, "we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."
This song, sung here by Kristian Stanfield, is probably the best expression of our current longing and waiting for the Lord to return. Perhaps you have heard this song before and can sing along... Click on the link for the song...
Even So Come, by Kristian Stanfield
"All of creation
All of the earth
Make straight a highway
A path for the Lord
Jesus is coming soon
Call back the sinner
Wake up the saint
Let every nation shout of Your fame
Jesus is coming soon
Like a bride waiting for her groom
We'll be a Church ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come
There will be justice
All will be new
Your name forever
Faithful and true
Jesus is coming soon
Like a bride waiting for her groom
We'll be a Church ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come
So we wait
We wait for You
God, we wait
You're coming soon
So we wait
We wait for You
God, we wait
You're coming soon"
I think the birds were preparing for Christ's return today. I've never seen or heard so many different birds singing and flying around back and forth so much as they were today. We, like the birds, need to be preparing for Jesus...because He IS coming soon!!!
I think those birds have caught on about the Secret Garden and that they wait patiently for you to meet them there so that they can hear what goes on between you and the Lord. I love it. I am so glad that you decided to just look around and enjoy the birds and all that was going on around you. Hugs to you, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you Diana. I really couldn't settle down and do anything else...but it turned out for the best...God finally got His message through to me! He's coming soon!! I think that's what He wanted me to understand through all of this...
DeletePam,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how ALL of creation worships the Lord. In some way, the birds are getting it right. And yes, Jesus is coming soon! Even as we worship here on earth, we should also think and learn about Heaven--after all, for those of us in Christ will be spending eternity there!
Blessings!
Yes, we will be spending a LONG time in heaven, worshiping and praising God forever!!! Hallelujah!! What a glorious thought!! Thank you for your insights into this message today.
DeleteThanks!
ReplyDelete"Let heaven and nature sing." Lou Giglio has a series on that very subject. There are sounds from space, there are sounds from under the sea and of course the sounds we hear from the nature around us, he has recorded these sounds....sounds of heaven and nature singing to the Lord. It's a great series, you might find it on you-tube.
ReplyDeleteAll nature was made by God and I love to hear the birds sing and fly about. When I feel so low at times, the sound of birds singing brings me back to God, reminding me of his love, he made all things and he made and loves me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another encouraging post, Pamela.
Beautiful thoughts. Lovely pictures. When I have my 'down' times I often go to the Psalms and to Paul's writings to buoy me up. I have times when the tune of a hymn or words to one go through my mind. Even praise songs help me get through some slow mornings.
ReplyDeleteI love to listen to bird song. That would distract me too and I'd have to just sit back and listen. I can recognize some of the bird calls specifically but the others, I just enjoy not knowing who they are coming from
ReplyDeleteOn days like these, Pamela, when all creation seems to be celebrating the Lord, maybe that's not our time to rest, but to join right in with them! Oh, what a diverse group of birds you captured today! How blessed you are in your secret garden!
ReplyDeleteThank you EVERYONE for your comments on this post! It truly was a day to just sit and rejoice along with the birds! God was reminding me that I don't have to always DO anything...just be present and let Him do the rest...so I feel blessed by that experience. I so appreciate that you all seem to concur!!! Blessings to all dear friends!!
ReplyDelete