DRAW NEAR: WEEK 1 - FRIDAY

// FRIDAY //

Read – Psalm 104:24-25, Psalm 19:1-3

SOAP – Psalm 104:24-25

"O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small." 

Another day to use the word "awe"! Even in the snow in April, there is still an awe of creation around us! The word "variety" stood out in my translation, & it reminded me of the account of Noah. We were blessed to go to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky on my birthday a few years back, & to SEE the variety of animals and creatures (well and the life size ark of course) just gave you a sense of wonder and awe. It of course brought tears to my eyes!! One of the BEST birthdays ever! I even rode a camel! But anyway, 'variety' can be defined as 'the quality or state of being different or diverse; the absence of uniformity, sameness, or monotony.' Nothing God created is truly the SAME... even looking at the snowflakes today... there were so many at one point, & the amazingness (is that a word?) to know that no two snowflakes are the same... some of us may have similar personalities or character traits but we are all different. Nothing is monotonous! Yet... we were all created to PRAISE Him!

Verse 25 first made me want to sit by the ocean... (or the lake ar the beach) and then I thought of the Hymn with the words "Your love vast as the ocean"... and while we were out briefly in the car today the older song "Unify" came on the CD and I posted the song and lyrics in the comments earlier. We are all meant to UNIFY together with each other and creation to PRAISE HIM!

"Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD . How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings." Psalms 36:5-7

God's unfailing love for us is as vast as the creation He has made... He cares for people and animals alike. (We should take better care of the world around us). The whole earth falls to its knees at the Name of Jesus. We unify together with creation to Praise Him!

It also came to me in my prayer a quote I have heard many times, He loves each of us as if we were the only one He created. ❤

Be blessed! Have a restful, peaceful sleep in the arms of the Father! He loves you higher than the Heavens, deeper than the oceans, wider than the skies, & longer than the stretch from east to west! ❤

"The whole earth falls to its knees

At the sound of Your beautiful name

And all the voices in the world unify today

to bring You this song of praise"... 

https://youtu.be/6jBJgDvsKCU

DRAW NEAR: Week 1 - THURSDAY

// THURSDAY //

Read - Psalm 95, Job 38:4-5

SOAP - Job 38:4-5

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?"

Amazing verses to read today... as the world around us (& even us sometimes) questions God and His whereabouts or His control, or His wisdom, etc... I cannot just jump into an "account" without knowing exactly what led to that moment... so I have been up for a while and have read Job 32-37 to catch up on why God challenges Job with these 2 little verses...

Job was a man who endured a lot of hardship and suffering. However, for the most part he remained true and faithful to His God. His 'so-called' friends were turning against him and even eventually his wife to curse God and die... but leading up to Ch 32, his friends folly/foolish talk have finally got him to question God himself... he starts to declare all the good things he has done and not what God has done. He begins to question God's judgement, and wisdom.

Finally a younger friend Elihu steps up with some Godly wisdom {Don't we all need people like that in our lives} & stops Job and tells him what is true about God.

The verses that I highlighted are in Job 36:16&27 & 21 & 24 and Job 37:23&24... PERFECT for our world and what is going on today...

But the end of Ch 37 (just before God speaks to Job) the last verse says, "All who are wise show Him reverence." (NLT)

So, in our human intelligence we can question and come to God with things we don't understand, but we need to come in reverence and He will give us the wisdom and understanding that WE NEED to know. The old saying, "on a need to know basis". His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. We don't NEED to know everything, we just need to trust the One who was and is and is to come. As we have said, He was there at the beginning and He is still there at the end. The Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end.

So my main point was "Don't fall into the trap of listening to foolish men, trust the wisdom of God!"

In Ch38 verse 2, God basically tells Job to "man up"... and then in our verses God kind of 'mocks' Job... not like mean mocking, but "lovingly teasing"... but still serious. Basically, like "who are you to question me? What do you really know? Do you think you know more than Me?" God reminds Job of His power and that He was at the beginning of time and created everything...

So my final thought I pulled out was "Let God be God"... 👏 I found a quote online because I couldn't really find the Scripture I wanted... it says, "To believe in God is to 'let God be God'..." (OS GUINNESS)

#LetGoandLetGod

DRAW NEAR: WEEK 1 - WEDNESDAY

// WEDNESDAY //

Read - Psalm 96:10-13, Psalm 19:1-3

SOAP - Psalm 96:10-13

The part that stood out right away was in the translation (NLT) I read, Verse 10 says, "The world stands firm and cannot be shaken"... and the thought/revelation came to me that;

👫The 'world' (people) get shaken by the circumstances that come (Ex Covid-19)... but the 🌍 'world' (nature and the creation around us) STANDS FIRM and CANNOT be shaken!! WOW! They KNOW the hand of God is in it! They KNOW He reigns! They KNOW He is FAIR & JUST! The "world" just trusts it's Creator. They shout their praises and testimonies to 'the world' (us/people)!! 👏 Again, I am a music/song person (it's in my blood & a lot of how I learned and still learn Scriptures, etc) and again I started singing the song,

I WILL DO THE SAME!! 🎶 and another song

NEVER BE SHAKEN (Jared Anderson). (Link to Never Be Shaken is below).

My application; Trust in the Lord, He is FAITHFUL, JUST & TRUE.

Do NOT be shaken by circumstances, look to the Lord. See what creation is doing and PRAISE Him with them. Declare He reigns! REJOICE! Sing, Shout, Burst out with JOY! 🌳 Be a TREE planted by the waters! 🏞You will live in joy and peace.

A sidenote verse came, "The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!" 🌳👏

I have always pictured the trees waving their branches and the wind blowing them!

(There is also another song I learned as a young girl by Evie The Tree Song and it reminds me to keep my roots deep and running to the river no matter where I am, whether I am right beside the river or in the middle of a busy city!)

It also came to me the thought that each thing of creation praises in its own way, the skies cannot praise like the seas roar, nor like the trees dance & wave their praises... just like us. It doesn't matter HOW we praise, just that we DO IT! 👏

As I was writing and reading, I have worship music playing in the background, & the words of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" began to play, & it just hit me. The words

"Oh, the peace we often forfeit, O the needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer." IF we humble ourselves and PRAY He WILL HEAR from Heaven, forgive our sins and HEAL our land! PRAYER... I have always known it is important, but don't always do it as DEEP as I should. But WHAT A FRIEND we have in Jesus! God doesn't just want to JUDGE us, He wants to be our CLOSEST FRIEND! AMEN!

Love you ladies! 💕 Sorry not sorry for the long post again! I just perceive that God wants to tell us He is proud of us, His daughters who are taking this time to DRAW NEAR and be reminded that He is our FRIEND! He is ALWAYS there! His Word will not return void... it ALWAYS accomplishes that which He desires and it will prosper everywhere He sends it! (That is through us too!) (Isaiah 55:11) 📖

Here is the song by Jared Anderson if you desire to listen!  Never Be Shaken!!