“Glorify Me” ~ the prayer
It began with a dream. A literal dream, observed as I slept. I am not prone to spiritual visions or prophetic dreams, so hopefully, it was nothing more than a figment of my imagination, but the impression stuck with me after I woke. I saw a man whom I recognized as a pillar of faith, ravaged by grief, so severely devastated that his hair was grown out and matted in filth, his face unshaven, his posture crumpled. He was unrecognizable by this appearance, yet I recognized him and I woke with a profound burden to pray for this man.
The emotions which accompanied this dream were dank and oppressive. As if in a sauna, I tried to navigate praying but my thoughts were lumbering and incoherent. This didn’t surprise me, for it felt like the frame of mind this man was experiencing. If I was to pray effectively on his behalf, I, his intercessor, needed to feel some semblance of his experience.
Although broken in this man’s stead, I embraced the task of praying and looked to the Lord for help constructing the right prayer. The needed prayer took shape,
“Glorify him, Lord. Glorify him. That is all I can say, just glorify him.”
This is Joy: Being Unable to Escape Experiencing God’s Goodness
I didn’t see this coming – a blog on joy. I can only remember having used the word “joy” once before in my writing because for too long, decades actually, the idea stirred pain in me. Like a barren woman dodges baby showers and church nurseries, I swore off allowing myself to contemplate joy.
Because I thought joy was an offshoot of happiness and happiness an offshoot of joy, I looked for them as some conjoined thing, like the snowballs that make up a snowman. After all, aren’t they comprised of the same substance and derived from the same source?
Because the two are so easily confused, we turn off our receptors for joy when our receptors for happiness return pain. Our mistaking them for the same receptors is what starves us of joy.
Good News: You’re Doing It Wrong
You are doing it wrong.
What is it you are doing wrong? – your spiritual life, your development into a disciple of Christ, your efforts to better yourself. How do I know this? Because you are dust and aren’t infallible. There is no possibility that the knowledge you have gained thus far in life is sufficient to safeguard you from error. Knowing this can actually empower you.
It is necessary to put this awareness on the table and take stock of it because otherwise, you’ll suffer emotionally as you stumble learning to walk out the Christian life. You are likely to feel that God is treating you unfairly and throwing you curve balls. What parent refuses to let go of their toddler’s hands as they learn to walk? None does, because they love their child and know that the value of learning to walk surpasses the bumps, bruises, and tears they must endure while learning. It is the same with our spiritual lives. We are learning to walk in step with divine guidance.
Development Through Weakening
This week, my old boss retired. He’d probably prefer for me to choose my words more carefully, so let me correct myself – my former boss retired. He’s the decision-maker who brought me into the company fold as a permanent employee, off of contractor status. I was green when he took a chance on me. In three years, he taught me how to navigate the corporate accounting systems and much of accounting, in general. His role in my life ended the 10-year saga of me finding myself. It took 10 years and eight job attempts to achieve what every young adult needs after college – stability. I owe this man a great debt.
The Desires of My Heart
During my first 20 years as a believer there was a particular Bible verse that stuck in my craw. It is the often referenced: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalms 37:4, NIV).
This verse dangled like a carrot on a stick before me. I possessed a mountain of desires that weren’t becoming reality. I resented that such a statement resounded from the Bible but may not apply to me personally. I came to the conclusion that to make good on this promise in my life, God was withholding all my dreams for heavenly rewards instead of earthly realities. I wasn’t pleased that Psalms 37:4 didn’t exclude heaven as the setting for dream fulfillment. It felt like a tease.
Hannah Whitall Smith and Me
In working on another writing project, I have obtained as many books written by or about my faith predecessor, Hannah Whitall Smith, the person I have learned more from than any other human being about securing a thriving spiritual walk. One of these books is a compilation of excerpts from her personal letters and journals, which provides some insight into the growing pains she went through to secure her legendary faith.