Shame

Precious friend,
Are you bent over with burdens of shame?
Does a memory cause your face to cloud, and your heart to cry regret?
Maybe you hide a continual shame,
That you think only is known by you,
But Oh, how your heart cries to be set free...
Is this shame causing you to think yourself unworthy...
Unworthy of the grace of God,
Unworthy of His blessings,
Unworthy of His goodness...?
Has the shame of a rash decision, a heated argument, or a compulsive choice...lowered your head?
Yes, you have tried to conceal,
Tried to make everything appear fine,
But inside you know that one thing...
That continues to haunt you with defeat and failure.

The Lord sees it all, knows it all.
This shame you bear has not altered His opinion of you,
It has not erased His acceptance of you, nor removed His love for you...
He knows what is causing your head to hang,
He knows what continues to cloud the spark of light and hope from your eyes.
He know all about shame...

He experienced it to the fullest degree
When all the shame and guilt from humanity, past, present, and future was placed upon Him...

Yes, He bore your shame so you wouldn't have to carry it anymore.
He stands before you now and gently whispers,

"Lift up your head, my beloved.
 Look in My eyes of love,
 Observe the nail prints in My hands,
 I took the shame so you wouldn't have to carry it.
 I want you to lift your head,
 You are shame-free,
 A new wave of My grace is washing you even now...
 I took your shame and gave you My righteousness.
 I want you to receive this gift from Me.
 I accept you...
 I want you whole...
 I paid for your shame, you are now free..."

Psalms 145:14 "Those bent over with burdens of shame You will lift up."

The Unseen Promise

How quietly,
My Father blankets the earth with His provision of snow.
His provision of moisture and nourishment,
That will penetrate through the ice and ground and water those hidden things.
Those hidden bulbs, hidden seeds, hidden roots...

Yes, this blanket of snow is a promise,
A promise that is not seen at the present,
But a promise, in the making...that will bring those desired longings,
Of spring...seed time...blossoms...
These desired blossoms are unseen at the present,
But friend, they are coming!

And this snow, that at the present, may seem to be an irritant...
An irritant of cold, wet, closings, difficult travel, shoveling...
This irritant is actually part of a beautiful promise of the unseen goodness of God.

In your life, friend,
The winter and barrenness you are experiencing at present is for a purpose,
Yes, the purpose is hidden,
Just like the springtime and blossoms are hidden from me on this snowy day...

But your God has heard your prayers,
He knows the desires of your heart,
He has plans of good for you.

Your irritant of today
Is preparing the way for your springtime, your fruitful blossoms of tomorrow...

Be assured, treasured one,
That the unseen of what God is doing...will spring forth...
The seed is being watered,
Roots are being nurtured,
And before you know it...

"Your bondage of barren winter will be over
 The cold rains will be finished and gone,
 Flowers will appear everywhere,
 And you will see that a new season of grace has arrived." Song of Songs 2:11,12 TPT

My Comforter

You come Holy Spirit
And comfort me
You comfort me in my sorrow, my sadness...
You know all the issues,
You know all the feelings that well up within me,
But you accept me as I am
And with Your tender love...
You comfort me...

You comfort means so much to me,
I know You have experienced sorrow,
Your sorrow was more than all humanity's sorrow put together.

So You know
And You come
The One who experienced the heaviness of all man-kind's sorrow upon Him...
The One who shed tears until He sweat drops of blood,
This One comes to me,
And invites me to open my heart to Him...

He calls me His "loyal dove," His "perfect partner," His friend,  His "flawless one."
He does not condemn,
Tell me to "deal with it," or "get my act together."
No, He just invites me to receive Him on this dark night...
He wants me to know
I am joined to Him on these dark days.

"Come deeper still with Me," He pleads...
"I need you, dear one,
 I need to lavish My love upon you."
"Precious one," He continues,
"When I see you in need... it blesses My heart to give to you.
 My heart wants to give you more,
 More of all I have stored up for you,
 More of the abundance of grace, peace, strength, and joy,
 I suffered so you could have this in abundance!"

The fragrance of His suffering love...
Drew me to Him
To receive all I needed, so much more than I expected...


Song of Songs 4

That Proud Oppessor

Those proud oppressors,
Fear, sickness, pride, frustration, anxiety....
They think they can rise up,
And have full reign over you, my friend.
But they are deceived,
They have walked right into a trap,
Because you, son or daughter of the King,
Are covered with the blood of Jesus
And you, dear one,
Have a promise of blessing over your life!!!

Yes, you have a promise,
From the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Maker of heaven and earth
Over you, His beloved one,
A promise of blessing...

Did you know, friend?
That this proud oppressor,
Who you thought had conquered, had won, was big and powerful,
This proud oppressor has to bow,
Bow to the One who you belong to...
This proud oppressor,
Has to bow and get out!!!

Because you have a promise of blessing over your life!!!

So tell it to go...
Remind this unwelcome intruder who you are, and who you belong to,
And begin to walk in your blessing!

Your Savior gave His life to guarantee this blessing for you,
This blessing of instead!!!

He promises to bless you with gladness instead of mourning,
Gratitude instead of despair,
A double portion instead of shame and disgrace,
Health instead of sickness,
Peace and a confidence instead of worry and fear...

"Yes, His promise of blessing over you, will break you free from the proud oppressors!"
 Psalms 119:122

The Process of Sowing

Those who sow their seeds with tears,
Their seeds of prayer, of continual faithfulnes, of continual hope,
For change, for breakthrough, for healing, for restoration...
Will reap a harvest of God's goodness!

Yes, those who sow their seeds,
Trusting in their God,
Will return with joyful laughter...

For their God is good,
Their God is faithful,
Their God keeps His promises.
And the harvest... watered with His supernatural grace,
Is overflowing,
With more than we could have dreamed...

Because this is who our God is...
He sees the big picture,
He is always working, He cares,
And suddenly...
Our eyes open... and we can see...
The depth of His purposes,
And the layers of His detailed work.

And the miracle is revealed before our eyes!

Yes, joy abounds because of His goodness!!

Psalms 126

For the Joy That Was Set Before Him

He endured the pain,
Received the rejection,
Slap after slap upon His face...
He suffered with each blow, each whip, each lash upon His body
As His skin ripped and bleed.
He was mocked, ridiculed
As He held His hands out to receive the piercing of the nails,
And they were pounded into His hands and feet.
He hung there forlorn and forsaken
Yet He uttered not a word of offense.

But instead, He blessed His enemies...

How God, How,
How could You endure all this,
Yet not sin with a word of offense, or thought of bitterness?

Then I heard Him whisper His answer...
"It was because of the joy that was set before me."
"My precious one, I set you before My eyes...
 I saw your chains drop,
 I saw you forgiven and free,
 I saw you healed,
 I saw you happy, prospering, and whole...
 It was worth it just for you, precious one." He whispered.

Because of the joy that was set before Him...
Lord, is this how I can keep the offenses from prospering in my soul?
Blessing the offender, thanking the Lord and believing the best about the indiviual,
Seeing in my spirit my offender transformed and something good coming from it all...

Only with your Spirit within me is this possible, Lord!

Thank you Jesus for leading the way with such radical love!!!

Confidence

This confidence
That I can have in You, my Father, my Daddy, my God,
Is such a gift,
Yes, it is my great reward.

Thank you Father,
That I can confidently run into Your arms and know that You are there.
Thank you that I can be confident that You hear my every prayer, my every longing and desire.
Thank you that I can be confident that You will keep me, help me, fight for me, protect me.
Thank you that I can be confident that You save to the uttermost...
Thank you that I can be confident in name of Jesus, in the covering of Your blood.

What would life be like if I didn't have this gift, this reward?
Who could I turn to
In my fear, my sorrow, my anxiety, my insecurity, my questions
If I did not have You, Father, as my confidence?

There would be no solid ground, no peace, no comfort, no encouragement, no security for my soul.
It would feel like I was sinking, wandering, so fearful, overcome with the "what ifs,"
And so alone...

So I thank you Father for this reward of confidence in You.

May I not treat this reward lightly,
Or cast it away with my questions and doubts...

The confidence You give me is not a variable.
It doesn't change with the shifting winds, the new trend, the storm or the disaster...
No, this confidence in You remains the same...through it all,
Because You remain the same, yesterday, today, and forever...
Always faithful, always good, always kind, always pouring Your love upon me...

Oh, Father, You are my strong confidence...
What a priceless reward!

Hebrews 10:35 "Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens.
                           Remember the great reward it brings.