Do you pray – and pray – and pray – and wonder if the Lord is hearing your prayer? And if He is, why He isn’t answering?
You’ve grown in your faith. You trust in His Word. You believe His promises. But you’re still praying. And wondering. I admit. I am.
You’re not alone.
I’m right there with you.
And David, the Psalmist, whom God loved tremendously, is with us also. He knows grief. He knows distress. He knows waiting.
He comes right out and asks God. I’m asking right along with David:
How long, Lord, before you answer me? It seems like you’re turning your face from me. How long must I struggle with this agony, anxiety, and sorrow in my soul? It seems that the enemy is winning this battle . . . Oh, Lord, turn and look at me and answer me. Give light to my eyes – restore the sparkle I once had. Don’t let my enemy think he has won.
Then, as David does, we too need to recognize God. This is where we must go. This is what we must do. We must respond to our own distress by recognizing who God is. David’s example of recognition is perfect for us, as well:
But, I trust in your unfailing love, Lord God. My heart rejoices in the salvation you have given me and continue to give me. You have been good to me.
You have been good to me. Oh how this causes me to remember God’s goodness. Over and over. A lifetime of it. He has been good to me.
Now I’m trusting more. He knows me. More than I know my own soul. Now I must strengthen myself in the Word.
I read more about God, learning more about myself, as I do:
Lord, You know everything about me. Everything. You know where I am, what I’m doing. You know my thoughts and my words – before I even speak them. You place Your hand of blessing on my head. You are always with me. Always. You’re in front of me and behind me. You hem me in as my Grandmother hemmed each piece of clothing. Securely. Snugly. Safely. If I choose to go up toward the heavens, You are there. If I go down into the depths of the Earth, You are there. If I fly toward the dawn of the morning or toward the farthest oceans, Your hand is there to guide and support me. It’s impossible for me to hide in the darkness. You still see me – because You bring light into my darkness.
There it is my friend – He brings light into my darkness. He brings light into your darkness. Just as He brought light into David’s darkness.
And so I close my eyes and I see His hand of blessing reaching toward me, guiding and supporting me. He places His hand upon my head.
And I am blessed in the waiting. And in His presence.
The heavens declare the glory of God . . . (Psalm 19:1a)
You’ll see it in the skies – the sun, the stars, the clouds, deep into the huge expanse reaching far beyond our sight.
It’s there. His glory!
You’ll hear these heavenly elements speak. Day and night, they are declaring, speaking. And as they speak, they teach us, revealing knowledge, making God known to us, reviving our souls. His voice is heard and He is made known in every corner of the earth, reaching every land, every tribe, every language. No place is hidden from His voice – from His glory. Whenever and wherever you see the skies, you see God’s glory.
It’s there. His glory!
Father, I look up because I want to see your glory. Open my eyes to every aspect of your creation that I see when I look up. Open my ears to hear your glory. Let me hear your Word speaking to me. Day or night. Light or dark. I join the heavens in praising you.
“Though you walk in the midst of trouble,” God says:
My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. . . I summon a bird . . . or a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about. What I have planned, that will I do. It is my purpose that prevails. My word goes out and achieves the purpose for which I sent it. Though you walk in the midst of trouble, I will preserve your life; I will save you; I will fulfill my purpose for you. (Is.46)
We all have been walking in this “midst of trouble” since early Spring 2020, and probably well before.
He says He will “fulfill” his “purpose” for us. What is His purpose for me? For you? His Word has gone forth and He is speaking to us through His own creation. Are you listening? I am. And I am strengthened in faith as I contemplate.
Especially throughout the tumult of 2020, in the midst of all the pain and frustration, agony and isolation, more photos were posted on social media than ever before. Photos. Of nature. Of sunrises and sunsets, beautiful birds, spring flowers pushing up through the cold soil, budding bushes, flowering trees. Super moons. The tumultuous year changed seasons. Summer brought photos of green fields, late evening sunsets, and bountiful fruit and vegetable harvests. Autumn’s beauty yet surpassed our expectations with its changing leaves of abundant color and “Frost on the Punkin.” The beautiful Northern Lights. We entered yet another winter. It began with our own “Christmas Star,” followed by ice-covered trees, weighted with heavy wet snow.
All of nature. God’s own creation.
I enjoyed the photos on social media throughout the last year(s) and especially these last months, didn’t you? In the “midst” of divisions over political candidates and policies, wearing or not wearing masks, and taking or not taking the controversial Covid Vaccine, I, nonetheless, have sensed a unity among those of us, the people of His creation, who have discovered or recognized or cherished these elements of nature more than ever before. And that unity – the common love of nature – is brought about because of our God.
What is His purpose we read about in Isaiah 46?
This spring, I sat at my old table by the window, facing the storm-battered Maple beside our Michigan home. I looked up at its small budded leaves, which increased in both size and depth of green each day. I observed both male and female Baltimore and Orchard Orioles. Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Goldfinches, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Robins. Mourning Doves. Rose Breasted Grosbeaks. Varied species, each illustrating our varied circle of human community. Each beautiful in God’s eyes. Each placed here with purpose.
In Michigan, we delighted in the resurgence and arrival of the birds that had months ago left the cold for the warmth of the south. Now they have returned, and we are listening to their song, amazed by their color, enraptured with their beauty.
What is His purpose?
I look further, to the patio and into what we call Matt’s little woods. I have planted a few bulbs, such as the daffodils or tulips, that surround the edge of the growth of small maples, but I didn’t plant the Umbrellas and May Flowers, the Adder’s Tongues and Blood Roots, or the Cowslips that carpet the floor of the spring woods. They were planted by their creator, and they rise to Him.
What is the purpose?
I remember my walk through the woods a few days ago. Morels camouflaged amidst the dried leaves carried over from fall.
What is the purpose?
Yellow forsythia. Crab apple. Flowering bushes and towering trees that appeared dead through the long winter have budded in renaissance.
What is the purpose?
Could it be that the purpose of the great beauty of Spring, the most noticeably striking in years, one which has captured our every physical sense, is poured upon us as a reminder from our God that He has not forsaken us as we walk through the midst of trouble. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is He who has created everything good. It is He who has created the beautiful nature we see and enjoy. It is He who has created the depths of the deep waters and the waves in the Great Lakes surrounding our state and in the oceans surrounding our country. No person or entity can control those bodies of water – not a scientist – not a country – not a leader or ruler.
My word goes out and achieves the purpose
for which I sent it.
~ The Lord God
I believe that He sent that Word out all those years ago, in the beginning, speaking into being these elements of nature, knowing that their display in this anomalous Spring of 2021 would bring joy to our lives – at a time we would need it most. I believe that His purpose for us is to be encouraged, to know that He is God, that He is in control, and that we can trust Him. His presence revealed in nature reassures us of His promise – that He will never forsake us.
Did He summon that bird that delights us or that budding element of nature to fulfill His purpose. I think so. Take it personal. Listen to Him speaking. Let your heart be renewed in the knowledge of His faithfulness. Yesterday, today, and forever.
That last day of our northern getaway, we drove on to revisit and re-create the final sites from my memories in 1955. In this case, I’m glad only the photo setting was recreated – not the actual event that occurred here at my grandpa’s cabin many years ago.
I was just a wee one. My family was at the cabin – a small log cabin in the deep woods, just south of L’Anse, Michigan, located on a sandy road on the way to Little Mountain.
Daddy bought a new Kodak 3 mm in 1955, so my family, including my brother and sister, inherited a plethora of photos, most preserved in slide format. Some years ago, I transferred these slides to digital form, saving them on disks for my family. I’m nostalgic, to say the least. I thrive in a mid-century décor shop. Program my TV to record 40’s and 50’s movies on Turner Classic. So when I view those digital photos or browse through my mother’s photo albums, I seem to “go back in time.” And I love it!
When I was a teenager, I had a clock radio much like the one pictured. Mine had a “snooze” button on top, which I used a lot! An analog clock is rarely used today, is it? Instead, nowadays we most often look at the digital clocks on our dashboards, ovens, and especially on our phones. Occasionally, when Ron and I are driving, we’ve crossed a time zone line, and one or both of our cell phones didn’t “catch up!” That was confusing. Well, something similar happened to us during our time camping in the Porkies.
I had looked at photos and articles in the brochures, pamphlets, and travel guides of the park, considering which sites Ron and I might want to see. Much to my distress, one article had a photo of a bat, which I immediately covered up by folding the corner of the paper over it.
Contrary to the report on Ron’s weather app, the sun was shining today, so we drove up the mountain, 1000 feet above Lake Superior to the “Lake of the Clouds.”
With my Mama in 1955
It was a beautiful drive to the top of the mountain. And today, as we parked and walked the 100 yard embankment to the cliff above, years of imbedded memories surged in the form of droplets in my eyes, welling up and rolling down my cheeks. I’m sure that my daddy and mama would have never thought that the memories of this very place, which they had created within me and had kept alive through photos taken with Daddy’s new 35 mm Kodak in 1955 would stir up fresh within me all these years later. You’ll see me as the little blonde girl in the older pictures. See more pics below.
Until today, I had never been back to The Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains.
But I’ve wanted to.
I’ve hoped to.
And I’ve thought about it ever since.
This was a desire of my heart.
Today was the day.
Oftentimes God grants us the desires of our hearts. He loves to do so. He knows those things – even the little things – that will delight us. In fact, He surrounds us with His favor. His favor is like a shield around us. I had lived much of my adult life unaware or unknowing or not believing that I was favored by God, but about eight years ago, in the most difficult time of my life, I became cognizant of it. I believed the Word of God. And I embraced it, finally trusting that God loves me and wants to show me favor.
The Oxford dictionary defines favor as “act of kindness beyond what is due.” And that’s just what God did for me once again – at the Lake of the Clouds. He granted me an “act of kindness beyond what is due.” He allowed me to go back to a very peaceful time in my life, remembering all those years ago, on the edge of this same cliff but feeling absolutely no danger because I was protected by my Daddy and my Mama. And God allowed me to know the same serenity of this peaceful setting today, completely protected by Him, my Heavenly Father.
My Mama 1955 (My Daddy stands in the same spot in the featured picture at top of post.I’m standing in nearly the same spot as my mother – 65 years later. My heart is full!
Then He opened my eyes to see even more: the beauty of this place. He filled me with the joy of being there with my husband, Ron.
We hiked miles across the encampment and down to the base of the lake below. My heart was full-of God’s favor.
God loves to give you the desires of your heart. Ask Him. Then look for it. Sometimes it’s huge. Sometimes it’s in the little things.
Undeserved. Unmerited. But it is mine. And it’s yours: the Favor of the Father. And it is all because of Jesus. Grasp it. Hold on.
Ron and I have a passion for waterfalls, so today we made plans to see five waterfalls in surrounding areas outside this huge park. We marked them on our map, set our gps for directions, and headed toward Ironwood on the Wisconsin border. Our goal: five waterfalls.
