I’ll be in the middle of the Write! Canada conference when these words are posted (well, okay, I’ll be sleeping—I set the post time early in the morning).
There may or may not be time for me to check on the blog and reply to any comments. Some of the people who might ordinarily comment will be at the conference too, and what a treat it will be to spend time with them.
I love this conference. It’s a great opportunity for developing my abilities as a writer, and for making professional connections. That is, after all, what it’s about and why I invest the time and money to attend.
Want to know what I love even more about it? The sense of homecoming, to people familiar and unknown who somehow “get” me. We’re each unique, but they get not only my faith but my writerly quirks. And I get theirs.
We belong, and to me that’s a rare feeling.
My favourite memories of Write! Canada’s past are of impromptu moments: sometimes professional, sometimes personal. God moments.
One of Elizabeth Laryn’s posts at From Mountain Tops describes a spirit-renewing walk on the beach. It’s worth taking a few minutes to read the entire post and vicariously renew our own spirits.
Some days we can make a pilgrimage to spots that have a personal, spiritual meaning for us. Other days a special prayer corner may be our space.
Let’s keep our eyes open, because God can make a sacred space anywhere: the goldfinch that flits past your window, a drop of rain that glistens on a flower petal, a hug from a friend… the possibilities are endless.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:1-2, 10-12 NIV*
King David wrote this psalm after sleeping with another man’s wife and then trying to cover things up by having the man killed: pretty drastic misbehaviour, and not surprisingly it inhibited his relationship with God. [I’m posting this on Remembrance Day, and it’s worth noting that the man who died, Uriah, was an exemplary soldier serving on the front lines.]
Sometimes Christians fall like David did. It shouldn’t happen, but it does. And I’m so glad our God is gracious to restore us rather than throwing us out. The Bible promises that if we sincerely confess our sins, He will forgive them. (1 John 1:9) And He’ll help us face the fallout of our actions.
Other times Christians avoid the “big” temptations but get numbed or dulled by the distractions of every day. Pressures, annoyances, bills, telemarketers, H1N1… you name it, there are enough things to take our minds off God if we’re not diligent to keep Him in first place.
Today seems to be a day for reflection. Have I let my focus drift from the God who loves me? Is He first in my heart, or has that place been taken over by my own feelings and opinions?
Father, please create in me a clean heart, washed from unwillingness, resentment and hostility. Renew a right, righteous, healthy and steadfast spirit within me. Draw me closer into Your presence, take down any walls I’ve built, forgive any ways I’ve quenched Your Spirit, and be pleased to dwell in me. Restore the joy of my salvation that I didn’t see was missing. I need joy. And grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Because of Jesus, in whom I put my trust.
This song by Echoing Angels, “You Alone,” speaks to me of the intimacy we need with our wonderful God.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits –
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5, NIV*
In last week’s post, I was caught by the promise of forgiveness, healing, and rescue from the pit. They shaped my prayers, both for those who don’t yet know Jesus and for myself.
Later we had a beautiful snowfall, and I thought about how something will occasionally renew my sense of wonder. These same verses came back to mind.
I’ve praised and thanked God for forgiving all my sins and healing all my soul’s diseases. I’ve committed to Him any diseases I’ve nurtured or kept from Him, praying in trust and thankfulness that He wants to finish what He started. I thanked Him for rescuing my life from the pit.
In prayer for certain hurting people, I claimed the rest of the passage and prayed for renewal. For me, I thanked God without thinking about what it meant.
LORD, what does it mean to tell my soul You crown it with love and compassion?
That you satisfy its desires with good things so its youth is renewed?
What sort of things does a soul desire?
When something renews my sense of wonder, everything feels more alive. The world is brighter, my faith more vibrant. Hope glows, excitement and possibilities dance.
Father, please open my soul to be satisfied by the good things You provide: Your own presence with me, sunlight on icicles, a flight of birds. A rainbow. A good story. A miracle. Help me let You renew my soul’s youth… my innocence?
String these moments together to make a lasting change. Help me embrace them and renew my soul. Forgive me for how quickly I’ve forgotten and subsided under the daily stress. Help me let Your renewal glow within me, a holy light to warm and heal.
Oh, LORD, I praise You for Your mercies toward me – mercies You promise are new every morning. Let my soul not forget Your benefits, nor discount them as “only for others.”
I’m not being a bother or an inconvenience to accept these benefits from You. Instead, I’m actually blocking Your will if I don’t. Your love and grace initiated this, and my proper response is joyful acceptance.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits –
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5, NIV*
King David is reminding his soul of all these benefits – not speaking to a group of people but to a single soul. Look at verse 4a: “redeems your life” is singular, not plural.
It’s safe to apply these verses to any and all souls belonging to God, not just David’s own. What strikes me today is how the context implies David isn’t listing the God’s benefits for all believers but for all believing souls.
I’d never seen this distinction between soul and body. Knowing the passage isn’t promising to reverse physical aging in verse 5 nor necessarily promising to satisfy all fleshly desires, I didn’t know how strongly to take verse 3’s promise of healing all diseases. But if this is all specifically promised for the soul, there’s a huge difference.
Forgiveness of all the soul’s sins – that’s fairly straightforward. Isn’t the soul the part sin kills? Some sins, such as inward rebellion, may even be specifically soul sins. Redemption language talks of our souls, once dead in sin, being made alive again.
Crowning a soul with love and compassion sounds like tender restoration. Renewal of youth sounds like rejuvenation of energy and wonder, maybe even of innocence. Reversal of the damage of sin.
Healing all diseases… what would be a disease of the soul, and how many might one soul have? Shame, self-deprecation, pride, fear…? God promises to heal them all in the same breath as promising to forgive all sins. Past, present, and future.
Shame and company are harder to get rid of at times than physical diseases. Praise God, He promises healing!
In this light, how can I pray for the people on my heart? How can I pray for myself? Father, lead and show me how to pray in faith for the souls of those You lay on my heart. Help me walk in faith that You are healing my own soul and finishing what You have begun. Thank You so much for the forgiveness, healing and renewal You give.
Today’s song is “By His Wounds,” sung by Mac Powell, Steven Curtis Chapman, Brian Littrell and Mark Hall on the Glory Revealed CD. This is an amazing video of Christian performance artist and speaker Mike Lewis painting as the song plays.
