Cling

"And Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers, and warming himself at the fire." -Mark 14:54

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." James 4:8

     Peter followed Christ at a distance. He did not cling to the life-giving Son of God. Do you realize what happens when you do as Peter did? What does it mean to follow Him at a distance?

     We only know as much about Him as we want to know. My Lord reveals Himself fully... entirely. Yet, I step away and cling to anything and everything other than Him. When there is space between me and the heart of my Savior, there is room for the enemy to inflict pain... to distract... to bring doubt.

     On the contrary, when I am right there next to the Lord... there is rest. Peace. Contentment. Steadfastness of heart. Reason to continue and something- or better yet SOMEONE- to hold onto. 

There is no pain too great for Your hand, O Lord-
Won't You be near to me?
Not a temptation You don't understand, O Lord-
Will You come near to me?
If I don't cling to You, I don't live, O Lord-
Please, always be near to me. 

Wait

Yes, it looks long... and yes, I believe I've posted this here before. I urge you to read it anyway. You will not be disappointed, I promise.

The hardest lesson to learn is to wait.

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming Your Word.

"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and You tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."
-Wait by Russell Kelfer

Eternal Weight of Glory

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you." -2 Corinthians 4:7-12


How easily we forget. There is a PURPOSE to persecution. A PURPOSE to affliction. Not to bring about strength in our mortal bodies... not to buffet our ever decaying flesh- but to manifest the life and power of CHRIST! How easily we are overtaken by the simple occurrences that we "do not deserve". Who am I to turn away the opportunity to shine in the strength of my Lord? Who am I to decline a more intimate relationship with Him for the purpose of my COMFORT?!


I forgot this week. I became discouraged. I was weighed down by "momentary light affliction" that I could have embraced for the purpose of an ETERNAL weight of glory. Do not find yourself in the same position. You will miss out on the ultimate PRIZE. 


Have a blessed Saturday, beloved friends.