I had a favourite prayer, a long time ago, which included the line:
“Let me not run from the love you are offering me”.
Because, you see, I want God’s blessings, I want to experience God’s goodness. I do, truly, desire intimacy with our amazing God. And yet I can find myself running from Him, running from the very activities and conversations and places that will lead to the encounter I desire. Sometimes I do not allow myself to receive the blessings that God is lavishing upon me. It is almost like I have a closed fist that is incapable of accepting a gift.
And as I continue to invite you to share my journey navigating a bit of “world-bumpiness”, I think our next step is to make sure we’re allowing a bit of space for God’s goodness to come into our lives.
Because God is so keen to lavish His goodness and provision and peace and thirst-quenching water upon us:
"When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water."
(Isaiah 41:17-18 NRSV translation)
I do not know what you are thirsting for today. But I do know we can anticipate God’s provision, expect it, seek it out, wait for it, and prepare for it. And when it comes, we can open our hands and receive the gift of it, even if it looks or feels a little different to what we are expecting!
And that’s the thing, sometimes it can feel a little different to what we expect… And sometimes we receive it in a way in which surprises us. Just to share a little of my journey this week, I’ve been reading a great nourishing book that proclaims the goodness of God, I’ve been walking outside in the Autumnal breeze, I’ve been cooking wholesome food and taking time to gaze into a fire. A slower pace, a to-do list postponed, a seeking-out of the quiet. And I’ve even accepted some of my husband’s great advice :-)!
So I do not know how God is inviting you, today, to open your hands and receive His Goodness, His Blessings, His Living Water.
I do not know what you are thirsting for. But Jesus knows, and I think our invitation may be to “let in God’s goodness” today
Blessings,
Kate Cavanagh,
Raising Happy Healthy Christian Kids
Your Domestic Ark
P.S. For completeness, Step 1 (about emotions) can be read here , Step 2 (about our thoughts) can be read here and Step 3 (about building a gratitude practice) can be watched here.
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