While I was in my time of devotion I was pondering about
the heart of God.
I relished in His love, and the memories of how much He
has forgiven us. And how many times! O
thank God!
I asked myself, can I learn to forgive
like He does?
I know we have all been given much and so it is required
to give back. (Luke 12:48) But, I still wondered about Him, and The Father's
Heart. I was seeking more intimacy with the heart of
forgiveness.
I've learned so much
about His vast love, His immeasurable widespread arms, His Presence, and
The Deity of The Godhead. It always leaves me undone. I can approach Him through
His Son. How beautiful is that
?!
But still in my own frailings...yes, frailings... I was wondering,
How could this be? Me, a sinner saved from
sin! Changed by The Presence and filled with the Power of Holy Spirit! Now,
being used by an unseen, yet, tangible God that transcends time and space. Again
it undoes me...in a most glorious
way!
I began to shout for joy. When... I noticed... I was in
a moment in time in which I was keenly aware
that His Presence crept in to my weakened space, and He
was relishing the time
in me.
Again, how could this be? I stilled my
self, trying desperately to stay engaged in this fragment of time, knowing how
close He can be.
My
heart began to ponder about Joseph and the story in Genesis. I thought about how
Joseph was sold into slavery and how his brothers came against him. I remembered
how he plotted revenge, and how, in the end, all the brothers were spared and
united and together. What a lovely story, I thought. Until I read something that
tore my heart in two, and I was captured by the Presence of the Lord once
again.
This time I was led to think
about Him...not me or my own circumstances.This time I saw the heart
of Him, The Onewho loved the world and He began to speak clearly to
me.
I know your deeds and
I know your heart says the Lord. I know your desires
and passions. I'm asking, yes, I am asking you to sit and reflect on knowing
Me. Selah. Know the Me who
feels. Know the Me who hears, and the Me who has a
desire. And It's You! says The Lord
God.
I stilled myself and began to pray. As I did I
reflected on a scripture that has been dormant for a
while.
Matthew 16:23 But he turned and said to Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your
mind on the things of God, but on the things of
man.”
I know this Scripture had been a rebuke
to Peter, but it now took on a new meaning for me. Was it for me? Had I
too become concerned only about the things of man? Or, had I only concerned
myself with what our God does forman? Was I
anywhere even close to being near to
Him?
Then I was reminded about the way Jesus taught us to "Do" for
God.
Mathew 25:40 The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one
of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for
me.'
This became the challenging part. Because now I was intimate with Him and
He was sharing with me His
Heart. Time stood still
for just a bit. And then, while still in that moment, I once again saw Joseph. I
began to reflect more on how God raised him up and spared his family. I
reflected about how through tears he forgave his brothers.Thinking this was the message of forgiveness I was
looking for, I began to search
my own heart.
UNTIL....I saw
something.
Genesis 42:36 Their father said to them, “Do you
want to make me lose all my children? Joseph is gone; Simeon is gone; and now
you want to take away Benjamin. I am the one who
suffers!
The Father cried "I AM THE ONE WHO
SUFFERS!!!" I began to shake when I read this
chills went down my spine. It was The FATHER'S CRY."I AM THE
ONE WHO SUFFERS."
Tears streaming down my cheeks, my spirit was sore. I
had become broken under this message of the Cry of the Father. And now I know
it.
He is suffering every time we aren't right. And that is where my heart
needed to be. I had wounded Him. In all my
frailings.
Our focus has always been on on the beautiful grace that encompasses us
in weakness.
and how through the love of the God-head, He is the One bearing
all.
We remember
how He bore our shame, and our pain. We are always happy and confident
that He recognizes every detail about us that keeps us in the position of
leaning and learning.
But I heard the Cry of the Father! My focus has changed since that
time.
I desperately desire to keep from wounding the one who TOOK IT ALL FOR
Me! Yes, a revival had taken place in
my own spirit. I was convicted not condemned. I was
changed!
I'm writing because many of us need it too. We need a
revival that changes us. We need to be able to show the world It can be changed.
We need to receive conviction NOT condemnation. We need The New
Day.
Dear
Lord,
I pray this prayer earnestly for all of our readers all across the globe.
We love you, Lord! I pray for each one of us to hear "The
Cry of The Father."
I pray for new revelation of The Father's Unfailing Love.
How compassionate He is! How He grieves for anyone that is lost!
Let that sensitivity be in us, Oh Lord. Show us
your heart toward the Father, O
Lord.
I thank you that you have been in the place of Our Father who is in
Heaven. Holy is his name! Let Your Kingdom come. Let Your will be done on earth
as it is In heaven.
In Jesus' name,
amen
Dr Theresa
Phillips
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