Psalm 12:5 “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the Lord, “I will protect them from those who malign them.”

God’s heart is always toward the weak and the needy.  There is no injustice that escapes His notice.  There is no form of oppression that He is okay with.  He will arise and He will act -  no prayer for His righteous rule will remain forever unanswered.  Look for the “suddenlies” of God - deliverance is just around the corner.

Indeed, arise O Lord, and deliver Your people from the oppressor!

Exodus 13:17-18 God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though it was shorter.  For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.

We aren’t usually very happy when God leads us through the desert, but often it is the safest place for us.  If we recognized God’s mercy protecting us from enemies we aren’t yet ready to face, we might be more thankful and less “grumbly” when God leads us through times of preparation in the desert!

Lord, Thank You for always leading me with mercy.  Please give me Your perspective when I go through times of testing in the desert.

Okay, it’s Valentine’s Day and I just couldn’t let the day pass without taking a few moments to tell you just a little bit about my Valentine…

He is the fairest of ten thousand; He is the Bright and Morningstar; He is altogether lovely; He is awesome in power and majestic in holiness; He is beautiful beyond description; He good and He only does wondrous things; He is faithful in every season; He is mighty in deed and no one can thwart His purposes; He is merciful and kind and loving toward all He has made; He is patient and tender; He is jealous and relentless; His love is stronger than death and His jealousy as unyeilding as the grave; He is passionately persistent in His pursuit of my heart and His heart is ravished by one glance of my eyes; He delights in me and He rejoices over me; He will never leave me and He will never let go of me–no one can snatch me out of His hand; He’ll never forget me–my name is engraved on the palm of His hand; He is always thinking about me–His thoughts toward me outnumber the sand; His eyes burn like blazing fire; His heart burns with love and longing for me; He is Love; He is for me, He is with me, and nothing is too hard for Him; He keeps His promises and His Word will never fail; I am His and He is mine; I am His and His desire is for me; He is holy; He is righteous; He is faithful; He is good; He is just and He is true; He will never change–He is the same yesterday, today and forever;  No one is like Him and He has no equal; No one can stand against Him–He conquered death and has overcome the grave; He has defeated darkness and brought me into His marvelous Light; He is alive and His kingdom will reign forever; He is the Soveriegn over all creation and creation itself groans with longing for Him; He is my Redeemer, my Healer; my Savior, my King, my Lord and my God; He is the Lover of my soul, my Beloved, my Bridegroom, and the one in whom my soul delights;  He is Jesus, the Name above all names–my Love, my life, and my forever Valentine.

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

He has already given us everything we need to live a godly life through His divine power, but it is activated through our knowledge of Him.  The greater our knowledge of the One who called us by His own glory and goodness–the more we can access what we already have!  

Lord, I want to grow in the knowledge of You!

Hello, my name is Cindy and I am a human yo-yo. 

Just kidding…but not by much!  It has felt that way lately.  But that’s just it…it has felt that way.  I have gotten into the not so great habit of “confessing a feeling” a little too often in recent weeks.  My emotions have been on quite the rollercoaster ride, but by God’s grace my heart is steadfast before Him and I think I would do better to focus on that reality.

Why the yo-yo?  I have been at a crossroads.  On one hand God has been amazingly faithful to me and has done much work both in me and in the ministry.  On the other hand, things have been really tough.  I have been walking in the tension between the reality of what I ”see” and the greater reality of God’s promises yet unseen.  I have had some pretty huge decisions staring me in the face lately and haven’t had the answers.  But my ever loving Heavenly Father has graciously lifted that burden off my shoulders and has promised to make the way clear.  In fact, He’s even been a bit humorous about it.  I have been ”hard pressed on every side” in recent weeks and doors have been closing all around me–not a very comfortable place.  My prayer all week last week was that God would send me a dream with the “man of Macedonia” saying “come over here.”  (For anyone interested, that is a reference to Acts 16:6-10.)  Basically, that’s exactly what He did.

But, alas, that is another story for another day (sorry for the teaser!).  What I really want to share right now is that things are GOOD.  God is GOOD.  I am GOOD.  Life is GOOD (well, this sin sick planet could use some serious help, but that is also another story for another day).  For those of you sweet, sensitive souls who pray for me–thank you–please don’t ever stop.  But also please recognize that my little melancholy self often “processes” when I sit at my computer and write so I probably give a bit of a distorted view of where things are really at with all of my little up and down blog entries (and sometimes even the devos).  Going forward, I will endeavor to “process” more in my closed journal and will be a little choosier about what I post on this blog.

Speaking of that, one thing I will be posting to this blog each week is a very short ”Weekly Word.”  I posted one this morning and will try to do so at the beginning of each week.  I made a decision a week or two ago that I will not continue to write and post a full devotion each week as I have in the past.  Due to ongoing time constraints,  I’m going to slow the pace to once a month and focus more on quality (Lord willing!) than quantity.  But since I am a pretty faithful journaler (is that a word?) I tend to write down little thoughts about certain scriptures as I read and meditate on the Word throughout the course of each week.  I thought it would be fun to post a few thoughts and/or ponderings about a particular verse that has ministered to me that week. These are not full devos with a beginning a middle and an end–they are simply random thoughts the Holy Spirit highlights to me as I ponder the Word.  I don’t plan to send out an email with the link, so just check the blog at the beginning of the week if you are interested. 

Other than that, we continue on in the prayer room on Thursday evenings.  Jesus has faithfully met us and I know He hears us and delights in the prayers prayed from that little room for the chuch in this region, for Israel, and for the nations.  Also, The Well is now open most Saturdays (all except the first Saturday of the month) — Saturday hours seem to work out a lot better for all concerned.  In addition to yours truly, there are two other committed women of God who form our core team  (Sue and Tracy if you ever read this blog–I love you guys and you are life savers! Blessings, blessings, blessings to you both!!!) as well as a couple of others who are able to participate on a somewhat less regular basis.  If you are in the area, stop by on a Saturday between 10-2 to soak in the presence of the Lord or to receive prayer.  It is truly our joy to be available to pray for those needing a fresh revelation of His love.  (The last Saturday we were open that was me–thanks Sue and Krystal ) 

A few more update snipits …Going to Thailand at the end of next month with a team of five other wonderful ladies who flat out know how to pray.  It will be a Jesus party for sure, but we would all still very much appreciate your prayers.  Even sooner (next Friday the 15th) I’ll be heading out to IHOP in KC for just a quick trip (4 days).  I can’t wait!!!  Except for Jerusalem, IHOP is more my home away from home (heaven) than any other place on earth. It is such a wonderful environment to immerse yourself in the things of God and Jesus always meets me there.  Now is a good time for that!  (Anytime is a good time for that!)  

I think that’s it for now.  Lord willing, I will be back at some point (no promises when) with more on the “man from Macedonia” story.  But first I need to wait on the Lord a bit to see what shape it will take.  Until then…

See you at the well.

Genesis 42:36  Their father Jacob said to them, “… everything is against me!” 

Interesting that Jacob cried out “everything is against me!” just before he was about to experience greater restoration than he could have ever possibly imagined.   Surely it did look like everything was against him, but his misperception of God’s character actually caused a delay in the blessing (see Gen.43:10).  When circumstances pressed in on Jacob to the point that he had no choice but to trust, the wheels were set in motion for him to receive the greatest surprise–and blessing–of his life!

Lord, I ask for grace to trust You more…especially in the dark right before the dawn!