Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
It is hard to live without fear in a world that seems to have lost its way. Our trust in God and joy in our salvation is our strength. Through the power of Holy Spirit we are strong for good in our families, in our communities and in our nation. We were created for these good works which He has prepared for us. In the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we need to trust that they can do what we cannot. In prayer and supplication to God, who hears our prayers, we are safe and can walk without fear. The battle for good has already been won. We do not walk alone! Carla
Deuteronomy 31:8
And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (NKJV)
The principal reason for God’s judgment on His people was their continual idolatry. They abandoned His grace and willingly embraced the evil religious practices of the Canaanites. The NKJV Study Bible
Biblical Law—Public Law
In many nations of the ancient Middle East, the king carried the laws in his head, as they were his personal possession. He did not publish them until he was ready to give up his throne. Thus a person could be arrested for breaking a law he had never known. The laws were kept secret, even when a person was put on trial for breaking them. Other peoples of the ancient Middle East obeyed laws because they were enforced by the royal establishment; disobedience meant punishment. But God’s people were to obey His Law because they loved Him. The NKJV Study Bible
Holding to the covenant means nothing less than exclusive loyalty and devotion to Yahweh as Israel’s only God. Faithlife Study Bible
Exodus 13:21
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.
Joshua 1:5
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Genesis 28:15
Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
When I’m weary in my spirit, I confess that I click my ruby heels, hoping to be transported to a gentler and saner OZ. And in the past, I’ve talked about wrestling with depression, which only exacerbates this notion that we need to make sense of everything before we care, assuming that the job is to find answers or solutions. When life is uncertain it is easy to live inconvenienced. (Making matters worse because we assume that uncertainty is a bad thing. Meaning that we don’t trust our internal resources.)
You see, this is where we go off the rails. When we focus only on what we’ve lost (scarcity), we are unable to access what we have (sufficiency). And when I see only scarcity, I miss the fact that every single one of us has been gifted with the “music” of creativity, abundance, heart, love, passion, gentleness, helpfulness, caring, kindness, tenderness, restoration, and a shoulder to lean on. This is the paradigm of internal sufficiency.
When you meet someone new, the preferred starting question is, “What do you do?” Which is—ironically—not really about walking your dog or tending your garden, but about your “job”, or your “career”. As if that’s our tether.
So. Let’s pause here. It is worth noting that in the context of our work (or job), to live wholehearted, authentic and from the inside out, is about the difference between a career, and a vocation. A vocation is a calling; a service, or ministry, or passion that spills from what is already inside, regardless of mood, or pleasant circumstances, or the need to avoid struggle.
So, what’s the secret?
Remember that in every encounter with people, Jesus helped change the paradigm. “You are more than the sum of your circumstances. He saw the music—the artist—inside.”
I do know this: it is easy to lose sight of the artist that resides inside every one of us. Whether lost or buried or stuck or forgotten or dismissed or ignored... or “stolen.”
When we tag or label or describe ourselves, “artist” is seldom used.
Where I was raised, artist was a phase you went through (a dream), you know, to grow out of, to move on to something more useful and sensible—in order to get a “real job”.
What is this artist? It is the place in our spirit that births… creativity and enchantment, imagination and play and wonder, and attention and risk and investment, with a whole heart.
My friends, thank you for the gift of being you. Thank you for the small and gentle ways you spill that gift—yes, the music—with the people and in world around you.
More than ever, we need sanity and restoration. Be gentle with yourself this week, and let your music—and your compassion—spill. Sabbath Moments
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