Good morning…
God woke me from sleep with an anxious image. I sensed, somewhere not far away, terrorists had attacked and destroyed a billboard bearing six big letters: ALWAYS. There seemed healing for the nations in this ALWAYS. The salvation of our world was dependent upon this ALWAYS. And this tangible reminder of ALWAYS was ripped up and ravaged in my dream.
Then another image entered my awareness. In my dream state, I opened the front door to let our little dog out to potty and on our doorframe hung a “nosegay” of flowers with a note of encouragement, much like the beginning of one those make shift memorials collecting on a spot where tragedy has occurred. In expressed solidarity, we across the globe seemed to be grieving the destruction of ALWAYS.
I got out of bed, made coffee, and opened my journal to try to discern a message from God.
As I wrote I realized: I am a “sometimes” kind of girl. I notice God’s powerful presence, sometimes. I love people I like, sometimes. I pray deeply, sometimes. I taste and savor Scripture, sometimes. I celebrate God-moments, sometimes. I express my whole unique self, sometimes. From my dream and from recent tragedies, I sense that I am not the only “sometimes” kind of girl living in our lonely world.
God, the great I AM, is the only ALWAYS, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So when I combine my “sometimes” qualities with God’s “I AM ALWAYS” power, I gradually become a “more-and-more-often” person.
“God definitely has us on the same wavelength,” wrote a subscriber yesterday. “I read 2 Corinthians 3 last night and verse 18 captured my attention. And we all, with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another. I love that so much – the slow steady work of the Lord on our hearts.”
God’s great “I AM ALWAYS” power transforms us over a lifetime, from “sometimes” to “more-and-more-often,” coaxing us closer and closer to the consistency of ALWAYS. Always noticing. Always loving. Always praying deeply. Always savoring Scripture. Always celebrating God-moments. Always expressing our whole unique self.
In creative ways God removes the veil and there we are—face-to-face! We suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him (2 Corinthians 3:15-18, MSG).
We gradually become brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. The healing of the nations, the salvation of our world, depends upon God expanding more-and-more through us, ALWAYS.
…Sue…
