This verse was the word of the Lord to a land weary from enemy attack.
I feel like I have been in a battle for the past two weeks.
Those fiery darts have been flying and seek to destroy all peace in every situation.
I am trying to stand but just when I see God's goodness carry me through one event, the Thief sneaks in and whispers lies that drown me in a sea of insecurity and unrest.
I am gasping for the breathe of God that will blow peace and joy.
I am grasping for the hand of my Father so I can walk in safety.
But gasping and grasping are not resting words.
And the Lord calls me to rest, 
something I have forgotten about the past few weeks.
When my armor is on I can rest, knowing I am protected from the attacks of the enemy.
When it is not on I fight with my own strength, 
hence, the weariness.
Joy erodes with weariness.
Peace is unreachable when battles rage against an unprotected child of God.

But Truth always prevails.
And the Truth above gives me the quiet confidence to hold my Father's hand through the insecurity, the fear, and the internal unrest.

I am thankful for the hand of blessing that reaches down and whispers louder than the Enemy,
"You are Mine." Is. 43:1

I am thankful that even though the Enemy might push and shove me around My Father fights on my side because I am the apple of His eye. 

 Just before Zechariah 2:8 the Lord says He "will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst."  
Zechariah 2:5

May the Lord's protective flames surround you in your own battles today.
May you find the strength to lift up empty hands to you Father and be thankful that you are the apple of His eye.

And may you find rest in that Truth!

Blessings!
Rachael

Linking with:
Scripture and a Snapshot
Heart Reflected
The Weekend Brew

The Island of Myself
by Rachael Krumpe

The island of myself

It’s where I want to be.

It’s where I feel safest,

Just my Jesus and me.


And sometimes that’s okay,

To rest awhile at His feet.

It’s here He takes my heart and holds it,

 we just listen to the beat.


His fingers heal the bruises;

The breath of His whisper melts my fears.

“Have courage, my child,”

Are the words my heart hears.


As my heart rests

In the tenderness of His palms,

Strength is restored

As the storms of life He calms.


“You may rest a little while,

On this Island of Myself,

But if you lift your eyes

To all the pictures on My shelf . . .


You will recognize a few faces;

They are people we know and love.

And I’ve put them in your path

Because I know you’ll point them to above.


So take my hand and I’ll help you rise.

This short rest must be enough

To give your heart the courage

To face a world that is so tough.


I know I am pushing you on,

             But there is an urgency, you see.        

For the world is too much in their hearts

And there is not enough of Me.


So as we depart your Island of Myself,

Know that I go with you,

(You must trust Me with this fact)

For together we have so much work to do.


May this short basking in My love

Give you heart confidence to erase all your doubt

And show them that their true treasures are in heaven.

Eternal life in Me is what it’s all about.


My grace will cover all their missteps.

My truth will set them free

From the lies they believe

Preventing them from becoming all I mean for them to be.


The same is true for you, dear one,

As we set off on this race.

Grace and patience will help you deal

With all the agony you’ll face.


So as I lead you on toward redemption,

Take their hand and lead them too.

For it is in your journey they will see

My healing hand in you.”

Blessings,  Rachael

Linking with:
Wise Woman
Hazel Moon
Wednesday Prayer Girls
Scripture and a Snapshot
Sunday Stillness
Heart Reflected
The Weekend Brew
Essential Things Devotions
Imperfect Prose
Faith Barista

The leaves fall silently into the pool of frigid water as the pecan tree weeps of summer gone.  It's leafy tears expose bare branches in preparation for the cold exposure of the winter season.  It makes no sense!  Why be bare in the cold and full in the warmth of summer?  

Why weep in this changing of seasons?  Perhaps I need to listen in the silence of the falling leaves.  Is the tree dying?  

There is always this shedding in change, but death? No.  The ending of one season makes room for the budding of another.  

But it looks like death!  It feels like death and the darkness comes earlier and longer. 

I listen in the change because the One who overcame death is speaking through the falling of the tears.  Each fall has a message of it's own from the Life Giver Himself.

Tears can resurrect life when they are allowed to spring forth from the deepest parts within.  They are tiny messengers of life spilling out of a heart that is beating strong, whose roots go deep.  

Tears tell of your pain, disappointments, passions.  They remind you that you live inside. 

Are you listening to them?  Or do the tears shame you?  Do they anger you because the bubbling up of the tears is like the pushing through the birth canal with all that screaming and clenching and burning and you don't want that pain?  Pain reminds you that you are alive.  

Living numb to pain and joy and sorrow and celebration is no way of living at all!

Your Sea of Tears that you keep hidden, where you and you alone own beachfront property along the entire perimeter will someday drown you. And in drowning there is death.

We don't live love when we live numb.  But we live alive when we allow our tears to fall into the lap of the Creator of the spring of the water of life.

Perfect love drives out fear and that perfect love is offered to us freely in the person of Jesus.  That same Jesus who died on the cross and rose again on the third day.  Our life is now hidden in a living God who clothes us in every season with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  

When those tears come what are they saying about your deepest desires?
What do they reveal about areas where you need healing?
What can they tell us about the Artist who is creating a masterpiece out of your brokenness?

Today, let yourself be led by the Good Shepherd to the springs of living water within your own heart.  Then listen to the message of healing and purpose and beauty for your life.  

Love, Rachael

Linking with:
A Holy Experience
Sunday Stillness
Heart Reflected
The Weekend Brew
Fellowship Fridays
Essential Thing devotions
Tell His Story
Women Helping Women
Wednesday Prayer Girls