cry

Take me away…

Karla Lees3 Comments

Take me away, a secret place
A sweet escape, take me away
Take me away to better days
Take me away, a hiding place

– Natasha Bedingfield, Pocket Full Of Sunshine

My heart started crying out this song to my Abba these past few days.

When life gets tough, my first reaction is instinctively to ask to be rescued, for a quick escape so I don’t have to deal with whatever is currently facing me.

Afterwards, it used to be I would escape into a bag of sour cream potato chips or a sitcom, licking my wounds and berating myself for rolling over and taking a beating yet again. 

We never learn to be proactive and change our ways by just thinking about it. We need to do it.

Instead of being passive and keeping my hurts buried in the hidden spaces within, I am learning to run to the secret place.

His embrace.

I am invited there 24/7.
365 days a year.
And on into eternity!

I stopped short quite some time ago as I was headed down the wrong path of response when it hit me.

Why wait for eternity to fix everything? Why not now?

If we are called to supernaturally live in, through and with Him…then here on earth is where we need to do so.

Just as Jesus did.

Jesus took Himself away at times. Not to kick his wounds or hide away, but to reconnect. Becoming rejuvenated and reinvigorated for the plans He was to walk out with His Father. (Luke 16:16, Mark 1:35)

Jesus never backed down from doing His Father’s business where He saw His Father inviting Him into a situation.

I need to do the same.

Instead of allowing fear and survival instincts to drive me, I need to choose faith and supernatural instincts to guide me.

He promises to always be with us, and show us how to live free.

Our part is to choose to stay in His embrace through our days, and refuse to allow the lure of other pleasures to steal us from where our souls and spirits know is where we belong.

With Him.

He may take you away from a situation by prompting you to remove yourself from it.

He may guide you as to what to pray to shift the atmosphere.

He may tell you what to say to diffuse discord and bring peace.

The whole time, He will be with you.

I would rather be in His embrace in a hurricane than left alone to my own devices.

Lead me away from what doesn’t work, Abba, and keep me headed on the path You have for me. May I run to You first, and You alone, when the storms begin to circle.

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Hello, it’s Me

Karla Lees2 Comments

Like so many of you, I too have been enthralled by Adele’s song Hello. Everyone can relate to feeling disconnected from someone who love, who may not be returning our affection. The passion Adele harnesses as she sings it stirred me so, it brought her revelation that someone this song was really God’s song for the ones who don’t yet know Him.

I have pondered, played and waited on rewriting this song to be sung from God’s perspective over the lost. For if He sings over us, which the Word confirms to be so, He must be singing a song for everyone. Whether we answer His call to relationship and restoration or not.

May He stir us anew to know his heart for the lost, those without hope or direction,  those who are looking for home but haven’t found Him yet.

For the ones He loves are never far from His thoughts and are ever constant on His heart.

Hello, it’s Me
I was wondering if after all this time you’d like to meet
To discover everything
that really matters to you
But I seem to be the only One trying
Hello, can you hear Me
I’m right here in the Word showing you who you could be
When you were innocent and free
You’ve forgotten how it felt before sin dropped you to your knees

There’s such a wall between us
And a million miles

Hello from the other side
I must have called a thousand times
To tell you I paid for everything that you’ve done
But when I call
you always seem to be on the run
Hello from here deep inside
I’ll never stop My loving cry
To tell you I’m here to help restore your heart, and your life matters
dont let things tear you apart anymore

Hello, how are you
It’s so typical of Me
to talk about you
I’m sorry you’re not doing well
Do you want to be free of that lie
where nothing good will ever happen?

It’s no secret that one of us
Could be running out of time

Come home Love is My forever cry
I must have called a million times
To tell you I paid for everything that you’ve done
But when I call, you always seem to be on the run
Hello here from deep inside
I’ll never stop My loving cry
To tell you I’m here to help free you at last and you truly matter
dont let life batter you down anymore

Hello I’m waiting for you
My arms are open wide
Can’t you hear my heart beat wildly
As I keep looking at you?
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Sunday Psalm: heart cry

Karla LeesLeave a comment

I hear you
Beloved
My heart hears
your heart’s cry

I’m with you
Beloved
My heart beats
with yours

I am drawing you
deeper still
I am waiting here
for you
Come as you are
broken wounded
for nothing will
hold You back
from all I have
for you

So I will sing
over you
my Beloved
come as You are
as I sing
over you
You’ll draw near
even closer to me

I will never
stop singing
My love song over you
I will always
keep calling you
with all the longing
in my heart
Beloved
I am Yours
& you are Mine
forever

-God

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when you have no words

Karla Lees2 Comments

Tonight, I am out of words.

I was blessed to be able to sing as a part of the worship team at my church, and unexpectedly I sang at both services today.

God moved me so much this morning, I needed a nap before the evening service.

The words, harmony & melody flowed and poured out of me, as I came into God’s presence…and now i am empty, almost speechless, unable to put how I am feeling into words. Awe, wonder, gratitude, humbled.

And for right now, in this moment, that is okay, because:

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.

Romans 8:26

It is okay if I have run out of words. God is ready to keep on speaking His Word over me, and into me, as I sleep tonight.

May You hear His Words, and sense His heart for you, as you seek His Presence too.

cry of the broken

Karla LeesLeave a comment

Can you hear it?

The cry of the broken.

It comes in two variations.

The wail of those who cannot take any more, many who have reached the end of their strength and do not know where to turn.

The hurting hearts.

The lonely.

The ones who didn’t quite earn enough to cover all their needs, so are going hungry for a meal to make sure they have heat at night.

Those who grieve over losing a loved one, loss of job, loss of home, loss of innocence.

The abandoned, cast aside for a younger model.

The discarded, as they no longer serving a purpose.

Those suffering with illnesses and physical pain, almost unbearably so.

The ones longing to be noticed, appreciated, loved.

They live among us.

Our coworkers.
Our neighbors.
Our family members.
Us.

We are the broken.

We are the ones crying out, in desperate need of somebody to notice us.

And God does.

He hears the cry of the broken.

He stretches out loving arms, waiting:

To embrace all who come to Him.

To call them by their true names

To reveal His overflowing love to them.

To bind their wounds, heal their hurts.

To move in with them, so they will never be alone again.

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There is another kind of broken God responds to as well.

Its the brokenness of those who realized they have had enough if doing things their way, and are willing to give over their pride, and be broken to follow as God leads.

This can be almost as painful as the brokenness of a lost one, save one major difference.

Being broken in the drawing close to God reminds us of just how holy, amazing and awesome He is.

And He is with us.

All the time.

Darlene Zschech, worship leader in Australia, released a new album inn the past few months: Revealing Jesus. One of the songs she sang, Your Name, reminded me of whom God is- our strong tower, shelter, our saviour.

During the song, she broke into a spontaneous song:

You hear the cry of the broken
You hear the cry of the broken
You hear the cry of the broken

You answer the cry of the broken
You answer the cry of the broken
You answer the cry of the broken

And one thing struck me to theme core about those words, especially the first time I heard them.

God is active, in the now, in that song.
He is hearing, He is answering.
He IS all that we need.

If you are broken, and crying inwardly or outwardly for relief, try turning to God.

Knowing you are so loved, and He is with you always may not immediately change your situation, but it will change your perspective and final destination.

He hears, He answers the cry of the broken.

He can’t help it. He is love.

cry

Karla LeesLeave a comment

My soul chose that moment to do something it hadn’t done in longer ago than I could remember. It began to cry.

#TheMercifulScar

I am not known as a crier.
In fact, I am mostly cheerful and pleasant to be around.

But every so often, when I have let my emotions and stresses build up for too long, I find myself close to tears.

Sometimes I give in to them, and I have a good cry. And I tend to feel a bit better afterwards by releasing my emotion through those tears.

Occasionally, I have a hard awful gut wrenching wail, usually with an unexpected passing of a loved one.

What does God think of tears? Specifically, my tears?

You would figure that busy as He is, there might be more important things on His mind…until one reads this verse:

Psalm 56:8 (MSG) You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.

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(Image by:Republic of You-Tears & Fragility, Pinterest)

Really, God? You know each night we/i have had a hard time sleeping? You make a note for each tear we/i cry, each pain we/i endure?

Wow.

God truly is involved aware of every aspect of our lives.

But He waits for you, and me, to invite Him to converse with Him…about anything and everything.

The Bible is full of people who brought their concerns to God- fear of bring murdered, barren. Those who felt alone, deep loss, intense pain or in bondage. Needing healing, hungry, even to pay their taxes.

God met them in those conversations.

He already knows what is going on, in fact God really knows everything, including intentions.

He knows your husband just broke your heart.

He gets that money is getting really tight, because you are still waiting for work, or more work.

He understands when you feel like you can’t take anymore.

He sees when you are sobbing because you suddenly just lost the person who most got you on earth, and you didn’t make the time to tell them how much you loved and appreciated them before they passed.

Each aspect of our lives has value to God.

Because HE values US.

There is nothing you can do that will make Him stop loving you. He may not like your behavior, but He will ALWAYS love you.

Jesus died for you, out of forever love.

He wants to spend eternity WITH us.

Wow.

And the Bible also says in Revelation 21:3-4:
I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.”

There are good times coming.

Try to keep that promise in mind next time you have a cry in the moment.

It is just a moment, or a few strung together compared to the eternity awaiting us.

That thought is almost overwhelming enough to make me cry…