Tag: delight

in His Presence

Karla Lees

Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, He’ll calm you with His love and delight you with His songs. Zephaniah 3:17 MSG

I have a confession to make.

This verse is one of my favorite verses in the Old Testament.  In the passage of Zephaniah 3, God is reminding His people that He is with them, and restoration is coming.

Because of who He is.

Present with us.
Mighty to save us.
Ready for battle.

But He doesn’t just remind us of His physical presence in this verse, for He is not a two dimensional God.  He is whole, and how He describes Himself is alive and ever for His Beloved.

God reassures us of His devotion for us, His people, through Zephaniah’s writings.

●Thrilled we have returned to Him
●Calming our worries and anxieties with His love
●Delighting us with His songs

God not only protects those who come under the shadow of His wing, He loves up on us!  He keeps us calm! And to top it off, God HIMSELF sings to us for OUR delight!

If you have forgotten how wonderful our God is, in all the many ways He chooses to be there for us, invite Him to remind you as you return to the safety of His embrace.  Let Him love up on you when you are with Him, in His Presence.

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wonder at Your ways

Karla Lees

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One of the most wonder-filled aspects to being Yours is seeing Your Promises come alive in my life.

I love digging deep into Your Word, because not only do I find You there, I discover just how much You have done for me!

This verse jumped out this morning.

And I realized it was true.

When I follow Your ways, You not only have shown me the way to go which is best for me but You shine Your delight on and in me.

There is a blessing through following You first which cannot be experienced any other way.

Not only do things turn out better for me in the long run, I discover just how much more wise, good, true and majestic You are.

I can place my trust and put my hope in You all the more when I take a step back and see how Your story has been shaping mine for the better.

A newer song by Big Daddy Weave perfectly captures my sense of wonder and delight as I see You work in my life. 

Lord, may I never cease to wonder and worship You as I follow Your ways, all my days.

MY STORY – Big Daddy Weave

If I told you my story You would hear Hope that wouldn’t let go
And if I told you my story You would hear Love that never gave up
And if I told you my story You would hear Life, but it wasn’t mine

If I should speak then let it be
Of the grace that is greater than all my sin
Of when justice was served and where mercy wins
Of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in
Oh to tell you my story is to tell of Him

If I told you my story You would hear victory over the enemy
And if I told you my story You would hear freedom that was won for me
And if I told you my story You would hear Life overcome the grave

If I should speak then let it be
Of the grace that is greater than all my sin
Of when justice was served and where mercy wins
Of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in
Oh to tell you my story is to tell of Him

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my savior all the day long

For the grace that is greater than all my sin
Of when justice was served and where mercy wins
Of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in
Oh to tell of my story is to tell of Him!

pressing in for mercy

Karla Lees

This morning I responded snappily to an ongoing stressful situation.  I didn’t pay attention the reminder which flashed into my mind to just listen, but instead instantly reacted.

Again.

As someone who believes how we use our words can bring life, I am likely harder on myself all the more because I know better & know He desires for me to live His Words.

But You delight in showing mercy,
and mercy triumphs over judgment.

When I get overwhelmed at times, I forget to:
stop.
pause.
breathe.
pray.
listen.
wait.
then speak.

When I fail & speak sarcastically, with hurtful words, I become undone once i take a second to process what i have just done, knowing I may have wounded someone I care for.

But You delight in showing mercy,
and mercy triumphs over judgment.

You whisper loving words to invite me back to Your embrace, into Your Stronghold of safety where I can come & be washed clean of the stain of my sinful words.

My past embraced
My sin forgiven
I’m blameless in Your sight
My history rewritten

When I bring all of me before You, You are quite well aware of each of the wrong doings, flaws & gaps existing within me, alongside the gifts You are awakening.

You embrace me anyways.

There will never be a day
You’re uncertain
of the ones You choose

You know me & chose me long before I even came to be.

There is no surprise to You of what I am like, for Your Holy Spirit indwelling me means You are constantly aware of what is going on within me.

You are personally invested in me. Your Beloved.

And once You clean me up & lift me back up again, all i desire to do is spend my life celebrating You. You love me so You even took the judgment upon Yourself so I would no longer carry it.

So I will awake
and spend my days
Loving the One who has raised me up
From death to life
From wrong to right
You’re making all things beautiful

Even me.

Mercy found me but didn’t leave me there.

He helps me move beyond what I believe is possible into the expanse of His possibilities…all things are possible for the endless God who sticks with me through all my days.

You delight in showing mercy
and Mercy triumphs over judgment.

PS. The quoted text today are the lyrics from the one song that whammied over the head & grabbed my heart’s attention Monday night.  The song is Mercy, by Amanda Cook, of Bethel Music, on her yet to be released CD BraveNewWorld. A definite must hear for those of you, who like me, struggle to receive the costly but precious gift of mercy God offers us all.

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God is…unconditional

Karla Lees

God so loved the WORLD (and each one living on it) that He gave up His only Son, Jesus, to die for ALL their wrongs & mistakes and make them whole again. Anyone who believes in Jesus & accepts this love giving gift will become His Beloved, forever.

John 3:16 (paraphrase mine)

Your name’s  included.

The truth we try to talk ourselves out of when we think what we did was so terrible, God must have made an exception and excluded us.

Not so, Beloved.

Each person ever’s name is on His love list.

His love is unconditionally offered.

No strings attached.

It just needs to be received.

What good is an engagement ring left in its box in your dresser drawer, never opened.

It would hard to know your fiance loves you if he left your ring to be randomly discovered whenever.

God isn’t like that at all.

His love unconditionally pursues each and every one of us, all of our days.

Always.

He takes in the tax collectors, fishermen, rabbi rejects, accountants with hidden agendas, murderers, stutterers, foreigners, prostitutes…those who all have brokenness & great need of Him.

He accepts what they have to bring.

Unconditionally.

When Mary sister of Martha came & broke the expensive jar of exquisite perfume and anointed Jesus’ feet with it, mixed with her tears? She offered her best to honor the One who not only saved her brother from the grave, but was headed to the cross to take all our sin upon Himself, without condition. 

She understood what all those who sat at that same table missed…

Unconditional love deserves unswerving love, offering & devotion in return.

Today, soak in the knowledge that you are included in His plans for this world. Your name is written in His hands, upon His heart and unconditional love glows in His eyes as He looks at you. May you never lose sight of this truth the rest of your days.

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now covered in Love

Karla Lees

I tend to be a hider by nature.

Which only reinforces what we learned about ourselves in the Garden.

When the going gets tough, we try to hide.

This past week, I had a break through while getting quiet in His Presence one morning.    God revealed to me that i had agreed with a lie in a situation where something was done to me, which i thought had been long ago been put to bed & resolved.

God knew otherwise.

It was a sneaky lie, but one that tied me down in my spirit and hindered my desire to communicate openly.  In fact, it caused me to hide away physically & emotionally as well, and God did not want for me to remain hidden in this way.

God sees it all, the beautiful, the sin, the past, the present, the future.

I had stopped embracing some of how i was made, and settled for a layer of invisibility which covered me in both a fear and a lie at the same time.  It essentially tied part of me to the past in a way which hindered my moving forward into the pastures He is leading me towards.

God called me to trade this cloak in for His covering for me instead.

What a delight to wear a garment custom made for me!

There is a layer of invisibility woven into this must wear clothing too, but one I am so grateful to God He gifts to me.

When I remain in this covering garment, I am safe in His stronghold, my spirit invisible to the enemy’s glance.  I have a love & peace secure in knowing I am with the One who adores me, freed me, restores me, protects me & wants me with Him forever.

He can keep me safe under His wing, essentially causing me to become invisible to all but Him.  He Himself becomes my shield as I trust in Him & wear His cover.

Instead of trying to keep myself hidden out of shame, He keeps me hidden in His heart out of love.

If you too have sin or lies hidden away under layers of invisibility you think God isn’t aware of…..you need to think again.

There is nothing we can hide away that He is unaware of.

There is no place we can go where He won’t meet us there.

There is no lie or sin more powerful than the blood of Jesus!

Today, come out of hiding & hide yourself away in the secret place with Him. Ask Him if there is anything you have layered within you that you may not even be aware of, which needs to come out into the light as He makes the invisible visible. Strip off the lies, be cleansed of the sin. Open yourself to His touch, as He uproots, heals & makes you anew in Him.

Less of me hidden away means more of Him coming alive within me!
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love notes

Karla Lees

When i struggle with insecurity, I have to remind myself how deeply God loves and delights in me.

I am His beloved.
He continues to pursue me.
#amen

-Eugene Cho

As His Beloved, you occupy the place of delight in His deepest affections.

– Graham Cooke

When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love them.

-C.S.Lewis

All-consuming fire,
You’re our heart’s desire
Living flame of love,
come baptize us, come baptize us

Let us fall more in love with you

We wanna know how high
how deep
how wide is
Love Love Love

How high is your love
How wide is your love
How deep is your love for us
How deep is your love

– “All Consuming Fire, Jesus Culture

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