Entering 2023 Righteous and Redeemed
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. Psalm 91:4
Every Christian drifts. If you think you don’t, run, don’t walk, to a quiet place, take your Bible, and pray the Holy Spirit will reveal that truth to you.
I have been drifting since November- slowly, almost imperceptibly, but drifting nonetheless. It started as almost all my drifting does with an excuse that did not look like sin. Satan gives me this excuse every time I have surgery or COVID or other health issue. He gives me a time to focus on myself, and for me, that is dangerous because that is exactly what I do. I have too much time to ask myself throughout the day, “How do I feel?” “How’s my comfort?” “How are others treating me in my illness or pain?”
That much introspection, focused totally on my selfish needs, is all it takes for me to become a bit too much absorbed in me. My ardor and laser focus on the Lord gets shared with me, me, me.
On November 4, I had my knee replaced, so a short time of checking on my comfort was right and needed. But I am an introvert, so I retreated more and more into myself. Service that is normally part of my life went out the window because I had a GREAT excuse. Others did not suffer for it, but as time went by, I did.
The holiness of my quiet times and the deep communication with the Holy Spirit lessened ever so slightly, but I noticed the difference, and I know my Father God did. It wasn’t just that I was not ministering to Him as abundantly, it was that I was blocking the Holy Spirit from ministering to me as fully and richly as He so wants to.
Before you stop reading, let me quickly tell you that I am writing this completely, undeservedly drenched in His blessing today. I have rarely felt so loved and cherished by my Father or imbued by the Holy Spirit as I write this. And it was, like all His other gifts, given to me when I least deserved it. I did not do any fantastic act of service for the Lord or do anything of myself to make this happen. I just let the Lord know that I noticed I was not allowing Him to lead me and take me over, and that I wanted to be different. I wish I could say I cried and was vividly disgusted with my sin, but the drifting had reduced my ability to be convicted as I should. My feeble, tepid talks with God about what I was doing to Him and to me were all the confession He needed. He slowly drew me back to His side, and I began to listen to the Holy Spirit promptings more. As I took baby steps, He was the wind lovingly blowing me forward.
In one of my prayer times, He reminded me that He is my covering, and that He was not going to allow me to become untethered from Him. He would get me back on course. I could not do it for myself. He would protect me from myself and from the Enemy. He whispered this word “covering” to me for several days, and I began to believe Him deeply. Like so many other times, I could not take in that He was blessing me in my time of sin, coldness, and rejection of the fullness of a relationship with Him. Why would He do that? I will never comprehend that magnificent love and mercy here on earth, though I have experienced it many times.
After accepting His offer of this blessing, I began to try to write again, starting with this blog. Everything went wrong. I was blocked in every way Satan could dream up. Pipes burst in my condo building, power was out, and for a while we had no water and could not get back in. Every crazy thing that could go wrong did go wrong with the technology it takes to be a writer today. Satan threw up every roadblock because I think he knew someone out there needed this encouragement to know that the Lord loves you profusely- no matter how you have treated Him, no matter what sins you have committed, no matter what others think of you- He loves you just as much as if you had never sinned once. Unfathomable, but true.
Once you accept His free-no-strings-attached offer of salvation—you’re good in His eyes. Really good.
So today, the Lord gave me a day of celebration. I had to go to Office Depot early this morning to solve the last of my technology issues, and a song by Mercy Me I have heard a hundred times came on, and I felt the Lord saying, “This is just for you. This is where you are with me today, and we are good.” I have put the full lyrics at the end, but here is the part that made me burst into tears and continue to cry all the way down I-75 in north Atlanta:
You are holy
You are righteous
You are one of the redeemed
Set apart a brand new heart
You are free indeed
Every mountain every valley
Thru each heartache you will see
Every moment brings you closer
To who you were meant to be
Dear younger me, dear younger me.
Jesus’ blood was covering all my sin and indifference.
Dear friend, please take the time to meet with the Lord this week and read the full lyrics in His presence. If you have a personal relationship with Him, this Grace that absolves you of every sin, every drifting moment, and every apathetic attitude is yours today. All you have to do is ask, and then watch what He does.
One final note about a beautiful touch the Lord put on my day to assure me He was speaking to me about being my covering and my protection. When I got home, I had a meeting with an inspector from Epic, a respected vendor of remediation services. My condo association had arranged for him to check units. My two next door neighbors had had standing water. Their damage was so extensive, I was told their units would have to be gutted. Even though I saw no water in my place, I was told to have it checked. Since I shared a wall with a ruined unit, it made sense I had wet insulation and other damage.
As the inspector scanned every corner, ceiling wall, and floorboard with his infrared camera, we were both amazed to see that I had not one drop of moisture, even on my shared wall. It seemed impossible, but not with God. I looked at the inspector and said, “What a blessing.” He said, “That’s all it could be.”
My friend said it reminded her of those lines from Job 38:8-11:
“Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?”
When the inspector left and I had a moment to talk to God about the gratitude I was feeling, I felt Him smiling on me and reminding me of His promise to be my covering, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. And He always makes good on His promises. He will for you, too.
Along with the lyrics below, I have included some Psalms the Lord has given me this week related to covering and His promises to carry us as we become more like Him by walking closer to Him every day, even though we occasionally lapse. I urge you to spend some time resting in those promises and celebrating all the wonderful things He wants for you. Enter 2023 as the righteous, redeemed, and fully covered child of God that you are. He wants to be your covering and give you a very good year! Blessings!
(Note: many Godlier women have been hit hard by the flooding and other setbacks this week. I included this story of being spared because it was part of a lesson the Lord was teaching me very personally this week. Sometimes He gives you a word in sermons, songs, Scriptures, and blessings everywhere you go! This week, the word He taught me was ‘covering.’”
Dear Younger Me by Mercy Me
Lyrics
Dear younger me
Where do I start
If I could tell you everything that I have learned so far
Then you could be
One step ahead
Of all the painful memories still running thru my head
I wonder how much different things would be
Dear younger me
Dear younger me
I cannot decide
Do I give some speech about how to get the most out of your life
Or do I go deep
And try to change
The choices that you'll make cuz they're choices that made me
Even though I love this crazy life
Sometimes I wish it was a smoother ride
Dear younger me, dear younger me
If I knew then what I know now
Condemnation would've had no power
My joy my pain would've never been my worth
If I knew then what I know now
Would've not been hard to figure out
What I would've changed if I had heard
Dear younger me
It's not your fault
You were never meant to carry this beyond the cross
Dear younger me
You are holy
You are righteous
You are one of the redeemed
Set apart a brand new heart
You are free indeed
Every mountain every valley
Thru each heartache you will see
Every moment brings you closer
To who you were meant to be
Dear younger me, dear younger me
You are holy
You are righteous
You are one of the redeemed
Set apart a brand new heart
You are free indeed
You are holy
You are righteous
You are one of the redeemed
Set apart a brand new heart
You are free indeed
You are holy
You are righteous
You are one of the redeemed
Set apart a brand new heart
You are free indeed
Songwriters: Barry Graul / Bart Millard / Ben Glover / David Arthur Garcia / Mike Scheuchzer / Nathan Cochran / Robby Shaffer
Dear Younger Me lyrics © Music Services, Inc
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Psalm 136
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.
5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.
6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.
10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:
11 And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:
12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.
13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:
14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:
15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.
16 To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
17 To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
18 And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
19 Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:
20 And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:
21 And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:
22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.
23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:
24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.
25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.
26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.
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God Is Our Fortress
To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.[a] A Song.
Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present[b] help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
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My Refuge and My Fortress
Psalm 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say[a] to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge[b]—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”