Seeing & Believing

https://www.newson6.com/clip/14828022/heavy-rain-causing-flooding-water-rescues-in-eastern-oklahoma

Last night, we had volatile storms and voluminous rainfall.  Power went out at my home and in many other areas too.  Tornadoes, wild winds, and (personally) vivid dreams were prevalent throughout the wee hours.  One of my dream moments stayed with me this morning, and for that I am glad.

It wasn't the dream of trains and evasive maneuvers - one of many dreams I had last night - that I chose to cherish this morning.  Rather, it was a snapshot, a brief glimpse into a dream, and the feelings attached.  In the dream, I looked at my reflection and something in the reflection told me that things are turning around and heading to a place of peace and pleasure (the elimination of my recent displeasure) in my physical form.  It's been a few months since I recognized my reflection during the daylight hours, and it's been rare that I cared to linger long enough to really see it.  In the dream, though, I did not pull away or pout; I smiled.

Lately, Hebrews 11 has come into conversation and contemplation, especially being sure of our hope and certain of what we don't see.  Funny that a dream image should bring me a hope-filled smile, but isn't that just like our loving Father to feed and nourish our faith when we aren't looking?  

The YouVersion verse of the day, Philippians 4:7 says (in the Holman Christian Standard) "and the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  Other translations and versions generally say "surpasses understanding," so I thought it interesting that this one used "surpasses every thought."  Thoughts influence what we see, how we perceive items, actions, everything.  Thought, mindset, worldview, any word you like to insert here, is surpassed by the peace of God.  

I am headed to healthfulness, out of this bewildering wilderness of weight that attached to me in the last nine months - yes, that's right, a human gestation period.  It is time for birth, for release, for the floodwaters to flow off the surface and let the sprouts that have been waiting to spring forth reach for the sunlight of the Son's purposes.  As the Psalmist declared in Psalms 63:8, I cling to God; His right hand upholds me.  As I speak that verse over this life, with the water overwhelming the earth just outside my door, I imagine God's mighty hand and mine, laced together for strength of bond, and Him lifting, upholding me, bringing me up out of the muck and mire as I cling to Him, my hope.

I am kept in perfect peace because I trust in, hope in, lean upon, rely fully on God!  Isaiah 26:3-4 is a reminder that God's perfect peace guards my heart and mind and I am sustained by His unfailing, upholding, unending peace!  This vision is true and trustworthy regardless any voices of doubt or opposition that may assail me.

We cannot grasp our nightly dreams, well, then there's Jacob (Genesis 32:22-32; Hosea 12:3-4).  People say they "caught a vision," and perhaps that means more than it might appear.  I shall hold onto the good vision-dream God has given me so that I might also bless others with it (Romans 12:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:21).  I believe that God has plans for my life, and that He shows me Himself when I seek Him with all my heart (Jeremiah 29:11-14), and He will bring me to a place from which I have felt exiled.  I am filled with faith and hope and humble joy; and I earnestly seek God (Hebrews 11:6); (I always struggled with believing this for myself), and He rewards those who seek Him with all their being!  

As the old hymn declares, "Whosoever surely meaneth me! "  I am learning what pride and humility really are.  Whenever I believe something about myself that is contrary to the truth God says about me, I'm not being humble, no matter how lowly I may feel; it's prideful, arrogant, and stubborn.  I always saw myself as a humble person, probably because I'm naturally introverted and shy and was repeatedly scolded for it in my youth, and because I had a low self-worth...  If I'm able to truly assess my attitudes, however, that which shows up as shame is - in truth - a pride problem.  Proverbs 29:23 says that pride humiliates, while humility brings honor.  True humility (as opposed to false humility) is a lens through which we are able to see ourselves - even our mirror reflection - through God's loving eyes (Colossians 3: 8-17).  James 4:6-7 says that God gives grace to the humble, and that evil must flee when I stand up against it.  Psalm 10:4 says that "the wicked are too proud to ask God for help.  He does not fit in their plans."

Colossians 3:8-17 New International Version (NIV)
8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Jotting with Johnna

• Have you been clinging to the truth about yourself, your identity in Christ, the fact you are "holy and dearly loved," or have you believed the lies of society, self-criticism, and the enemy?
• What if you caught a vision that more closely resembles the way the Father sees you?
• How might that alter your attitudes and your choices?
• Is it prideful to allow God's plans for you to elevate and empower you?  Really, isn't it actually humble to trust God to fill in the broken places, to be vulnerable to Him, to let Him be the Judge and in so doing, release self-judgment?
• What does the peace of God guarding your heart and mind in Christ Jesus look like in your daily life?

Remember:  whosoever surely means you, and that means God is not willing that you should perish but that you might invest your hope, your faith, your mind in Jesus' transformative work in and through your life (John 3:16-17; Romans 12:1-2). 

Stay tuned.  Stay focused.  Stay well.