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Secure Height

Psalm 9:9-1

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed”. Sounds simple, straight forward. Yet there’s more to be mined when you dig deeper into the term “refuge”. It’s literal meaning, a “secure height”, the top of a mountain, the pinnacle of a tower. A place, not only with wonderful views, but a vantage point to see when the enemy is approaching, giving time to prepare and protection against surprise attacks.

How does one get to the top of such a “secure height”? Who is the Guide, the Trail Blazer who leads us there? The Lord!

Not only is He the place of refuge, but He is also the One who gets us to the safe place. But we must trust Him, trust His direction as He leads us up the sheer cliffs to the top, up the steep steps to the pinnacle. He is the Place and the Protector.

We must know Him well enough to trust His wisdom and leading. If we wander off the path, try to avoid the steep steps, we pull ourselves out from under His protection and leave ourselves vulnerable to attack. If we sit down on the trail, stop progressing on the steps, and refuse to move, we will lose sight of our Scout and find ourselves lost. We will not get to experience the “secure height”.

As with everything, it is a matter of knowing Him, knowing Him until we do not think twice about where He is leading or how hard the terrain may seem. Trust that is second nature, without question, and joyful without thought for the journey only for the Guide.

Lord, may we follow You unquestioningly, in full faith and full trust that we might know the peace of You, our “Secure Height”.

Proverbs 18:10

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

True Humility

God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Proverbs 3:34

To be humble is not simply to grovel in the dust and bemoan our sins.

To be humble is to sit quietly at the feet of our Lord,

To wait for and follow His Instruction.

It is the submission of our will to His

So that when we obey,

He gets the praise, not us.

True humility is not just the loathing of oneself,

But the loving of the One Who suffered

The ultimate humiliation on our behalf.

It is not simply a downward focus on our faults,

But an upward focus on our Savior.

When we do all for His glory

Whether we receive praise or criticism

It matters not,

For pleasing Him is our highest goal.

True humility has not to do with us.

But rather with the One at whose feet we sit.

C. Powers 1-19-24

Prince of Peace

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

The Controller of peace

The One who gives it or withdraws it.

Who orchestrates peace at every turn.

Who exercises peace on behalf of those He loves.

Whose very presence brings peace.

Who, because He holds all things together, has only to speak and peace descends

To be in the Hands of the Master of peace is peace itself.

All else can be chaos but not where He is, what and when He chooses.

He is peace’s Prince, it’s Ruler and true peace can only come

When He commands.

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39

Your Hand

Today I take Your outstretched hand

I do not ask why

I do not worry about where Your hand will take me

I just trust

I am secure

That hand will not take me where You will not be also

I take it in peace

In joy.

Your hand has never failed to guide me, protect me

And lead me on to things better for me than I could have known

When I first grasped it.

Today I take Your out stretched hand and leave the

“Why” with You.

12-12-23 C.Powers

Through Him

John 1:1-5

All.

It all.

All of it.

Comes through Him

Through His Mind

Through His Heart

Through His Hands

The Mind that shaped the world

The Thoughts that shaped man

The Plans that designed you

The Heart of intricate love displayed,

between Father, Son and Spirit.

The Heart that created a perfect world for man

The Heart that chooses to redeem that man.

Even when man marred the perfection designed for him.

The Hands that hold all things together.

The Hands that craft each human being

The Hands that guide and direct all who would submit to their touch.

So

Trust

Trust that Mind

Trust that Heart

Trust those Hands

For.

All.

It all.

All of it.

Comes through Him

His Perfect Mind

His Perfect Heart

His Perfect Hands

Romans 8:28-39

C.L. Powers

10-15-23

The “What” of Suffering

What is the purpose of my suffering?

Not “why do I suffer” but for “what purpose do I suffer?”

All things work together for good, and suffering is one of those “things”.

When pain is at its greatest, my cry should not be “why” but “what”?

Show me the “what” in my suffering, Lord. . . the goal, the prize, the treasure that’s worth it all.

As Paul said, “that I may know You, the power of Your resurrection,

and the fellowship of Your sufferings.”

Not that I am a masochist,

But an apprentice. . .

To learn the heart of Christ. To walk through the world as You did,

to be homeless, rejected, misunderstood, shunned, mistreated, but to love anyway . . .

That is suffering with purpose.

That is to know You, to become like You, to walk as You walked, in joy all the way to the cross, the pinnacle of suffering.

Why suffering?

To know You

What purpose suffering?

To be like You

What reward at the end of suffering?

To hear from Your lips, “Well done” and be held by Your nail scarred hands.

C. Powers 6-14-23

The Pace of the Race

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

To run a race is to run to win.

But one cannot even think of winning.

If one does not finish the race.

The race of our faith is not a sprint.

The race of our faith is not even a 5K.

The race of our faith is not even a marathon.

It is a hundred-mile race of perseverance.

To win, to even finish such a long and grueling event,

Requires endurance.

But more than that it requires pacing.

If one goes “all out” at the beginning, one will never finish.

If one does not train properly, muscles will cramp, blisters will form.

Fatigue will overwhelm.

Our natural inclination is to hurry, to speed up if winning is the goal.

But the seasoned runner knows his pace.

He knows the rhythm that his Wise Trainer has assigned for him.

Christ sets the pace of our race.

He allows for the rocky climbs and the downhill sprints,

the stops for rest, the moments to take water.

If we fall, He is not dismayed or detoured, but dusts us off,

tends our wounds and sends us on our pace again.

When we want to hurry ahead, He is there to remind of our pace.

When others seem to be passing us by,

He repeats His instruction to run our own race and not another’s.

Slow and steady, one step at a time.

We cannot think too far ahead or bemoan the fall we took earlier on.

These things only distract from the pace that He has set.

His is the only voice we should be listening to,

for even our own voice will fail us, twist our perspective and discourage us.

What is the pace to which Christ has called you?

Can you hear His voice of instruction and wisdom each stage and each day?

Keep to His pace and run the race He has set before you!

And you will win the ultimate prize:

The treasured words of our trustworthy Trainer

“Well done good and faithful servant.”

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up Galatians 6:9

Lady in Waiting

There is nothing glamourous in waiting. Nothing awe-inspiring according to the world’s standards. But that is what our Lord calls us to, To wait. To do the mundane, to faithfully finish the task in front of us. To look ahead only as far as His face And plan only as far as He directs. To obey in the simple everyday tasks, He provides. To watch for His next instruction To wait at His pleasure. And there is such peace in this. No burden to carry, no personal plan to implement or oversee. Just to listen Just to follow That is our calling, That is what we are designed for. To wait, On Him.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

C.L. Powers 5-11-12

The Joy of “No”

I asked and You answered,

And the answer was “No”.

To my surprise it gave me great joy.

Because my Father was listening.

Because my Father sees all and orchestrates everything.

But most of all my Father deeply loves me.

Deeply plans for me.

Deeply designs each aspect, each step, each answer.

“No”, means He is intimately attentive,

“No”, means He has a vastly better destination.

There is always joy in His “No”.

James 1:5

C. Powers 12-30-22

Just Enough

Just enough food for the journey

Just enough light for the way

Just enough wisdom for the task that’s at hand

Just enough strength in the fray.

To carry too much would encumber

To increase the load would delay

Just enough trust in His promise.

Just enough faith for each day.

“Give us this day our daily bread”

Matthew 6:11

C. Powers 7-21-22

Shaken

When we go through something that shakes our lives,

That turns normal on its head and scatters it to the four winds.

We often cry out for our lives to “return to normal”

To what was, to that feeling of predictability and control.

But we are God’s,

And He is never concerned with “normal” and “predictable”.

His concern is with the eternal and unshakable.

He will take that shaking,

And with care and precision sift,

And sift . . .

Until we no longer cry for normal and predictable

But long for the eternal and unshakable.

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

Job 23:10

C. Powers 6-18-22

As She Always Had

“Come follow Me,”

He says once more.

And offers His hand,

For He knows what’s in store.

She grasps it tight

Both sad and glad

And follows Him,

As she always had.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. John 10:27-28

C. Powers 6-8-22

The Litmus Test of God’s Wisdom

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:17-18

Part of my Bible reading this morning was James 3:17-18. As I read, it struck me how often the word peace was used in these two little verses. How the idea of it permeated the concept of wisdom from God. Peace it seems is the litmus test of godly wisdom.

How do we know if the wisdom we are seeking is from the Lord? Does it bring peace? Not worldly peace which disappears with hard times. Not peace at all costs which only delays the inevitable. But peace, knowing the way we are following is pure. Peace, resting in the fact that we do not need to do battle. Peace, comforted by the knowledge that a gentle response and a heart of mercy will always nurture the desired produce of righteousness.

As you ask for wisdom today are you surrounded by God’s peace? Are you at rest, knowing that He always answers His beloved children and that His answers are forever perfect in content and timing? God’s wisdom and God’s peace go hand in hand. Remind yourself again of the words of Philippians 4: 6-7. When you ask instead of fretting. When you submit your requests, instead of submitting to worry. Remember He provides the peace. It is the fruit of His Spirit and nothing of our doing. When you surrender your anxiety to the Prince of Peace you will trade it for His perfect counsel that brings sweet and gentle peace.

C. Powers 1-13-22

SET IN GOD

That they may set their hope in God. Psalm 78:7

Hope.

A precious jewel in a velvet lined box, secure and protected.

Cautiously, reverently, with full assurance,

The cherished treasure is placed in Another’s Hands.

Surrendered, set as it were,

Into those Nail Pierced Hands for safekeeping.

Once given, the giver does not look back,

Does not second-guess or wonder

Whether or not those Hands are up to the task.

Does not contemplate, in the slightest,

That anything terrible might happen.

That any theft or damage might occur.

Her prized possession is in safer Hands than her very own.

In wiser, stronger, more loving Hands than any other.

There is no shadow of doubt.

Her gem of hope is secure.

For it has been set in the very Hands that fashioned her,

The very Hands that purchased her.

She can, with great confidence, place it in those Hands

And have not a care that her hope will be

Hidden, guarded and prized beyond measure.

For her hope has been set into the Hands of her Maker and her God.

C. Powers 12-16-21

Give Thanks

Give thanks. To whom? To God! For what? For all!

And where? And how? In all places. With grateful heart!

And when? With what? At all times, With our whole being With words With actions With praise With devotion With love With joy With song!

Give thanks, Loudly Softly Continually Steadfastly Faithfully!

Give thanks, In peace In war In good In bad In plenty In want In storms In sunshine!

Give thanks, For laughter For sorrow For sickness For health For breath and life And food and drink For sweet sleep And restless nights For all that draws us near To God!

Give thanks, For Who He is In all His splendor For what He has done In all His wisdom For His great love That never fails us For His good heart That never betrays us!

Give thanks, To God For it is His due It is His right It is His claim The angels bless Him Creation adores Him His saints can do no less!

To God! Give thanks!

C. Powers 11-25-21

God My Home

“The eternal God is your refuge”.

Deuteronomy 33:27,

God is my refuge.

The eternal God is my home.

The word home speaks to me in such a sweet and personal way.

I am a homebody, at heart.

I like the comfort and security I feel when I am in my own home.

There is peace.

I can be myself without thought for what others are thinking about me.

I can rest in the assurance that outward pressures have been left behind

when I walk through my front door.

The precious image of God as my home strikes a deep cord in me.

It reminds me that because He is with me,

because He is my “refuge” my “home” that I can “be at home anywhere”.

When there is no peace in my outward surroundings,

I can have inward peace in God, my home.

When outward forces want to dictate who I am and where I belong,

I can have inward assurance that God, my home,

Defines who I am, that I belong to Him and with Him.

When there is no rest in my outward world,

I can inwardly have sweet rest in God, my home.

When outward struggles threaten my security,

God, my home, inwardly bars the way from any intruder.

Like a child I am serene in the knowledge that where my heavenly Papa is,

Is always home.

I can run to Him and shut the door behind me.

I can sing and dance with abandon for Him with no one there to mock or judge.

And there is always plenty of room to move.

I can laugh before Him, a hardy belly laugh with no self-consciousness.

And He laughs with me, never at me.

I can tell Him all my intimate secrets with no one to hear and uncover me,

For He can be trusted to keep my confidence.

I can curl up in His huge lap and listen to Him tell me

The story of His great love for me.

“Again,” I can say like a little child wishing to hear their favorite tale over and over,

For I never tire of hearing it.

His kitchen is full of wonderful things, things that delight and satisfy.

His cupboards are never bare.

I have only to open the cabinet doors and what I need is always easy to find.

My soul is never hungry, for the stores of God, my home, are never empty.

If He must correct me, the sureness of being at home in His love,

Makes all correction precious and valued.

For I know that it is all wrapped up in His wisdom, love and goodness like a warm blanket waiting for me after bitter cold.

When I lie down to rest, on the bed of His faithfulness,

I know He is always there to keep me safe,

Tucking me in with His protection.

Watching over me, shielding me.

When I wake He is still with me.

His is the morning light that shines through the windows, dances on my face and keeps darkness at bay.

God my home.

With me.

For me.

Loving me.

His home is built on the sure foundation of Himself.

Eternal and unshakable.

C. Powers 11-12-21

The Treasure in Dark Valleys

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me Psalm 23:4

If You lead me in dark valleys,

If You guide each step,

If You make a way,

Then I desire to follow, without hesitation, without distraction,

Without wandering from that way.

No matter where You lead me.

No matter how unyielding the terrain,

No matter how dark and unknown the surroundings,

I must not look for another path,

Nor rely on others to map my journey.

If I stumble in the darkness and venture down side roads,

You guide me back,

Sometimes gently,

Sometimes firmly,

And sometimes by force,

But Your love never lets me wander far.

For I’m Yours.

You paid the dearest price for me.

You have plans for me that You formed before the world was new.

And they are for my good.

Walking through a dark valley does not seem good,

In my finite mind.

But I know that You are infinitely good

The longer I follow You the greater

This truth is etched into my soul.

With each new valley, sometimes darker than the ones before,

I find myself clinging to You more firmly, more readily than in times past.

To do so becomes increasingly natural, instinctive, without second thought.

The larger the number of dark valleys I face with You,

The more my dependence on You and surprisingly the more peace I know.

For I know You,

Better and better

Deeper and deeper

More and more

In the darker valleys, Your light shines all the brighter.

You are easier to see and easier to follow,

For everything else is black and shadowed in comparison.

The dark valleys force me to stay on the path

For Yours is the only light that illuminates it.

Your face becomes dearer for it is the only face I can see in the dark.

The dark valley is Your training ground for me and never to be feared,

For light and dark are both alike to You.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. Psalm 139:11-12

C. Powers 10-17-21

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