“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.”
We are reminded to give praise and rejoice in the Lord irrespective of the circumstances surrounding us. He is still God.
Many of us are put to this test in some form or another in our lives. Circumstances surrounding us draw us to the test of drawing closer or repelling and rejecting.
We may even feel we are in a time of purging. Being brought to task. It is always with an agenda to draw us closer never to push us away.
The underpinning that we are family, sons and daughters, adopted to flourish and belong. Never to be orphaned. Disinherited. Left alone.
The Father extends His hand and heart towards us and willingly enfolds us.
It is we who may choose independence or who may struggle with knowing how we fit in.
The order in His kingdom is family and adoption. There is a core need for us belong too. To surround one another.
God in the midst and a wall of protection around, in all of our relationships.
“And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’””
It is the parent who decides who the Family is not the siblings.
God chooses us and adopts us.
What we believe matters. It is the Truth or the untruth. The sword of truth draws the line we make our choice of which side to be.
What we believe has great significance and matters as our actions are then based upon those beliefs.
We need to know we belong. Only then can we offer our lives as a sacrifice.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
In this surrender we then become unstuck and are free to thrive.
The calling to this higher level of sacrifice dispels the orphan heart and empowers us to enable our siblings to live freely too.
God has meticulously been pulling us apart to disentangle us from what needs letting go of and what needs restoring. We now need rebuilding in a transformed way to become the truth that sets us free and the light to illuminate others.
“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
The truth sets us free.
We can only truly love and surround others when we are whole ourselves.
The Spirit communicates our connectedness and always links us into family and unity.
We belong together to one another and know that God lavishes His love upon us.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
The world is desperate to know this.
We serve Him when we expose this truth in the way we live and love to reflect this.
“and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”
There is hope and joy in knowing that through whatever God is working things out for good. We are made for one another. We are designed to fit together as a whole as God is whole
Our standard set in scripture is that we love God and love one another as ourselves.
Orphans compete with each other. Brothers and sisters complete each other.
Belonging as family is paramount in our lives. We are the invitation to others to know God for healing and adoption.
We are not for independence and of a competitive spirit either as individuals or nations we are for unity in all things.
The illustration shows choosing to praise through good and bad as a sacrifice to burn upon the altar to bring light to emanate and push back the darkness.
Six Scriptures that come to mind:
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV
“And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’” Zechariah 2:5 ESV
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1 ESV
“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 ESV
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1 ESV
“and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” 1 Corinthians 3:23 ESV
The song We Make Space. Melissa Helser
Lessisgreater 