Whatever challenge you may be facing today, I pray the Lord will bless you, keep you safe, and give you great peace. We have a good, good Father who will never leave us nor forsake us. When the storms of life dump events on us that can freeze us in our tracks, remember that the nearness of God is our good and we can take refuge in Him. (Psalm 73:28)
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Bethlehem was a busy place that day. People coming and going, brushing against one another on the crowded streets, they barely had room to breathe. Everyone was caught up in the chaos of finding a place to stay while going through the process of registering for the first census decreed by Caesar Augustus.
Enter weary Joseph and Mary. No vacancy signs everywhere. Mary could barely breathe herself…birth pangs. The only act of compassion was for them to be given shelter in a stable. As Mary laid there, she took in one more breath of air, winced and exhaled to give her final push, and the Breath of Heaven arrived. He came to breathe new life into lives caught in the stranglehold and chaos of sin. Today, the chaos of daily living leaves us with barely any room to breathe. We’ve got a chronic lung disease that’s slowly robbing us of the ability to take a breath and don’t even realize it. We desperately need the Breath of Heaven to breathe new life into us; to renew us, to restore us, to heal us of the pollutants we’ve inhaled physically, spiritually, emotionally in a week’s time. Enter the Sabbath. . .a designated time to make room for God. . . to breathe in the exhaled Breath of Heaven.
A time of Sabbath does not necessarily need to be on a Sunday. In actuality, we are in need of times of sabbath rest on a daily basis. Here’s my Sabbath blessing/prayer for each of us as we seek to prepare our hearts and make room for the Breath of Heaven. I paraphrased the song by Amy Grant, “Breath of Heaven.”
Breath of Heaven, hold us together as we struggle under the load we each bear. You are Emmanuel, God with us; we pause and acknowledge You are with us now. We have no need to walk this path alone. Bring light to the dark areas, expose our sins so we may be holy for You are holy. Lord, we are frail, but we offer all that we are to You. Have mercy upon us, strengthen us, help us breathe in You and exhale You in order to bring life into a world that is cold and lifeless. We pause now, Lord. . .breathe new life into our chaotic mess of a life. For the sake of Your Son, Amen. Are you or someone you know experiencing a December Kind of Grief and finding it hard to breathe?
I'd like to suggest clicking over to my post called, A December Kind of Grief. I would love to pray for you. Please feel free to contact me here. Your request will be sent to me as an email and will not be posted as a comment.
I wanted to share what's been on my heart this week.
Joy in the midst of pain, conflict, and sorrow seems to be an oxymoron. And yet the truth about the source of joy can be found in Psalm 16:11, “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Joy comes from the very presence of God. It doesn’t negate other emotions, it transcends them. The presence of God is joy. That place where His presence (joy) and our pain, conflict, sorrow intersect…that is peace, knowing He’s with us, He’s got it all under control. I’m praying a Blessing for Joy over each of you for the coming weekend: He is the God of peace. He is the God of joy. May Emmanuel, who came to be with us, be with you in every step of this weekend's journey. May you know He is present with you throughout each day. And may you reflect His joy in all you do. Go forth in joy. May this be your heart’s cry, “Lord, let me live so people will praise you.” Psalm 143:11 |
Why Simply GraceThe MuserBecoming the woman of grace God's designed me to be. it's all simply grace. This page is about speaking grace into lives and healing those broken places. It's about exploring the basics of Who our Savior is, the depth of His love for us, and His life changing gift.
You will find Sabbath Blessings here and words to help heal the broken places. This is a place of rest and restoration. Hopefully, you will come away refreshed. You can read more about Why Simply Grace here. Archives
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Have each new post to Simply Grace emailed to you or use your own RSS Feed Reader.Please Respect the Muser's Work© Copyright 2007-2018 Marsha Harwood/Marsha's Musings. All Rights Reserved. All posts, images, and downloads are copyright protected.
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