He Restores My Soul

“He restores my soul.” Close your eyes, take in a slow, deep breath and as you release it, let these four simple words sink deeply into your spirit. “He restores my soul.”

My soul is the deepest part of me, that inner sanctuary where no one else will ever be able to accompany me; no one, of course, except for the One who fashioned me in my mother’s womb and Who breathed my eternal destiny into my spirit before I ever drew my first breath.

In these precious moments when I am alone with Him, the tears come easily as I let down my defenses and lay aside every tool and weapon with which I have fought today’s battles. I lean into His chest and allow Him to hold me as I begin to weep tears of relief, letting go of anything and everything that has held me captive in a prison of my own design.

This is my safe place. This is where the chains fall away and my rest becomes deeper with each breath that enters and departs my weary self.

He restores my soul. He returns the deepest part of me to its original state, reestablishing His purposes and bringing back divine order. Here, in this place of closeness with my Shepherd, my spirit is at rest. My heart is at peace. My soul is restored.

Jesus said that He is the Good Shepherd and that His sheep know His voice. As I linger here in this place, quietly listening to Him whisper of His love for me, the voice I hear is the same voice that spoke my destiny into existence while I was still being woven together in the secret place. The voice is familiar, comforting and strong.

When my soul is restored, everything changes. Peace returns. Joy is refreshed. Hope is renewed. Destiny receives a breath of fresh air, shedding the staleness that seems to creep in over time as dreams wait for their moment to rise up and be fulfilled.

He restores your soul. Today is your day for restoration. Right now is your moment to receive the rest that He has for you. Here is where your striving ceases. Here is where your hope is renewed and your peace returns. Here is where you fall into His arms as He whispers His love to you.

Then this city will bring me renown, joy,
praise and honor before all nations on earth
that hear of all the good things I do for it;
and they will be in awe and will tremble
at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.'
Jeremiah 33:9

Divine Distraction

Music from the Heart: Restoration by David Brymer

You know that feeling you get when something you have been really anxious about for a long time is suddenly and unexpectedly resolved? That sense of relief that is so powerful that it almost takes your breath away and brings you to tears? It is immediately followed by an overwhelming sense of peace as you hear a voice deep down inside you gently whisper, "It's all going to be okay."

That's the feeling I got Tuesday afternoon - and for no apparent reason.

It was about 4:30 in the afternoon, and my work day was almost over. I was sitting at my desk, deeply engrossed in something so important that I can't even remember now what it was. Anyway, it was as if Someone tapped me on the shoulder and pulled my attention away from what I was doing, so strong was this sense of release and peace that came over me.

I had no idea what it was all about, and I still don't know for sure. But I have chosen the path of not questioning why, opting rather to simply rest in this crazy peace that has come once again and wrapped itself around me like a warm blanket.

There are things my spirit has been wrestling with for quite some time, and I can only hope that this sense of release is a foretaste of a pending breakthrough. I felt a physical response to this sense relief that came over me that day - a lifting of a burden, a somewhat lighter feeling.

The last few days, this peace has continued. Each day since, what has kept repeating over and over inside me is the song "Restoration, " specifically the tag at the end of the song, which simply says,

"Hallelujah, hallelujah,
You make all things new, You make all things new
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
You make all things new."

So, dear friend, on this late spring day, in the swirl of graduations & weddings, farewells and new beginnings, my wish for you is simply this:

May the peace that passes understanding overtake you in a moment when you least expect it. May you encounter divine distractions that snatch your awareness away from whatever you are doing and lands it squarely into the face of the Lover of your soul. Amen. So let it be.

The God of peace be with you all.
Amen.
Romans 15:33

Life on the Edge

Music from the Heart: How He Loves Us by Kim Walker

Surrender and Trust. They stand together facing me, hand in hand. Each extends the remaining hand to me, inviting me to join them in a circle of three. Their intent is to lead me to the edge of my comfort zone and coax me to jump out into the vast abyss of possibility that is my destiny.

I have been here before, with these same two companions. Each leap takes me to a deeper level of awareness of His presence and His plan for my life. Why, then, do I even hesitate when I find myself facing this decision again? Why haven't I already jumped?

For me, it is a question of will. Whose will am I truly committed to - mine or His?

Yesterday, as our pastor was closing his message on the Lord's Prayer, he offered the following interpretation of the phrase, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven":

"May I have no will of my own. May Your will be all that I seek."

In my heart, at this moment, this is a matter of surrendering even my deepest desires and most extravagant dreams back to the One who placed them in my heart. This is not as easy as it sounds, but I must keep reminding myself that to give them back over to Him does not mean giving up on the dream. It means giving up on being in control of the dream.

I choose to follow the example of our spiritual father, Abraham, as he accompanied his son, Isaac, up the mountain. He was fully prepared to put the boy to death in obedience to the Lord, but he also was equally prepared for a substitute sacrifice to be provided. I choose to lay my dreams down at His feet, and I have the same assurance that what the Lord returns to me will be His good, pleasing and perfect will for me.

Ultimately, it is the knowledge and experience of His amazing, unimaginable, crazy love for me that enables me to relinquish even those things most precious to me back to Him.

Surrender and Trust are becoming closer friends to me, and I find myself leaning on them for strength. Together we are moving closer to the edge ...

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more
than all we ask or imagine, according to his power
that is at work within us...

Ephesians 3:20

Smoke on the Mountain

Music from the Heart: Glory Come Down by Jason Upton

There are many things I could write about tonight, but only one thing is prevalent in my spirit at this late hour. The warfare in the heavenlies is intensifying.

I have experienced this myself over the past few days, and I am reading about it from others around the country who are also seeing an increase in spiritual activity, specifically where it pertains to God's people being released into their destinies, and more specifically when that destiny includes some form of ministry to hurting people.

I had a dream last week where I was praying for a woman I did not know, and as I opened my mouth, I began to speak into the pain of her past, naming specific things that had wounded her and caused her to question her position in Christ, among other things. As I spoke, she began to weep, leaning into me with her head down as she surrendered to what the Lord was initiating for her release and freedom.

Over the past two days, I have encountered a level of warfare I have not seen in quite some time, and it involves some things the Lord is showing me about a woman I know of, but do not know personally (not the same one from the dream). The details are not relevant in this posting, and I'm not completely sure why I feel compelled to share this in this arena. But here is what I believe:

Someone will read this who has been experiencing an increased level of some combination of spiritual warfare and/or prophetic insight into people and situations around you. This has come after you have prayed for more of the Lord's presence in your life, and you are not sure what to do with what you are beginning to see and sense. You may even be a little frightened by it. You have hesitated to share this with anyone, because you aren't sure how it will be received or if it will be understood by those close to you.

Let me tell right here and right now that you are not alone. Be encouraged that what you are seeing and sensing will happen and is happening even now. As God has been strategically positioning His people for the activity that is coming, He is also calling us to a deeper level of awareness of His presence and a greater sensitivity to His ways. His presence can appear frightening to those who are not prepared to see Him.

When God told Moses to have the people consecrate themselves in preparation for coming up the mountain to meet with Him, He wanted all of Israel to participate. Instead, the people were frightened by the smoke and the clouds that accompanied His presence on the mountain, and they shrank back, sending Moses up alone to meet with God.

Let us not be like the children of Israel in this hour as God is again calling us up the mountain, His holy hill, to meet with Him. Let our hearts be like that of Moses, who boldly but humbly approached God's manifest presence with a tenacious fervor.

God is speaking, and we must be still and quiet enough to hear His voice and ready to obey. Like the children of Israel who were led through the wilderness by a cloud and a pillar of fire, we must move when He moves and stay when and where He stays. When it's time to move, we must be unhindered by things that hold no eternal significance. When it's time to stay, we must remain with Him, not eager to rush ahead and make our own way.

In other words, we are to live simply, listen closely, love Him deeply, and obey completely. This is essential if we are to embrace and fulfill the destiny for which we have been created.

And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." Then Moses said, "Now show me Your glory."
Exodus 33:17-18