August #jammed: Reflecting on Grace.
Day 238: Turn quiet up.
Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
The blank screen.
No little dots bouncing up and down to let me know there was a response returning …just a blank screen. For days.
Sometimes the quiet can insert all kinds of false possibilities into our minds. I recently read somewhere that it’s bad manners not to respond immediately to a text message. I can see how this is true when just ignoring someone …but I wonder if that rule applies a group text?
Sometimes, instead of wishing for the three little dots …we find ourselves scouring our phone settings, looking for a way to escape the conversation without hurting anyone’s feelings!
“Hey you left the group message …everything OK? Are you mad?”
There’s no running from people who can’t wait for a response.
Today’s Scripture is all about deliverance. The deliverance of God’s people …like we wish to be from group texts every once in a while. Delivered.
deliverance- 1.) an act or instance of delivering. 2.) salvation. 3.) liberation. -dictionary.com
God’s people couldn’t wait for His response …but they had to. And when they finally heard from Him …when He finally delivered them as He promised He would …they sang praise. Oh, did they sing praise.
salvation- the act of saving or protecting from harm, risk, loss, destruction, etc -dictionary.com
God saved His people from harm, risk, loss, and destruction …namely, self-destruction. I love how Jesus is all over the pages of the Old Testament. Just like God saved His people back then, Jesus saved us. Because of His sacrifice we are forgiven, and we can imperfectly live on in the presence of God …all the way to heaven.
liberated- to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage. -dictionary.com
Jesus is the Way out of imprisonment. Our humanity is sinful, cursed by Eve’s choice in the garden. We can’t obey God’s law perfectly, even if we want to. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are free from the sin that so easily entangles us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us (1Jn1:9).
Sometimes, a lack of response is a blanket of protection …and it’s OK to leave a conversation on occasion. “Pray about everything.” Every situation. He is faithful to deliver us.
Father, Praise You for our relational nature. You tell us it’s not good to be alone, and we thank You for placing people around us to keep us company. Forgive us for hanging on the words of anyone but You, though, God. Help us to seek Jesus’ steps in every conversation, never fearing silence, and brave enough to leave. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Telling,
Megs
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