Letter to tuck in your pocket

Receiving hand-written letters in the mail is a rarity these days. 

When we are eagerly waiting to hear from a loved one, then it is even more special.

Words are devoured. Sentences savoured. Lines linger in our minds.

And we read them over and over again, unwilling to put them down or away.

So we tuck the letter in a secret place away from prying eyes, ready to return to at our leisure and enjoy it all over again.

Have you ever thought about God's word being like a personal letter to our souls?

We benefit from seeing it as such.

The Bible is His love letter to reassure, comfort, speak truth, grace and light into our darkness.

Words of affirmation, encouragement, help, healing, hope, forgiveness and mercy.

Words that change lives, restore, transform, teach, guide, give wisdom, strength and peace.

Who wouldn't want such a letter?

And as we make our journey of faith, God continues to pour forth words we can tuck away into our pockets, hearts and minds. 

They may be direct from the Bible as words seem to come alive for us as we read them. Or they may be words He whispers close any time when we are receptive or have paused specifically to listen to Him.

God's love and ability to express Himself are inexhaustible.

During this year, I've been greatly blessed by hearing personal words from God that have helped me tremendously. I sense they're not all meant for me alone.

Maybe my slow, tortoise-like life has equipped me to be still long enough to hear them, or maybe He has opened my ears to listen better to His voice than I could before.

I call them 'Prayer Whispers' and I'd like to share some with you here. They are words I have tucked into my Prayer Journal and my heart and mind.

Prayer Whisper:Change and renewal

"Change and renewal also require a mourning process. Until you can let go of the old ways of doing, thinking and believing, your arms and heart are too burdened and weighed down to receive the new.

It is a process of trust and faith. Relinquishing the old can make you feel empty, lost and confused because you cannot yet see the things I have in mind to replace what you have surrendered.

In the Divine Exchange I will pour more of Myself into you as you make space for me to do so. You won't be left empty-handed. Rather, you will be set free to receive and have an abundance to give out to others.

Listen to what My Spirit is saying to you. Heed My voice. My desire is to bless you, not to harm you, to give you hope and a future."

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Prayer Whisper:Living with challenging circumstances

"Take courage. Though your circumstances may not be as you want them to be, trust that I am working in and through them to produce fruit and a harvest of righteousness in your life.

To step away from the crowd and live differently can feel scary, but I never intended for you to follow everyone else. My plan for your life is individual and personal. It is uniquely tailored for what I want to accomplish in your life, who I desire to reach and impact by your example and testimony.

Though it can feel as if you are wearing clothes that don't fit or chafe you, trust that this is all part of My plan. In time you will begin to notice more and more how I am using the very things you fight against to shape you as my precious child.

The cracks and imperfections in your life enable the Light of my glory to shine all the brighter through them. Keep surrendering yourself and every aspect of your life to Me and it will become beautiful in the process."

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Prayer Whisper:When you are in a waiting period

"Great patience is needed in the waiting period. Though it may feel like a dark night of the soul where you cannot perceive any light, keep on trusting and believing that I am already acting on your behalf.

However long the night is, remember that joy comes in the morning. In due time you will experience the joy of needs and expectations met as you surrender them to My refining process.

My best work cannot be hurried. Impatience will spoil what I am achieving in you through the waiting process. Do not lose heart or become discouraged.

Seek My presence; rest in confident, child-like trust and faith; stay rooted and grounded in My Word and refreshed and enabled by My Spirit.

Continue to look for the glimmers of grace which remind you I am at work in your life.

My hand is never taken off you for a second.

I watch you as a mother hen broods over her chicks. Nothing escapes My attention either, so be wise how you act and react.

Allow Me to decide when things happen for you and how they happen.

I will always, always love and keep you safe."

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My hope and prayer is that these words will bless and encourage you as they did me when I first received them.

If you want to see more 'Prayer Whispers' on the blog then please let me know. They may become a feature here, or even find their way into a book one day!

Meanwhile, you may like to try reading 'Jesus Calling' by Sarah Young, or 'My Dear Child' by Colin Urquhart to see how God spoke personally to them. 

Or you could watch 'Father's Love Letter' DVD - a beautiful depiction of several Bible verses which speak of God's love for us.

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Linking here with the lovely Ruth Povey for the 'Letter to' series. This week's prompt is:'Letter to tuck in your pocket'. 

Over to you:

What letters/words do you treasure up in your heart?

How has God spoken in ways that have blessed and surprised you?

Taking a leap of faith

Welcome. So pleased you have joined me.
Are you ready for a s-t-r-e-t-c-h? Go on, you know it will do you good. A physical stretch eases our limbs and a mental one fires up the brain.

After all, isn't life all about change and challenges? Or are they just for the brave - or foolhardy - few? It takes an element of faith to rise to a challenge and to see it through.

 We all exercise faith on a daily basis, to some degree or other, as we trust the world around us to operate as it should.

Chairs are meant to be sat in, right?

I am taking a leap of faith here in sharing my words ~ actually every time I press 'Publish' I require nerves of steel that someone will read, and hopefully enjoy, the message I am sharing.

One of the greatest challenges that faces us is also one of life's greatest pleasures: loving and being loved in return.

It opens us up to the possibility of heartache, despair, rejection and loss, as well as to a potential for joy and delight beyond measure.

Because loving and being loved is one of our primary reasons for existence. We were all created as unique individuals, crafted by God's loving hand, in order to know and be in relationship with Him. God is the Only Person Who loves us unconditionally and without measure.

As we draw near to the Christmas period we have great opportunity to reflect on just who Jesus is and why He came into the world.

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life" ~ John 3:16 The Message

Jesus said:"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." ~John 15:9

Yet we can struggle to accept not only that we are loved, but that we might even be lovable to someone else. Perhaps our upbringing and family life failed to affirm that necessary message to us or being hurt by other people may have made a serious dent in our ability to believe it. 

Once our hearts have been crushed or broken they may feel beyond repair. How do we learn to love again when we feel unlovable? 

Our poor self-image and imperfections can lead us to feel unworthy of receiving love or even incapable of giving it away freely to others.

What we are lacking ourselves (or feel as if we do) can become a stumbling-block in reaching out that may even be hidden from us until it really matters. Then we wonder what is stopping us from giving and receiving equally. Most of us long for an experience such as this:

"Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts, nor measure words, but to pour them all out just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away" ~ George Eliot

My relationship with God is a safe harbour like this, as He takes the worst of what I am, deals with the bad and does everything to promote and encourage the good. There is such comfort and freedom in being able to pour out all that I am and all I am going through and know He cares, understands and has every ability to bring about the necessary changes.

 His word also tells us -

"The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" ~ Psalm 34:18

God meets with us right where we are. We don't have to clean up our act before coming to Him. He longs to do the same for all of us  -  if we would only allow Him access.

Sometimes He has to do a healing work in us before we can believe we are lovable. Past emotional conflict and pain can stand in the way.

Are we ready to exercise our faith in The Only Person Who will always love and be there for us ?

Are we ready to take that leap?

A Prayer
Dear Father,
How our hearts weigh heavy at times as we long to be able to be loved and to give love to others. Yet so many things can get in the way. We may not feel worthy or capable. We may lack the resources emotionally to be open and trusting. 

It can feel scary to let another person see the 'Real Me' behind the masks we wear to try to fit in and seem like everyone else, even though we may feel isolated, lost and alone in our differences.

Yet, You made each one of us unique and special. We have gifts and abilities to share.There are no Outsiders in your kingdom of grace. Help us to see ourselves as we are In Christ and as You see us - Accepted, Beloved, Chosen.

Then do the necessary work within our hearts to enable us to be healed, at peace with You, with ourselves and with one another, set free to love and be loved as you planned for us to be.
Thank you.
Amen.