“He was still speaking when, behold,
a bright cloud overshadowed them,
and a voice from the cloud said,
‘This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased …'”
Matthew 17:5

The Bible records three more words in that verse. Do you know what they are?***

The context of this passage is known as the Transfiguration when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain. Jesus was transfigured before them. And then suddenly Moses and Elijah were also there.

My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased are the same words spoken at Jesus’s baptism by John.   Mark 1:9-11.

I often pose that question *** at the retreats where I speak. Do you know what the next words are?

How might you finish the sentence? This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased ___________________.

Worship him?   Serve him?   Follow him?   Honor him?   Obey him?

None of those really good things are what the Spirit of God highlights.

The very next words are listen to him!

Listening, the most important thing God highlights for those men and I believe for us. These men had been walking with Jesus. They knew him as a friend. And the Spirit of God reminds them to listen!

“Listening to God calling us his beloved is like
discovering a well in the desert.
Once you have touched wet ground,
you want to dig deeper.”
Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Life of the Beloved

“Nothing can replace meeting with
(listening to) Jesus.
Not even reading your Bible.”
Brother Lawrence

The BIG question: How do I develop the habit of listening?

For example, years ago … yes, years ago I memorized Romans 4:20 and 21.

“No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God,
but he grew strong in his faith
as he gave glory to God,
fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”
(bolding and underline mine)

Perhaps I really listened for the first time recently. Those little two letters that I bolded and underlined stopped my reading. AS. Small word; BIG impact. Sue, listen!

Abraham (who these words are referring to) grew his faith AS he gave glory to God.

It’s led me on a search. I want to grow strong in my faith too! So what does it look like for me to give glory to God?

I have some thoughts, but I’d love to learn from you.
What does it mean to give glory to God?

Put your thoughts in the comments. Let’s help each other.

Next Thursday — Some principles I’m learning that are helping me to listen well.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, February 2023

 

 

 

Creation Picturing God’s Control

I sat in the beach chair. One of the few people that early morning.
Listening and Noticing …
to the sound of the ocean
wave after wave;
to the sound of the wind
tumbling seaweed across sand;
to the rhythm of the waves
being pulled by the invisible (to me) moon;
to the tiny crab scurrying just inches before me
bringing a smile to my face;
to the great variety of birds walking the shore
searching for breakfast;
to the leaves of the deciduous, the fronds of the palms, the cacti
all dancing with the breeze;
the white-caps, the breakers
as far as I can see;
the ocean crawls closer
tempting a dip.

Enjoying God’s gift of winter on the island.
Enjoying creation picturing God’s control.

It was January 31 so I opened my Bible to Psalm 31.

David is in a hard place. The scriptures don’t share the specifics which leaves us a broader ability to apply its truth to our hard places. Throughout David’s lament, he acknowledges God’s control.

Creation pictures God’s control. David’s story in Psalm 31 exemplifies God’s control — particularly in the midst of the hards of life.

So many things God highlighted for me. Let me share just three:

1. In the midst of his own hard, over and over David acknowledges God’s control.
2. In the midst of his own hard, three times David speaks of God’s steadfast love.
3. In the midst of his own hard, David boldly asks God to rescue him speedily.

“Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!”
Psalm 31:2

Speedily — David boldly asks God to rescue him from this hard place speedily!

I have not been that bold. Timing has always been a place of insecurity for me when I pray. After all God is sovereign; He is in control. And even David admits a few verses later, “My times are in your hand;” Verse 15.

But David’s prayer in verse 2 sets an example; I (we) too can ask God to respond speedily. My prayer life is changing.

“Let us then with confidence
draw near to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help in time of need”.
Hebrews 4:16 (bolding mine)

Have you signed up to “follow” Echoes of Grace?
I hope so. To those who follow I also email a brief devotional note every few weeks. In this next one I’m sharing one of our Valentine stories that speaks of waiting on God — kind of the opposite of asking God to work speedily.

I’ll also be sharing more about reading through the Psalms with the calendar, a practice I’ve used off and on for many years.

So please sign up to follow Echoes. I don’t want you to miss out.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, February 2023

 

 

“I believe; help my unbelief!:
Mark 9:24

I identify with the desperate cry of the father of the child with an unclean spirit.
And, I’ve been thinking …

Too often I allow myself to not live as a woman of faith.
I allow my reality, my humanity, my reason to give my faith an out.

After all, God declares, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways … ” Isaiah 55:9. And I don’t know God’s ways. Another faith cop-out.

God knows my humanity. Indeed he “knitted me together in my mother’s womb”. Psalm 139:13. And, I believe, he knitted me together knowing what my realities were going to be. God trusted me, his beloved child with his will, his plans, his wisdom.

God trusted me with a lot. He offers many opportunities to mature in my faith.

Not the same lot he trusted Abraham with asking him to believe that his 90 year old wife would bear him a son to fulfill the promise God had given him years before. “And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” Genesis 15:4. Or asking him to sacrifice that promised son on Mount Moriah. “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham … Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering …” Genesis 22:1, 2. Really God? What about that promise?  Yet, I never heard Abraham whisper those words.

“No distrust made him (Abraham) waver
concerning the promise of God, (Genesis 15)
but
he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
fully convinced
that God was able to do what he had promised.”
Romans 4:20, 21 (italics and parentheses mine).

But I will not compare my lot with Abraham’s.

But I will seek to practice Abraham’s way of maturing in his faith.

Abraham grew strong as he gave glory to God!!

My ponderings are challenging me to …

1. Not lean on my own understanding of my realities.
2. Not try to figure out how God will fulfill the promises he’s given me.
3. Be where I am, and allow God to grow my faith; to help me be fully convinced.
4. I will pray over his promises regularly.
5. I will practice praise, give glory to God, for his ability to fulfill his word.

My friend Trisha shared this with me. It seems appropriate for this post. Thank you Trisha.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, February 20233

Bill and I are enjoying our winter vacation this week. So, thank you again to my Scottish friend Ros for sharing from her life one of her experiences of listening to God.

FYI … pottered is our puttered.
Hogmanay is our New Year’s Eve.

A couple of mornings ago, as I pottered around the kitchen at first light, I noticed a starling in the garden. It too was pottering, a dark bird ambling around the dark green patch of grass in our small garden.

Weeks before the window I was looking through had a chalk pen Christmas tree drawn on the outside which, in the recent spell of inclement weather had dripped and smeared down into a lively but chaotic scene, obscuring the view. The indignity of the window decoration seemed fitting with the rest of the kitchen, displaying as it did the empty glasses and finger food, reminders of Hogmanay celebrations the night before. The earnest disarray of the kitchen was similarly replicated in the rest of the house, where Christmas decorations still hung askew, piles of presents and chocolates and recycling lurking in every corner.

The jumble and bustle of the interior demand my attention, in both enjoyment and concerted efforts to tidy up. But for those brief few seconds as my eyes tracked with the dark teal feathers of the little bird in the garden, the clamorous concerns of the inside grew quiet.

.

Look. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:26 (Msg)

Look at the birds

Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God.

And you count far more to him than birds.

.

Eyes squinting to see past the vista of streaky paint, I see the bird, free and unfettered.

I see the simplicity of a creature who exists solely to sing a song of love to its Creator. Who wears its feathery robes with no thought of comparison to the robin’s renowned breast.

I see, in first foggy-eyed moments of the new year, the starling-life we’re all called to. We, too, are created to be free and unfettered, confident in the great love and provision God has for us.

.

Attention drawn back to the silently blaring kitchen, my eyes settle on a pot that really should have been soaking overnight. I see a pile of dishes that need returning to a neighbour. My thoughts scan through the people residing in rooms above, I listen for floorboards signalling the new year creaking into being.

.

As my eyes return to linger on this little bird, I watch as it dots around our dim garden, lifts its head then flies away.

.

One thing I can be sure of for this coming year: there will be clamour, there will be hubbub. There is sure to be noise, demands, distractions – for good and for ill.

What if – I think to myself – what if in all the hubbub this year brings, I could learn to live, as the starling does, careless in the care of God?

Careless, free and unfettered, in the care of God.

And you count far more to him than birds.

How much more, then, the invitation to us all? To live as ones free, unshackled – confident to be careless in the care of our God?

Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God.

And you count far more to him than birds.

Matthew 6:26 (Msg)

Naomi, my then 5 year old GRAND, and I were on the way to the pediatric ophthalmologist’s office where we were going to meet her mom. Naomi had an unusual rash around her eye and she was nervous!

As I drove the unfamiliar CA streets, and she was strapped in the car seat in the back, I was teaching her the truth of Psalm 56:3.

“When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.”

I was using different voices, difference cadences, even different actions — as much as you can act while driving. Naomi mimicked each one. By the time we arrived at the doctor’s office, she had Psalm 56:3 committed to memory.

For Naomi, the application was to not be afraid of the new doctor. By the time she left the appointment, the new doctor had diagnosed Shingles, AND had become Naomi’s new favorite doctor.

Fast forward five years.

Now I have Shingles.

As I was talking to Naomi on the phone last night, she said, “Gramma, I remember the Bible verse you taught me when I had Shingles”. And she quoted it to me. She didn’t remember the reference; she did remember the truth.

It was good for me to be reminded of Psalm 56:3. Although my application was different from Naomi’s, God’s word ministered to us both. (My application related to the after-effects of Shingles.)

Thank you to my 10 year old GRAND-daughter for ministering the Word of God to me!
I listened to God through the words of Naomi.

And then there was that old dead guy. Our pastor shared these words from Martin Luther in his

sermon yesterday:

“But faith kills reason and slays the beast which the whole world
and all creatures cannot kill.
So Abraham killed it be faith in the Word of God…
Reason did not yield immediately, but it fought against faith in him,
judging it an absurd and impossible thing that Sarah,
now ninety years of age, should bear a son.
Thus faith wrestled with reason in Abraham,
but faith got the victory and finally killed and crucified reason …”
from Martin Luther’s Galatians Commentary

In last week’s post, I called it circumstances. Martin Luther, referring to the circumstance of Sarah being childless at 90 years of age, calls it reason. Truly it isn’t reasonable to think that a 90 year old woman would become pregnant and bear a son.

And reason puts up a hard fight with faith. My faith is challenged as I consider some of my current circumstances. I want my testimony to be,

Thus faith wrested with reason in Sue,
but faith got the victory and finally killed and crucified reason.

God graciously gave Abraham a visual of His promise, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them … So shall your offspring be. And he (Abram) believed the Lord, and he (the Lord) counted it to him as righteousness”. Genesis 15:5 and 6.

God offers us visuals too. Over, and over, and over again in the words of Scripture. For example …

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
Matthew 6:26

I am so glad my son has gotten me into bird watching!

So listening to God sometimes comes through the words of a 10 year old little girl. Or sometime through an old dead guy or my pastor who quoted him last Sunday.

My newest memory verse:

“So then, those who are of faith
are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”
Galatians 3:9

Listen, my word for 2023. Isaiah 55:3, my scripture for 2023.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, Jan 2023

 

“After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
‘Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great’.
But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless,
and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’
And Abram said,
‘Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.’
And behold, the word of the LORD came to him:
‘This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir’.
And he brought him outside and said,
‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.”
So shall your offspring be’.
And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness”.
Genesis 15:1-6 (bolding mine)

Circumstances — they can sure trip us up. It would have been easy for Abram to be discouraged. It would have been easy to misinterpret his circumstances. It would have been easy for him to think that his circumstances were the only true thing.

I get that. I’ve been there. Hmmm, truth be told, I’m there right now. But Abram’s story challenges and offers courage.

Genesis 15:6 says, “And he believed the LORD,” Abram believed what he heard from God. Abram needed to first listen to God; then there was the choice. He chose belief.

In my time with God, I listen to His truth … but do I take the step of belief? My current circumstances offer me that choice.

Paul testifies to Abram’s belief.

“No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God,
but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised”.
Romans 4:20, 21 (italics mine)

I too want to be fully convinced of God’s promises to me.

The author of Hebrews challenges me.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace …”
Hebrews 4:16
“So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear …”
Hebrews 13:6

“God is a compassionate God… God is a God who has chosen to be God with-us… By calling God Emmanuel, we recognize God’s commitment…” Henri J.M. Nouwen

David offers the key to growing in being fully convinced — reminding myself of God’s love.

“By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,”
Psalm 42:8

I’m learning it’s imperative that I’m always listening to God’s love for me and interpreting my circumstances through that lens.

The key to Connecting with and trusting God is listening to God.

Do you notice all the truth in “C” words that offer me the choice in my circumstances?

Convinced, confidence, confidently, compassionate, chosen, commitment,  commands, connection.

Listening connects me to the character of God. And His character is love.
Listening is the key to trusting His love.
Circumstances are my opportunity for listening to and trusting God.

Listen — my word for 2023.
Isaiah 55:3 — my verse for 2023.

“Incline your ear (listen diligently), and come to me:
hear, that your soul may live;”
Isaiah 55:3

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, January 2023

 

A magnet produces a magnetic field that is both invisible and responsible to repel or to attract.

When two similar poles face each other, north to north or south to south, the magnetic field automatically repels.

How often have I been repelled (fearful of trusting) by truth instead of magnetically drawn to it?

How often have the truths of scripture repelled instead of attracted me? The tension is profound.

Because, most times, I can’t wrap my head around God’s ways. They don’t make sense to my human understanding.

Two stories intertwined last June. One drama playing out in Pennsylvania; the other in Florida.

Both tugged on my heartstrings.
Both called me to trust.
I had no control; I could not fix. Trust, my only option. The magnetic tension real.

The Preface
California, May, 2015. Our infant GRANDson collapsed in his mother’s arms. Leaving the grocery cart and gathering the two year old in her arms as well, they headed for the ER. Ezra was admitted to the first of four hospitals he’d get to know in the next 12 weeks. His diagnosis – Hyperinsulinism. The best doctors to treat his condition were across the country in Pennsylvania. A medical jet zoomed Ezra and his mom across the country. to CHOP, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Next chapter
June 2022, Ezra returns to CHOP.

An acrostic for the word magnet reminds me …

M – memorize truth.
A – ask questions. God is not threatened by my questions.
G – God is good. I knew that. Often God’s definition of good is not the same as mine.
N – nexus of truth and trust – where the rubber meets the road.
E – Exercise trust. In this situation, what does trust look like?
T – the tension; experience it resolve.

In Psalm 104:1 the Psalmist proclaims, “You [God] are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment,”

When you are covered you are invisible. Light sometimes hides.

In 1867, Walter C. Smith penned the poem that has been published in 197 hymnals, Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, they great name we praise.

In just this first verse, Smith praises God for 10 different attributes. He lives forever; he is ONLY wise; and sometimes in light, he or his works are hid from us.

Smith is right. Often God’s ways are hid from our eyes. “Our inability to see God is not because of insufficient light but because the “splendor of light hides [God] from view.” (Hymnary.org) I often don’t understand God’s ways. But hidden or not, he is ONLY wise. Will I allow the nexus of truth lead me to trust?

Will I practice the magnet acrostic and experience trust and the tension of the situation resolve?

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. I Timothy 1:17

 

 

My word for 2023 — Listen.
My verse for 2023 — Isaiah 55:3

“Incline your ear to me (listen diligently), and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;”
Isaiah 55:3

 

For the original story of Ezra and Hyperinsulinism, click here.

Copyright: Sue Tell, January 2023

 

 

 

The boys were in middle school. The calendar had just turned to 1990. We lived in California. I remember our dinner table conversation that New Year’s night. What were our resolutions for the year? I rebelled. I wasn’t making a resolution. They intimidated me. I knew I was setting myself up for failure.

Several years later I learned about the concept of a word for the year. Since 2017 that has been my habit. Okay, admittedly some years my word didn’t last in my memory much past the end of January — you know, kind of like those resolutions I used to make.

But some years they have greatly helped me grow in my faith. 2019 was one of those years. My word was secure from Deuteronomy 33:12. To this day, I pray over that verse almost every night.

Expectancy was my word last year. Again, this has greatly influenced my friendship with God as I’m learning to let go of expectations and cling to expectancy. I pray over this concept regularly as well.

Listen is my word for 2023.
This has been a growing conviction since the beginning of December.

It started with our sermon that first Sunday of Advent. Our pastor pointed us to Isaiah 11:1-9. Verse 9 reads in part, “… for the earth shall be full of knowledge of the LORD…” The word knowledge stood out. I thought about II Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Mary mentioned her word for 2023 — trust. I hadn’t been thinking about a word.
Bill encouraged our Sunday school class to read through the Bible in 2023.
Then he gave us a check chart to record our progress.

How can I grow in knowledge if I don’t read?
How can it be more than an academic pursuit if I don’t listen to God while reading?

“… Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourself in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live …”
from Isaiah 55:2 and 3 (emphasis mine)

Listen — my word for 2023.
Isaiah 55:3 — my verse for 2023.

Many times I’ve spoken on listening and shared these verses in retreats that I lead. Now it is time for me to tune in to the whispers of God … Sue, are you listening?

My morning prayers often start with these desires,
God, please grow my knowing.
Help me to listen for your whispers.
Help me to recognize your love.
Help me to lean into your truth.

Hmmmm, God is answering my own prayer. I am convicted.

I asked for a Journaling Bible for Christmas. (Pictured above.)
I also received Henri J.M. Nouwen’s devo, You Are The Beloved. (Also pictured above.)

In the January 1 meditation, Nouwen shared …

“Imagine that we could walk through the new year
always listening to the voice saying to us:
‘I have a gift for you and can’t wait for you to see it!'”
(bolding mine)

To encourage my listening, I’m using an app that reads the Bible to me. I’m reading and listening at the same time. And I’ll pause to journal as I hear the whispers of God. I’m excited for 2023 and listening to God. May you too, be excited about the word God has given you.

In 2019, I shared some thoughts about choosing a word. Here is the link,
https://suetell.com/2019/01/

Blessings to you in 2023.

Copyright: Sue Tell, January 2023

The rock of a Living Hope.

God did not spare the difficult way the Christmas Story began. God trusted us with truth, with the rock of Hope!

God is offering the gift of hope this Advent as I’m waiting with several friends. Some desiring jobs in their fields of training; others would love to have a mate; several are fighting for their lives as they live with cancer.

The hope God gave with the birth of Jesus has many applications.

Hope would not be hope if if wasn’t for the waiting. The question becomes, in the in-between, in the often very long wait, how do we keep hope alive?

In Matthew 1:18-25, Joseph had his ability to hope tested. “When his (Jesus’s) mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit”. (Matthew 1:18) Pregnant and not yet married. Adultery in that society. Deserving death.

Joseph’s wait was a few months. His circumstances did not change. He re-postured his heart; he trusted; he hoped.

The rock of Hope does not rest on human understanding;
it rests solely on the character of God!

Four realities are re-posturing my heart toward the hope God offers.

1. God’s hope is a LIVING Hope

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again to a living hope …”
I Peter 1:3

resting with a living God,

“… because we have our hope set on a living God,”
I Timothy 4:10

communicated through his living Word.

“For the word of God is living and active …”
Hebrews 4:12

John Newton communicates this in his well-known hymn, Amazing Grace. The third stanza reads,

“The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures”.

2. Our living hope is not based on circumstances.

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer”.
Romans 12:12

The rock of hope is well-defined in the familiar Christmas hymn, O Holy Night

“O Holy Night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!”

The rock of hope is understood on a soul level.

3. Our living hope requires patience. The timing is in God’s court.

“… Now hope that is seen is not hope.
For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see,
we wait for it with patience.”
Romans 8:24, 25

This truth set in the context of Paul’s teaching about our eternal hope we know as believers, also applies to lesser, more immediate hopes. Will I trust, keep my hope on, the truth of Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

4. The outcome of our living hope is joy. It never leads to shame.

“Therefore …
we rejoice in hope of the glory of God …
we rejoice in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering produces endurance,
endurance produces character,
and character produces hope,
and hope does not put us to shame,
because
God’s love has been poured into our hearts …”
Romans 5:1-5

I am motivated to keep reviewing, pondering, and trusting God’s love. What does that look like today?

“The righteous flourish like the palm tree …
to declare that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
Psalm 92:12 & 15

The Christmas story is not the birth of hope. In the Christmas story God helps me to understand the outworking of the rock of a living hope.

Merry Christmas!!   May God’s gift to you be a hope-filled celebration!

Next week Echoes of Grace is on a Christmas break while I enjoy playing with our 6 GRANDS!

Echoes will return January 5, 2023. Do you have a word for the new year?

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, December 2022

 

“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative
of the things that have been accomplished among us,
just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word
have delivered the to us, it seemed good to me also,
having followed all things closely for some time past,
to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
that you may have certainty   (know beyond the shadow of a doubt)
concerning the things you have been taught.”
Luke 1:1-4 (emphasis mine, italics from The MSG)

Certainty – a firm conviction; definitely true; confidence. (Oxford Languages Dictionary)

“Who on earth saw him first, knowing
truly who he was? Belly to belly, when
John, prophet in utero, distinguished
in the natal soup the fetal bones, the body
curled like a comma, eyes tight, skull
packed with universal wisdom,
this unborn cousin began to dance.”
Recognition, Luci Shaw, first stanza

“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people”. Luke 1:25. Elizabeth had certainty and knew the source of her blessing, the Lord. Through the Spirit, she passed that certainty to her yet to be born son. “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb”. Luke 1:41.

Mary had certainty when she heard Gabriel’s message. “And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to you word.” And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38. Mary’s trust, her confidence, her certainty made room for God’s amazing story to be accomplished.

In her humanity, she knew she was greatly loved (Luke 1:28), as are we. She was willing to receive the truth, to trust God’s message delivered by Gabriel.

“And when she, birth-giver —
her ordinary vision arrowed down between
her legs, through pain and straw, to her son’s dark,
slime-streaked hair, to his very skin, red with
the struggle of being born — she lifted him
to her breast, kissed the face of God,
and felt her own heart leap.”
Recognition, Luci Shaw, second stanza

“For nothing will be impossible with God”,
Luke 1:37

I want an Elizabeth heart, a Mary heart. I want to have certainty.

And I am so human.

It’s easier to identify with Zechariah, “How shall I know this? ” Luke 1:18. Too often I hear myself praying, I believe, help my unbelief like the father of the young son with an evil spirit. Mark 9:24.

Reality begs a choice. Trust or doubt. Anticipate or fear. Certainty or wavering.

Throughout the scriptures, God, who knows our reality, knows where our certainty rests and meets us.

David shares his certainty of God’s involvement in his life. “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me”;
Psalm 138:8.

Paul teaches, “and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (certainty),
Ephesians 3:19.

Peter encourages, “But grow in grace and knowledge (in certainty) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.
II Peter 3:18.

God knows and is active in reality. There is certainty.

This certainty is faith-based, love-based, trust-based, expectant of God’s goodness-based.
And so I pray, God, what does it look like to trust you today?
Please, grow in me an Elizabeth heart, a Mary heart; a heart of the certainty of your goodness.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, December 2022