I was recently asked to give the opening devotion at a Christian women’s one-day retreat. “Is there a theme passage for the conference?” because I thought, I
can poke around on that a little bit, do some word-study, go off on a tangent.
But was told “nope, no theme
passage.” Well, you know me: not a problem for Deb! I can
always find something woman-y, encouragement-y to talk about, right? Plus I know how God drops little nuggets in
my path.
The
next morning, I was getting ready for work and was already thinking about the
conference title “Dancing in the Rain”.
A few minutes later I sat down to read my morning devotion, and the
reading for that day was Psalm 30. As I read through the psalm little images
popped into my mind as I thought about King David (or even myself!) in these
various predicaments: a little white
face looking up from the bottom of a dark & dank pit or crawling up from a
musty, horrible grave! I imagined
God’s hand reaching for me and how I’d feel secure and safe.
As I got to the end of the verses—oh my! My wonderful heavenly Father was reaching for my hand and there I was twirling around like His little princess, in a beautiful frilly dress—and it goes flying out in ripples—and oh! my dress is the color of JOY, and out of my mouth comes this impossibly beautiful song that no way! can I keep it in: my heart is overflowing, I just can’t keep quiet! Look what He’s done for me!
As I got to the end of the verses—oh my! My wonderful heavenly Father was reaching for my hand and there I was twirling around like His little princess, in a beautiful frilly dress—and it goes flying out in ripples—and oh! my dress is the color of JOY, and out of my mouth comes this impossibly beautiful song that no way! can I keep it in: my heart is overflowing, I just can’t keep quiet! Look what He’s done for me!
I
knew that this last verse (in green below) was just perfect for the opening
devotion for this conference. NOTE: I left in the divisions where we read
responsively at the conference.
Psalm 30
A
psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.
L: I will
exalt you, Lord,
A: for You lifted me out of the depths
B: and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
L: Lord my God, I called to You for help,
A+B: and You healed me.
L: You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of
the dead;
A+B: You
spared me from going down to the pit.
L: Sing the
praises of the Lord, you His faithful
people; praise His holy name!
A: For His anger lasts only a moment, but His
favor lasts a lifetime.
B: Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing
comes in the morning.
L: When I
felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”
A: Lord,
when You favored me You made my royal mountain stand firm;
B: but when You hid Your face, I was dismayed.
L: To you, Lord,
I called; to the Lord I cried for
mercy:
ALL: “What
is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit?
B: Will the dust praise You?
A: Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
L: Hear, Lord,
and be merciful to me;
ALL: Lord, be my help!”
B: You turned my wailing into dancing;
A: You removed my sackcloth
A+B: and clothed me with joy,
L:
that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent.
ALL: O Lord my God, I will You thanks & praise You forever!
ALL: O Lord my God, I will You thanks & praise You forever!
You
might have a lot going on in your life right now. Dusty windowsills. A dirty toilet bowl. A pile of laundry. Too much to do and not enough time to do
it. Fear. Sadness.
Sorrow. My dear! He knows exactly where you are and what’s
going on. Sure, there are times when He
lets you flail around, but would your faith ever grow if it wasn’t tested and
prodded to mature and grow?
You
might be standing at the bottom of a very deep pit right now, looking up,
wailing miserably, wondering if God has any clue, if He’s even listening
because it sure seems like you’re talking to an empty room!
Certainly
there are times when it seems our prayers are unheard, but you are His
daughter!! He NEVER stops listening—He
hears every syllable. More than
anything He wants to have a lifelong, eternal conversation with each of us.
You
might be going through a really rough time, maybe you think God is hiding His
face from you to punish you for sins in your past. Sister, please remember He loves you. He’s already healed you from the worst thing
that could ever happen to you—He couldn’t imagine spending a single moment
without you, so He sent His son to Calvary to pay the price for all the sins
that are weighing you down. He took the
drab prison clothes and draped you with a magnificent gown of the most
exquisite fabric. Christ is right now in
heaven working on YOUR room in his mansion.
REMEMBER
this: when we place our confidence in
the Lord and what He is doing through us—we CAN praise the Lord. We can dance in the rain because the Lord is
dancing there with us. Think of every
woman you know. Each one has gone or is
right now going through some kind of trial or trouble or struggle. Most of us will go through MANY trials before
we get to Heaven.
The
Lord has put us here, together, at just this time, at just this place as part
of His magnificent plan. Christian
sisters—today. At home, in our
churches. To minister to each other. And for Him. The Lord is sending showers of
blessings. And our heavenly Father has
clothed us with the Joy of His salvation.
In
our lives--sunshine or rain--we can sing for joy and not be silent because with
our eyes focused on Jesus, letting Him lead the way, our lives will be filled
with praise and we can dance in the rain!
Dear Lord, thank You for bringing us to this moment. Thank You
for each woman reading this prayer, with whatever burdens she is carrying. Lord, help us to drop all our burdens and
cares on Your shoulders and to trust You even when we’re walking through a dark
valley. Walk with us, Lord, through
difficulties. Lift us when we
stumble. Carry us when we just can’t. Rain Your blessings on us, Lord, and help us dance
in the rain and sing Your praises daily.
Send your Holy Spirit to be with us each day, bless the words from our
mouths that we might encourage one another; give us courage in whatever role You’ve assigned us, to be better disciples and and
wives and mothers and daughters and sisters and friends. Lord my God, let us praise You forever! Amen.
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