Meet Him in the Morning… He’ll be there
January 2, 2007
Dearest Sister~
Though I’ve written many such letters in years past, somehow
I feel a bit of “fear and trepidation” resuming the writing
of letters such as these. Maybe a bit of “fear and
trepidation” and a bit of joy, too. I say joy because it is
truly a joy to share with other sisters in the LORD the good
things He has done and is doing in our midst. Though we
cannot always see or understand the workings of the LORD, He
is, indeed, at work and all God’s ways are good. We can
count on Him for that.
So, here we are at the threshold of a brand new year, a
clean slate, and unblemished path lies before us. By the
time you receive this, however, you may have already crossed
off a number of “New Year’s Resolutions” and you may have
“slipped” a bit in your resolve to stay away from treats and
snacks, you may not have gotten to the exercises you
intended to do and you may already be behind eight or twelve
chapters in your “Read-through-the-Bible-in-a-Year”
program. You may have spoken harshly to the children and
you may have already stayed up too late to rise early in the
morning.
So, all in all, you’re off to a very good start. Really.
You know… really, it’s a very good thing for us to
acknowledge… to take a look at our frailties and failings
and stand right in front of our mirrors and see our sorry
states of affairs. It’s a very good thing to stand right
there with our amended and scratched out list of “meant to
do’s” and see that we truly “cannot do this.” I think you
know what I’m talking about. I say it to my husband from
time to time and I say it to the LORD, too: “I cannot do
this!” And then you know what? It’s as if the LORD is just
standing right there with His comforting outstretched arms
saying: Come here, I have been waiting to help you… I have
been waiting to carry you through this. Come here… lay your
burdens down and come to Me.
Well, then, that’s what I must do. And that’s what you
must do, too. We need to just set that paper down and put
down the pen filled with the ink of good intentions and just
get on our knees and wait on the LORD. And so that’s what I
am suggesting be your thought and your best hope for the
year ahead: God being your Helper, that you will just do one
thing—for only one thing is needed and that is to sit at the
Feet of Jesus and hear His Word.
Remember Martha, all caught up in the well doing, the
busyness of the day — the murmuring and the fretting over
what needed to be done? Remember how the LORD addressed her
and her situation? What did He tell her? At first blush,
it might seem as though He didn’t show consideration for all
she was doing or attempting to do and it hardly seemed as
though He valued her effort. But you know, the more I read
and mull over what He said to her, how He addressed her and
how He advised her, I see that He gave her the most loving
and helpful words He could’ve offered— sort of an
invitation and direction at once.
(From Luke 10. 40-42) There she was working [murmuring],
cumbered about with much [murmuring] serving, and came to
him [murmuring], and said [murmuring], “Lord, dost thou not
care that my sister hath left me to serve [and murmur]
alone? bid her therefore that she help me [murmur, murmur].
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou
art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is
needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall
not be taken away from her.”
You see, He did see and understand her plight, her hard work
and her feelings about it all. He did address the very
things that were troubling her — though it may not seem so
at first glance. He acknowledged her work (O, yes, and her
troubles), but He also showed her that what she was doing
was *troubling* her and was not done in restful
adoration or in service to Him. Yes, Mary’s actions
were in adoration and service — it’s just that when someone
is sitting at the feet of Jesus it might seem to
others to be a waste of time and yet, if done in sincerity
and in truth, that very sitting at the feet of Jesus and
hearing His Word is of the greatest importance and
tremendous value. The benefit of that time spent sitting at
the feet of Jesus hearing His Word, will be reflected in the
time of serving — that waiting on the LORD, hearing His word
will be reflected in every step of the way. Instead of
being troubled and careful about many things, you will have
chosen that good part— remember? …that part that Jesus says
cannot be taken away.
So, where is the sitting at the feet of Jesus, hearing His
Word? It’s your quiet time with Him every morning — it’s
that most important time of your day: time in the Word of
God. And so, I offer this bit of encouragement to you as we
begin the New Year together. Take that tablet and that pen
filled with the ink of good intentions and just set them
aside. In my best New York accent: forget about it. But
this one thing… please consider this one thing and don’t let
anything dissuade you from implementing this one thing, for
this one thing is needful: establish or reestablish a daily
quiet time with the LORD. Change your schedule, or change
your habits or change your discipline… but don’t allow
yourself to be too busy, too late or too tired to daily sit
at the feet of Jesus, hearing His Word. For in doing so,
you will have chosen the good part, that shall not be taken
away from you.
You may have many things on your heart and mind; many
trials, troubles and regrets. You may be weary in the
battle and the task may seem too arduous for you to carry
on. The temptations may seem too great to resist and the
tension too intense to bear any longer. You may be a mother
of many young children and believe that you have no time to
read and no time to pray. It may be that you feel at the
end of your rope. In all these things that loom dark on the
horizon I know Jesus will already be there to bear the load
and the burden you cannot carry. Taste and see that the
LORD is good. Maybe you already know this full well and are
joyfully looking forward to the sunrise as you meet with the
LORD. Whatever the case, when you meet Him in the morning
He’ll already be there and will linger long after you’re
gone. He will fill you, refresh you, equip you, strengthen
and guide you. And you will then see there is nowhere you
can go that the LORD will not already be waiting… waiting to
demonstrate Himself strong on your behalf.
Blessings to you as we journey through the door and onto the
path of this new year.
©A Christian Home ~
Letters To My Sisters ~ 2007
