Loud and Clear

This week it seems that wherever I turn I am running into the same few verses of Scripture. The kicker was Sunday when the verses that I studied in my personal quiet time were the exact same verses that our Pastor referred to just a few hours later! Has this ever happened to you? Over the years I have learned that when this kind of thing happens it is because the Lord is trying to tell me something "Loud and Clear" and it would behoove me to slow down long enough to let "it" resonate with me. So I bet you're wondering what the verses are aren't you? Well here they are...

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:19

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:4-6

You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:7-8


I continue to ask the Holy Spirit to teach me what he wants me to know in this season of my life regarding these particular verses, and so far this is what I've "put down" (in my journal) in no particular order...

-even when my bank account tells me otherwise God still calls me to "Rejoice"

-joy is always available to me (God wouldn't call me to something that was not possible to experience)

-instead of wasting my energy worrying I could be investing my time praying

-when life isn't a party I still have "it all" because nothing can take away the indwelling presence of the Living God from inside of me or the promise of an amazingly wonderful future with Him in eternity

-something wonderful happens when I choose God's prescribed "attitude of gratitude"

-no matter what the economy tells me is going to happen next, my life is in God's hands...and they are very capable hands

-The Lord is near...The Lord Is Near...THE LORD IS NEAR...WOW...THE LORD IS NEAR!!!

So...those are just a few of the things I have "put down" so far about these powerful scriptures. I have a feeling I need to keep listening because God is still talking "Loud and Clear." I will leave you with an image that the Holy Spirit used to speak to my heart a few weeks ago. It's of my friend Shannon's nephew Fin who, despite the frigid temperatures and intermittent rain, found tremendous JOY going about his day.


Let's Pray,
Lord, help us be more like Fin and live with joyful abandonment in the midst of stormy weather. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Happy Thanksgiving Dear Ones,
Tracy Klehn