Thanksgiving and Supplication

Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication


"Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say,

“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.

--Isaiah 2:2-4



As those who seek the face of Jesus, we travel slowly up this mountain to see the Lord God most high- the one we desire. We see the light at the top of the hill- the city set upon the hill. Our hearts are confident that at the top of that hill, we will find the glory of God to fulfill our lives. And we are confident that we will find our inner identity there by seeing his plan for us- the plan of a future and a hope in Jeremiah 29:11.

And we find ourselves there... standing at the top of this hill, with God holding us up on his shoulders as we look all around us at the never-ending stretch of landscape full of sights to see- as if we were standing ontop of the world itself, seeing the never ending possibilities God sets before us in life to run after. It's just us and God at the top of the hill. There is no one else there to see the plan he has for us, because that plan is for us and us alone to see. Individually. God shows us the plan when we take the step of faith to climb the hill and make an effort to really know the plan.

I feel like I've been at the top of the hill since March. As if I've lived there- at the top of the hill, looking around and seeing what God wants to be done. I've built my home at the top, and when I see this plan God has for me- an assignment, I pick myself up, pack a bag, and climb down the hill onto the landscape, venturing to find the assignment. I pray after I leave the hill- so much, because I need it. I must stay constant in the presence of God to really live. It's what I've founded my very identity on and I can never abandon it or run from it, but rather run to it when I am weak.
And after finishing the assignment, piece by piece, I climb the mountain again. I climb mount God. To be with the one I love. To be with the one I was created for. Because I was created to love God... and so were you.

We are created to love God and be loved by him.

Climb the mountain. Don't be afraid.
Take a step of faith. Words are valuable, and so are commitments.
But who is worth more in the end?





Tomorrow I'm sharing Thanksgiving with two more people than usual- a boy and his mother in need of love and in need of open arms- a family. I don't know them. And I've never met them. But I can't wait until I do. Because although I don't know them, I love them with all of my heart and welcome them to share Thanksgiving with my family and I. I've prayed for them, and I heard their story. They've been exposed to so much in their lives... but they haven't yet been exposed to real love. The love of Jesus. Agape-Love.
And I can't wait until they see it.
Because it's amazing. :)