of the “homeliness” of your devotion. There is room for that, too, in My heart.
January Thirteenth
Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; and teach me Thy statutes.
Psalm 119:135(RSV)
Behind the clouds, My glorious light. Behind the doubts, My sure promises. Behind the fears, My blessed hope. Let no darkness remain in your soul, My child. Let the light of My Spirit shine in its hidden places. Do not nourish dark and wicked thoughts, even for an instant. Their stain remains and pollutes. There is light behind the clouds, glorious light. Seek and find it and walk in it.
January Fourteenth
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; Thy walls are continually before me.
Isaiah 49:16
My child, I have told you, you are graven on My hand—My right hand. By this I meant to quell every fear and doubt you have about your life in Me. “He who fears is not perfected in love.” That is a message to you in the first place, so that you bear in mind the inner work you must still do. Love is active, not passive—and you have become much, much too passive. Exercise your love—such as it is—so that it might fill a greater space in you. Stop quenching the Spirit and act on the intuitive thoughts that come to you. In loving your neighbor as yourself, you will drive out the overweening self-concern that characterizes your life. Since I remember you, you can afford to forget you. Make a stab at it today!
January Fifteenth
For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
Lamentations 3:33
I tell you of very truth, I share the sorrow of your heart for those you love who walk in the darkness of this world. The pain you feel is only a minor portion of Mine, and there is no way to avoid the suffering. I know My plans for them, which you do not, but you can trust My infinite mercy and wisdom to act. In the meantime, without being frivolous and irresponsible, you can keep lifting them up to Me. Remember that “prayer availeth much.”
All this will work together for good for you and for those for whom you are praying, and My glory will be seen. Nothing worthwhile comes without struggle and pain since sin entered My world. But in spite of it all, I still love My creation and My plans for it are good.
My dear child, rest in Me.
January Sixteenth
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory….
II Corinthians 3:18
My child, it is a continual wonder and surprise to you that I, the Lord of all creation, should deign to speak and commune with you, a creature of dust and time. Yet here I glorify Myself in a way that only those created in My image can experience and realize. Nor is My glory a selfish one, for in this communion of Spirit with spirit, your own human nature is lifted to a new level.
Your earthly life span will never exhaust nor solve the mystery you touch here. That is too deep and profound for your present state. But it will “unfold” as you practice it, growing brighter and more precious, even as the mystery remains.
Take seriously this word: you are being prepared for the life beyond your earthly time-span. That is real. Do not lose sight of it nor waste the opportunities I am supplying you day by day.
January Seventeenth
… let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1
The riches of My kingdom are for the poor. They are hidden from those who come laden with their own gifts. That is why, My child, you are required to wait while we strip from you the weight of your internal wealth. Each time you are required to wait for My inner voice, you become aware anew of your own poverty of spirit. You face the deadness of your soul apart from My quickening power—and the suffering opens you to be blessed by My refreshing grace.
O ye of little faith! When will you learn to take each moment as it comes without faltering or whining at what it might turn out to be? Your lack of trust is a great handicap, and it is organically tied with your “inner wealth” which turns out to be dust and ashes. The riches of My kingdom are for the poor.
January Eighteenth
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Psalm 91:10
“There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” The prayers of others have often shielded you, though you knew nothing about it. The faithfulness of others has formed an easier path for you to follow. Be faithful, then, My child, in your watch. Hold up those for whom I have given you responsibility. Link your prayers with the faithful around and before you—that My will may be accomplished “on earth as it is in heaven.”
You still have much to learn about the mystery and marvel and might of prayer. These things are hidden from the wise, but are made known to “babes and sucklings”—to those who are small in their own eyes and are teachable.
January Nineteenth
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
Psalm 121:1
Fix your eyes on the far mountains—mountains of hope. The lowlands breed despair unless you raise your eyes and your mind above the immediate problem. Inspiration is an infilling of Spirit—your emptiness and lack filled up with what you can neither see nor understand. Yet it causes substantial change.
My work is not completed in a day. This is why I say, “Look to the far mountains.” The delays you experience will be much easier to bear when you keep this in mind. I am working My purpose out. I am not asleep. I am not oblivious to you or your prayers. As long as you keep your hope alive, you will find everything needful for your journey of faith.
January Twentieth
… and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Hebrews 11:8
I am the Lord your God. As Abraham walked with Me, so I bid you. Your heritage, like his, exceeds your imagination. Like Abraham, you must allow your family to choose to separate themselves from you. All is not lost! I am still the Lord. I put your prayers and longing in your heart for them, and expect you to be faithful. But it must be praying, not pulling—intercession, not intervention.
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