Daily Worship

Take it to the limit

Jane Denniston November 07, 2016 0 1

Joel 2: 28-32

The day of the Lord

28 ‘And afterwards,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
    and on the earth,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be deliverance,
    as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
    whom the Lord calls.

At this point in my life I was full of yearning. I was trying to work out what God wanted me to do with my life and I couldn’t seem to see the way ahead. I was fearful that I was going to waste my opportunities, doing something I didn’t like and wasn’t good at. It was a time of questioning and searching, as well as dreaming dreams and seeing visions. In some ways God was very real to me, and in others seemed very distant. This song spoke to my yearning, my doubts and anxieties, my longing for a clear sign from God and an indication of the way ahead. God, of course, took his own time and led me in small quiet ways that I didn’t even notice at the time.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIWzovi3NA4

 

Lord, our Lord,

you are always there

even when we don’t feel your presence;

you are always guiding

even when we don’t sense your love;

you are always in charge

even when we don’t know the way ahead.

 

Thank you for your patience

when we rail against you;

thank you for your faithfulness

when we turn up all sorts of blind alleys;

thank you for your love

when we get it wrong

and come back to you

downcast and sorrowful,

muddied and disheartened.

Thank you, that in a world of confusion,

misunderstanding,

chaos,

you are the sure centre

and certain hope.

We praise you.