Submit, again

 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:7-8 

Satan doesn't have to convince you and me to do his will for our life. He only has to tempt us to demand our own. God has something bigger for each of us than our human minds can hug. Something eternal. Something that will still matter when our bones have turned to heaps of dust.

• God knows everything about you and every matter concerning you. Nothing is hidden from His sight. So submit to God.
• He is always looking out for your ultimate good and takes your hurts personally. So submit to God. 
• He is holy and worthy and incapable of abusing His divine authority over you. So submit to God. 
• He knows when your motive was right but your mouth messed up. So submit to God. 
• He knows exactly how to work terrible into good. So submit to God. 
• He loves you completely and unconditionally and will never let you go. So submit to God. 
• He knows the well-deliberated plan for your life and how all things must fall into place for you to fulfill your destiny. So submit to God. 
• He will never put to shame those who trust in Him. So submit to God. 

from Beth Moore's study on James

Submit

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:7-8

Put your sweet self under God.
Entirely.
No arms and legs kicking out to the sides.
Knees to the floor.
Eyes to the skies.
Hands open wide.
Death to your pride.
Here we run aground on the reason the Devil flees.
He doesn't flee from us, Beloved.
He runs from God who is standing right there over us every time we submit.
Take off your shoes.
That's holy ground.

from Beth Moore's study on James

Unseen to seen

a burning gold strand
cuts across the dark scape
a glimmer in a sea of unseen

a glimmer of what could be
but is not
not yet

the dying yellow
fades into Winter's grasp
but rises again

rises again in Spring's
new birth
over and over

this green to gold
and gold to Winter's
unseen but crushing cold

one day this green will
never again fade
but will rise

a burning gold strand
to a gold crown
set on a Head worthy

a Hope that will turn
the dark to light
the unseen to seen

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.

 And basically the entirety of Psalm 119.

Stepping out

Stepping out into the pink-grey dawn
A new morning and a new day
Young and fragile as a newborn
But built for potential and strength

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Aspen trees swaying gently in the early breeze
Their leaves tinkering out a heavenward song
They greet me in the young light
And call forth my potential

Potential - what a strange word
A presence not yet present
A being not yet built
But all the plans and hopes and dreams
Fully there and ready to spring

Spring into life
Like this brand new day
Created to embrace the Sun in its rising
Beckoned to put sinews and ligaments to work

To work - to bring to life potential
To bring to life grace given in a needed moment
To give strength at a moment of weakness
Hope where a dark thought would reign

As the grey, fragile morning dawns
My own fragility comes to life
For one more day
Of potential, grace, strength, hope
And an embrace of the Son.