Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Rebecca's Journey - 116

20 July, 2009

Summer has come again to our garden. I sat this morning beneath the tall pines with sun-spots playing on their trunks. Now you might imagine this to be a tranquil garden; but this morning we were bothered? entertained? (I'm reaching for the right verb) by the magpies on the tiptop of the trees. Were they courting? Were they arguing? With magpies you never know as everything they do is a screeching squawk. The bird books say they like to nest in the tallest tree. I fear our pines are the perfect place for them. And so in the "quiet" of my garden I waited for the Lord.

I turned to Psalm 40 - the next one for my day. David was waiting too. He begins, "I waited patiently for the Lord." Isn't that funny? David waited patiently as if the Lord wasn't at home. Perhaps He was out to lunch, or busy in a meeting.

Meanwhile, the Lord inclines towards him. I love the word "incline"! It means to stoop towards or to bend down. It carries with it the idea of listening carefully. "He heard my cry." It goes on, "He brought me up, set my feet on a rock, put a song in my mouth." Let's jump down to verse five, "Many oh Lord…are your thoughts towards me. They cannot be recounted. If I were to declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbered." And then in verse 17 David ends the Psalm, "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me."

Now this struck me that my dear Father--the God of the universe--is thinking about me this morning. I'm waiting patiently for Him while He's already thinking carefully about me. Our thoughts are the precursors for our actions. Action is rooted initially in a thought. Before we act, we think. The two are connected. Father is the same. He thinks about us and then He does that which is needed in our lives. Such comfort and joy! Verse 16, "Let those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, 'the Lord be magnified!'"

As you go about your summer day, whether working in the garden, in your job, or resting on the beach, Father is thinking about you, ready to act on your behalf.

Love to you all,

Rebecca