You Must... | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: You Must... | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ann Stocking
07/12/07
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Dear Child,

I am watching you as you sleep; you murmur and shift uneasily, and a furrow creases your brow. I think of the many ways I could relieve your anxiety and distress, but there is only one that will be for your ultimate good and benefit. You’ve lamented and cried out for relief, and My heart has been broken to hear you in your misery, but I can’t answer in your time or in your way.

You must wait.

You think I am far away, and there are moments when you feel abandoned, but I am in your next breath. I have my hand on your head, your hand in mine, keeping you suspended between dangers far worse than the ones that have been revealed to you, the ones you’re experiencing. Powers are raging against you, evils and wickedness that would destroy you, yet consider this. You sleep on, though restlessly, confident that it is safe to do so.

You must know.

Where am I, you wonder. I am in the grass and the sky, the dew and the peony, reminding you that the work of My hands is all around you, growing, moving, arriving, shining. All creation blooms and flourishes day after day, in a neverending parade of life, declaring that I AM. I am present in the eyes and arms and hands of My people, reaching out and touching you with My love. For Me, because of Me, through Me, they embrace you, giving you comfort, wisdom, laughter, nourishment, and encouragement.

You must receive.

Call upon the Spirit that dwells within you. Let him guide you into truth and freedom, help you see and understand, cleanse you from thoughts of unworthiness, washing over your spirit in waves of refreshment and restoration. Allow him to heal you from past woundedness and apply balm to the uncertainty and rawness of the present. Don’t be content with merely journeying through difficulties and obstacles. Observe and take with you lessons of perseverance, humility, servanthood, and most of all, above all, love.

You must surrender.

I know you are weary. I see your bowed shoulders and your trembling hands. You’ve had more than enough. But I am still here. I am still holding you up. I am certain that you will arrive at the finish line, exhausted in body, but exhilarated and strong in spirit and soul. Brokenness is an evidence of having been used, and there is no higher honour but to have been broken and poured out. Allow yourself to be poured out, run out. Run to Me. Run with the others I’ve given you. Be confident in the strengths, joys, and gifts I’ve blessed you with.

You must persevere.

Gently, I’ll kiss you awake with a breeze of promise and hold you in sunshine’s embrace. As in the first Garden, I want to walk with you in the cool of the evening and in the blush of the morning, when mercies are fresh and splendid and bright. I’ll brush away the fears of the unsettled night and, in its time, I’ll whisper to you the best and marvellous plans I have for you. But, often, the most wonderful plans are borne out of great sorrows and disappointments and tribulations. So trust Me; have confidence that I’ll carry you through this fire, and I’ll trust that your faltering steps will become an assured journey of faith.

You must believe.

Always,
Your Abba

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