July 15, 2011 – Heather C. King

Welcome to the weekend walk!

We hit 100 posts on this blog on Friday, and now we’re celebrating with a giveaway. Don’t forget to enter by commenting anywhere on this website by midnight on Sunday, 7/17. I’ll announce the winners in Monday’s post!

If you’re doing the online Bible study with us, please take time to comment on this week’s post before our new reading begins on Monday.

Hiding the Word:

How did your first week of Scripture memory go? I copied my verse onto an index card, said it aloud several times and set it on my stove so I’d read it all week. I hope you found a method that worked for you!

Here’s my verse for the new week:

Psalm 34:4
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”

If you are choosing a different verse, please share it with us in this space!

I’m slowly adding to our collection of verses on this website. I hope they are a blessing to you.

The Weekend Rerun:

Tyranny of the Urgent (Originally published on 2/19/2011)

Charles Hummel wrote about how to be free from the “Tyranny of the Urgent,” and I could probably use some of those tips just about now. My windows are open, it’s beautiful outside and instead of enjoying a relaxing day, I’m rushing to meet demands and fulfill requests, mostly for people under 4 feet tall.

How about you? Do you feel like you are pushed from one urgent thing to another, always rushed, always breathless? When my husband asks me in the evenings or weekends, “What do you want to do?,” I always answer with the list of things I have to do. I have to do the laundry and the dishes, mop the floor, answer some emails, send a note, finish some work . . .

This morning, I was reading Psalm 127 and it made me laugh. All you moms of young children might enjoy a giggle, too:

In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Children are a heritage from the LORD,
offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them (Psalm 127:2-3, MSG).

Are you laughing? I just find it so perfect that God promises rest and sleep and then in the very next verse reminds us that “Children are a heritage from the Lord.” Some days we just need the reminder that these precious little people who don’t let us sleep in and think that Mom sitting down for 2 minutes is a problem best rectified by asking for her help every 10 seconds–yes, these little children are a blessing from God.

Even those of you who don’t have young children at home probably feel the burdens of numerous demands placed on your shoulders. Living in this world requires us to meet certain demands and expectations. We can’t simply shrug off all of our responsibilities. We have school schedules to submit to, work deadlines to meet, ministry demands to fulfill, and families to care for.

It reminds me of Martha in Luke 10. She’s rushing around, totally stressed, trying to provide the best hospitality for her guests, Jesus and His followers. It says that, “Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” She was doing what she “had to” do.

What blesses me about this is that Jesus looked right at her and said, “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one” (Luke 10:41-42, NIV).

God can look straight into my heart many times every day and say, “Heather, Heather, you are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing really matters–your relationship with Me.”

In the middle of all of the “musts,” “have-to’s,” and “shoulds” on our to-do lists, it’s easy for time with God either not to fit into our highly scheduled lives at all or for it make it on the list just as another “have-to.”

God doesn’t want to be another item on our to-do list. He doesn’t keep a running tab in heaven of how many minutes you spent on your quiet time today or whether or not you are behind on your Bible reading plan. He simply desires intimacy with you. He calls you to come away to spend time with Him, but He does it by wooing us and offering us grace and rest in His presence, not by making demands on us.

As it says in Matthew 11:28-30:

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly (MSG).

This world forces its rhythms onto us, but God offers to teach us the “unforced rhythms of grace.” Accept His grace. You are loved and valued by Him whether or not your house is spotless, your kids practiced the piano every day this week, the laundry is folded neatly and put away, your work is perfect and your desk organized. His grace sets you free from the “tyranny of the urgent” and lets you “live freely and lightly” instead.

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Heather King is a wife, mom, Bible Study teacher, writer for www.myfrienddebbie.com and worship leader. Most importantly, she is a Christ follower with a desire to help others apply the Bible to everyday life with all its mess, noise, and busyness. To read more devotionals by Heather King, click here.

Happy 100th post everyone! I’m so thankful that through God’s grace we have made it this far and I pray that He will bless us with much more time together in the days ahead.

To celebrate with you and as a way to say thanks to you for reading these devotionals, I’m hosting a giveaway! I hope you’ll post a comment anywhere on this website by Sunday, 07/17/2011 at midnight, and I’ll announce the winners in Monday’s post.

Now, onto today’s devotional:

I’m not a boy.
I’m not a good dancer. I’m not easily offended. I’m not a blonde or a red-head.
I’m not tall.
I’m not artistic. I’m not quick to cry.
I’m not usually a fan of “chick flicks.” I’m not much of a TV watcher.
I’m not from a small family.
I’m not a quick decision maker.
I’m not an extrovert. I’m not athletic. I’m not fond of “outside.”

We all define ourselves by lists of “I ams” and “I am nots.”

“Are you a Christian?” I am.
“Are you fond of sports?” I am not.

Is it any wonder that God has a list, too? His “ams” and “am nots” through Scripture establish His character and give us reliable assurances in times of trouble.

We rest in safety because we know He is “I am.”

It’s the most powerful declaration of God’s identity in Scripture, when He tells Moses His name: “I AM WHO I AM . . .This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:14, 15).

My Bible notes that His name could also be read as: “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE.”

He is I am and I will be. He is eternal. He has existed before our human history began and He has walked through the entirety of our time on this planet and will still remain forever.

So, we can trust Him. We can place in His capable hands all that frightens us because He knows where we have come from and where we are headed.

It’s more than that. He tells us:

“I am with you” (Genesis 26:24).
“I am God Almighty” (Genesis 35:11).
“I am the LORD, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26).
“I am the LORD your God” (Exodus 16:12).
“I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2).
“For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:3).
“I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God” (Isaiah 45:5).
“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17).
“I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is His name” (Isaiah 51:15).

Can you read through this list of what God says about Himself, His “I ams” and not be in awe, not be filled with the desire to worship, not be comforted?

He is with you, there in the places of hurt and despair. He heals you. He is holy. He is your Savior, pulling you out of the pit and redeeming you through the blood of His Son. He is the only God. He directs our steps. He is Lord Almighty, in control of all creation, including the circumstances you find yourself in.

Praise God!

He doesn’t stop there, though. He also has “am nots.” Just as powerful, these are declarations of His dominion over all the fake gods that vie for our worship.

In Daniel 2:11, the magicians and advisers of King Nebuchadnezzar whine that no one can possibly tell the king what he dreamt except the gods, and “they do not live among humans.”

Not our God. He made His dwelling among His people, directing them to “make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). He abandoned the glories of heaven and “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).

He can say, “I am not distant from you.”

In Psalm 135:15-18, the Psalmist writes:

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear nor is the breath in their mouths.

Not our God.

Our God is the Shepherd who speaks to His sheep (John 10:27). He is the God who sees us (Genesis 16:13) and hears our voices when we call to Him (Psalm 5:3).

He can say, “I am not ignorant of your need .”

And our God “is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19).

Colin Urquhart wrote, “God is the God of promise. He keeps His word even when that seems impossible.”

He can say, “I am not a promise-breaker.”

It may feel difficult at times to believe in God’s nearness, responsiveness, concern, love and faithfulness because we are immersed in a pit of circumstances that blocks our view of Him. And yet, He tells us all the things He is and all the things He is not and it is that Scriptural assurance of His character to which we cling.

We can rest in safety knowing that He is I AM. We can rest in safety knowing all that He is not.