My Vital Need

You have said, Seek My face 

[inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. 

My heart says to You, 

Your face (Your presence), Lord, 

will I seek, inquire for, and require 

[of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].

Psalm 27:8 

Your Presence is my vital need.

How quickly I forget

and get distracted

or start thinking some

thing

is my vital need.

Inquire for --

ask.

Require --

need.

My heart knows

Who it needs. 

My heart cries out to You.

My mind takes a while to catch up.

[What, what would have become of me] 

had I not believed that I would see 

the Lord's goodness in the land of the living!

Wait and hope for and 

expect the Lord; 

be brave and of good courage 

and let your heart be stout and enduring. 

Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

Psalm 27:13-14

He is here.

Because He is here

and because I can expect Him

I can be brave

and courageous

my heart can be strong

and I can endure.

I will wait.

I will hope.

I will expect.

I will inquire.

I will require.

For He is my Vital Need.

Choosing Joy

Always be joyful. 

Never stop praying. 

Be thankful in all circumstances,

 for this is God’s will for you 

who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Always joy?

Always pray?

Thankful always?

How is that possible?

Christ in me.

Pure and simple.

He alone is adequate

to face every situation. 

He is alive in me. 

My joy comes when I remember that.

As I rely on Him

and seek to be available to Him

I am talking to Him more.

Praying more.

He is enough.

That's where the thankfulness comes from.

Thankful that He is able.

I don't have to be.

Lord, please help me walk in this truth,

because this is where 

joy, prayer and thanksgiving come from - 

faith in You.

•

"God is limited only by the measure of our 

availability to all that He makes available

to us for in Him dwells 

all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 

and you are complete in Him

(Colossians 2:9-10)."

-- The Indwelling Life of Christ

by Major W. Ian Thomas

Let Be and Be Still

Let be and be still, 

and know (recognize and understand)

 that I am God.

 I will be exalted among the nations! 

I will be exalted in the earth!

The Lord of hosts is with us; 

the God of Jacob is our Refuge

 (our High Tower and Stronghold). 

Selah 

[pause, and calmly think of that]!

Psalm 46:10-11

This is what the Sovereign LORD, 

the Holy One of Israel, says: 

“Only in returning to me 

and resting in me will you be saved. 

In quietness and confidence is your strength. 

But you would have none of it.

Isaiah 30:15

Shhhh, be still.

I know that it is hard. 

I know you don't understand. 

Quiet now.

Remember what I have told you.

I have not left you on your own.

I am right here with you.

I will never leave you.

Come to Me.

Tell Me what is on your heart.

Lay your burden down at My feet. 

I hear you when you call to Me.

I am at work. 

Remember to thank Me.

Your thanks shows Me that you trust Me.

Thanksgiving keeps your focus on Me,

on what I am doing,

what I am going to do.

I hold your future.

I know the plans I have for you.

You only need to be still

and know

that I am God. 

Moving out of the shadows.

So letting your sinful nature 

control your mind

leads to death.

But letting the Spirit

control your mind 

leads to life and peace.

Romans 8:6

I can get so bogged down in my thoughts.

I can see only my inadequacies,

how unable I am.

I start comparing myself to others,

believing that if I try harder,

I can be like them.

•

"Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, 

(or fretting or comparing or feeling inadequate)*

try to view them as setting the scene

for My glorious intervention. 

Keep your eyes and your mind open 

to all that I am doing in your life."

-- from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

*my addition

•

Listening to my sinful nature,

the thoughts that come that are not from You,

drags me down, holds me under,

leads to death.

Your voice is Truth.

Your voice is Light.

Your voice is Life and Peace.

You are my strength.

You are all I need.

It is not about me and what I cannot do.

It is all about You and what You can do.

•

Now all glory to God, 

Who is able, through His mighty power

at work within us,

to accomplish infinitely more 

than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:20

Dependence

The Cross by prozac1

Dependence

Victory can only come 

when I lay down control

when I stop striving and trying

when I see my neediness

when I lean hard and deep into You.

Weakness, struggle, failure

clear the air of the mists of self-reliance.

Through the lens of my neediness

I see how unable I am.

I whisper Your name

You are with me

warming me with Your smile

lifting me up onto Your shoulder.

You fight for me

when I come to You.

You don't want me

to do this on my own. 

•

The Lord hears His people 

when they call to Him for help.

He rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;

He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

Psalm 34:17-18

Trust

Trust

Think about Who I am

Recall My Power and Glory

Ponder My deep and wide love for you.

I am always with you  —

always in control of all things.

Remember Who I am —

let go of fear's grip.

Trusting Me draws you close to Me.

So I have looked upon You 

in the sanctuary to see 

Your power and Your glory.

Psalm 63:2

Where could I go from Your Spirit? 

Or where could I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; 

if I make my bed in Sheol (the place of the dead), 

behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the morning or 

dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there shall Your hand lead me, 

and Your right hand shall hold me.

Psalm 139:7-10