Quietude

“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zeph 3:17

“Quietly now, wait for Me,
In quietness breathes My plea;
As I commune, child with thee,
Quietly now, wait for Me.
For quietly, I adorn,
Thy heart with beauty to be worn;
Beauty, like My crown of thorn,
For quietly, I adorn.
For your quietness I long,
So you can hear Me sing My song;
For My love is vast and strong,
For your quietness I long.
In a holy quietness
I clothe you with My righteousness;
I hold you in faithfulness,
In a holy quietness.
Quietly, in Me stay hid,
Do the fulness of what I bid;
Of all thyself now be rid,
Quietly, in Me stay hid.
In Me, quietly abide,
Stay close, draw near to My side;
For I long for you, My bride,
Quietly, in Me abide.
In My quietness delight,
Hear My gentle, purposeful plight;
As the rain falls on this night,
In My quietness delight.”
EBC 03-30-07


Quietness.

There is nothing like it. To describe it is almost to ruin it. All the words and sounds in the world cannot convey the glory of quietness. I have to imagine that before all time, when as yet Father had not made the primal dust of the world, that there was quietness. The Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. Then, He spoke, the sound of His voice over the waters broke the silence that He might work creation on the face of the deep. Ever since creation, has He not been calling us to discover that which was before creation – the quietness of His heart, a language perfect and flawless, wordless and quiet. He is Alpha and Omega, and He cannot deny Himself.
The prophet Isaiah put it this way: “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of
righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. Is 32:17 God's work of creation is mirrored in our own hearts which He shapes and fashions for His glory. Without words and motions would quietness be cherished? Without quietness how would our hearts learn to listen, and without listening how would we speak words that have any value? What joy to know that Father created both a time to keep silence and a time to speak. One often leads us to the other.


Father spoke the poem on quietness to my heart as one season in my life was ending and another was beginning. As April blossoms began to garnish the flowerbeds of Chicago's Oak Brook suburbs, I took a walk with Father one day. I was memorizing in 2 Peter 1, and these words stuck in my heart “ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” For me, there could have been no more precious words in the world. Father was preparing me for an intense spring and summer season of work, and yet His words to my heart were a call to quietness. How interesting. Ever feel like you're being asked to do two completely different things at once? When they are chosen by God for you, it is foolish to doubt. So... I had to rest my hope on the truth that Father would give “all things that pertain to life (work) and godliness (heart.)” It blew me away to know that He had called me by “glory and virtue.” What an honour!


We move now to another walk I took with Father, down that same street in Oak Brook, IL, about a month later. Memorizing had now taken me to vs 10 and 11 of 2 Peter 1 which read “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Like most of you, I had read these verses dozens of times before, but this time it was time to wrestle with what they said. It said “be diligent to make your call and election sure.” Hmm. Diligence. It sounded like work. Nevertheless, I knew it was the Lord asking this of me, so I entered yet another season of heart-searching and pouring out before Him the desires He had put in my heart.

We all know the verse “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” As a little girl and on into my early young adult years, I had learned to trust the Lord to give desires to my heart – His desires. God is trustworthy, and He gives desires to your heart that He wants to fulfill in His time and for His purposes. “Trust in Him at all times you people; Pour out your heart before Him, God is a refuge for us.” (Ps 62:8)
So, in simple obedience, I began again to pour out the desires Father had laid on my heart, inasmuch as I knew them. Father had been telling my heart that what mattered to Him was how I lived for Him, not necessarily what I did for Him. My sisters were being called into foreign mission opportunities, but no such door was being set before me. I really had to make sure that this was okay, and that my heart was fully pleasing to Him. I remember praying “Father, I only want to do Your will. Please keep me useable, and Father, if it please You, please use me.” Of the things He gave me grace to pour out before Him was the call to serve in His kingdom alongside a man of God, seeking grace to be a helpmeet, companion, and support to one who was serving the Lord with his gifts, and as Father would allow, to be a homemaker and mother. Other desires that whispered their way out of my heart were in regards to being a faithful steward of the gifts of writing, music, and serving that He has placed in my heart.


When something is poured out, the vessel is empty. When a vessel is empty almost anything may be placed within it.


Quietness.


I was watching for what Father would lay on my heart. Would it be a new desire? Would it be one He had placed there before? I was as content as I could be in Him and where He had me serving, and yet my heart knew His voice and I knew He was calling me again. To where, what, who, when, how, and why, I had no idea. I only knew His voice and what it was saying. I was content with the lamp He was being to my feet, knowing that He also is the light to the path. My heart was quiet in Him.


Another two months passed, and again, I was walking with the Lord, but this time on the prairies of my Alberta home. I was visiting my family on the farm in July, right in the heat of saskatoon berry season! What jolly hours passed in fellowship with the Lord while my hands were busy getting stained by the juice of the ripened berries as I relieved the branches of their heavy load. Between working around the yard and in the house, I did find time to traverse the prairie road, and somehow, through the wind that always blows strong on the prairies, I was able to hear the still small voice of the Lord.

I remember late afternoon walk in particular. I was not more than half a mile from home when my heart almost “felt” the Lord completing what He had started on the May walk mentioned earlier in this post. To describe my heart at that moment would have to be the picture of a desert spring – made plain before her Creator, content in His will and choosing, and yet watchful before Him. The ground was ready and He could have planted any seed in it that He wanted, but instead of planting a new one there, He simply deepened the roots of the desire He had placed there many seasons ago, the desire to be a helpmeet to a man of God. What was so glorious about this call was I could literally feel joy and contentment deepening in the Lord even as He deepened this desire in my heart. I was watching for Him, not for another. How great is His grace!


Into the second week of my two week time spent on the farm in July, Father reminded my heart to really delight in Him – really delight, not just kind of delight. His grace is sufficient, and I remember one morning while I was out picking berries He put a new song in my heart, a song to Him, “Jesus, Son of God and King of kings, Prince of Peace, and King of my heart. Jesus, Lord of glory, King of light, Jesus, in You I delight.”


The end of this chapter has come, but in His time it will be continued. Let these pictures give you a sneak preview!










“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.'” Is 30:15

“Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.” I Thes 5:24

Echoes of dawn

Proverbs 4:18 "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day."
Ephesians 5:8 "For you once were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."

Life brings us times of shadow, times of cloud, times of sunshine, times of rain, times of darkness. The Way, the Truth, and the Life allows this in our lives because He is Sovereign. He Himself is the Lion and the Lamb, and to Him the darkness and the light are both alike. When we look into His face, though we see Him cry, a rainbow appears in the very tears of His face. Our God was He who orained and provided that our faith and hope should be in Christ.

The days here on the prairie are getting shorter and shorter as winter begins to show hints of her charm and beauty. The sunshine is all the more cherished because it shines shorter and shorter each day. The compensation is that the sunrises and sunsets come at reasonable hours. (around 6:30 AM and 6:00 PM respectively right now) Whether we see it or not, the sun is always shining somewhere. Likewise, regardless of whether we see it or not, Father is always at work in our lives to will and to do His good pleasure. He, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. Rejoice, dear children of the King, for whatever light you see, be it big or be it small, is of Him.

Job 26:9-14 "He covers the face of His throne, And spreads clouds over it. He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble, And are astonished at His rebuke. He stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm. By His Spirtit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing sperpent. Indeed these are the mere edges of his ways, and how asmall a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?"

Psalm 36:7-9 "How precious is Your lovingkindness O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fulness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light."

Father delights when we rejoice in Him. The entrance of His words gives light to the soul. No matter if the light I see is big or small, if it is of Him He wants me to rejoice in Him by accepting the light as one of His gifts! Take encouragement in whatever light you see, be it big or be it small. Father knows your need, and you can trust Him by accepting whatever it is He allows in your path.

He is the Truth - cry out to Him as such, asking that He show you this in your life. As He shows you Truth, your way becomes clearer and easier to walk, even if it is just the next step. As you wait on Him and receive renewed strength to walk in His way may you find yourself knowing a real sense of life! There is a time for every purpose under heaven, and I pray that whatever purpose you are living through right now, that you will find grace to rejoice in the One who knows "deigns to call you His beloved, and lets you rest beneath His wing."

The gentle glow of light is seen
As dawn now rises before the King.

Embracing the sky with her glow,
Casting off the darkness with her show.

For the will of One she does rise,
Proclaiming His glory in the skies.
Even on days when clouds are dark,
She spreads out for Him her shining arc.

The King commanded light to shine,
Christ is the light in this heart of mine.
He would rise to honour His King,
So an off'ring of praise let us bring.

To hearts who have believed His name,
Jehovah is an eternal flame.
Gently but surely He shines forth,
Spreading His hope to south and north.

West echoes back, seeing His face.
The light runs at her predestined pace.
The children of the light taste and see
Regardless of where their life may be.

So look with joy on what God gives,
His Son is your life - purpose to live
In the night may your hear His song,
For to the King you belong.
EBC 11-7-2007