Jehovah was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake: Jehovah was not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake, a fire: Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire, a soft gentle voice. (1Kings 19:11-12)

Friday, November 22, 2013

"I'll Fly Away" on A Friday Morning {#Morevember}


I wake with the words of this hymn on my mind.


"I'll fly away, oh glory
I'll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah
By and by, I'll fly away.

Some bright morning
When this life is over, I'll fly away
To a land on
God's celestial shore, I'll fly away.


When the shadows
Of this life have grown, I'll fly away
Like a bird from
These prison walls, I'll fly, I'll fly away."



I've been fighting a weight of darkness. Swimming upstream in a torrent of emotions, with joy set before me, considering Him who endured, that I may not grow fainthearted.

You know that saying that goes something like, "Don't be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good." I don't know who said it or what he/she thought she was saying, but somehow the saying stuck. The problem is, it's not true. I grow fainthearted when I am not heavenly minded; when I do not have my mind set on things above.

How on earth do you suppose that you could be too heavenly minded? Why not long for the day that John tells us about when he got a sneak peak behind a door standing open in heaven? Why not linger on the hope that I will meet our Saviour face to face, dwell with Him in perfect unity, to sit at His feet, fall down before Him, singing a new song? 

Sickness has a way of giving you a more heavenly perspective. 

The specialist shared his most educated guess that I'd have about two years for my severely narrowed aortic valve to hold up, but he doesn't really know. It could be less time or more. I'll just need to keep toughing it out and when I faint call him and he'll sit down with the surgeon again and see if anything could be done. It's not hopeful, but nothing can be down to reverse the damage, so we will keep pressing on. Maybe, pray for a miracle.

I leave the clinic on Monday thinking of the woman who reached out in faith, touched only the hem of Jesus's garment and was made well. Is my faith too small? 

Do I want to be made well?

Like Paul said, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

What's so bad about this heavenly longing?

It actually gives me a peace and an inexpressible joy as I endure various trials. It's the good news that gives hope, the accomplished work of Christ that the angels long to fully understand, and we, as believers, get to experience and believe, and rejoice with this unspeakable joy.

Now on Friday, a young woman, far too young for death to claim her according to human standards, was called home. 

She knows this joy fully now. A few weeks ago, she proclaimed these words of hope as she fought the cancer in her body. The words made an impact on me when I listened the first time weeks ago, but this morning as I watched again after a friend posted the news that she was now FREE, her words reverberated hope in deep crevices:

"We are never alone, and don't have to fear the unknown. I try to live day to day, as everyday as truly a blessing from God because you never know when God may want you to come home. I try to just live through each day and to praise Him for every breath I have because you never know when it will be your last."

As her story closes here on this earth, tears slip down my cheeks. When we pause to bow and praise God for this young woman we've never met and for calling her to Himself, and now home to Him, my little one bores her eyes into mine and asks why. 

I have no words, just this deep rumbling in my soul that whispers of the mingling of pain and joy, trials and trust, an unseeing love that only a heavenly mind would dare to cling to.




God at Work - Jacqueline Li from Harvest Bible Chapel York Region on Vimeo.
{email subscribers, please click here to watch this powerful testimony
of a young woman called Home today.}
***



I invite you to hunt along with me for more of His mercy and grace in #Morevember on Facebook and Twitter.

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***
Also linking with Five Minute Friday at Lisa-Jo's place. This week the prompt is: Fly

Officially, the rules are:

Five Minute Friday1. Write for 5 minutes  {Full disclosure: I spent a little more time on this post}
2. Link up at Lisa-Jo's  and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community...

11 comments:

  1. Praying for you today, Rebekah. Thank you for sharing honestly about your struggle.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kimberly. Living authentically is easier said than done. Thanks for your willingness to live in such a way.

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  2. Dearest Rebekah: I will be lifting you up in prayer. I feel without the proper words other than to say your faith and trust in Him has moved me greatly. As Kimberly said, thank you for sharing so honestly with us.
    Love you,
    Beth

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    Replies
    1. Dear Beth, You continue to be on my mind, brave one.Thank you for the prayers on your lips and in your heart.

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  3. Rebekah, you are brave, godly woman. What a crown of righteousness awaits you! Micah asked me this morning, "When will we get to heaven." I looked at him, his hair thrown all over the place from sleep, he had crawled into our bed throughout the night after being awakened by a bad dream. What is his first question come morning? What brings him most comfort? Thoughts of heaven! I replied, rather sheepishly, "He could come today, this morning..."My voice trails off as I watch him. Oh, to have this sort of faith! Waiting eagerly, not allowing burdens to bear down. He than adds, "Will Jesus be with us in our travels?" At this point my eyes fill with tears, a slow smile creeps up my face. I laugh! "Yes, Micah....He is with us on our travels!

    "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words

    I love you. (Rachel)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How can mere letters strung together bring comfort? But, how they do! Give our Micah a tender hug for me, hold him tight, whisper in his ear again of how we walk together, with Him in our travels, longing for that day because He is with us. Love to you all.

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  4. This is so special to see that Jackie's story has encouraged you, Rebekah. I am still somewhat in shock that on Thursday afternoon, she had texted me to say that she was in the hospital and by that evening, we knew the end was coming soon. She went home very early Friday morning.

    She is a dear friend of our family and Audrey had a special bond with her. I am trying to find ways to explain what's happened but death is one of those things that is so foreign to her heart. "With Jesus" is the best way I can explain it to a three year old.

    Praying for you too. Our lives are so fragile and yet, I'm thankful that our times are in His hands.

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    Replies
    1. Stephanie, I did not post this with a light heart. It came from a deep stirring within as her words truly blessed me; her slow, steady, and sure response to her lot in life and her longing for Christ was beautiful. You were blessed to call her friend. I am so thankful that Jerry posted her story. I had watched it alone the first time when he first posted her video, but when I read that she had been set FREE on Friday morning, I gathered my children around to watch it again, and we did pray together with thanksgiving for her life and peace and comfort for her family. I showed Jon the video later that night. She will remain in my thoughts, I'm sure.

      Death is so foreign to our hearts, isn't it? Truly against the way we were originally designed, but praise God that He is Sovereign and has brought us to be 'with Jesus'.

      Thank you for sharing this with me and for your prayers, too.

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    2. Thanks for your prayers for the family. Today was the funeral and it was incredibly difficult and yet, God's presence was there and the good news that Jackie loved so much was shared powerfully yet compassionately.

      The grief of family members who do not know the Lord is something I'm entirely unfamiliar with and it broke my heart to see it, but we pray that through Jacqueline's life and death, they will come to know Jesus. Audrey had a chance to hug Jackie's mommy and she told me on the way there that she wanted to share a smile with "Jackie-lynn's family" (as she calls them) so that they would feel better. :)

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  5. First of all, love that song. But more so, I love the honesty of this post. I love how raw it is, and how the hope that Christ has placed in you is carrying you thru this difficult time, one day at a time. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  6. First of all, love that song. But more so, I love the honesty of this post. I love how raw it is, and how the hope that Christ has placed in you is carrying you thru this difficult time, one day at a time. Thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

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