Heaven Day 21

 

The bounty from a friend's garden.

Heaven Day 21 verse is Philippians 2:9-11

Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others. So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth and under the earth.  And to the glory of God the Father everyone will openly agree, "Jesus Christ is Lord!"

May we remember who He is today.

I'm going to use that to segue into what God highlighted for me today.  I think I've shared I currently have the privilege of mentoring a young woman who just came to know Christ after the devastating loss of a three month old daughter.  

This young woman is a gifted gardener and as I read today's promise from 365promises.com I emailed her and wanted to share what God was stirring in me.

Dear Friend,

I’ve read the verse below many, many, times in my life, probably mostly when I was in deep grief. Each time it was a message of hope and deliverance from the grief.  As I read it in today’s devotional of course you are who came to mind first. But this time what stood out to me, the lesson take away, was the phrase “I will turn.”  

It hit me that so many times we think WE have to “work through” our grief.  The beautiful thing about a relationship with Jesus is that He is the worker bee.

He’s the one who died on the cross for us and took away our sins. And in this Psalm God is saying "I will turn your mourning into dancing.  I will surround you with joy. I will do the work in this process, just hold onto me."

I'm always looking for reasons to give thanks to the Lord for all He does for us and this morning I am thanking Him that since your precious daughter was allowed to be taken from this earth, for reasons we won’t know until we see Him, how gracious was God to follow that devastation with a time of growth and glory in your garden.

 In a time of mourning, He has given you a place to dance, to experience joy and find comfort and find HIM. 

In that garden is proof He is God and He is with you. Yup, in a garden we see Him showing up every morning with new growth, new blooms, new hope!

I love you and will see you this afternoon.

Boo

PROMISE #201 - THURSDAY JULY 20, 2023 Promise #201: I will turn your mourning into dancing and surround you with joy. Psalm 30:11 (WEB) You have turned my mourning into dancing for me.  You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness, We all struggle with grief at one time or another in life. We lose those we love. We suffer the loss of many things. In a life that ebbs and flows, there are seasons of mourning and seasons of dancing. In Ecclesiastes we read that there is a season for all things.  The promise for today acknowledges there is a season for grieving in our lives but it also points to the time when our God and Father will turn that season of mourning into a season of dancing. It is God Himself who will throw off our clothes of sadness and clothes us with joy! In times of grief and heartbreak, God promises to be close to us. So if you are in that season, allow the love of God to fill your soul and carry you in your weakest moment. But be encouraged, that there is a time coming when God Himself will turn your mourning into dancing and will surround you with His own joy. The Song " I Can Only Imagine" Mercy Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lrrq_opng