The next step
Melanie - February 4, 2010
At the beginning of 2009, Beth Moore began a scripture memory challenge on her blog. The goal was to memorize two scriptures a month for the entire year. There were thousands of women who participated and, two weeks ago, about 500 of us met in Houston, Texas for a special event to celebrate.
Beth spoke on Psalm 119 which is the longest chapter in the Bible. She compared it to our spiral of index cards with all our memory verses and said that as you read it you get a slice of life. There are highs and lows and semi-highs and then lows again. It's a picture of what day to day life looks like and I know that, personally, my spiral book of verses represented the same thing. Some of the verses I chose were verses of praise, some were to help me when I felt afraid, and some were just times that I felt down and discouraged.
Beth said that the theme of Psalm 119 is the revelation of the will of God and God's wills to reveal himself to man. In fact, throughout Psalm 119, there are eight different words used for God and how he reveals himself. (Testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, word, sayings, law)
She broke the Psalm down into a sentence made up of eight separate parts that define our existence, but the part that spoke to me the most were the first two phrases which were:
1. I'm a resident alien...
We are filled with a longing for something we can't find on this earth.
2. ... seeking direction
God always has a direction for us and he wants to reveal it to us. Verse 105 of Psalm 119 says "Your word is a lamp to my feet and light for my path."
He will always show us the next stop. The problem is that we would prefer a huge spotlight that shows us the next twenty or fifty steps instead of just one little step.
Or maybe that's just me.
I can get so wrapped up in what I want to happen or what I think might happen or what I fear might happen that I often forget that when I seek Him, he will be faithful to show me when it's time to take the NEXT step. Not the next twenty, just the next one.
Beth made the comment that we try to prophesy over the future with no grace. When we take God out of the equation and just think of the future, we aren't allowing for the grace of God that will carry us and sustain us no matter what He calls us to in the future.
It helped remind me that all I need to know is what He's calling me to RIGHT NOW. And when it's time to move, he'll let me know.
In fact, he has given me a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.
Melanie
Melanie
Sophie
Sophie
Paige
Paige
Kris
Kris
Comments (3)
Fascinating, Melanie - I have asked for the “long light” for years and God has steadfastly wrestled me to the place where I not only accept the flashlight beam but try to delight in it.
Will you share the rest of the 8 points with us? Thanks so much for your faithfulness to this blog.
Posted on February 4, 2010 12:43 PM
Hi Melanie,
This is a great post. It reminds me of a poem by John Henry Newman called Lead, Kindly Light. In it he says.
“Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene—one step enough for me.”
May we all be content to see the one step we need.
Blessings, Sister Lynn
Posted on February 4, 2010 1:27 PM
So True! Wish I could have joined y’all.
Posted on February 4, 2010 7:47 PM