The Place Of His Dealing

Do you know the place where you step gingerly with God? The place of His dealing? The place where it seems your whole world shakes and the things you thought you were sure of suddenly has no bastion of relief?

It is the place where you cannot run and dare not think of it, you cannot hide; and dare not imagine it.

The place of God's spotlight where everthing is open before Him, and He lets you know it. Terrors known and unknown covers your soul and no darkness is deep enough to cover you. Yet you do not need the darkness. The light is exquisitely painful but holds hope; great hope; and you know that though He slays you, you can trust Him - The place of His dealing.

Here every painful and pain-filled display hold shadows of redemption. You hear His fierceness against the deeds you have done, but grace-filled balms of healing, even while his arrows pierce you. You long for His arms, yet afraid of His next utterance. Afraid of the piercing arrows of His word. yet know there is safety there.

He holds you till the tears are past and the fears are gone. He keeps you when you are yet unsure; and gently encourages you to go on. Ushering in hope where little is left. Hurt, broken, stripped and laid bare showing the poverty of the soul, yet, wholeness comes. From this poverty springs forth wealth, the wealth of one beloved and not left up to oneself.

Redeemed from the pit and snatched from the mouth of the lions. A new day springs, new hope comes. But your footing? Maybe one day I will find it again - but as for now I will allow myself to be carried.

Life happens. Not necessarily the way we think or hope or fear but life happens. In the midst of our existence extraordinary moments, unforgetable moments, happen; telling us God is in the midst of life and causes life to happen.

Until he touches, until He steps down, we are just carried along by the wings of time and experiences of our everyday existence. Carried by our sins, hopes, dreams, ambitions, religious idealogies, both true and false; and all the myriad of reasons why we go on putting one foot before the other, hoping at least for the best.

We lean on people, we trust in stuff and work for more stuff and in our seeming endless pursuit we develop some falsehood that tells us our dreams are big enough and our pusuits are right, But His image in us tells us it's not all that. Then in His mercy, before we hit the wall, He steps down and bring light to our darkness: a terrifying and revealing light that none will escape. The place of His dealing.

Do you know that place?

If you been there you do not forget it. He steps down and your whole world shakes and the things you thought you were sure of suddenly loses its surety, and nothing around you shows a shadow of relief.

It is a place where you dare not run, your mountains need a refuge themselves. You dare not hide. What refuge will stand before His presence?

In this place shines His spotlight. With revelation comes redemption, you are slain but your trust increases, then like our brother Job we can say "though He slays me, yet will I trust Him"

In this place of revealing light our shameful thoughts and deeds are on display. Thoughts and deeds we sometimes hold lightly not having realized His awful judgement against it. Some are legitimate but not neccesarily for the individual. In the firerceness of His words against your thought and deeds comes also gracefilled words lathing you with balms of redemption. You weep in terror, yet simper in joy. The exquisiteness of the pain bleeds out that which is corrupt while healing every wound.

Yes His words are like arrows piercing the deepest parts of the soul and it's painful to see the darkness, lying there. How terrifying the voice of God; yet there's kindness in every word.

You long for His arms, yet afraid of His next utterance, you long for a mediator, but who will defend you. You 'die' in the preference of His safety-filled words.

Then there He holds you till the tears are past and the fears are gone. He does not leave you alone even in the midst of His judgement. He scourges you but He holds you. He keeps you in your fresh unsurety and gently encourages you to go on.

He ushers in hope where little is left, not that He withheld hope but fear keeps you from reaching. However He brings it near. Hurt, broken, battered, stripped and laid bare the poverty of the soul yet wholeness comes.

From this poverty springs forth wealth, the wealth of the beloved, not left up to oneself, Not left up to our simplistic choices that we failed to weigh on the scale of eternity. Here we are redeemed from the pit, snatched from the mouth of the lions, embraced by His excrutiating love.

Love that will not leave me even when my footing is unsure, a love that catches me when I stumble and keeps me from shame now and then.

After His glaring light in the night of the soul a new day springs forth.
There is hope of a future, a glorious future.
All is not lost but all has hope of redemption.
How glorious that word, redemption:

Yes, life happens if we stay long enough to hear the end of the matter.
God deals with those He loves, and will not let the enemy make out of us a piece of bread..


* * * * *

More from Janice:

RESPONSE TO REPROOF - God is for you!!

THE NEED CONCEPT !  What is my real need?

REDEMPTION!

WARFARE: BONDAGE OR FREEDOM!

THE POWER OF A SENTENCE

You may reach her at wisdomliving7@yahoo.ca