The wild, exotic beauty of Chile captured our imaginations for a time. This narrow strip of land, hemmed in by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Andes mountains to the east, stretches almost three thousand miles from north to south. The landscape includes arid desert, active volcanoes, fertile farmland; farther south, fjords, inlets and islands...and finally Antarctica...a geographical smorgasbord!
Our hearts would not find rest there, however. I began to feel as though the uncertainty of it all was unraveling me, thread by thread. I could hear the Spirit of the Lord gently reminding,
'Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart...
lean NOT on your own understanding,,,'
'Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart...
lean NOT on your own understanding,,,'
On June 19 (2013) I was struck, reading Jeremiah:
"Be appalled at this, O heavens and shudder with great horror," declares the Lord.
"My people have committed two sins:
1) They have forsaken Me, the Spring of living water,
2) And have dug their own cisterns that cannot hold water."
I realized that we were in danger of 'leaning on our own understanding'...of 'digging our own cisterns'!
Journal Entry, Wednesday June 19, 2013: "Lord...use the uncertainty of these days to remove the broken cisterns in our lives...all that we have falsely put our trust in! We continue to pray for clarity in hearing your voice!"
On Monday the 17th, the Lord had spoken once again...Henry was reviewing a pertinent passage in Revelation and asked me what I had concluded when teaching through the book two years earlier. I thumbed through my study notes, looking for my comments on the specific verses he had asked about. When I found the passage in question, I realized that my notes were dated 'June 17, 2011'...exactly TWO YEARS AGO, TO THE DAY! If that wasn't enough of a jolt, at the very top of the page I had written in large, capital letters:
"Be appalled at this, O heavens and shudder with great horror," declares the Lord.
"My people have committed two sins:
1) They have forsaken Me, the Spring of living water,
2) And have dug their own cisterns that cannot hold water."
I realized that we were in danger of 'leaning on our own understanding'...of 'digging our own cisterns'!
Journal Entry, Wednesday June 19, 2013: "Lord...use the uncertainty of these days to remove the broken cisterns in our lives...all that we have falsely put our trust in! We continue to pray for clarity in hearing your voice!"
On Monday the 17th, the Lord had spoken once again...Henry was reviewing a pertinent passage in Revelation and asked me what I had concluded when teaching through the book two years earlier. I thumbed through my study notes, looking for my comments on the specific verses he had asked about. When I found the passage in question, I realized that my notes were dated 'June 17, 2011'...exactly TWO YEARS AGO, TO THE DAY! If that wasn't enough of a jolt, at the very top of the page I had written in large, capital letters:
"COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE!"
"Lord, it's beginning to feel like You are raising the decibel level!"
June 20, 2013 (Journal Entry)
"Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying 'This is the way, walk in it.'" (Isaiah 30:21)
And from Streams In the Desert:
"Are you uncertain about which direction you should go? Take your questions to God and receive guidance from either the Light of His smile or the cloud of His refusal. You must get alone with Him...you must have the courage to wait in silent expectation, even when everyone around you is insisting on an immediate decision or action. If you will do these things, the will of God will become clear to you and you will have a deeper concept
of Who He is...His nature and His heart of love."
"Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying 'This is the way, walk in it.'" (Isaiah 30:21)
And from Streams In the Desert:
"Are you uncertain about which direction you should go? Take your questions to God and receive guidance from either the Light of His smile or the cloud of His refusal. You must get alone with Him...you must have the courage to wait in silent expectation, even when everyone around you is insisting on an immediate decision or action. If you will do these things, the will of God will become clear to you and you will have a deeper concept
of Who He is...His nature and His heart of love."