Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
HUSH
Hush little bird
quit flapping your wings
sit quietly in your nest
close your eyes to everything.
Hush little bird
there will be a day to sing
today is the day
to listen in peace.
There’s a voice in the breeze
soft as a petal floating
He’s singing a lullaby to you
Do you hear His sweet melody?
Hush little bird
it is time to be still
tomorrow you will fly
with the wings of an eagle.
~Marcell Warner Bridges
©6 January 2015
Sometimes
the lessons are hard and long. Instead of waiting, we hop out of our
nest expecting to fly but we’re not ready, so we fall to the ground.
Other
times we are in freefall. Not sure where we are going to land or when.
“Sometimes we need to freefall to teach us how to fly”. ¹
Yeah. That restless tugging, pulling, beckoning to the unknown. Right now I’m identifying with Rebekah Lyons as she says, “I felt alone and uneasy. As if I were standing on the abyss of uncertainty.”¹ Yep. It is time to stop, look and listen.
Lately I’ve been reading Beth Moore’s devotional Portraits of Devotion and here’s some notes I took the other day:
“Commitment requires focusing on God instead of myself. It calls for obedience – no matter what. Obedience requires trust and humility in God not in myself. Self-control is actually giving God control. When I allow God to control my thoughts and actions I can be obedient and can use self-control.”
Okay, you got that? Cause here’s the kicker! I was just doing my work in my new Bible study Freefall to Fly… not only is she using the same verses as my devotional from Beth Moore but um, well, here’s this…
“…God calls us to control ourselves, to be patient, kind and forgiving. Yet, He also calls us to true faith in Him – to use self-control to solely focus ourselves on His plan and purposes. To allow Him to guide us down unknown paths, even when that means uncertainty and struggle.”¹
As you might remember from last week my word for this year is “commit”. So as I freefall to fly I must learn to commit. Commit means I must learn to focus solely on God. But I must also learn to use self-control. So instead of looking down into that abyss of uncertainty I need to look up and focus my eyes on Jesus. Wait on Him (self-control) to show me when to spread those wings and fly.
I look to you for protection.
I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings
until the danger passes by.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.
He will send help from heaven to rescue me,
disgracing those who hound me.
My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness.
Psalm 57:1-3 (NLT)
² Portraits of Devotion by Beth Moore
All Photos: © Karen L. Murphy Photography, 2015, Used with permission
© Heart Thoughts, Marcie Bridges, 2015
I'm so proud of you. You inspire me to listen more intently to the Lord. Thank you.
I'm learning no matter how many years I've been a Christian, this is the most important part of our Christian walk is learning how to listen to Him with our whole being. I'm so thrilled you were blessed by this.