and heaven was quiet
Romans 8:36–39 “As it is written, ‘For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Beloved,
Look to the Lord and declare, “We are in agreement.”
There is nothing that can come between us, for you have captured my heart with your love. It was your willingness to suffer in my place, this thought of what you went through on the Cross. In my place, you took the sin, the disease, the hardships, the struggles of this earth, the pain, and in its place you gave me a yoke that is easy, and a burden that is light. How wonderful, how incredible, that you would come from heaven as a child, being born of a virgin, and walk this earth in preparation for the goal of sacrifice, the last sacrifice. We are in awe of you Lord. Father thank you for such an incredible act of love, beyond our comprehension. You touched this world with a supernatural love, bringing heaven down from your throne, and clothed us in garments of praise. Heaviness has been supplanted with this.
I look back at my life and realize you were there at every turn, even before I knew you. In every triumph and every failure, you stood by my side. I am lifted up in such moments, where my heart is broken and I see no end in sight. Then there is a knock at the door, and it is you on the other side. At first, I was hesitant to open the door, thinking I must give something in return for this hope, this love that knows no end. But revelations came of who your son is Father, that even in my sin, He loved us. Hope is in your hand Lord as you knock on each door that held us back from knowing you. Every hurdle and obstacle was surmounted by your desire to reconcile us to your Father. You made right, what the enemy saw for harm. Where death once was our only destination, you took it for us and made a way through the wilderness to life everlasting.
It is a life that is distinct from the flesh, filled with power that arrives with joy in the morning, knowing that there was a resurrection, where your body did not see decay, but walked out of dark tomb, a grave meant for me. You held me up to the Father, and He said, “It is good.” Over and over again, you called out my name until I heard you. Like Lazarus in the tomb, four days dead, here I was, years dead and you called my name. As I answered your call, the grave cloths fell from my body and I walked out into the light. You have always been faithful Lord. You suffered and died for me. You mourned my death on earth, and created a moment of destiny, when I could take no more, and you provided a way out. I was weak, but you are strong. The storms in my life were called to peace, and the waves stopped rolling and my tiny boat was stilled on the glassy surface of an sea brought under you control.
Your hand provides all that I need. It is all in your hand, the provisions required to sustain me from each day to the next. This is the faithfulness I require, yours. For you have always been faithful, never leaving or forsaking me. Before I was, you knew me. Each step I have taken and will take are known by you. Before I was, you Lord knew me. Still the cost amazes me, the torture you endured for me. With each lash of the whip, and each drop of blood, you thought of me. As they mounted you to the wooden beam and pierced your skin with iron spikes, hammering deep into the wood’s grain ensuring you would not fall off, once they raised this horrible standard into the air. It’s always been you, upholding me with your hand Lord. Your blood, your grace and mercy. Your life for mine. And all of heaven was quiet in the midst of the travesty that saved my life, the event that changed everything.
