Living By Faith Blog

Here’s some context

What I’m going to write could be misunderstood — so here’s some context.

Left to myself my emotional life isn’t pretty — ranging from blah to neutral then back to blah — with occasional breakthroughs of discouragement.  (OK —  Jan says I’m overstating it.  Whatever.)

The point is — what I experienced this morning was unusual.

Where it started

I woke up with deep sadness about someone who left our church — and fear that yesterday’s blog post was lame.

So I got my tea, sat down at my desk, and opened my Bible.

I prayed and asked the Father to incline my heart to His Word (Psa 119:36), and to open my eyes to see Him in His Word (Psa 119:18).

I asked Him to comfort my sadness with an outpouring of His love — and to free me from fear with the assurance that this blog is in His hands.

What I got from the Word

Gen 12:17 — I saw God’s mercy — He protected Sarai and Abraham even though Abraham had chosen not to trust God.

Gen 13:4 — I saw Abraham calling on the name of the Lord — I joined Abraham in this.

Psa 5:8 — I saw David asking God to lead him and to make God’s way straight before him.  I joined David — prayed for God’s leading and confirmation and assurance and correction.

Mat 3:7 — I thought about “the wrath to come.”  I asked God to help me tremble before His wrath.  I confessed my sin.

Mat 3:11 — I was encouraged that Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit — and cried out for more.

Acts 3:16 — I was encouraged that faith comes through Jesus — He gives it.  That’s good news — since today my faith makes a mustard seed look huge.  I asked Jesus to strengthen my faith.

This was encouraging.  But the sadness and fear remained.

Heading out to pray

So I bundled up with my wool hat, scarf, and coat — and headed to the creek to pray.

I started worshiping God for making the trees and sky and sun.  I praised Jesus for coming to earth as a man — and dying for me.

I told Him about my sadness and fear.  That all I needed was an outpouring of His love — a fresh touch of His assuring, comforting, satisfying love.

And then —

He poured His love into my heart.

Instantly I went from feeling nothing — to being filled with His love.

It was deeply satisfying.  I was strengthened — assured — comforted.

And it did not stop — He just kept pouring.

The length of time and strength of feeling was greater than I had experienced in years — probably since high school (1972!).

All I could do was tearfully say Thank You.  Thank You.  Thank You.

And then — He stopped pouring.  It was over.

I kept walking and praying through my concerns — but with a comforted and peaceful heart.

My take-aways

• From time to time God does pour His love into our hearts by the Spirit (Rom 5:5).
• This is always sovereign mercy — we can’t make it happen by our efforts (John 3:8).
• But there are steps we can take through which God will pour out His Spirit — steps like prayer (Luke 11:13), and hearing His Word (Gal 3:5).
• These experiences are not the basis of our faith (John 20:30-31); but they strengthen and confirm our faith (Rom 8:15-16).
• There is no joy or pleasure that comes close to God’s love — so I’m going to press on to know Him more (Hos 6:3).

Next steps

How have you experienced God pouring His love into your heart?  How important is this to you?  I’d love to hear your thoughts — feel free to leave a reply below.

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(Picture is by dreamjay at stock xchng.)