“And taking him aside from the crowd [privately]…”
(Mark 7:33a Amp)

Have you ever had a deep, dark struggle in your life? Most of us have. I have. And it sent me to my knees to seek the Lord. During that time of struggle, I wrote this…

Oh, from these bars of confinement shutting me in, I cry out to God. From this darkness surrounding me, all seems lost. Yet, I know all things are sifted through the loving fingers of my precious Lord. Wishing to commune with me, He allows this thing to touch my life.

Though others see not my streaming tears, the Lord sees my aching heart and gently wipes away those tears. “Nearly all God’s jewels are crystallized tears,” someone once said.

Too many voices clamor for my attention. Wearied from the noise of the world, my ears impatiently wait for the comforting sound of His voice. The Lord “takes me aside from the crowd privately” into absolute aloneness with Him, that I may listen only to Him. His words of love and comfort speak thunderously in this solitude.

When darkness and loneliness loom endlessly, they yet result in the richest and most rewarding of all spiritual experiences, for it is then that I see my darkness is but the overshadowing of the wings of the Lord, and I await the radiance of His glorious light to fall from heaven that I might behold my precious Savior.

The Lord’s purpose in taking me aside is never immediately discerned. However, getting my attention and bringing me into a deeper relationship with Him is always His will in my blackest hours.

The Holy Spirit comes as the dew of dawn to silently dispense His peace and comfort. In waves of coolness, He breathes upon me like a refreshing wind.

This parched mortal vessel yearns to be filled with those Living Waters provided only by the Lord. His peace pours forth as an endless river, rushing over me to cleanse all that would obstruct my view of Him. As I go to the Well, I drink in His Life and I am revitalized.

Then, I sing of His wonders and tell of His glories, and my walls of confinement fade into nothingness. The way opens before me. I see His brilliant, glistening footsteps on the path before me as if sprinkled with the glitter of heavenly dust, and only the light of praise brings them into focus.

Not all my questions are answered nor all my longings appeased, but His gracious mercy provides the path of recovery to soundness, to wholeness, to a larger place, to Himself.

It is for this that I praise Him for “taking me aside.”

~~Lord, may rivers of blessings be poured out to other parched souls because of my desert. I pray that freedom may come to them out of my confinement, that light for blind eyes may come out of my darkness, and that comfort for the hurting may come out of my loneliness. Amen.~~

***Hope it’s okay that I grabbed another oldie from the recycle bin!

Hooking up with…
Mondays…