elcome back to my blog, dear friends. It has been another couple of years since I've posted. In one sense, it feels likes a blink of an eye. In another, it feels like it's been eons. Again, so much has happened - and so much is still happening, and yet things are standing still. Let me explain...
To catch you all up quickly....if that is possible...my mother passed away one year ago on June 24, 2023. She suffered so much at the end of her life, so it was truly merciful for the the Lord to take her, even though my life was torn to pieces and the loss I have felt ever since then has been immense. She was and always will be my best friend on this earth.
Since then, my life has been in what I would call a stronghold of waiting and trying to move ahead all at the same time. I have felt like a box that has been in a vice, wanting to be set free. I can see the possibilities of where things could and should be going, but can not reach them, no matter how much I try to move ahead. Painful trials come and go, but I continue to be in this stronghold, something most days feel insufferable, while on others are tolerable. I did not pick a new word/verse for 2024, but if I had, I think it would have been
QUICKEN
What does quicken mean in the Bible?
The word quicken is used in the King James Version of the Bible, and it means “revive or make alive.” If something is living, it is “quick”; to “quicken” something is to bring it to life or restore it to a former flourishing condition. The phrase the quick and the dead contrasts the word dead with the word quick—they are antonyms.
I pray every day for the Lord to "quicken" me....to restore to me the flourishing condition I had once felt and been in. I'm not sure why the Lord has chosen not to let this happen or if I am still needing to learn how to "wait on Him" to renew me. I only know that He has not done so yet.
“Often, we endure trials seeking God’s deliverance from them. Suffering is painful for us to endure or to see those we love endure. While our instinct is to flee trials, remember that even in the midst of suffering, God’s will is being done.” Paul Chappell
♱♱♱
A few verses that also come to mind, as I've continued to seek what the Lord is trying to teach me during this time of endurance and suffering...
2 Timothy 2:12
"If we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us."
2 Timothy 4:18
"The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen."
Revelation 14:12
"Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus."
Revelation 2:10
"Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
Revelation 3:10
“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.”
Revelation 3:11
“I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”
My prayer: “Dear Lord, I come to you in humility, acknowledging my spiritual dryness and lack of vitality. I ask that you would quicken me, revive my spirit, and restore my soul. Guide me and show me what I need to do in every decision here on earth. Give me strength when it is time to move ahead, but heavenly patience and peace, when I need to wait for the next step in my life.
Psalm 6:2 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint; heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.
In all things, may Your will be done. In Jesus' great and holy name, amen.
SOURCES:
https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/294821-the-quickening-of-the-spirit
https://www.wordsoflife.co.uk/bible-studies/study-7-the-quickening-power-of-the-word/
https://www.gotquestions.org/quicken-in-the-Bible.html
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