Cloud of Witnesses

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

-Hebrews 12:1

 

            Am I running in an empty arena, the echoes of my footsteps clearing out the cobwebs? Does my breath sound labored to my ears only? Do I dare keep my pace if there is no one to push me forward? I am lagging, my shoes slipping against the pavement, brain telling me I can go no farther.

            A figure catches my eye as I chase around the turn. She stands, watching me, counting my steps. I turn across the straightaway and see her face. It is kind. She lifts her mouth into a smile and I hear sweet words unfold into the air:

            “Keep pace, Dear One.”

            My legs pump beneath my body, buoyed by her encouragement. I continue on while she makes her way into the stands, taking a seat in the front row.

            I am moving quicker now, feeling light in my limbs. I finish my lap as another figure slips into the foreground. His strength is noticeable, softened by the tenderness of his clapping hands. He, too, has something to say.

            “Breathe, child. The air is sweet and your lungs are strong.”

            My head nods in acknowledgement, and I circle around while he walks to the first guest and sits beside her.

            My breathing is even, mind beautifully cleared. One by one, they trickle in, passing words and hope to me each turn I take. Soon one section is filled to capacity, then a second, a buzz building through the stands. They are cheering, slapping their hands in noisy jubilation, gazes trained on me. Through the electricity of the now filled stadium, I am shocked into new life.

            I start the last lap. The crowd erupts into an ear piercing plea for my finish. My feet are fast, eyes ahead, finding the prize just within reach.

            Half a lap to go. It’s madness in the stands. They are to their feet as I round the turn into the home stretch. My name begins somewhere from the top, flowing through the crowd like a rushing river. They believe in me. They believe I can do the impossible and succeed.

            In their voices there is hope. And I hear with an urgency that propels me closer and closer.

            Just a few more steps. One more push. Screams and cheers ignite. I have crossed the line. I have finished. And my heart fills with gratitude and overwhelming joy at the turnout who came to see me through, at the One who stands at the end of the track as I collapse in completion into His arms. His eyes are ablaze with the race results, and His smile stretches across the coliseum. When He speaks, His words wash over me like a much desired shower:

            “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

 

Prayer:

Father, let me run my race with precision, with perseverance and with passion. For the trail is scattered with temptation and roadblocks, and I do not want to stray off course. Thank You that You run with me, and that You send others through the course to cheer me on and encourage me in the life I live. May I run strong, and keep Your heart in my eyesight. Let me focus on my finish, and finding You smiling and pleased as I cross the last line. Amen.

Yours Alone

Find rest, O my soul,

In God alone;

My hope comes from Him.

-Psalm 62:5

 

I was born to love You,

spun with the fibers of Your fingers

to settle around Your shoulders.

I was meant to love You

with every match struck inside me,

igniting a fire that laces around my soul

but is never consumed.

I was created to be Yours

and Yours alone,

so why do I stray and search for love

in so many different places,

filling my time with doubt and

hoping with the most tender fibers

that this time, I won’t get it wrong?

I am a creature in Your form,

Stitched by Your soul.

I am at home.

Nowhere else am I meant to roam.

Prayer:

You continually draw me to Yourself. I tend to stray, but You set me straight and show me how I am pieced together by You with purpose. Help me to remember where I am, and Whose I am, as I walk beside You. Amen.

Ways Unfamiliar

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them.

-Isaiah 42:16

 

            Here I am again. Headfirst into the unknown. Wrapped in curiosity and blinded by events unforeseen that thrust me into a new beginning. It seems like I have been in these shoes and walked this way many times before. This time, I feel helpless to do anything. This time, all I can do is throw my hands up in the air and exhale, “Surrender! I surrender to You.” It is here I have to trust that where I see spots, You see the whole of the picture.

            Life is a grand adventure yet again. Did I plan to exit out of the comfort that carried me each day? No. Did I think I’d need to once again build myself up and burrow in Your wings for strength? No. But perhaps that’s what You’re intending with all this turmoil. Maybe my eyes were straining too far into the fields to see You standing beside me, and now You’ve rearranged my attention so we can walk this road together.

            It isn’t easy feeling insecure and discombobulated. It isn’t fun heading up the mountain when starting from the bottom. There’s such a long way to go, and the trail just keeps curving. But I am walking like I always do, one small step in front of the other. And You see what I cannot. I must trust. I must believe in what I cannot see. I must make this trek with Your heart in mine.

            Because I am stumbling yet again on this gravel laced path. I am heading into ways unfamiliar and will not be overcome. I am turning to You to see Your face that will calm me and direct me. And I am waving my arms to catch Your steady grasp.

Prayer:

Lord, once again I am thrown into uncertainty. I am in a land I do not know as I make my way through the wilderness. It is unexpected and unnerving, but I have to trust that You have made this choice for me, that You have paved the way and are waiting for me to walk with You. Please help me to keep my confidence in You and take this trail before me. Amen.

No Easy Way

Your path led through the sea,

Your way through the mighty waters,

though Your footprints were not seen.

-Psalm 77:19

 

            What part of this did You say would be easy?

            You didn’t say.

            You never guaranteed safe passage through this voyage of life. Never said we wouldn’t struggle, that we’d never be thrown curves in a series of fastballs. You said we would have troubles in this life. But You also said to take heart and not be afraid, because You have taken care of all things terrifying.

            And that You would be with us every length of the way. Even when Your footprints are not seen.

            You keep coaxing us out of the boat, to take a leg and swing it over the side to stand on water. To take one step into the sea, and then another.

            So we do. Warily, confidently, we lift our eyes to the light a thousand yards away. We move as if our feet were touching pavement.

            Then we sneak a glance over our shoulder and realize how far from the boat we are. And how far off You still seem to be. Suddenly, the ground beneath us shivers, and we find ourselves sinking. How fast our faith has faltered. How easily we sink beneath the surface.

            We are weighed down, but You arrive where we have fallen and reach beneath the surface to grab our arm and anchor us up. You brush off our bruises and hold us as we begin to understand the need to keep straining for the shore. You hand us a life vest in case we slip again, and guide us once more through the waves. And we want to please You, so we keep moving.

            You never guaranteed clarity in this murky world. You never stretched the winding streets before us into straight passage. You only warned us that the air would be full of flying arrows aimed at our heart. But You gave us a shield and a strength to navigate and protect us once we hit the open road.

            And, along the trail, lingering beside us, a pair of footprints follows, closely entwined with our own.

Prayer:

You never said it would be easy to take up my cross and follow You. You simply encouraged me to take heart that You are with me along the way. The road is long, the course uncharted. Please navigate me and reach out to me when I veer off course. You promise to be with me. I am holding You to it. Amen.

Today

“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.”

-Mark 16:6

            Today looks no different than any other. Same bare branches scraping across my window, same metallic gray and blue fusing together in the sky. Same sweet wind pushing through a thawing song. People wake, the earth sighs. Life arises to begin again.

            But inside me, I am teeming with newness. Inside me, I am seeing a day much like today. A rocky hole, birds singing, women trekking to the tomb. A blinding light, an angel flashing the news- Whom they seek is not here.

            Confusion on their faces, trembling excitement in their chest, the women flee to make sense of the scene. Wondering. Hope emitting the tiniest flecks of embers in their heart.

            Then You appear. Full fleshed, with scars on Your skin and light in Your eyes. You smile. You see the women who now recognize the prophesy come true. You watch their surprise turn to joy.

            And You turn Your face to me. Same fire ignited in Your eyes, same great grin. I touch the hands that held the nails, trace my fingers across Your side, feeling the fabric of my soul stitched in Your wounds.

            Today is a day that started like any other. But You have come alive again and stand before me, beaming with victory. My heart is rising, and my voice can be heard shouting Your name in glorious gratitude. My lover. My life. My knight that fought the battle for me and won.

            This day started like every day, but oh, how the light and triumph streaked across the sky and captured today as the day I was finally set free with His arrival.

 

Prayer:

Hallelujah! You are alive! Up from the grave, You came and conquered death so I may live. The battle won, the smile set, Your voice resounds in my head. Thank You for the gift of Your life through death, so I may be tied with you forever. Amen!

Hosanna

They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

-John 12:13

            What did the people think, as they saw You heading towards the Jewel City? What did they believe they would see? The survival of Your people? The placement of a new King? They had waited for Your arrival for millennia, and now You appeared, shifting Your weight on the seat of a donkey’s foal. How their eyes must have lit up, sparked to life by the glimpse of their Savior. How the whispers glided from mouth to mouth: “He is here! He has come! To free us from our chains of burden!”

            Branches snapped away from trees, laying as pavement on the dusty road ahead.

“Hosanna!” They shouted, dirt-specked faces full of hope.

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Sandaled feet slapped the ground as the crowd ran beside You, arms and palm branches swaying in the air as You continued Your entrance into Jerusalem. How excited they grew. How expectant they were of Your reign.

You saw them coming from a distance. Felt their eagerness in Your heart. To fulfill Your Father’s words, the final stretch was spent on the back of a placid mule. The chanting reached Your ears.

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

A bittersweet smile crossed Your lips. You had come to diminish darkness, but not from the seat of a throne. Rather, You would rule from the ruins of a tree, splayed in shame, broken for our burden. You would fight for Your people, without words, without lifting an arm in attack.

You knew what lay ahead, You knew what You would suffer. And You knew that the crowds welcoming You in with happy faces would turn sour and be among the first to seek to slay You.

Steadily You rode on, following the trail of palms and entering the city which waited to close in on You. To take You and beat You, drag You out and hoist You on a cross atop a hill.

Hosanna. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Prayer:

You took the fall for me. You knew what was in store for You and You rode on, into the grasp of darkness to turn it into light. Blessed be the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Amen.

So Many Hopes

I have put My words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of My hand- I who set the heavens in place, Who laid the foundations of the earth, and Who say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

-Isaiah 51:16

What is this space that statically floats around the atmosphere? Where does the void appear, blinking and endless, full of fangs and shadows? What gives the darkness permission to permeate the minds of humanity?

We are not eager for our destruction. Voices call out. Around and around they swirl, covered in excuses to stay stagnant yet growing a desire to grasp at grace. To hear a sound that becomes a symphony, to see a drop of water churned into a sea. To touch Your face and find a beauty unparalleled.

Reaching limbs, longing to bud and bloom in a soil stirred by hands of healing. Eyes that stretch to the farthest lands to appraise what can be built upon a fruitful foundation. Floundering fancies, carried and disbanded through the wind, breaking apart a brittle search for strength.

So many hearts, ripping themselves out of their cages. So many hopes, waiting to be revealed. So many searching, seeking after the answers to fill the gaps inside their souls. So many walking about this earth, aimless and empty of life.

If You hear our plea, hurry to our side. Skies are draped with despair and the air is heavy and smoky in our lungs. We are a desperate people, pleasing the sins of our soul, chained in lies and carrying around the weight of weariness on our crooked shoulders. We slip closer to the edge, defying the quiet inside us to catapult into chaos. Strangers in our skin, we scratch to be released into something more comfortable, a craving carried back in the caverns of our core.

Revive us. Breathe beauty back into our lungs and color our world with Your palette. Sing to us with lyrics our minds long for. Rescue our hearts before they bleed into oblivion and fight for us.

Find us. Search the galaxy to bring us back and turn our truth to You. Tell us all we desire to hear, all we store sweetly in our cracking bones and aching arteries. Set our flesh to mold to Your loveliness and light. Lead us to the highest mountain we can climb to find Your face, to hold the favor of Who our singeing chests must burn for.

 

Prayer:

We are a people too familiar with going our own way. We have lost ourselves while trying to find where we belong. Direct our hearts to You, to all You promise and all You can give. Open us to see that You are Who we crave, that Your ways are really ours, too. Heal us in our breaking. Amen.