God Revives the Lowly Another Thought

“For this is what the high and lofty One says

he who lives forever, whose name is holy:

‘I live in a high and holy place,

But also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly

And to revive the heart of the contrite.’”

Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)



We are blessed. God, who lives above also reaches down to bring us out of our feelings of depression. When we have heart-breaking news take our emotions and make us feel low, He goes out of His way to comfort us and bring us out of despair.

God does this for us when we are the receivers of bad news and if we have sinned against Him. He works with us in order to help us see that He loves us, no matter our circumstance.

A friend has shared with me she has experienced something she can’t speak of to anyone. Her husband says he is right there with her. I pray for her anytime the Holy Spirit places her name on my heart.

Like my friend, we may have something we face that we can only deal with through God’s help. We learn a lot about Him when we petition and listen.

Let us all remember that God has promised to restore our hearts because He loves us.

God Revives the Lowly

“For this is what the high and lofty One says- he who lives forever,

whose name is holy; ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him

who is contrite and lowly on spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and

to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)



As children, we had times when we got injured. When I was learning how to roller skate I took several falls where I cried. When I learned to ride a bicycle, I had a couple of accidents that seemed major to me.

There was this large tree, located about half a block from our house. At its base a projection grew out away from the main trunk. I remember thinking it was fun to get as close to that tree as I could when I rode past it. One day, I got too close. My front wheel went onto the root like projection. My bike fell onto the sidewalk and I landed on my left side. My elbow hurt. I don’t remember how I got home but I do remember my mother tenderly looking at my arm, trying to decide if it was broken, which it wasn’t.

God, as our heavenly parent, tends our hurts and helps us recover from them. When we fall away and realize we need to get back on track, He brings us back to where He can work with us and gives us strength to face what lay ahead for us.

Being In Awe of God

“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” John 20:28


I marvel at God’s presence and His activity in my life. When I sense His presence, I find myself more relaxed in my response to the circumstances I face. It is during these times of feeling God in my life that I learn to trust Him.

As I go through life I need to take the time and look for God in my life. I see him in the everyday things. In the fall of the year I see Him in the beauty of the fall foliage on the trees. In the winter, after the right kind of snowfall, I can hear God in the laughter of children as they sled down the hills of the city park. In the spring and summer, I can feel God’s presence in the quiet of the lake.

As I read the writings of Christian writers, I can envision God beside each of them as they put the thoughts He gives them on paper. As I listen to hymns and songs of praise and worship, I learn of God’s presence, His goodness and His mercy.

The longer I walk with him, the more I am in awe of Him.

Two Kinds of Sorrow

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation

and leaves no regret but worldly sorrow brings death.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NIV)



Sorrow that brings repentance and restoration has to be genuine. True regret calls for a change in behavior. We have seen deep shame cause a person to redirect his or her life to become respected by their family, community, and those close to them.

The world’s brand of sorrow isn’t honest about the issue. Those who buy into secular remorse only are ashamed for the outcome of their bad behavior-for getting caught.

People who observe others doctors, psychologists, preachers, psychiatrists all know those who continually speak of regret, only to repeat same action, have not dealt with the root cause of their problem, that of their spirit and their heart.

When we turn our issues over to God, we place Him in control of our lives and let Him guide us through each day. He does restore us when we allow His guidance and direction to mould our lives.
A friend wondered why we sometimes have to go through circumstances again and again. We decided that, if we didn’t learn what God intended us to the first time, we would take a remedial course until we got the lesson right. Yes, sometimes we all have to go through trials a second and a third time until something clicks and we can say, “I get the message.”

Healing Our Land

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves

and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,

then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)



I find great comfort in this passage. God told Solomon these words a while after the dedication of the Temple. Earlier, Solomon had asked for God to make provision for the people when they sinned.

Every time I read these words, I pause at the four conditions God lays out for the people (us) to follow. 1.) Humble ourselves-admit when we have sinned. Face up to it; call it by name. 2.) Pray to God-come clean that we are sinners. Ask His forgiveness. 3.) Seek to get close to God-the closer we get to Him the more He knows we mean business. 4.) Change our behavior. Turn our backs to bad behavior.

As I study this for this topic, I find myself caught by God’s response to our acting on the conditions He set forth. 1.) He will hear our confessions. 2.) He will forgive our sin. He will erase it from His memory, 3.) He will heal our land. He will fix all He sees wrong in our land.

Being a writer, I enjoy words. The verb ‘will’ has a definite feel of certainty about it. God doesn’t say “Oh, I might.” Or “Hey, I can.” He doesn’t say, “Gee, I wish I could.” He says, “I will.”

We still have to meet the conditions set forth by God but we have God’s word, that when we do, He will revive our land

God Revives

“I live in a high and holy place,

But also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

To revive the spirit of the lowly

And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Isaiah 57:15b NIV



God lives with us in our hearts. He comforts us when we are down. He energizes our spirits when the world has brought us low. He restores our souls when we realize our transgressions. He brings us back into His fold when we ask forgiveness.

Several of my friends have faced heart-wrenching times in recent months: Illnesses, family incidents, joblessness, or the breaking of traditions.God is there for each of them. God works through the events we deem difficult. He allows these things to happen so that His children might be drawn closer to Him.

One of the men in our prayer group realized we do God a disservice when we pray that a person be freed from a hard time. Rather, we should pray for God to lead them through the circumstance, guiding and teaching them as the individual progresses through the trial.

God will revive us as we look to Him in every situation we face.

Please Pray For The Earthquake/Tsunami Victims

This morning, my husband woke me around 4:30. "Turn on the TV. CNN has breaking news."  I could tell by his tone he meant what he said. What I saw was the horror of the earthquake in Japan. I also watched the devastation of the Tsunami. This evening Hubby called me to come see something on the news about the aftermath of the night in Japan.

Only after daylight did the authorities find out a complete town had been destroyed by the wall of water. This is from CNN.com:

In the city of Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture, all that was left of many structures were their foundations. Only concrete and steel buildings appeared to have withstood the wash. No people were visible in the streets of the town, whose population on Friday had been 70,000.

As I heard this on the TV, the news commentator said they didn't know if anyone survived.

PLEASE PRAY WITH ME FOR THE VICTIMS AND ALL THOSE WHO ARE WORKING IN THE AFTERMATH OF THIS DISASTER.