Tuesday, August 27, 2013

A Message for those who Dwell in the Dust…


This summons to wake up and shout is addressed to those who dwell in the dust…
The world is filled with them–those who dwell in the dark cells of disappointed love and faith, or who have failed in their life’s purpose, or who, like Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46) are blind and reduced to beggery…
It may be that you have lost all sense of God’s nearness and love–not because of any known sin, but through physical weakness, mental exhaustion, or the loneliness of sorrow and suffering. It may be that you have been seeking him without, whilst he iswithin
It may be that you are perplexed by the mystery of unanswered prayer….No answer comes back from the Infinite, and your prayers seem like vessels lost at sea. 
It may be that your life has not realized its early ideals. As the years go forward, they carry us into disillusionment and heartbreak. Life has its prizes and rewards, but they are not for us. 
To all such we pass on Isaiah’s words: “Wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning!” (Isaiah 26:19)
The dew is used here of the grace and love of God. Instead of dust there will be dew, which steals so gently and silently over the earth. The more dry and sapless a patch is, the more tenderly does the dew caress it. 
~ The Dew in the Morning by F.B. Meyer ~
But your dead will live; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. (Isaiah 26:19) 
I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” I will not die but live and will proclaim what the Lord has done.(Psalm 118: 13-21) 
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. (Micah 7: 7-8)