Wednesday Wanderings is biweekly and a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.
Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.
Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.
PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we considered our response to the fact that the Lord of heaven is Entitled to our praise. This week we will welcome the divine light of His Holy Spirit to illumine our darkness. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”
PROMISE: Numbers 5:24-26 ESV
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
We are far more desperate for that light to shine on us than we often realize. Let’s take a few minutes today to turn from our darkness and welcome the light of His presence. Will you join us on the journey?
PSALM:Holy Spirit, Light Divine (1817)
By: Andrew Reed, (1787-1862)
Shine upon this heart of mine.
Chase the shades of night away,
Turn the darkness into day.
Reed finds the perfect words to express what we often feel, yet either fail to express or simply struggle to find the right words. Even when our hearts are overcome with darkness He is still desiring to shine His light in upon them and chase the shades of night away. How kind He is!
PARABLE: Darkness. It is something with which every one of us battles. Sometimes it is the lingering doubt of a disappointment. Sometimes the way a hope unfulfilled can sap our faith, and leave our soul gloomy. Sometimes is the result of something someone said or did that has left a grievous wound. And sometimes that someone is us.
I am struggling with some darkness right now. I am facing the season of greatest uncertainty of any in my life thus far. Sure, COVID-19 is a contributor, but I had a number of things threatening to cloud the light in my soul even before this all broke loose. Struggles relational and vocational have brought me to the end of myself, but they have not yet kept me from asking the Spirit to work and move in me.
I must admit, when I chose this hymn two months ago, I was looking for something to express our soul to the Spirit as we approached Pentecost and our celebration again of His coming to us, and living in us who believe, but I did not realize what a personal cry this opening hymn in particular would be. Even so, I must give Him glory for He has continued to give me the faith to ask Him to do His illuminating work in me every day. I am absolutely a work in progress, but only because of the grace of God have I not succumb to the darkness.
The same can be true of you. But we must ask. This stanza is a simple but beautiful prayer. Will you make it yours today?
PONDER and WANDER: If you choose, Ponder the question: How can I routinely welcome the light of God’s presence into my life?
The light of the Holy Spirit wants to shine upon you. We must be willing to welcome that illumination every day. He has His part which you can not do, but you must invite Him to come and partner with you and help you with yours. The exercise below expands the simple prayer that is this stanza. Use it and continue to develop resonance as you remove that hinder the shining of His light in your soul.
Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise.
- When you are ready, clear your mind and acknowledge that the Spirit is the light of God. We must begin there so we are prepared to accept what His light reveals.
- Next, invite the Holy Spirit to come and illumine the reality of God and your heart and soul before Him.
- As He shows you the shadows that need to be brought into His brightness, to do hesitate to ask Him to chase them away.
- Finally, thank Him that He can turn your darkness into day, then trust Him to do it today and every day.
PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for sending Your Spirit to help me deal with my darkness. I need His help every day. Help me to remember this and be quick to ask for it. In Your name I pray, Amen.
PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your soul of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to worship Him and let the work of your wandering fill you with the praise of Christ.
Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.
Until next time, be Resonant.
The post Ready to Deal with Your Darkness? appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions:
Holy Spirit, Light Divine – https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-love-romance-romantic-3125812/
Shine Upon This Heart of Mine – https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-love-romance-romantic-3124330/
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