Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:10-12 NIV
In this current trial,
I will remember Your mighty deeds.
As I meditate my heart rejoices,
“How great and good are You O Lord
Your love endures forever.”
Clouds and trees reflected pools of water along the Icicle River.
With all the alarming things in the news, I need to see the heavens instead of the frightening rocks.
I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8
I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree. J.Kilmer
A poem for National Poetry Month
When I see a child’s happy face,
It reminds me of a different place.
A child of an innocent age,
But now, time has turned the page.
Fading memory my only measure,
Longing for that long lost treasure.
I see it faintly in my dreams,
What could have been is all it means.
Wars and famine crush and rake,
Leaving sadness in their wake.
Such joy lost, the world has taken,
Bewildered children left forsaken.
To carry this burden of what was lost,
Squandered purity, a terrible cost.
I had no idea how much it mattered,
Joy and peace so quickly scattered.
Can anything undo what’s been done?
Bring back the child to play and run.
Roll back time before I knew,
The terrible taste of that cursed brew.
With great love God became the key,
Stooping down He rescued me.
He offered His life exchanged for mine,
Pure and holy no end with time.
Now I dance before my Lord.
His love my banner not the sword.
Held secure above the fray,
Purest joy with no decay.
Come all who thirst for water clear,
Drink in His life; wash away the fear.
Let God write your poem anew,
Sparkling glory of God in you.
by Stephen Hufman
Rejoicing in this day
It is God’s grace that turns this day into a special day with eternal purpose. All that is needed is God’s grace upon grace. His grace that forgives and makes me right, followed by grace to give me strength to do His will. At the start of each day I need to let these verse wash over me.
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. John 1:16
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Rejoice for this is the day that the LORD has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
Looking up
Trees sometimes make me feel small. Especially, when I look up and and see them pointing at the sky.
In a similar way, Ephesians 3:17-19 fills me wonder at the immensity of God’s love, and the smallness of my understanding.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
“Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!”
Refrain from “And Can It Be, That I Should Gain?” by Charles Wesley
Clouds Obscure My Vision
All my thoughts are gray.
I am lost in despondency.
I cannot move for the weight of my darkness.
O Lord, You search for me, because You care for me.
I make my bed in Sheol.
Behold, You are here with me.
You stoop down to meet me, because You love me.
You come along side me, because of Your great compassion.
You understand how I feel, because You walked these paths.
You cry with me and do not run out of tears.
This gray day has been known by You since I was first made,
Its purpose is not lost, because You are with me.
Your compassion for me will never end; it will never grow old.
You surround me and have laid Your hand upon me.
I scarcely understand.
Though I forsake myself, You will not.
And someday, I will enter Your rest,
Because Your grip is sure and You know the way.
Dreaming in the forest
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9
The question is how do I love God? I know from Deuteronomy 6:5 that I am told to love God with everything in me. But how do I do that?
To understand how, keep reading in 1 Corinthians 2.
“But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 2:10
I can’t of myself truly love God—I need the help of the Holy Spirit. To receive that help all I need to do is ask and receive as His child. And what I receive is beyond my wildest dreams. To be loved by God and walk with my Lord.
The wind molds the trees along the Iceberg Lake Trail
Can you imagine the wind and harsh weather that molded these trees, but here they are hanging on, some how surviving. We have to admit that what life throws at us sometimes makes us think we won’t survive … so oppressed we would rather die.
In the trek along Psalm 103 the next section extols the Lord’s abounding love and compassion. A love that helps renew our strength like the eagle’s.
Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalm 103:5-8
How does this help in our time of trouble, fear, high anxiety? By meditating on the goodness of God’s love found in 1 Corinthians 13
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
I can hold onto God’s love when the wind blows so hard I feel that I am about to crack because His love holds onto me. Then instead of breaking I am molded into something beautiful like these trees along the Iceberg Lake trail.
One of my favorite hikes is Iceberg Lake Trail in Glacier National Park. I would like to use the pictures from this trail as a metaphor for an even better hike through Psalm 103. Hopefully both hikes will lift your spirit as much as they lift mine.
The trail starts in a beautiful aspen grove with the early morning light just touching the tree tops like a crown.
Aspen along the trail
Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. Psalm 103:1-4
As I gaze at this grove of aspen the more I remember of the crisp cool morning, the birds singing in the trees, the fragrant scent of the forest. In the same manner, the more I dwell on all God has done for me the greater my praise for Him.
Water tumbling down the Icicle River
If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:23
This morning I stumbled through prayer. Constantly distracted I behaved more like a four year old stuck in a pew at church. That is why I take heart with this verse. It tells me when I try to follow Him that even when I stumble, the Lord upholds me with His right hand. He won’t hold my stumbling against me, instead He loves me as His child in need of help.
Stephen L Hufman 