In Whom We Live and Have our Being

For in Him we live

and move

and have our being...

- Acts 18:28

Today marks a very special day for our family. Two months ago, my third grandson was born, under unexpected and unplanned circumstances.

Outwardly I was peaceful and calm, but God knows my heart was filled with anxiety.

I was afraid, but I never gave my fear a voice. 

There really was no other choice for me but to trust Him. I knew He was God all wise, and completely trustworthy, good, and all powerful.

The combination of those four facets of His innumerable characteristics - all wise, all powerful, completely trustworthy, and good - was what set my heart at rest.

Worry wasn't going to change anything... therefore, resting my case in the One who holds the whole world in His hands was the best option available to me.

From Day 1, we saw Him at work.

He led us to the right doctors, both for my dear daughter-in-law Chosen One, and the neonatal specialist for the baby who was born more than a month before his due date. 

Joyful One was the name God impressed on my heart. And indeed the joy of the Lord was this little one's strength.

Friends and family rallied to our support.


Father God did not fail me in my trust of Him.

But how does one get to the point of knowing Someone who is unseen and seemingly distant?

This is the great mystery that I still cannot fathom.

The day I turned the throne of my heart over to Him 41 years ago was the day my heart to heart relationship with Him began. His heart is not hidden in some dark church cubicle... He reaches out in love, wanting to be known, wanting to be discovered for who He really is.

Yesterday, my daughter and I celebrated her birthday in a very quiet, and simple way. We went to church earlier than usual, and returned home for a special mid-morning breakfast.

As I thought of my beloved child, my only daughter, many sweet chapters from her growing up years came back to mind:

the day she was born... her early years... the formation of her obedient heart, mostly from her own responses to the way her father and I brought her up.

I see the young woman she is becoming today, and my heart overflows with joy and thanksgiving.

One story from her childhood stood out among the ones I remembered. She was always asking me questions... profound questions, many of which I have forgotten by now. But a question she asked, when she was just about six years old struck me then, even as it does me now in my remembering.

She asked me one day, "Mama... what will we do in heaven forever?"

My answer to such a profound question was followed by another profound question from this little girl, whose heart was being stirred to know more about eternal things, too wonderful for her little heart to grasp.

And yet, in that God moment, heavenly Father met us both and supplied an answer He alone could have provided. (Read the full post here.)

Abba Father whispered, "It will take forever to get to know all of Me."

Remembering that day truly warms my heart.

I arrived in Manila two weeks ago, and my return flight was scheduled for this morning. Within that brief two-week stay here, I had two main items on my agenda: to spend time with my gradeschool best friend who lives in the US but was in town for the death of her father, and to be with my daughter Obedient One on her birthday.

Today would have been the perfect day to return to my home city. Tonight there is a special Christmas dinner for our Monday night Bible study group hosted by my sister in law Sue. I had also looked forward to being in three other events this week.

An unexpected situation comes up and messes with my well laid out plans. A tropical cyclone hit our islands Saturday, and is moving so slowly that it is forecast to exit our nation only by Thursday, four days from now. Right this very moment it is grinding over the Bicol region and will be making another landfall south of Manila sometime within today.

Understandably, flights to many cities are cancelled. So here I am still... 

The past days I have been pensive...  listening to worship music, to the Word of Promise audio Bible, and pleading with God to cause this powerful storm's path to re-curve, and for its strength and intensity to weaken and dissipate. He is the all powerful One, He could very easily command this storm to dissolve, and never hit our country.

We've had enough devastation from storms, and we certainly do not need another one at this point.

I recall some of the past events of my life when I had also knelt before God, asking Him to intervene... or to protect... or to provide a way out... or to heal.

Trusting in His promises... but even more than His promises... trusting in His very character.

Many thoughts have entered my heart these past days... mostly thoughts about God's character.

He is a multi-faceted God... a God of many names. 

In the 40 years that I have walked with Him, I still feel I do not know Him enough.

I want to know Him more.

In a time of utter dependence on Him, when my dear grandson was about to be born, I asked Him for mercy, compassion, and protection.

I have asked that of Him many times before. Praise God, that particular prayer was granted.

Emboldened, this weekend I have asked Him again... yes, for the protection of my family and our homes, but mostly for the sake of my land... and my fellowmen.

The super typhoon did not re-curve... but I am thankful that it did lessen in force and intensity. Nevertheless, it did, and is still doing, much damage to the areas lying in its path. But, it could have been so much worse...

So as I am praising Him, I am still praying... praying... pleading... pleading...

Now my prayer is, Please God, do not let the storm hit Metro Manila... just let it go through the bodies of water between our islands as it exits.

We feel so vulnerable and helpless in the midst of a storm... any kind of storm. Even as I write these words, there are already occasional gusts of wind blowing outside, indicating the storm is somewhere near.

The One who can calm the storm is also near, my mind knows that ... but my heart needs reassurance.

So thankful am I for Jessica King's beautiful song... the Father is speaking peace and truth to my heart: Sometimes it takes a storm, to calm the storm within.

Abba Father never leaves a prayer unanswered. Some requests are granted... and then again... there are some prayers that are not answered the way we want.

In His wisdom, He always knows what is best. In His goodness, He gives more than what is asked for. 

Again, it takes another layer of trust in God's wisdom, power, goodness. and trustworthiness.


In the events of the past days, I hear God saying,

I am Jehovah Shammah... the God who is near. You are never alone in what you are going through. You are not forgotten, you are not abandoned, you are not forsaken. I am with you... always!

I'm doing a blog series on the names of God for my third grandson, Joyful One. As he turns two months old today, I am ready to speak words of blessing to him. I call upon Jehovah Shammah, The God Who Is There... to touch this little one's life.

Joyful One, as you turn two months old this very day, my prayers for you are being offered to the God who is standing near. He is near... He is not distant. He is the God who reveals who He is to those who hunger and thirst and long to know Him more.

Below are excerpts of the conversation I had with Abba Father when I came to Him recently as my Jehovah Shammah... recorded here for your benefit, dear grandson... that someday you may read them for yourself, and know in your heart, that this heartfelt prayer for you to know God a little bit more with each passing day, has indeed become true in your own life.

Dear grandson, I pray that you will know God as your very own Jehovah Shammah.

My Abba Father,

You are Jehovah Shammah the God Who is standing near.

You are near, not distant.

You care... and your compassion is ever within my reach... 

Your comfort is real, not imagined.

You desire to be involved and included in the affairs, the events of my life.

Jehovah Shammah, You are God whose eyes are ever on me.

Your thoughts for me are always meant to promote my welfare...

You are not indifferent...

You are warm, not cold...

You want me to know that You are relevant...

You can relate to what I am going through.

You speak to my heart, not to my mind.

You feel, You hear, You see.

You stand near.

You guide, You lead, You show the way... 

the way in... the way out... the way through.

You sing to me Your songs in my night seasons,

Your love comforts and sets my heart at rest.

You reveal Yourself to me...

And the more I know You, the brighter the light that shines in the darkness.

You are multi-faceted God. 

Every attribute, every facet I know of You makes You shine brighter in my understanding

and pushes back the darkness of confusion, self-centeredness, and wrong assumptions.

You are indeed the God who's standing near.

In You I live... and have my being.

From my prayer journal, October 28, 2014, 3 a.m.

I love you, my dear Joyful One. May these words be your very own words someday.

Love always

Nana

Joyful One, at seven weeks

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven, You are there.

If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,"

Even the night shall be light about me;

Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You.

But the night shines as the day;

The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

- Psalm 139:7-12

A mini cake for Joyful One...

A mini cake for Joyful One, from his Aunt Obedient One...

And three special songs for Joyful One:

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
by Walter Smith

Immortal, invisible, God only wise
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love

To all life Thou givest to both great and small
In all life Thou livest the true life of all
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree
And wither and perish, but naught changeth Thee

Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help us to see
'Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.


Where Could I Go from Your Spirit
by Kelly Willard

Where could I go from Your Spirit
How could I hide from Your eyes
Why would I wander away from You
Knowing that You are so wise
If I take the wings of the morning
And dwell in the depths of the sea
Even the darkness hides nothing from You
And with Your hand You will lead me

For You did knit me together
Even before I was born
I will confess You and praise You
You are my wonderful Lord












First Month - If God Be For Us... Jehovah Sabaoth