What does 1 Peter 5:6 say to you?
“If I humble myself under God’s mighty hand, He will lift me up when the time is right.”
What brings you to this study?
“Convenience of schedule. I still have to rearrange a little, but mornings are still much better than evenings. I know I need a study, and my mentor moved away.”
About how long has your journey with God been thus far?
“25 years this Easter”
How did it begin?
“Terri Norman, my eighth grade Sunday school teacher, left the lesson plan topic to go off on a tangent and ended up giving her testimony which involved explaining that inexplicable heart/soul tug an unsaved but ready person feels during an alter call. I had been experiencing, resisting, and fearing it for I have no idea how long. If it had been any other week, Sunday school would’ve been after church, and I might’ve forgotten Terri’s story by the next week. The Easter schedule is rearranged (8:15 Sunday school), so her words were fresh in my mind and I yielded to the Lord when He called. I went up front and prayed with Pastor Brown to the tune of ‘He Lives’: ‘You ask me how I know He lives / He lives within my heart.’”
Based on all you’ve experienced with God… What excites you most about your next adventure with Him?
“I suppose the fact that it is with Him. I’m not sure what that adventure is, so I’m not sure.”
What scares you most about your next adventure with Him?
“The word adventure. I like some adventures, but I really like comfort and the two concepts don’t generally go together.”
Psalm 41:13 “Praise be to the Lord… everlasting. Amen and Amen.”
Psalm 72:19-20 “Praise… Amen and Amen… This concludes the prayers of David.”
Psalm 89:52 “Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.”
Psalm 106:48 “Praise be… let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord.”
Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”
What do they have in common? “All but one have ‘Amen,’ all give praise to the Lord, all have ‘Praise [be to] the Lord.’”
An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul: fears, hopes, cares
What if those very emotions became avenues of worship rather than distraction? How do you think something like that could be possible? Give an example.
“I suppose, if I am feeling distracted and overwhelmed by grief, fears, cares, etc., I should take them back to God and incorporate them in my prayer, be it as supplication or, better still, a source for praise and thanksgiving.”
What five tones or words would you choose to describe the psalmist’s state as he approached God? Write the reference beside it.
“Joy Psalm 21:1
“Guilt Psalm 32:5
“Sinful Psalm 51:5
“Fear Psalm 55:5
“Angry Psalm 79:5
“Yearns Psalm 84:2”
Dearest Rachel –
Since I knew I was going to run out of daily study work from the book you used while going through Isaiah, I brought along a second workbook, this one from a few years further back, when (apparently) you were just starting out with these morning Bible studies – or maybe it’s just that the question came up here, and hadn’t previously. All I can assume is that you did this back in 2008 or 2009, judging from the math on your testimony (and the copyright on the book).
Ah, your testimony. I’ve seen it written down in several places before, and you knew your story well – certainly better than I recall mine. We’d both heard tell that it would be a good thing to have an ‘elevator pitch’ version of our salvation story, and you certainly had that. I suppose the unusual nature of the day (being Easter), and the rearrangement of the church schedule that came with that which precipitated the series of events that first allowed, and then compelled you to come forward make it all stick out in your mind, along with the sounds that accompanied it that you treasured all your life.
It gives me confidence that you were going where you believed you would be, and that when I follow, I’ll meet you there. I hold onto this with hope, and try to remind myself that this existence isn’t anywhere near forever, but I’ll get there someday.
Of course, at that point, we will be occupied with praising Him, but we need to practice while we’re here in the meantime. After all, if we can praise Him now, when things are, let’s put it charitably, less than perfect, how much easier it will be for us to do so in His presence, when all will finally be perfect again?
Until then, honey, keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 