The Palms of His Hands

First Published July 18, 2017 @ Standing in Christ's Love

I woke this morning early, before the sun had whispered its orange and yellows to the dark of night. And I sat in my little quiet time chair on the porch praying. Prayers that were not for me, but just of gratitude for the many good things God has done. It has been a rough year. I have wrestled hard things.  But this God that I serve has not once forgotten me, His daughter, redeemed and adopted through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  He has not once forsaken me, even when I plunged head first in to willful sin, He stepped in to the mud and mire to rescue me. He is a good, good Father!

And when the light dawned, after I had spoken a blessing over my teen as he headed to work, I picked up His Word, spoken to the prophets so long ago so that on this day I could hold His Words in my hand, read them, hear His voice echo in my heart through them. In the quiet, my Father spoke to me...and my heart leaped with joy over what He said:

"Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
    yet I will not forget you.
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me."
                                         Isaiah 49:15-16

I have read these words before and found such comfort in them, but today, it is more that I feel. HOPE is consuming my heart.  Hope and joy that He is with me and hasn't forgotten, that in the midst of night terrors and battling addiction, He sees me. The Lord is holding me fast, safe, and He is not going to let me go. I am part of Him. My very name belongs to Him...my Savior Jesus Christ wears my name engraved on the palms of  His hands. Those nail scars are my name, written in love, so He will never forget and He will never turn away. I am His beloved child and I am continually before Him.  He always sees me, sees my pain, my failing, my success, my joy, my floundering, my confidence, in the good and in the bad, He is with me. These are His Words.  And so, again, I am led to gratitude.

And for you, this morning, His Words are the same: "Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..."  Praise God!  He knows your name intimately and has marked His hands with a constant declaration of His love for YOU.  May today, you know and feel the love of Jesus. May your heart rejoice in the knowledge that He bore nails for you.

A Fragrant Aroma

My guy is not really a romantic. He used to be, but life wore him down and hard things beat him up. Still, this week, as we celebrated twenty-five years as one flesh, he bought me a large, beautiful bouquet of flowers. Not roses. No. He knows me better than to buy me roses. He bought me this vibrant, colorful array of blossoms: deep maroon roses, white mums, fuschia carnations, grand sunflowers, petite yellow daisies, tiny baby's breath, purple gladiolas, and a plethora of flowers I've never properly met. I placed them on the writing desk that he set up for me - another gift.

As I sit here, praying, reading a devotional, and studying God's Word, my senses are overwhelmed with the sweet aroma of the blossoms. Joy consumes my heart as I remember the depth of love these flowers represent. Not just young, unproven love, but tried love. Love that has walked many difficult paths and that has held true through the "better or worse," the "richer or poorer," the "in sickness and in health" of our wedding vows. The love of this man who walks beside me has proven steady and true. I rest secure in his love for me.

The sweet fragrance of the flowers reminds my heart of this human love before filling my mind with the Word of God:.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?"
2Corinthians 2:14-15 (NASB)

What lofty thoughts and what a poetic picture. Just like the flowers release a sweet aroma that reminds me of my husband's love, Christ in me releases a sweet aroma to those who are with me. I carry the knowledge of Christ to every place I go. In Christ, you carry His sweet aroma wherever you go. The difficult knowledge is that some will see the aroma of Christ as death, just like the flowers cause sneezing and misery to someone with allergies.   Yet, others will receive the fragrant aroma of Christ as life, recognizing His great love for them. In this, my heart rejoices even more.

What a privilege, to carry , exude, the very essence and fragrance of Christ...and the very essence of Christ is the aroma of life. My heart is filled up to overflowing with the thought of those who receive the aroma of Christ as life. These are the ones who  understand that His love was tried at the cross, proven true, and in His resurrection is the promise of love eternal. Eternal love. Not human love that fails at death, that may falter with fear, that stumbles in the dark. No. Christ's love is eternal, everlasting, never failing, unaffected by physical death. This is the aroma we carry when we carry Christ with us. Proven love. True love. We carry the love that the world needs.

Praising God for His truth! Today may we be humbled by the thought that God manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ every place we go! May our lives reflect His character as we lean in to Him and rely on His strength. Really, "who is adequate for these things?"