Although most people call my husband Zack, his full name is Zacarias, and I love it. I love it because of its uniqueness and meaning. Its origin is Hebrew and it means: the Lord remembers or remembered by God but my favorite meaning is Yahweh remembers. There is something about this most sacred name of God that just fills me with hope and a sense of being special, because Yahweh remembers me. I could go into great depths trying to explain the beauty and significance of the name Yahweh but for today it will be enough to say that Yahweh is a name of God used to describe his existence and presence.
Today as I think of the ways I have fallen short of my desire to live my life as a sacrifice to Him I draw hope from Psalm 103:13-14 which says, "The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust." How beautiful is that? Although God deserves all that I can give him and more he is merciful and remembers that I am weak, that I am only dust. That doesn't give me license to sin or give him an unfit offering but it does lift my spirit and frees me from the condemnation brought on by the enemy when I fall short of my goal to worship him in spirit and truth. Yahweh remembers that I am a work in progress, He remembers that I do love him, in my imperfect way, He remembers his promises. He remembers ME. And for that I am thankful, humbled, blessed, honored and eternally grateful.
"Father, don't ever let me drift away from your path of righteousness. Let your word be a light to my path and a light that shines through me into the darkness of this world. Help me to keep my focus on you always. To bring you praise and worship in ALL that I do and EVERYWHERE that I go. Give me the strength to subdue my flesh daily. Remember me and help me to remember YOU. I love you Father. Amen."
"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
I have experienced a lot of these "times" this week. The Lord has been speaking to me and opening my eyes to so many things and I am so grateful. Even the things that hurt me, that catch me off guard and make me take a sharp breath of pain and shock also give me reason to praise him. I KNOW I am in his will and when I am unsure of where I should take my next step his word shines on my path. I know he is getting ready to do a new thing in my life. He is restoring so many things in my life that I didn't even know were broken. And I am so thankful that as long as I give myself to him, he will finish the work in me that he has started. Many people in my life will not understand, many will turn their backs to me but I will keep pressing forward because he has chosen me, called me and raised me up. For such a time as this...
If I could have been the author of any book in the bible it would be the book of Psalms. In all my reading of the word I have yet to find another book with such real human emotion as this book. In some chapters the author is rejoicing in the Lord and in the next he is in utter depression. What is more real than that? No, I don't think he was bipolar. I think he was real. We all have our ups and downs in life and it is encouraging to me to read about a man of God who did as well and yet was still loved and called by God. Most of the book is attributed to David, a mighty man of God and also a man with flaws and falls. A psalm is defined as a sacred song or hymn and that is what I want my life to be. Not a catchy little ditty or a somber ballad but a sacred song, sung from the depths of my heart to the creator of all things. The one who knit me together in the secret places of my mother's womb. Sung in melodies of truth and love. Kept in tune by peace. So this is where I will begin. We'll call this chapter 1. The book of Psalms has 150, let's see how long it takes me to catch up. ;-) "I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will praise you with songs." Psalm 101:1
