Birthday Reflections

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the almighty" - Ps. 91:1

   Another birthday has come and gone in the three months since I've last posted. So much has happened, so much has changed - especially me. Time on God's clock has ticked away, but it has not been idle or wasted. 

   Through trial, doubt, difficult questions of life and faith, discouragement, disappointment, obedience, submission, chastisement, fervent prayer and supplication, hot days and cool nights, laughter, joy, happiness and contentment - the Grand Weaver of my soul has been quietly and powerfully working in the background as He has pulled yet more threads of the tapestry of my life together. 

   By His grace and mercy, He has allowed me to emerge from His hammering on the anvil tested and refined - kept in faith by the power of God and through His Holy Spirit working mightily in my heart; strong, unmoved, resilient, steadfast, grateful, humbled, repentant, softer, kinder, gentler, and sure -

sure of my faith and in Him who I believe, 

sure of Him who has called and sustains me, 

sure of my salvation, sure of my destiny, 

sure of my future, and what awaits me

sure of His holiness, sure of His justice

sure of  my sin, and His wrath upon it

sure of His mercy, sure of His grace

sure of His kindness and His power to save

sure of my Christ, sure of His Cross,

sure of leaving all that is loss
sure of His word, sure of its power
sure of His name, a strong tower
sure of His gospel, sure of its truth
sure of its message, sure of its proof
sure of His Spirit, sure of His presence
sure of His voice that speaks in the stillness

sure that I'm sure, sure Whom I know
sure where I've come from, and to Him I'll go.

   This birthday gone by was a good time for reflecting, and remembering God's work in my life. I found it fitting that the Psalm reading of the day before was Psalm 90, and that of my birthday was Psalm 91. Together, they reminded me of my fleeting mortality, the constancy and eternity of God, His worthiness of all glory and worship, and His power to sustain and guide me through life. I spent part of the afternoon doing a photoshoot at Deep Cove in North Vancouver, taking photos that I thought were personally significant and connected with my Psalm readings. I thought I'd post them and the verses that they were related to here:

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or You had ever formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."

- PS. 90:1-2, NKJV

"For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night...
We finish our years like a sigh.
The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labour and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off and we fly away
Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath
So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom."

-Ps. 90:4, 9b-12, NKJV

"Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper"

- Ps. 1:1-3, NKJV

    What a great, gracious and merciful God, who has allowed me to see the end of another year in my life, and the start of the next year. Though I have been unfaithful, He has been faithful. Though I have faltered, He has remained the steadfast rock of my refuge. Though I have been undeserving, He has been gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in His steadfast love. I'm looking forward to the days ahead.

     It's good to be back after a long break. See you in the next post!

- The Wisdom Seeker