Lectio Archives - Page 22 of 32

In Your name!

In Your name I find meaning! God never ceases to amaze me. I wrote recently about feeling spiritually depleted and how returning to my past routine of prayer and worship is helping me get my spiritual energy back. Slowly but surely I’m feeling more inspired to continue writing and I pray everyday to find ways to inspire others. Today, as I was driving home from church I was listening to the radio and heard Trisha Yearwood’s song “Broken.” I had heard it before and I liked the beat but I hadn’t really paid much attention to the words. As a matter of fact, it was one of the songs she sang live for the Passion performance in New Orleans (which I watched). Well……….prayers answered yet again – I guess I was ready to receive it today. As you know, I often share songs on this site that I feel are inspirational, that bring tears to my eyes and/or that stop me in my tracks. This is another one of them.

I’d like to take some time to elaborate on what I think it all means. I’ll share a paragraph of lyrics and then share my thoughts in italics. At the end I’ll share the link to the song as Trisha sings it. I believe the original version was sung by Lifehouse, an alternative rock band – that version is nice as well.

Broken

Verse 1: The broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight; Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time; I am here still waiting though I still have my doubts; I am damaged at best, like you’ve already figured out.

A broken clock doesn’t keep time, so the common preoccupation with rushing around to be on time for appointments and things we have over scheduled for ourselves is no longer there. There is no distraction in a broken clock. Waiting and doubts – doubts of the existence of God or the knowledge of His Presence around us. From Him we can keep nothing hidden.

This song describes our journey through life on earth. No one is immune from heartache and suffering. Life is filled with hills and valleys, ups and downs. The chorus expresses what we feel while in the valleys.

Chorus: I’m falling apart, I’m barely breathing, with a broken heart that’s still beating; in the pain there is healing; in your name I find meaning.

That moment when we’re overwhelmed with life. We’re so anxious that we can barely breathe, but we are aware that our heart is still beating because we can feel it practically beating out of our chest. During that time we remember Jesus and gain strength from our trust in Him knowing “this too shall pass.” We understand there’s a bigger plan and that it is in our weakness that we are made strong!

Verse 2: The broken locks were a warning you got inside my head; I tried my best to be guarded, I’m an open book instead; I still see your reflection inside of my eyes; that are looking for a purpose, they’re still looking for life.

We are an open book to God. He knows everything about us. The book of Jeremiah says: “before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Psalm 139:1-16, one of my favorites, reads: Lord, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and stand, you understand my thoughts from afar. My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar. Even before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it all. Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach. Where can I hid from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too. If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast. If I say: “Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light” – Darkness is not dark for you and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one. You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped before one came to be. Seeing His reflection inside of our eyes – we are made in His image and likeness so when we see our own reflection we are getting a glimpse of the Divine through the windows of the soul; the eyes are looking for a purpose, looking for LIFE because when we begin to fulfill our purpose here on earth THAT is when we truly begin to live.

Verse 3: I’m hangin’ on another day; just to see what you will throw my way; and I’m hanging on to the words you say; you said that I will be OK.

Complete trust in God – hanging on in difficult times and looking forward to what God has in store, knowing that what He promised He will deliver.

Verse 4: The broken lights on the freeway left me here alone; I may have lost my way now, haven’t forgotten my way home.

In our lives there are moments of darkness where we lose our way, when the light of Christ has dimmed. During these moments we fool ourselves into believing we’re all alone in this place but by the grace of God we find the courage to get back on track – we remember we’re not alone and we remember where we belong: in the bosom of our loving, merciful, compassionate father. He’s waiting with open arms. We are the prodigal child!

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of the song. Take some time to check out the song here. You won’t be disappointed. God bless you!

When the time of Pentecost was fulfilled!

When the time of Pentecost was fulfilled……Acts 2:1-11. Read that verse and meditate on it. Do a lectio divina – see how it speaks to you.

This is how that verse spoke to me on Pentecost Sunday this year – it spoke volumes about the universal language of love. We all spend most of our lives in “search of” our purpose in life. Of course, we all have different gifts and talents and recognizing them sometimes leads us to understand the answer to our question of purpose. However, my thought is the first, common and simplest answer to the question of purpose is to love. Love God, love our neighbor, love life.

In Acts 2:1-11, we hear about the Holy Spirit coming down upon the disciples and their speaking in tongues. Despite the many different languages represented in the crowd, everyone was able to understand what was being spoken. We wonder how that could be possible. We put way too much emphasis on the spoken word when the reality is that the light that shines from a heart filled with the love of Christ is itself a universal language, a language understood by all.

In the Gospel of John 3:16, we are told “no greater love than this has man than to lay down his life for his friends.” Furthermore, in John 20:19-23 we hear Jesus telling his disciples “as my father has sent me, so I send you.” So we know that Jesus came to show us great love. We also know that God loved us so much that He sent His ONLY son for the salvation of the world. As the father has sent him, so he sends us – TO LOVE. First, we are called to love God – to love Him through worship, praise and thanksgiving. We are called to love Him by keeping His commandments. Second we are called to love our neighbor as Christ loved us; to put others first just as Christ did; to sacrifice at times for the benefit of others. Third, we are called to love life. How? In two ways: first, by accepting our circumstances with trust in the Lord knowing that all things work for good for those who love Him and second, by appreciating and caring for all of God’s creation. We must respect and acknowledge the dignity of every life – human or otherwise.

So………what is your purpose in life? To use the gifts God has given you to foster love in the world; to communicate with all the world through the language of love! God bless you!