one thing that i have been praying for- literally since i got to auburn- is for a group of friends that have the same desires and convictions as me. for friends that get it. i have been praying for accountability in different areas of my life and for girls that are running hard and fast after the Lord. well, man did He answer that one.
today i have just been so encouraged by the conversations, the challenges, and the accountability i have gotten from my friends. i just love them!
anyways. tonight at biblestudy we had such an encouraging time. we are working or way through James and i love it! Mrs. P, the lady that leads us, was talking us through one of the verse in there and honestly BLEW my mind with the point she brought up...
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights
with whom there is no variation
or shadow due to change."
-James 1:17
now, yall know me and my analogies so of course this hit home for me.. she started talking to us about how cool that verse is. how it refers to God as 'the Father of lights' and goes on to say 'with whom there is NO variation or shadow due to change'. think about that! being in the light is always representative of knowledge or understanding.. but how do we know what knowledge or understanding is? by knowing God. because he is the only COMPLETELY constant thing in our lives and in our world.
now here is where she blew me away... she asked us what sources of light never very and never cause shadows. what sources of light never change?
there aren't any. a light bulb can wear out or be turned off and even broken. the sun rises and the sun sets. the sun casts shadows on things, causing darkness. a candle or a flame will wear out and can be extinguished. the only source of light that is fully sufficient, never ending, never changing, and never causing darkness is from the Father of light.
i wont go into it... but think of the BILLIONS of analogies that can be made by that one simple truth. my mind has been racing all. day. long.
its so cool to me that the verse says 'every good and perfect GIFT is from above...' and then goes to say that last part. because if you read the beginning of the chapter, it starts with...
"Count it all joy, my brothers,
when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith
produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect,
that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing."
first off that is just a dang powerful hunk of verses. but to see how James brings it full circle is so cool to me. reading how he goes from talking about trials and struggling to reminding each of us of the God we serve... thats tight.
another blog i follow (http://resolved2worship.xanga.com/), when writing about trials she put it so well. she asked how gold is made. its made through fire. for gold to be perfected, it must first be refined through fire. the fire melts away all the imperfections and in the end the gold has been made beautiful and is now a valued treasure. thats why we should count it as JOY. because we know the God we serve and the pain- it is just the perfection. because on the other side of the fire is the beautifully perfect heart.
the whole time i was meditating on those verses in my head, it took me back to every single time my dad and i have talked and ended up at Psalm 37..
"3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday sun."
-Psalm 37:3-6
At noonday, there are no shadows. The sun is directly above everything not allowing there to be darkness. That is my prayer. to live with no shadows, dwelling in the light of my Father.
abc.
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