Tag Archives: prayer

Jealous Of Me?

Posted in Daily Devotions: Chapter by Chapter by

I'm jealous

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 34

I looked up the meaning of the word Jealous. Sometimes we know what something means, but when chapter 14 says, “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,” I had to question its meaning. According to Dictionary.com the word jealous means inclined to or troubled by suspicions or fears of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims; solicitous or vigilant in maintaining or guarding something.

Does that make you feel better? It does me. For some reason the word jealous conjures up negative feelings. I struggle with this concept, because there is a fine line between jealously and covetousness and the Lord tells us not to covet. Granted, God may make the Law, but He’s not subject to them and a Holy God doesn’t need to covet after anything – He’s God!

So what would make our God, the creator of the entire universe, jealous of me and you? In this context, God is saying that He does not want to compete with any other gods. He wants to be our one and only God, our true source of happiness & fulfillment, and He doesn’t want to share us. Sounds like a jealous boyfriend, possessive and selfish.

Think about that for a second. We, (you and me) have a God who is unwilling to let us give our time and attention to anything or anyone except Him. You could say that feels suffocating or you can say that that feels safe. I vote for safe.

My takeaway from Exodus chapter 34 is to be devoted to God. Let nothing stand between your relationship with Him. He desires our full attention, time, love, and focus. There is such a strong pull to please the world, fit in, excel, achieve, compete, succeed and impress. God says, “No! All you need is me!”

As we begin our week, let us pray that our hearts remain pure in our desire to be all consumed by a loving, jealous God.

Girlfriends Wipe The Tears

Posted in Reflections From My Heart by
Just Being There

Just Being There

Luke 7:13

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” (NIV)

I ran into a friend yesterday and in the moment decided to grab a spontaneous lunch. I had not talked with her in awhile so it was great to take the opportunity to catch up. We started with the usual question, but this time with well intended meaning, “How are you?” She immediately melted into tears.

I don’t know a woman alive who hasn’t experienced this situation. It amazes me how God puts people in your path at just the right time and those people are usually girlfriends, right? I had no idea (at the time) that she was anything but o.k. Upon our initial embrace she was smiling, her eyes were sparkling, she was genuinely grateful to see me and she looked happy. But that magic question, combined with a safe and honest environment, allowed her to stop the charade and let it all go.

What proceeded to come out of her mouth was a situation that I knew I could not fix. As my mind was striving to find the right words and the most comforting gestures, I found myself praying instead. I was praying that God would intervene. I prayed that God would be her comfort and be her source of peace; that he would love her and reveal Himself to her in and through these (horrible) circumstances that had her pouring out to me.

I didn’t have the right words to say and I most certainly didn’t have the answers that would make everything o.k. for her, but as we departed and she assured me  that “she’d be fine.” I left with a sense of confidence that she really will be more than fine. I trust that God will work in and through her situation. I’ve been in her shoes where I have needed a friend, sounding board, confidant, and shoulder to cry on. It is true that no one and nothing can fix us when we’re broken, but it sure is a gift from God when we have someone to walk alongside of us in those times of need and as much as prayer doesn’t seem like enough, I know she is not alone.