Life Down Under

Who has stood in the counsel of the Lord?

I've been thinking recently about Jeremiah 23 - the question put forth by the Lord - who has stood in My counsel? Who has perceived and heard My word? Who has marked My word and heard it?

I'm feeling very much aware of the hour. Very aware that there is so much going on around me that I cannot see, but that I can feel - things that must be contended for; lives and destinies and futures that are hanging in the balance. History that is being written in the moments and hours of the days that I'm living out here and now that feel so ordinary and mundane. I feel the anticipation of what God is doing both in this nation and in this generation, all across the globe. I feel the soberness of the continual increase of evil and natural disasters and moral decay that is filling the planet and therefore the news daily.

And I want to feel the yearning of God's heart in it all. What is He thinking and what is He feeling? I am feeling the urgency to contend for that which must be contended for. Oh, that I would be able to live my days and carry my heart in such a way as to pursue the place of His presence; the place of His counsel. Oh, that I would simply stop to listen. Oh, that my ear would be attentive to the yearnings of His heart. That I would have ears to hear and a heart to understand what the Spirit is saying.

And so, at the end of the day, what does it all look like? How does this translate into my everyday life? I'm not exactly sure, but of these things I'm certain. Prayer. Fasting. And romance. Romance? Yes, romance. I love John and Stasi Eldredge's definition of spirituality, out of their book, Captivating. "To be spiritual is to be in a romance with God." And of course, that can often feel like it's the hardest thing to do. (Aren't the other 'religious' definitions of spiritually often much easier to attain to?) For to engage in the romance of heaven, one must continually engage their heart and be willing to offer themselves - all of themselves - for the sake of love. But I want to live in the romance. I want to lift my vision higher and set my gaze up on Jesus. I want to commune with the One who lives within me. I want to love. Even as I'm washing the dishes and reading stories to Taylor and changing diapers and doing the laundry and cleaning the house.

After all, someone that I know once said that he who loves the most wins. That's what I want to be like when I grow up.