Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!
This past weekend Lord, was absolutely wonderful. Friday night we enjoyed a tasty dinner with friends at our home, and got some much-appreciated assistance moving furniture around for the upcoming Small Group Study we’re hosting which begins next week. Saturday we joined some friends at the Chesapeake Celtic Festival in Snow Hill, Maryland. While it was a little on the chilly side (which I was just fine with), we had a fantastic time watching the demonstrations, perusing the crafters’ displays and sampling some period food and drinks. Sunday began with a rousing church service at Ewell’s St. Paul UMC, followed by an afternoon of catching up on housework, schoolwork and finding time for some much-needed rest. All-in-all, it was a weekend filled with Your Blessings Father, and I thank You for that time.
As I’ve mentioned Father, it’s been getting progressively chillier here as we edge into Fall’s grip; a very welcome change in my book, I must say. Well, this morning when I went to take the dogs out back for their morning run, I was greeted with a familiar sign of the season. As I exhaled, my vision was temporarily clouded as my breath hung in the air before me.
“There’s a lesson here…” I heard You whisper.
“There is?” I thought. Well Lord, for much of the remaining morning my brain got in the way as I diligently tried to work through what You wanted me to glean from condensing water vapor in the morning chill. I ran through passage after passage in my head, and finally resolved that You’d let me know when You were ready.
Walking into my office this morning, You once again broke the silence with a simple message:
“Seen, or unseen.”
Ok, that was Scripture I recognized…
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
Reading that Father, I understood exactly what you intended to get through to me this morning…
Sometimes, what we can’t see is far more important than what we can.
Your Holy Spirit is very much like the breath within me; I go through each day rarely considering the necessity of those gasses bringing vital oxygen to my lungs, but without them I would very quickly cease to function, and die. Unlike this morning, in most cases I can’t see the air I breathe, but it’s there sustaining me all the same. Along that same line of thought, without Your Holy Spirit within me, my connection to Your eternal presence would be severed, and death would truly be a final act.
It’s absolutely no accident that the Hebrew word for spirit “ruach”, is also translated as “wind”, or “breath”… Just like the cloud that escaped my mouth on this chilly October morning.
What a wonderful lesson to start my week Father. 🙂
In Jesus’ Name we pray,
Amen.
~Phather Phil
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
Great post. I love this, “Sometimes, what we can’t see is far more important than what we can.”
Thankfully, nothing is hidden from God’s eyes Jenifer. 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
What we can see is often working out something far better than we can’t see. I want to focus on eternal rewards and perspectives. And I’m so thankful for the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Great post, Phil!
Amen Lisa… Great point!
Have a Blessed Day!
Love this post Phil, love that the Spirit is the wind and the breath that sustains us. That is the hope we cling to, the promise of what we can’t see… it will come to light. Blessings!
We’re Blessed by so many things that we can’t see, and it’s important to keep our hearts on that eternal focus.
Have a Blessed Day!
I love what happens when you hear God whisper to you! Great post!
Thank you Alida! I’m rather fond of those whisperings as well… Makes me feel so in touch with our Heavenly Father!
Have a Blessed Day!
Thank you for sharing this. Too often the world discredits the still, soft voice of God when He’s calling to us. I delight in those simple points because they usually signal something far more profound and significant. Blessings…
Thank you Rich. It can be so difficult to hear Him in the noisy lives we all lead, so when I get those quiet moments and His voice reaches out, I try to latch on to what He sends me.
Have a Blessed Day!
Loved this post, Phil. It is so neat for me to get to hear the thought processes of another pastor. My husband is pastor of 1st UMC in Chambersburg, PA and he often shares with me how God is directing his thoughts as the week progresses. Thanks for sharing this insight with us.
Pam
Thank you Pam! I just took a look at the website for First UMC of Chambersburg, and it looks like a wonderful church. I’ve also been enjoying reading the posts on your blog, and especially your testimony. I hope you don’t mind, I actually shared it on my Pinterest page. 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!