In Your Midst

"The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy." Zephaniah 3:17

Most of the time when we hear verses like this in church, that the Lord is in our midst, we think of Him being with and among His people as if He were merely walking with us collectively. That 'where 2 or 3 are gathered' His presence is there too. But that's not what this word 'midst' means in the Hebrew.

The word in question is qereb, and it means "inner part, middle, inward part, the seat of thought and emotion."
The Lord literally dwells within you, in the innermost part of your being. When eastern religions speak of humans as being divine or having something divine within us, they are right. God does dwell within, and turning within in meditation, whether you call that spiritual part of you the presence of God or your higher self or soul, connects people to the divine in a very real way.

I love the thought that way down deep in me there is a victorious warrior who exults over me with shouts of joy and quiets me with His love.

Listen

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” ~Rumi

It's only when we silence the worried, anxious thoughts, the endless to-do lists, etc. that we begin to hear that silent voice that calls from the innermost depths. I believe that voice is the Holy Spirit, but even if you call it your higher self, Christ-consciousness, whatever, the need to follow that voice is universal.

(side note:the Holy Spirit is also called the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of Christ, the comforter and teacher, and there are many Christians who believe that the Spirit is feminine, the mothering aspect of God if you like.)

Take some time to get quiet, go somewhere or do something that allows you to quiet the crazy thoughts that bombard us all day long. It might be listening to music, painting, being out in nature, or meditating that does it for you. Listen. What is that voice that comes up from the very core of your being trying to tell you?

Good Dirt

As I was working in my garden this evening, this parable came to mind. "Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand." (Matthew 13:3-9)

I love that Jesus gave us His own interpretation with this one. (verses 18-23) The seed that falls on the footpath are people who hear the message of the Kingdom and don't understand it. The seed that was planted in their hearts is snatched away. The seed on the rocky soil represents people who hear and at once accept the message with joy, but they don't last long because they have no roots. As soon as trouble comes they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns represents those who hear God's word but the message is crowded out by the worries of life and the lure of wealth. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand and produce a harvest.



My responsibility is to be good dirt. God is the sower, and He chooses what type of seed to plant in my life. He also causes the growth. (Colossians 2:19) Have you ever seen dirt struggling to grow a plant? No. It just receives what is planted, soaks up rain and sunshine, and the growth just happens. I am so encouraged today by this thought: my job is simple. Just be good dirt.



On Being Good Dirt:

Seek to truly understand to the best of my ability. Study.

Let the roots go deep. Don't turn and run when trouble comes (and it will).

Get rid of the weeds of worry. Trust. Faith is the confidence that what was planted is growing, even if it can't be seen on the surface yet.