dear soul,

"Why are you downcast, o my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Why are you downcast, o my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Why are you downcast, o my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God."

-psalms 42, 43.

and it is so.

the word amen means and it is so.

I forget that sometimes.

normally I pose the word amen to God as a plea or a question, rather than a sanction and a claim that His Word and His promises are true.

in fact, there is a verse in the psalms that says God's promises are right now standing in heaven, already realized.

to root this idea in me, i've recently been trying to shift my heart's definition of amen, hopefully opening up within myself a new and fuller perspective, a bigger trust.

I want my entire being to WHOLEHEARTEDLY believe in the truth of God's words, making me able to act on them in bold faith.

"the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie. though it tarry, wait for it, for it will surely come, it will not delay."

the time is coming.
the promises are true.
our God is trustworthy.

amen.
amen.
amen.

-----

habakkuk 2.

a man of truth.

"He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth."

-rabbi Jesus.

heights.

"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the
vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the
pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights."

-habakkuk 3.

never too late.

"For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

-f. scott fitzgerald.

the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

"Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. (...) But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then, one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.'

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne. (...). He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. (...) And they sang a new song:

'You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you
purchased men for God
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
You have made them to be a
kingdom and priests to
serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.'

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:

'Worthy is the Lamb, who was
slain,
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and
praise!'

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

'To him who sits on the the throne
and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and
power,
for ever and ever!'

The four living creatures said, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshipped."

-revelation 5.

the great commandment.

"If we elevate the great commission over the great commandment, then we construct a servant paradigm over a bridal one. And at the end of the day, that damages our hearts and our ability to receive from the Lord.

Lovers first, laborers second."

-dalton lifesy.