Oh soul, disturbed within me

Now that I reflect daily on the psalms for my video project #apsalmaday, it strikes me once again how appropriate in this day and age, how recognizable, how timely they are.

One day, as a reader, we can identify with the joy of the psalmist, the next day with his grief or frustration. 👉Whatever the case, crying out to God is the common thread running through all psalms.

The other day we arrived at Psalm 42, a very well-known psalm but at the same time so refreshing! Verse 3:

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God ...

Oh, I recognize that, it is the cry of my heart! Don't get me wrong, God knows me and I know Him. He is in my life, He is in my heart. But that only increases the longing, the desire for more of Him, for more of His Spirit, for more of His Father's heart. The crazier the world gets, the more I seek Him, the more I want to learn from Him, the more I listen ...

The psalmist asks a good question: Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Do you experience this disturbance, this restlessness in your soul? I do. But I also learned (by reading the Psalms, among other things!) that it is nothing to worry about. That restlessness, that thirst in our soul might be a sign,

• that we should spend quality time with the Lord, He wants to speak to us
• that we are in a season of change and God wants to show us new things or the next step
• that we should schedule a time to fast in order to regain our focus
• that God is revealing Himself to us in a new way, in other words, that we are going to learn something new about His eternal character
• that it is time to refresh our worship practices
• that we should pick up or pursue praying in tongues again

Hopefully, this list will help you. I am curious... is there anything particular that appeals to you in Psalm 42?

Free indeed

All of life consists of seasons. We can see this in nature, we can see it in our own personal lives. There will always be ups and downs, times of joy and times of sorrow. Times of growth and fruit bearing and times where everything seems to be standing still. It doesn't really matter what time we find ourselves in, as long as we keep looking ahead, expecting a new season to come.

One of the highlights in Jesus' life here on earth was his baptism and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Him. He received the words that every son needs to hear from his father: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). After this Jesus entered a very difficult time in his life, He was tempted by the devil... not for an hour or a day, but for forty days! But He kept his eyes on the Word and on his Father and this resulted in the fact that He came out of this dark period 'in the power of the Spirit' (Luke 4:14). He entered a new phase, a new season in his life. In the local synagogue Jesus announced the work He came to do (Luke 4:18-19):

• to preach good news to the poor
• to proclaim freedom to the prisoners
• to proclaim recovery of sight for the blind
• to release the oppressed, and
• to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor

This past week we had the opportunity to visit and minister in Kiev (Ukraine) where these words of Jesus are being fulfilled every day! Many broken lives, torn apart by addiction, fear, anger and crime, are being healed and set free by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus still works today (through our hands) to touch people and set them free. The two men in the picture are Maksim and Gena. After 16 years of addiction to hard drugs they have found new life in Jesus Christ. Finally the sun began to shine in their lives, they have reason to laugh, to have fun together. We were greatly touched by their testimonies.

The words of Jesus are still truth. They are alive and powerful. I do not know what has kept you imprisoned or oppressed. Maybe it is a disease, fear or anger, maybe depression or an addiction. Please, remember the words and works of Jesus. He desires to set you free, that is His ministry up to today! If the Son set you free, you are free indeed (John 6:38).

Spring in Holland

Well, after a long day (or night, or both... I forgot) of traveling we are back home in Holland! Wow, Los Angeles - Zurich - Amsterdam, half way around the world! It is always a relief to set foot on solid ground again (with all our luggage!). I love spring time in Holland, the flowers are abundant and every tree seems to burst with new life. The birds are happily singing while I am digging through a pile of mail...

Autumn wreath

A little creativity...

After a hard day's work in the yard I decided to be a little creative and make an autumn wreath. Not that it feels like autumn here in Southern California :) but I had all this material that I picked up in thrift stores over the years; leaves, flowers, little pumpkins, everything very colorful. I just attached all these small pieces to a huge wreath that I found in the barn and... voila! I let my imagination go wild and mixed sunflowers, daisies and christmas ribbons all together into a delightful display of a new season.

Happy autumn!