faith

Out of Egypt

/ Joy Lenton / 9 Comments

When a friend prayed with me a few years ago, she sensed she had a word from God she needed to share.

It was more of a question really.

It seems God was repeating a personal word I’d heard some time before from our Pastor, yet not fully understood or heeded at the time.

He asked, “Are you prepared to leave Egypt behind?”

As I prayed and puzzled over this, it soon became clear that ‘Egypt’ represented those things which held me captive, were enslaving me to some extent and preventing forward momentum.

Eager as I may have been to let go of them, in many ways they represented all that had become close and familiar.

For example, my childhood was riddled with abuse and dysfunction. I hated it but I knew no different.

Growing up under its shadow was all I knew to be ‘normal’, the very fabric of my being, a deep part of who I was as a person.

In order for full healing to take place, I needed to unearth the dark places in my soul, recognise the pain, address it with appropriate help and support, and find a way to live free of its effects.

It took many years of counselling before a large degree of emotional healing occurred in that area.

Now it felt like God was asking this question of my life in general.

Was I ready for seeing life through the lens of His word rather than viewing everything from my experiences?

Could I accept, believe and receive the truth of who I am in Christ?

By faith in Christ, we are:redeemed, renewed, radically and deeply loved, forgiven, free from guilt and shame, forever set free to live without walls, given every resource we need to be whole and healed….and so much more besides.

He longs for us to see ourselves in the mirror of His word rather than viewing the distorted images playing in our minds.

We all have areas in our lives which need transformation, change and healing.

Our willingness to allow access to them in order for healing to take place is another matter entirely.

I’ve written about this more openly and shared what is helping me in this post from Words of Joy.

The poem below is an acknowledgement of how hard it can be to move forward.

‘Leaving Egypt’

When the prison you know

has walls papered over

with past experiences

faded, worn and torn,

fraying round edges,

it can still feel cosy

warm and familiar

like a house,

a home boxed in

with hedges.

We cling to what we know

with surprising tenacity

in spite of pain

leaching into our souls,

a heavy weight with capacity

to drown us in

suffocate breath and life,

holding us down

hard and fast

in an embalmed state.

Leaving Egypt behind

to enter our Promised Land

can feel like strange unravelling,

so we dig heels stiff,

resistant, into hot sand,

with each tender step

we tentatively take

a reminder of how far

we still have to travel

for our safety’s sake

©JoyLenton2013

Our true home

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

Do you ever crave for more than this life offers?

Feel a desire to be elsewhere.

Feel out of synch, out of place, like you don’t belong here.

Have a yearning for a place you can’t quite put your finger on.

Those feelings are a way that God speaks to us with eternal longings that are placed within our spirit.

We are made for more than ordinary.

We are created for the extraordinary privilege of being in relationship with our Creator God.

Our lives revolve around the natural while we experience and begin to crave touches of the supernatural.

As the old song says, this world is not our home, we’re just passing through it.

Though many years pass here, we also have eternity to spend in God’s presence.

And just now and then, a brief flicker of recognition burns in our soul as we sense a degree of heaven on earth.

Gain a foretaste of the riches of grace poured out for us here and those still to come.

Find a hunger in our hearts for more ~ even as something stirs within, our hearts are touched and eyes are opened to God at work.

“Earth’s crammed with heaven ~ And every common bush afire with God ~ But only he who sees takes off his shoes ~ The rest sit around and pluck blackberries” ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I long to be one who sees.

How about you?

‘Heaven’

A far off country

as close as our next breath

Seated now in heavenly places

known completely after death

Glimpsed in a loved one’s eyes

and the cries of a newborn’s birth

Way beyond moon, stars or skies

close and familiar as earth

Sometimes it’s hard to believe

we will live and belong there

It takes grace and faith to receive

the Truth and Hope we will share

All the joys and the glory

of a life surrendered to God

We’re already part of the story

of the path which Jesus trod

No matter what our ponderings

no matter where we now roam

despite all future wanderings

heaven is our heart’s true Home

©JoyLenton2013

I am honoured to have this poem featured today on Joy de Kok’s site. Do check out the great poetry there.

Day 27 of  31 days ~ #poetryforthesoul

Wall around the heart

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

Books have always spoken into my life, but some of them are literally life-changing and transforming.

The Bible stands out as the main means by which God brings His restoration and healing into our lives.

For the words within its pages are Life and Truth itself, messages from God’s heart to my own and to all mankind.

All other books I read pale into insignificance by way of comparison.

Though they still have a great deal to enlighten, inform and teach me.

One such book is a pre-launch copy of Mary de Muth’s latest book, ‘The Wall Around Your Heart’, which I’ve been privileged to read.

It soon presented a personal challenge as I began to see the walls I’d erected around my heart without knowing it.

They had been there so long it that I’d grown accustomed to them, seeing them as normal for who I was at times or missing them altogether.

And as I kept reading, it was clear God was asking me to face the fact of their existence and work with Him in bringing them down.

It hurt. Everything inside me protested. This was way too hard.

Thankfully, God deals with each one of us individually,  gently yet thoroughly.

As I made a decision to co-operate (when it became abundantly clear it was essential to do so), God began that deep excavation work He excels at….one small brick at a time….and walls have begun to wobble and shake.

They’re not down yet –  but we’re getting there.

The poem below was written a few weeks ago in response to this awakening.

Maybe you can relate to some of it.

If so, I would like to encourage you to consider how to overcome the walls you may have erected around your own heart.

Left unattended, they are prisons holding us back from living free and uncaged lives.

We are designed for so much more than this. Jesus died to set us free in every way possible.

Let’s aim to have a foretaste of heaven on earth as we learn to live as overcomers by God’s power, grace and strength.

‘Wall around my heart’

There is a wall

around my heart

hardening from hurt and pain

stony through suffering and shame

growing taller, thicker by the year

until I feel

I could disappear

beneath its weight

enclosed

entombed

suffocating shadow

looming over all my days

It’s a covering

a carapace, concealing

raw, soft vulnerability

within, a tender place

of wounding through words

and deeds of others

whose target struck and

stuck fast as shield impenetrable

stiff, unyielding rock

sheer cliff

to topple and destroy

all who may

approach this land

where I dwell

with drawbridge up, castle

fortified, defended, safe

as houses, built on sand

©JoyLenton2013

Today is the official launch day for ‘The Wall Around Your Heart’.

To find out more about the book and why it was written, click here.

To order/buy your own copy you can click here.

I will be blogging about its impact on my life in more detail over at Words of Joy later this week.

Linking here with Kate and Mari-Anna

Stepping out

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

Walking by faith can feel like fumbling about in a long, dark tunnel where our eyes strain to see any tiny pinprick of light to show the way.

Or traversing a narrow, uneven, stony pathway with deep ditches on either side which we fear falling into.

Any new route we undertake is made more hospitable and achievable in the company of one who knows the way.

And our journey of life and faith is no different.

Faith Steps

Each faltering step of faith I take

draws me closer to Your heart

revealing plans designed for me

though I may only glimpse a part

Foretaste of the future

and all that it may hold

if I only follow willingly

with footsteps firm and bold

Not trusting in myself at all

 but resting in Your grace

supplying provision for my needs

while I run this earthly race

And so I choose to raise my head

and see the way I’m going

not with anxiety, fear or dread

but trust in Your all-knowing

©JoyLenton2013

The way ahead is lit by the light of God’s word.

Much as a pilot can steer a boat safely and confidently into harbour when all the lights are lit, we have means to guide us through the path ahead of us.

One of our ‘lights’ is God’s word. We can be further helped by these things:deep inner conviction from the Holy Spirit, wise and godly counsel from mature believers and confirmation through auspicious circumstances coming together at the same time.

This is no hard and fast rule, more a guide when things seem particularly grey and murky and the way ahead unclear.

Much rests on what God is saying to us personally, how we sense He is leading and guiding.

Stepping out in faith means we don’t necessarily have the full picture before we take a first step.

Such is the adventure of walking with God.

How do you perceive guidance?

Are there signposts you look for to confirm a call from God?

Please feel free to leave a comment below. I love to read them and will do my best to reply to them all

**NOTE** I am excited and delighted to announce that this poem is also profiled on my friend and fellow writer/poet, Joy deKok’s site. Do hop over and check out the other great posts there!

Day 10 of the 31 Day writing challenge #poetryforthesoul.

Thank you for so much for reading and encouraging me and giving me grace when I miss a day.

Climbing strong

/ Joy Lenton / 13 Comments

So much of life can lay us low, bring defeat, discouragement and despair.

As part of the overcoming process we need to be reminded about God’s power to save and pull us out of any pit we may have fallen into.

Remember:

Even if we feel isolated and lost, we are never alone in any battle we may face.

Christ has already secured victory for us at the cross.

It is ours by faith.

His strength and grace are always available.

We are also part of His body.

Each one of us held and encouraged by the wisdom, comfort and prayers of others.

Together we are stronger.

No matter what we go through, we can have hope rising from the ashes of our painful and challenging experiences.

Today, I am celebrating the ability God gives us to support one another to rise above our circumstances.

Climbing strong

We rise up bold

shaking off dust and ashes

for we are the brave and the free 

kicking away the lies

and deceit of the enemy

now in tatters at our feet

as we take our place

together… 

let us embrace

our stories, who we are

how far we have come

renewed, redeemed children

of grace and hope

no longer at the end

dangling on bitten rope

we are…

rising, climbing strong

to the glory that awaits us

and enjoying the view

while we eschew all

that no longer belongs

as part of our lives

or hearts

as one…

being light

being salt 

being hope

bringing encouragement

as truth believers

truth bearers

weavers of story

strong through struggle

tensile with tenderness

love and compassion

as we seek…

above all things

to be true 

to ourselves

our calling

to the future

where hope rests

eternal in all

and nothing else

will ever snarl

trip us up

or make us fall

©JoyLenton2013

 

 

This is Day 4 of #poetryforthesoul Hope you can join me again tomorrow

Not giving up

/ Joy Lenton / 11 Comments

In the midst of our daily struggles we have hope of seeing change.

God arms us with hope and courage to persevere though trials.

Let’s try to encourage one another to keep on keeping on.

Perhaps you are feeling battle-scarred, weary and worn out by life’s challenges.

Too much may be happening at once or long-term struggles can render us weak and discouraged.

If that describes you, my friend, then the poem below is for you.

And my hope and prayer is that you will feel less alone in the fight.

We are surrounded by a host of witnesses that have gone before us.

We are able to rest secure in knowing God sees the bigger picture.

He gives us strength to cope for one more day..and the next… and so on.

Not giving up

Limping and wounded I may be

but I’m not giving up on my destiny

though it’s a war zone, battle, a fight

life is still filled with God’s radiant Light

His word my compass, eternity my goal

hope keeps faith stirred up in my soul

©JoyLenton2013

It’s a brand new day

/ Joy Lenton / 30 Comments

Welcome to my blog. I’m so pleased you are here. This is a brand new one for me.

My usual place to hang out is at Words of Joy

This space is mainly for spilling out the poetic and prayerful.

Many days have been challenging for me of late and I need to remind myself to try to greet each new day with a positive attitude.

Maybe you can relate?

The poem below reflects those thoughts.

Brand New Day

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Brand new day
I salute you
though I rise hesitant
weary of mind
heavy of limb
I choose
not to succumb
to sadness within
nor stick on my face
fake rictus grin
rather I aim
to see you aright
as a chance
to start again
after restless night
and begin anew
with mind made up
not to chew
on my problems
or sink
into despair
but to see
potential etched
bright with awareness
of God’s light
beaming still
brand new day
I arise
to salute you
through effort
of will

©JoyLenton2013

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” ~ Psalm 118:24

This is a small taster for things to come.

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Thank you so much for stopping by. I am honoured to meet with you here.