More Insight

Insight

(Dragonfly Ministries President, Mary Hamrick)

October 2006

"Feathers"

It’s when the verses of scripture come to life in our everyday circumstances that we commit those verses to memory and at that time, they become personal promises that we cling to for eternity.

I’ve been talking to my daughter, Aubrey, a lot about a spiritual quiet place. When we train our spirits to be still and to become aware of God’s presence, we find a place within our lives that goes deep – we find a place, within our spirit, where we KNOW that God is there and we talk to Him, we sit with Him, we spend time with Him in a relaxed and peaceful state. This isn’t an easy place to find. But once it is found, it is easy to remember how to get there so that you can return.

I found that place in my spirit a few years back when my full time job went away – I was frantically looking for another job (our company had been sold and was relocating to another state), but the Lord impressed on my heart that it was time for me to stay home and rest. I didn’t believe that I could stay home because I didn’t trust God to take care of our finances, but after a lot of prayer and soul searching, we decided that – if it was the Lord prompting me to stay home, then HE would provide the resources that were needed.

I stayed home for 18 months and since our finances were tight, I spent a lot of time at home and walking. During that quiet time, I spent a lot of time in the Bible, reading and becoming familiar with the Bible (which I had not ever read all the way through) and I became familiar with God’s character and His ways. I also had time to pray – not short prayers that last a minute or two, but real prayer – where I would go outside for a walk, and would spend that time in talking with God, pouring out my heart to Him and listening to what He had to say. I didn’t realize it at the time, but God was teaching me to be still, to be quiet, to allow my spirit to rest in Him --- and He showed me that, even though the world around me may be in an uproar and turmoil, there is a quiet place within my spirit where He and I can meet – even in the midst of craziness – and where He will give me peace. Now that I know where that place is in my spirit, I can return there whenever I want or need; I prefer to stay there at all times – but sometimes I forget that I have a God who is waiting to meet with me, and I venture off on my own. Have you found that quiet place in your spirit? It's not an easy place to find; it takes a commitment, it takes prayer and Bible study, and it takes time.

This past week, I faced a couple of situations that I saw as negative attacks on my character and I wasn’t quite sure what to think of those attacks or even the attacker. The week was also filled with blessings from God, sweet words from friends, family and co-workers and encouragement from sources that I didn’t expect. But my mind kept going back to the negative attacks rather than the blessings. I think I wasted two days in trying to figure out why the negative attacks came and praying about the right way to react going forward, etc. After those two days, I felt the spirit of God speak to my heart and say, “Focus on the good, think of the things that are blessings, dwell on the encouragement and be uplifted by those words, be uplifted by MY Words that you read from the Bible.” So each time my mind would start to go downhill and pick up the negative attacks, my heart would redirect my mind to think on the things that are lovely and pure and good. (Philippians 4:8).

As I began to focus on the good, I felt a warmth come over me, like you feel when you are wrapped in a quilt with your head on a pillow - warm, cozy, protected, comfortable, loved. I sensed that God was telling me, “I’ve got you. Your head is on my chest and you can hear my heartbeat. I have you wrapped with my feathers, protecting you from harm and from any attack that may come your way. Stay here and rest, allow me to refresh your energy and your strength. I will take care of everything on the outside, but you need to rest and be secure in here.”

I can’t explain how I knew that I was being held in the feathers of God’s wings, but on Thursday morning, I opened my Bible to Psalm 91, one of my favorite Psalms. I've read this Psalm many times but on this particular day, there were a couple of verses that hit my heart big time, and they will be with me for all eternity. Those verses are: (I am going to insert my name in here, you can insert your name).

“He will cover Mary with his feathers, and under his wings Mary will find refuge; His faithfulness will be Mary's shield and rampart. Because Mary loves me, I will rescue her, I will protect her, Mary will call on me and I will answer her.” Psalm 91:4, 14, 15

As I read that, I understood – God has me covered; He will protect me from the attacks that come my way, as long as I am able to keep my focus on Him. We are taught in Philippians 4:8 to train our minds to think on things that are good and lovely and pure. It’s a process – we have to choose to push the negative thoughts out of our minds and we have to choose to think on the good things, the blessings, the encouraging words. When I turned my thoughts to God, my heart was at peace and my mind was at rest. Occasionally, I would try to pull up those negative thoughts and try to process them, and it was like sticking my foot outside of the wings to check the temperature, and it was biting cold, so I would pull that foot back in quickly and cuddle in closer to the one who holds me close and redirect my thoughts back to the lovely and pure..

As women, we are prone to allow our minds to control us. The Bible teaches that we are to control our minds – to think on things that will be of encouragement to us and to those around us. I challenge you, commit to work on this area of your life. It’s not easy … it is one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to do – and that I am doing - but I am determined to allow God to control my thought life as well as every other part of who He has created me to be – I want to be the absolute best that I can be for Him.

How about you?

Mary H.